Three ways to solve this. Here is the honest shape of each.
Most buyers are choosing between hiring a freelancer, retaining a marketing agency, or buying a system. The middle two columns describe what is usual in those categories, not any particular business: plenty break the pattern. Our column is what we put in writing.
What you end up with
Soarin ClevanA connected system: capture, reply, follow-up and payment chasing, wired into the tools you already use.
A freelancerUsually the one deliverable in the brief, built well but standing on its own.
A marketing agencyCampaigns and creative; what happens after the click is often someone else’s job.
Who does the work
Soarin ClevanThe person on your discovery call. No account manager in between.
A freelancerThe person you hired, when they are not on another project.
A marketing agencyAn account manager in front, a team of varying seniority behind.
Price
Soarin ClevanFixed per package, published on the site before you call, agreed in writing before work starts.
A freelancerQuoted per project or per hour; scope changes usually reopen the price.
A marketing agencyA monthly retainer, often with a minimum term.
Payment
Soarin Clevan50% to start, 50% when the system is live.
A freelancerCommonly 50% up front, sometimes more.
A marketing agencyMonthly in advance, through the term.
Running costs
Soarin ClevanListed before you commit, billed to you directly by the providers, on your own accounts.
A freelancerUsually yours, though not always itemised in advance.
A marketing agencyOften inside the retainer, which makes them hard to see and harder to leave.
Who owns it
Soarin ClevanYou do. Your accounts, your domain, your data, handed over with documentation.
A freelancerNormally yours, though access can be slow to transfer.
A marketing agencySometimes built on the agency’s own platform or accounts.
When it is done
Soarin ClevanA delivery window in writing per package, from one to eight weeks depending on scope.
A freelancerDepends on their other work, and typically moves with it.
A marketing agencyScheduled around the retainer cycle.
After launch
Soarin ClevanThirty or sixty days of support written into the agreement, then you decide.
A freelancerGoodwill, usually, and whatever you agreed.
A marketing agencyContinues while you keep paying.
What gets reported
Soarin ClevanResponse times, follow-up coverage, bookings and payments, from your own data, including what did not move.
A freelancerNot usually part of the engagement.
A marketing agencyA monthly report, often of channel metrics rather than revenue.
What is promised
Soarin ClevanThe work and the handover. No guaranteed rankings, no promised AI citations, no invented numbers.
A freelancerVaries with the person.
A marketing agencyGrowth targets are common; the ones nobody controls should not be.