Marketing Costs for small businesses and non-profits who want to outsource

One of the first questions a potential client asks us is, “How much will our marketing costs be if we work together?” This is because spending conservatively is more important than ever for small businesses and non-profits. 

We know this well, as we’re not only a small business, but we’ve also been supporting mom & pop brands in outdoor recreation, travel, and action sports for over 20 years.  Tight budgets, limited staff, rising costs, and competing priorities can make it difficult to spend on things like marketing and advertising, especially when you are just trying to stay afloat!

Marketing can often feel like both a necessity and a luxury.  You want to be smart, cost-effective, and gain expert support without the overhead of a full-time employee.  But how much should you spend, who should you hire, and what are the trade-offs?  Let’s dive in!

In this blog, we’ll cover the following:

• Benefits to Outsourcing Your Marketing
• How To Determine Your Marketing Costs
• Who Could You Hire and What Should You Expect to Pay
• What Services are Included in Your Marketing Costs

benefits to outsourcing your marketing 

When you outsource, you’re hiring external professionals, freelancers, or an agency to handle some or all of your marketing needs. This frees up your time to work on other projects.  Marketing tasks an agency or freelancer can handle include:

• E-Commerce management
• Content creation, videos, graphics
• Paid advertising
• Email marketing
• SEO and search engine marketing (SEM)

For small businesses and non-profit organizations, outsourcing some of your marketing needs provides flexibility and access to specialized skills without the commitment of a full-time salary or benefits.  Before we move on, if you’re curious about working with a small agency like ours, take a peek at our marketing services and pricing!

How to determine your marketing costs

In order to figure out what your marketing costs might be, whether you are a bike shop or a tour operator, start by deciding which marketing tasks you can continue doing easily and which ones you need to offload.

Taking a look at the marketing services listed above, which are you most comfortable continuing to manage?  Which ones do you need help with?  If you’re a one-man or one-woman show, it’s critical to be honest with yourself about the amount of time you can dedicate to marketing.  Here are a few questions to ask yourself:

• Are tasks like daily social media management or sending weekly email newsletters something you enjoy?
• Do you have the time to manage these tasks?
• Should you be spending your time elsewhere where it is of more value to your business?

For example, if you are an executive director at a non-profit organization, you should not split your time between managing fundraising and marketing tasks.  Instead, you should be out having meetings with big donors, making phone calls, and pitching corporate partners to bring in high-dollar gifts!

Who Could you hire and what should you expect to pay?

There are four main options for small businesses and non-profit organizations who want to outsource some or all of their marketing:

1. Connect with a Freelance Marketing Specialist
2. Hire a Digital Marketing Manager (full-time or part-time)
3. Hire a Marketing Agency
4. Work with a CMO or Marketing Consultant

We’ll review each below.

1. Connect with a freelance marketing specialist

 A freelance marketing specialist is Ideal for individual tasks like blog writing, social media management, or graphic design.  Expect to spend $700 – $1,500 a month for a good freelance marketing specialist.  Sites like Fiverr, Freelancer, or Upwork can help you find freelancers in your price range.

Best for: One-off projects or small ongoing needs
Pros: Affordable, flexible, specialized
Cons: May lack strategic guidance or availability for fast turnarounds. May need to share your logins and passwords with a complete stranger.

2. Hiring a Digital Marketing Manager

As a small business or a non-profit, you may be ready for a full-time or part-time digital marketing manager.  As long as you can provide the overall marketing strategy and structure, your digital marketing manager can handle things like social media management, copywriting, email marketing, and website updates.  Marketing costs for a full-time digital marketing manager range between $55,000 to $85,000 a year here in San Diego, California.

Best for: Regular, ongoing support
Pros: Can work independently on projects once given direction
Cons: Expensive and will require standard employee benefits and compensation

3. Hire a Marketing Agency

What about hiring a marketing agency?  The benefits include a better ‘package deal’ where you can add on more services, you’ll have more resources at your disposal, and more experience in tough areas like SEO.

