A free marketing agency proposal template in seven sections, from what your client told you to a paid audit, a 90-day plan, a monthly retainer and the next steps. Read it here or get it as a Word file and a PDF.
A marketing proposal should say what the client told you, the result you'll both measure, what it's worth to them, how you'll work (usually an audit and a plan, then monthly work), what's included and what isn't, who pays for ads, the price, and exactly how to say yes. The template below has a section for each.
The marketing proposal template, section by section
Copy one section or the whole thing. Under each section: what it's for, and one thing we've learned from the proposals sent with Nusii.
[Yellow] you write[Green] Nusii fills in when you send it
1. Introduction
The whole plan in two sentences, and who you are. Partners and colleagues read it too, often without having been on the call. Working on your own? Write "I" instead of "we".
Hi [Client first name],
Thanks for the call on [date of your call]. You told us that [the problem in one sentence, in the client's words, such as "most of our work comes from referrals, and what we spend on marketing feels like guesswork"].
In short: we start with an audit of your marketing and a written 90-day plan, so you can see what's working and what isn't before you commit to more. Then each month we run the two channels the plan picks, such as [ads, email or content], and report on the leads they bring in and what each one costs.
[Your agency] is a [number]-person marketing agency in [city]. We've worked with [businesses like yours] since [year].
[Your name] [Your role], [Your agency]
Agencies' proposals in Nusii got their first look in a median of 54 minutes (3,782 proposals, November 2025 to October 2026), and about a third of first views are on a phone. So keep this section short, and explain "channels" the first time, the way the text does. Your client may never have used the word.
2. What we heard
Shows you listened, turns what the client told you into goals you can both check later, and puts a number on what the work is worth to them. Only you can write this one: replace the examples with your client's words.
Each goal below answers something you told us. If we got anything wrong, tell us before you accept and we'll fix it.
You said[most of your work comes from referrals, and you can't plan around them]. We'll build a steady source of new leads that doesn't depend on who happens to recommend you.
You said you [spend about $2,000 a month on marketing and can't tell what it brings in]. We'll set up tracking, so every lead has a source and a cost.
You said[you've hired agencies before and never got a straight answer about results]. We'll report every month on leads and customers, in your numbers, and tell you what isn't working.
What success looks like:[a result you can both check in six months, such as "25 qualified leads a month, up from about 15"], measured in [your CRM and your analytics].
What it's worth: you told us you win about [1 in 4] of the leads you talk to, and a new customer brings in about [$5,000]. [10] more qualified leads a month would mean about [2 or 3] more customers, or about [$12,500] in new business a month.
If nothing changes:[what the client said happens if this doesn't go ahead, such as "we stay dependent on the same three referrers, and one slow quarter means letting someone go"].
Three questions on the call fill this in: how many leads they win, what a new customer is worth, and "Why start this now vs six months ago or six months from now?", as Kurt Elster puts it in our 2015 book on proposals. The numbers should be your client's, not yours.
3. How we'll work
The plan step by step, so the client knows what happens first, what they approve, and when to expect results. The channels come from the audit, not from your service list.
You see the plan before any monthly work starts, and you decide whether we go on.
Weeks 1 to 3: audit. We go through [your website, your analytics, your ad accounts and your email list], what you spent on marketing over the last [12 months] and what it brought in. We also talk to [you, whoever answers new leads and three of your customers] about why people buy from you.
Week 4: your 90-day plan. You get a short written plan: who we'll go after, what we'll say to them, the two channels we recommend and why, what to stop doing, the ad budget, and the numbers we'll judge it by. We walk you through it on a call. If the plan calls for more than this proposal covers, we'll say so on that call, with the price, and you decide.
Months 2 to 4: the first 90 days. We run both channels. You approve [ads and emails] before they go live.
After 90 days: review. We look at what brought in leads and what didn't, drop what isn't working, and write the plan for the next 90 days.
When you'll see results: paid ads usually bring in their first leads within [a few weeks] of going live. Search and content take longer, often [four to six months], which is why we judge the first 90 days on [leads and cost per lead] and the first year on [customers and revenue].
Reporting: one report and a 30-minute call each month: how many leads came in, where from, what each one cost, how many became customers, what we did and what we'll change.
Most marketing proposals list the channels before anyone has seen the client's numbers. "Diagnose before you prescribe," as Philip Morgan and Jonathan Stark put it in our 2015 book. A paid audit lets you do that and get paid for it. The channel detail belongs in the written plan: accepted proposals in Nusii had a median of 7 sections, the rest 9 (1,713 proposals, July to September 2026).
4. Results for businesses like yours
Short proof for the people who weren't on the call: what happened for businesses like this one. Use real numbers from a real client, or leave this section out.
[Past client], [kind of business]:[the result, such as "leads went from 12 to 31 a month in six months"].
