7 Major Mistakes to AVOID in Your Digital Marketing Agreement Template
Are you a digital marketer, or do you run a marketing agency? Then, you must avoid these major mistakes in your digital marketing agreement template to prevent losing money, energy, or your entire business.
Being a digital marketer or owning an agency means you can work with clients anywhere in the world, but if you're anything like me, you want to ensure you avoid any mistakes that could harm your marketing business. As a lawyer myself who drafts contracts for digital marketers and agency owners like you, I am giving you all the crucial terms you need in your digital marketing agreement template.
You will learn about the critical mistakes you must avoid in your digital marketing agreement template, regardless of whether you are using a digital marketing contract agreement pdf you found online or a marketing agreement template free of charge from a friend.
After learning all about the major mistakes to avoid in your digital marketing agreement template to prevent losing your money or even your business, focus on creating killer marketing campaigns for your clients!
This post is all about the major crucial mistakes you must avoid in your digital marketing agreement template to protect energy, money or your business.
Crucial Digital Marketing Agreement Template
Tips on how to keep marketing agreement template free from mistakes
Mistake #1: Agreeing on a specific number of deliverables
The biggest and most common mistakes I see in contracts like these are inflexible contract terms for a dynamic environment. The digital marketing landscape is always evolving, and your digital marketing agreement should reflect that.
One of the major mistakes in that category is being bound to a set number of specific deliverables, like a certain number of:
ads on a certain advertising platform, like Instagram ads, TikTok ads, Google Ads, other pay-per-click ads, etc.,
posts or videos for an organic marketing campaign,
blog posts for SEO purposes,
emails or newsletters for an email campaign, or
influencers for influencer sponsorship campaigns.
What numbers work depends on a number of different factors which are everchanging.
You need to have the flexibility to change the number and the dates to optimise your marketing results for your client.
This is NOT social media management. For a social media manager, it makes sense to commit to a certain number of content pieces per week or month. It is a completely different field with a completely different focus (long-term audience engagement).
Therefore, I have a completely different contract template for social media management services. And therefore, you should not use a template that supposedly can be used for both digital marketing and social media management—a major red flag.
Mistake #2: Being bound to your initial marketing strategy
The second mistake in this category is being bound to your initial marketing strategy. As I said, you need to have the flexibility to flow with the ever-evolving digital landscape that you are in.
Your digital marketing agreement template should, therefore, not include terms in your scope that tie you to:
a specific number (as discussed),
a specific audience,
the type of marketing materials and ads you create,
the content or focus of your marketing materials and ads, or
a timeline/deadlines for when marketing materials must be published.
In fact, your digital marketing agreement template should include terms that entitle you to make changes to your marketing strategy whenever you need to.
Mistake #3: Ambiguous scoping terms
Although you want the flexibility you need to change your strategy, you also do not want the scope to be too vague. The major mistake I have seen in almost every digital marketing agreement template is that the scope is left completely blank for you to fill in.
However, you are likely not a lawyer or legal expert on the side if you are a digital marketer. So, of course, it's hard to come up with the right terminology and include all the work that is included in your scope.
This is where the mistakes are made, such as the following common mistakes:
The description of your services is too vague, leaving your client asking you a billion questions and draining your time and energy.
Not all your marketing services are included, like monitoring engagement and conversions, analysing your target audience, etc., and having your client wondering what the client is actually paying for.
The details regarding consultations are not included, like how often you will have consultations with your client and how long those consultations may take at most. That will have you spending a lot more time on consultations with needy clients who have no limits instead of doing the actual work.
Not having the platform AND account of your client specified may have your client thinking that you will also create marketing materials for its other accounts or platforms. This could cause major disputes if you are not on the same page on this point.
Not including what metrics you report on and when you provide reports to your client, leaving your client asking for other metrics and more reports than you thought you signed up for.
Therefore, a proper digital marketing agreement template should include wording for all aspects above to cover all bases. And, there is no question with your clients on what you do and, more importantly, what your boundaries are.
Mistake #4: No list of what's NOT included in your scope
Speaking of boundaries, another mistake I see in almost every digital marketing agreement template (or any other services agreement template, for that matter) is a list of services you do NOT provide to your client.
Although it may be clear to you that:
social media marketing does not mean social media management, your client might not be clear on that aspect.
SEO does not mean doing all the copywriting or completely redesigning your client's website; your client may have something different in mind.
creating marketing materials for ads or organic marketing content does not mean providing branding services, your client might think that's included.