However, hiring an agency to manage your marketing costs between $850-$4,500 a month, which might be steep for a small business or non-profit.  Of course, these costs can be as high a $20K or more, depending on your goals and your budget!

Best for: Regular, ongoing support
Pros: Can offer a package deal, provide access to resources, and has more experience
Cons: May require a larger upfront investment or a long-term contract

As an example, at Top Rope Media, we work with many small businesses and non-profits on a monthly retainer to help them manage their marketing needs, such as SEO, email marketing, and paid advertising. 

We allow for flexibility in the marketing services we provide each month; you’ll never pay for something you don’t need, and we do not require a long-term contract.  Read more about our marketing services and get a range of pricing here!

4. Work with a CMO or marketing consultant

Thinking a CMO (Chief Marketing Officer) or marketing consultant might be better suited to help your small outdoor brand or non-profit grow its wings?  A Marketing Consultant or CMO, whether part-time (often called a fractional CMO) or full-time, can build you a comprehensive marketing strategy, define your KPIs, and lead your outsourced team.  This is the perfect choice if you do not know where to start.  However, their services do not come cheap. Expect to pay between $150-500/hr for a marketing consultant.     

Best for: High-level support and startups
Pros: Great for audits or company restructuring
Cons: Will not execute and dig into the details, expensive, and not invested in your business long-term

So, while the short answer to “What will our marketing costs be?” is ‘it depends’, these key choices above will help you narrow things down. Below, we’ll address a few other areas you’ll want to think about when you search for marketing help. 

What services are included in your marketing costs 

As a small business owner, when you search for a service you need, you want to know early on how much it will cost.  However, when you start your search for marketing help, you may feel like you have reached a ‘gatekeeper’.  They will not give you the pricing details, but are more than happy to set up a sales call.  Grrr…this can feel incredibly frustrating.

If you’re wondering why there’s such secrecy in marketing costs, this is because an agency may not want its competition to know its pricing.  Or, they may feel like they could be leaving money on the table if they provide you with upfront pricing.  As we loathe those sales calls as much as you do, we’ve created a Services & Pricing page to give our customers a better idea of their marketing costs if they decide to work with Top Rope Media.

To further complicate marketing costs, several services fall under the marketing umbrella.  Prices will range greatly depending on the services you need.

First, let’s talk about what should be included in your pricing.  Your typical marketing manager, freelancer, or marketing agency should be expected to perform the following tasks:

• Social Media Management
• Content Production and Blog Writing
• Email Marketing
• Search Engine Marketing (SEM), Paid Social, and Google Advertising

A big plus if they also have experience in the following areas:

• Search Engine Optimization (SEO)
• Graphic Design
• Photography + Videography
• Web Development
• Public Relations

Look for a marketing partner that is well-versed in the marketing tools you need, whether that’s Instagram advertising, SEO, or email marketing.

final thoughts on marketing costs for small businesses and non-profits

Now that you have a better idea of what your marketing costs might be if you outsource and what they include, you are ready to take the next step!  Remember to ask lots of questions.  Become familiar with the current marketing trends and platforms before you bring someone in to manage them for you.

If you’ve got a question, drop us a line and let’s navigate the marketing wilderness together!  Lastly, if you’re seeking more tips on do-it-yourself digital marketing, check out these posts:

• Best Email Marketing: Improve Clicks and Open Rates 
• How to Use Your Website to Generate Better Leads
• 8 Steps to Kickstart Your Online Advertising with Facebook and Instagram

Until next time, happy marketing friends!

Meredith, Top Rope Media

How A Learning Management System can help your outdoor, Fitness or lifestyle brand

Want to learn how to use an e-learning platform, aka a learning management system, to enhance your customer’s experience and nurture brand ambassadors? Well with the holidays coming, and concerns still looming about the pandemic, you can bet many shoppers will be spending their time online.