[Past client], [kind of business]:[the result, with a number and a timeframe].
"[A one-line quote from one of those clients.]" [Name, role, company]
Proposals to a client who had accepted one before were accepted 63% of the time in Nusii, against 46% for a first proposal from the same senders (July to September 2026). A new client hasn't seen your work yet, so one result from a business like theirs has to do that job.
5. What's included
Draws the line between what you'll do and what you won't, says who pays for ads, what you need from the client, and what they keep.
Included
An audit of your marketing and the numbers behind it
A written 90-day plan and a walkthrough call
Tracking set up, so every lead has a source and a cost
[First channel and how much of it, such as "managing your Google Ads, up to $10,000 a month in ad spend"]
[Second channel and how much of it, such as "two articles and two emails a month, written and published"]
A monthly report and a 30-minute call
A review and a new plan every 90 days
Not included
Ad spend, which you pay directly to [Google and Meta]. We expect about [$3,000 a month]; the plan will give the exact figure.
Software subscriptions, such as [your CRM and your email platform]
More channels, website rebuilds, and photo or video shoots (we'll quote them if you want them)
Guaranteed sales figures. We commit to the work and report the numbers honestly. Your offer, your prices and how fast leads get a reply decide how many become customers.
What we need from you: access to [your analytics, ad accounts and website] in week 1, so we never need your passwords; [an hour] with [you and whoever answers new leads] during the audit; word each month on which leads became customers, so we can report on customers and not only on leads; approval of [ads, emails and articles] within [two working days]; and a heads-up on [launches, sales and busy periods][two weeks] ahead.
What you keep: your ad accounts, analytics and email list stay in your name, and you keep admin control. The plan and everything we create for you are yours. You keep all of it if we stop working together.
As Philip Morgan and Jonathan Stark wrote in our 2015 book, "You will almost never be the only party responsible for the outcome of a project." A lead nobody calls back can sink a good campaign, so say what you need up front.
6. Investment
One price to start, for the audit and the plan, then a monthly fee, each with when it's invoiced, and a way out before the monthly work begins. These are example prices; the table further down shows what agencies charge.
Marketing audit and 90-day plan
$3,000
An audit of your marketing and the numbers behind it, a written 90-day plan and a walkthrough call. Invoiced when you accept.
Monthly marketing
$3,500 a month
Monthly work on the two channels in the plan, with a monthly report and call and a review every 90 days. Ad spend is separate and paid directly by you. Invoiced on the 1st of each month once you've approved the plan. Three months minimum, then month to month with 30 days' notice. If the plan doesn't convince you, tell us within a week of the walkthrough call. You pay for the audit, you keep the plan, and the monthly work doesn't start.
Total: $3,000then $3,500 a month
In Nusii, proposals with a recurring fee were accepted less often than one-off ones (39% against 55% for the same senders, July to September 2026). A monthly fee is a bigger decision. The audit gives the client a first step with a clear end.
7. Next steps
Tells the client exactly what to do to say yes, what happens after, and when you'll call.
If the plan works for you, accept and sign this proposal.
We'll send the invoice for the audit, book the kickoff call for [a date within two weeks], and send you a short list of what we need: access to [your analytics, ad accounts and website], and [an hour] with [you and whoever answers new leads].
I'll call you on [a day three to five days from now] to answer any questions. If you have any before then, call me on [phone number] or reply to the email this proposal came with.
Agencies' accepted proposals in Nusii got their yes in a median of 3.9 days, and 62% of them within a week (November 2025 to October 2026). A call three to five days after you send it lands while most clients are still deciding.
See it as your client will
Every page of the PDF, printed by Nusii. Sent as a link, it's one scrolling page on any device: your client accepts with one button and signs with their name.
The template in Nusii, the way your client will see it. It opens in a new tab.
How much marketing agencies charge
What marketing agencies charge, from the one survey we could check at the source. The template's example prices, $3,000 to start and $3,500 a month for two channels, sit inside the largest range of each. In Nusii, agencies' accepted proposals had a median value of $4,000, monthly fees left out (253 accepted proposals, July to September 2026).
What
Price
Source
Monthly retainer, the most common range
$1,000 to $5,000 a monthwhat 49% of agencies averageSparkToro
Sources: SparkToro, State of Digital Agencies survey with Paddy Moogan, 376 respondents, fall 2025. Most respondents were solo consultants or agencies of up to 25 people. The survey doesn't say how many answered each question. The other price guides we read sell marketing services or give no method, so we left them out.
How often proposals got a yes, by price
Proposals over $15,000 got a yes about a third of the time. Agencies' accepted proposals had a median value of $4,000. From 1,713 proposals first sent with Nusii, July to September 2026.