Although you did not agree on those services, your client may assume otherwise, which could cause unnecessary miscommunications and disputes. Therefore, you must be very clear on what is not included in your services.
For more examples of what to put on this list, read this blog post on the 7 Must-Haves for Your Social Media Marketing Contract Template.
Mistake #5: Having clients pay after you deliver your services
Another common mistake I see in any digital marketing agreement template is that it includes payment terms under which the client pays the marketer after the marketer has provided marketing services.
However, especially in this industry, it's more common that some clients may be reluctant to pay you (on time) when, for example, they are not getting the conversions they want or expect. Some clients may not even have the money to pay you, no matter how well they seem to be doing, but they hope that with the sales they make from your marketing efforts, they will make enough to pay you, eventually...
Unfortunately, this is the reality, and you need to protect yourself against clients who won't or actually never could pay you.
Therefore, your digital marketing agreement template should include only advance payment options and no invoicing after you have provided your services.
Mistake #6: Insufficient protection of your creative freedom
Another (hidden) mistake I have seen in any regular digital marketing agreement template is that it does not adequately protect the marketer's creative freedom. I'm talking about your intellectual property rights.
Normally, you would assign intellectual property rights to the marketing materials specifically created for your client, like posts, ads, landing pages, banners, etc., to your client.
However, the intellectual property rights provisions provided in a digital marketing agreement template are often broader. That could mean that all intellectual property rights you use for your client but are not created solely for that client are also transferred to your client. That could mean that:
the rights to the templates you use for all your clients now are owned by that client,
your unique methods and strategies can only be used for that client,
the texts you use can not be used for other clients, and
your client can block you from using your unique styles and designs for other clients.
This is a major mistake you want to avoid because it could kill your business.
Therefore, your digital marketing agreement template should include proper wording, ensuring that only the marketing materials specifically created for your client will be owned by your client, nothing more than that.
Mistake #7: Inadequate protection for clients across the border
Another major mistake I have seen in more than one digital marketing agreement template is inadequate protection for clients in other countries.
We are living in the 21st century. Business is no longer limited to the borders. We get to do business around the globe while sitting in our pajamas behind our computers. Especially in digital marketing, you can work with clients in Paris, London, California, and Vancouver. The possibilities are endless, and it's been this way for quite a while.
However, I have seen that your average digital marketing template has not kept up with the times. They are usually drafted for only one country, usually the US, and do not contain protections for clients across borders.
That means that you could end up in major trouble. Here are the two major issues you could have to deal with:
You could be liable for breaching marketing and advertising laws applicable in your client's country.
You could end up being sued by your client in a court in your client's country.
These issues could end up costing you a lot of money and, ultimately, your business.
Avoid these major issues by ensuring your digital marketing agreement template includes the following:
proper protections against all applicable marketing and advertising laws, and
enforceable provisions on jurisdiction so that you can't get dragged to a court or arbitral tribunal in another country.
By avoiding all the major mistakes listed in this blog post and having the right protections in your digital marketing agreement template, you will have your energy, money, and business protected, so you can focus on creating killer marketing campaigns!
Do you want a digital marketing contract template free of fluff?
Do you want a digital marketing contract template free of fluff? And one that will protect you against all the mistakes discussed in this blog post?
I sell a digital marketing agreement template in my contract shop, including all the protection you need for all your digital marketing campaigns! My digital marketing agreement template is made for both solopreneurs and marketing agencies. This template is fully customisable to your specific digital marketing services, like organic marketing campaigns, paid advertising campaigns, SEO, landing pages, influencer marketing, etc.
So, if you are still looking for a comprehensive digital marketing contract template to avoid some of the common mistakes other marketers make, you need to get my template on this page of my contract shop!
Using a free digital marketing contract agreement pdf from a friend?
Maybe you just started your business in digital marketing, and you do not have the budget to purchase a digital marketing agreement template. So, you are using a digital marketing contract agreement pdf from a friend.
In that case, you can use this blog post as a checklist to ensure your digital marketing agreement template includes all the protections you need to avoid at least some of the major mistakes digital marketers make!
This post was all about the major mistakes every digital marketer and agency must avoid in a digital marketing agreement template to avoid losing money or the entire business.
Are you a social media marketer? Want to learn not only what to do but the important terms you must have in a simple social media contract template? Read this blog post on the 7 Must-Haves for Your Social Media Marketing Contract Template.
You can find my digital marketing agreement template on this page of my contract shop!