So, in preparation for this, we’ve helped a few of our clients deliver content like videos and education courses in a fun and memorable way, and for viewing in the comfort of their own homes!

In addition, there are now many affordable and easy-to-use learning management systems that can help you not only educate consumers, but also open up new revenue streams for your business.

What is a learning management system or LMS?

First, LMS is an acronym for Learning Management System, but you may have heard this called online education, e-learning, virtual classroom, etc. This system, or software application, allows you to manage and deliver e-learning content like videos, courses and quizzes.

In addition, an LMS will usually include in its functionality:

• e-commerce capabilities to allow for purchasing of courses/memberships
• track student registration and course progression
• ability to message course registrants to share assignments and feedback
• 3rd party tools to extend the LMS’s capability

Before we dive in, if you have a question that can’t wait, let’s chat.

AN Example of an LMS used in the Outdoor Industry

A great example of an LMS begin used in the outdoor industry to create more knowledgeable brand ambassadors? Expert Voice.

How does it work? First, dozens of outdoor and lifestyle brands like Black Diamond, Camp Chef, or DaKine provide content in the form of videos, text, and imagery. Second, they’ll provide multiple choice questions to test the knowledge of someone that has read through the content or watched the videos.

Next, the content is organized within Expert Voice’s LMS, and once the customer passes all the quizzes, they ‘unlock’ a greater discount on their favorite brands.

Expert Voice is currently available to outdoor industry professionals such as mountain guides, retail shop employees, ski resort personnel, and brand ambassadors. And, below is an example of how Mammut is using Expert Voice to create, well, experts.

Who should be using a learning management system or LMS?

You might be surprised at the types of outdoor, lifestyle, health and wellness brands that can benefit from an LMS. Therefore, don’t eliminate a learning management system as a digital marketing strategy without doing your research.

Think creatively about the services you offer. Could all or part of those services be delivered on-line? If the answer is yes, an online learning tool might be right for you.

We’ve also seen the trend to build online courses, and e-learning resources grow as COVID-19 safety concerns have impacted small businesses.

So, if you are delivering education-based content or want to grow a brand ambassador program, you can benefit from using an LMS.

Case Studies of Outdoors, Health and Wellness Brands that Use an LMS

What benefits does an LMS provide for a small business?

Major benefits to using a learning management system

Monetization

Most LMS platforms have user registration and payment functionality built into them. Therefore, as soon as your course or program is ready to go live, you can start registering students and monetizing your services.

As an example, one of our clients, the American Avalanche Institute (AAI), uses an LMS to provide avalanche education at a rate that’s very cost-effective for the average skier or snowboarder. $30 compared to an in-person course, which starts at almost $400. It certainly does not replace the fieldwork you would do in-person, however, it gives AAI customers a great introduction to snow safety.

In addition, the LMS provides the American Avalanche Institute with potential new customers that may pay for a more extensive course in the future.

Scalability

If the program you want to create is 100% online, you can scale it quickly. And, without much additional effort. Even if your business model requires some hybrid of online and in-person interaction.

Therefore, hosting your services in an e-learning environment allows you to be more efficient. In addition, you decrease the need for 1:1 interaction with your frontline staff.

Customer & Client Engagement

First, if you use a webpage(s) to deliver your educational content, here’s one of the first challenges you’ll run into: Content organization and flow.

LMS platforms were built with these challenges in mind. Therefore, e-learning software platforms do an excellent job of providing a framework for you to organize your content and create a great user experience.

Second, an online learning application provides the opportunity to create and manage virtual events. So if you have thoughts of teaching a virtual fitness class, or hosting an online product demo, using an LMS is beneficial. Here’s more ideas for what kinds of virtual events you can host through a learning management system.

Third, we love using learning management systems to create more engaged and knowledgeable brand ambassadors. Read more about our work building brand ambassador programs for athletes and outdoor brands.