Under $1,000
67.1%
$1,000 to $5,000
50.6%
$5,000 to $15,000
48.9%
$15,000 to $50,000
36.1%
Over $50,000
33.3%
Share accepted, by the total the client saw. Bigger proposals are bigger decisions, so this shows what happened, not that a lower price would win. Method: The State of Proposals 2026.
What happens after you send it
From 3,782 proposals first sent with Nusii by marketing, web, advertising and video agencies from November 2025 to October 2026.
48.9%
were accepted
54 minutes
median time to the client's first look
3.9 days
median time to a yes
62.2%
of the yeses came within a week
Clients rarely say no. Of all proposals sent with Nusii from July to September 2026, 6.4% were rejected and 45.4% got no answer either way. Silence is the usual no, so a follow-up is worth sending.
Follow up after a week. Most yeses come within seven days. In Nusii you see when the proposal was opened and get an email when it's accepted, so you can follow up when they've read it, not when you guess they have.
The same template as a Word file you can edit (it opens in Google Docs too) and a PDF printed by Nusii. We'll email you both, plus a few emails with proposal tips. Unsubscribe any time.
Or send it with Nusii
This template is in the gallery of every Nusii account. Send it as a link: you get an email when your client opens it, and they accept and sign online, on any device.
“I can put together a polished proposal quickly without fighting the software, and my clients can review and sign it electronically, which makes it easier for them to say yes and get started.”
Janelle Hardin
Founder, Dingo Integrated Marketing
“Have been using Nusii for years for all our marketing proposals. It’s well structured, easy to use and delivers a very professional impression to our prospects and clients. Service is excellent too. Highly recommend.”
A document that tells a prospective client what you’ll do for their marketing, what it costs and how to start. It usually covers their goals, your plan, what’s included and what isn’t, the price (often a first phase, then a monthly fee) and how you’ll report results.
What should a marketing proposal include?
What the client told you and the goals that follow from it, how you’ll work, short proof from similar clients, what’s included and what isn’t, the price, and the next steps. That’s seven sections, the same as the template on this page.
Is this marketing proposal template free?
Yes. The whole template is on this page, and you can copy it section by section. Leave your email to get it as a Word file and a PDF. In Nusii it’s in the template gallery of every account, ready to send as a link.
How much do marketing agencies charge?
Most charge between $1,000 and $10,000 a month. In SparkToro’s State of Digital Agencies survey, 49% of agencies averaged $1,000 to $5,000 a month per client and 31% averaged $5,000 to $10,000. This template uses $3,000 to start and $3,500 a month for two channels as example prices. Raise them for more channels or a bigger client.
Should I charge a retainer or a one-off fee?
Start with a one-off fee, then offer a retainer. 85% of the agencies in SparkToro’s survey prefer retainers, but in Nusii proposals with a recurring fee were accepted less often (39% against 55% for the same senders, July to September 2026). So the template starts with a fixed first step and gives the client a way out before the monthly fee begins.
Should I charge for the audit?
Yes, if the audit produces something the client can use without you. Here it’s a written 90-day plan they keep either way. It also lets you see their numbers before you name channels, and it shows the client what working with you is like before they commit to a monthly fee.
Who pays for the ads?
Your client, directly to the ad platform, and the proposal should say so. The template keeps ad spend out of your fee, gives an expected monthly figure, and keeps the ad accounts in the client’s name so they keep them if you stop working together.
What’s the difference between a marketing proposal and a marketing plan?
A proposal gets you hired, and a plan says what to do once you are. This template sells the audit that produces the plan, so the detailed plan comes in week 4, paid for, instead of for free in the proposal.
What results should I promise in a marketing proposal?
Promise the work and measure the result, but don’t guarantee sales figures. Set a goal in your client’s numbers, such as qualified leads a month, and report on it every month. Your client’s offer, prices and how fast they answer new leads decide how many of those leads become customers.
How long should a marketing proposal be?
About seven sections. Accepted proposals in Nusii had a median of 7 sections and the rest 9 (1,713 proposals, July to September 2026), and about a third of first views are on a phone. Keep the channel detail for the written plan.
Can I use this template as a freelance marketer?
Yes. Write “I” instead of “we”, describe yourself in the introduction, and set the two channels to what you can deliver on your own. Everything else, from the goals to the way out after the audit, works the same.
Should I offer several packages?
Offer them only if the client asked about choices. In Nusii, proposals where the client could choose between options were accepted less often (40% against 51% for the same senders, July to September 2026). This template has one clear price; add an optional section for an extra the client asked about.
Do I need a contract as well?
Attach your own agreement if you use one. This template covers the scope, the price, who owns what and how to end the work in plain words, and it isn’t legal advice.
Can my client accept and sign the proposal online?
Yes, if you send it as an online proposal. In Nusii, your client opens a link, accepts with one button and signs with their typed name, on any device, and you get an email when they do. The Word file and the PDF need signing the old way.