LMS Pricing and time commitment

Learning Management System Platform fees & setup

Costs for a new LMS can vary from a few hundred dollars to a few thousand of dollars. This would increase significantly for a fully custom LMS solution.

However, costs to purchase and build out an e-learning tool have come down a lot over the last few years. And, there are many feature-rich affordable options for the small business owner to choose from.

We recently used the LearnDash WordPress plugin to build engaging learning environments for Catalyst PT & Wellness. Why? It is a fraction of the cost of most other tools. In addition, LearnDash is used by some big names in Higher Education and corporate America. This provides a huge degree of confidence for our clients.

Regardless of what e-learning technology tools you choose, there will be development and integration requirements. Let’s hop on a call with you and/or your website manager before you decide on which LMS platform to use.

Content Production

Content production will be where you will spend the most time and energy as you start to build out courses. Even if you already have a ton of great content about your latest snowboard design or mountain bike glove, it will still need to be organized into a comprehensible structure for your users.

As an example, if you want to use an LMS to teach a class on how to take better photos or videos using a smart phone, you’ll need to create a content library with step-by-step images or videos that relate, and write out the copy and quiz questions to progress the user through your course.

Either way, you should have a very clear outline of what kind of experience you want to create and the expected outcome.

Marketing and Promotion

Once you have all the pieces in place, you’ll want to share the course offering with your current and potential customers. So you’ll need a distribution plan to launch across all of your channels: email, Facebook, YouTube, Instagram, website, industry publications, in-store, events, etc.

Be sure to set aside some time, and budget, to create a marketing plan to promote this new online offering.

Next up, what pitfalls and roadblocks you should watch out for. However, if you have more questions about content production and distribution, check out our digital marketing services and let’s chart a course together!

What are the LMS roadblocks and pitfalls to watch out for?

Be Realistic with your Content Production Needs

Similar to home renovations, take a conservative estimate of the time and effort needed for content production. Then, add an additional 20%! Creating great content will require you, someone on your team, or your brand ambassadors to write copy, shoot photo or videos, and then design each step in the course.

We can’t stress enough how important it is to dedicate a few hours each week to content production. You and your brand ambassadors should be doing this already to help you generate better leads on your website. But, if not, here’s a step-by-step guide we wrote to help you generate good content for your website, and in this case your LMS!

Still, no matter how well you plan, things will come up. So, expect it to happen. Just like when the contractor says he’ll be done in 2 weeks. You know it’s gonna be more like 4. Be prepared. Experience has taught us a lot about content development. So, if you’ve never done this before, this is where we’d recommend hiring a content writer.

Don’t Let Perfection Be the Enemy of the Good

You’ve created an online course. Developed the content. And, you are almost ready to go. But, you can’t seem to launch. Why? Because every time you present your new e-learning course someone, they have just…one…more..change. Sound familiar?

We see this type of launch paralysis. A lot. And, with all kinds of projects: websites, e-commerce platforms, blog posts, video editing, presentation decks, even social media posts!

Here is one way to get around your stagnation and push your online program live. Once you have your content produced, have a beta testing phase built into your launch plan. Beta testing is a big deal for feedback, but it also allows stakeholders or your boss to get used to real people interacting with your business in this new online environment.

After beta testers, create a list of those who will help you promote the new program- your champions. Offer them VIP access. Provide a big discount (40-70%) in exchange for them going through the course. Ask them to provide feedback. In addition, ask them to share the program with their network. On social media. Or, through a review or testimonial. Be specific in what you expect for the discounted VIP rate, but make sure they are getting value.

Once you’ve completed both steps, this will usually help everyone get comfortable with the idea of “launching” to a wider audience.

Define a clear strategy and value proposition

You have to deliver value to your mountain biker, rock climber or skier. If not, your course, and your brand ambassador program, won’t go anywhere. Therefore, ensure you define, very clearly, what you are providing for your customers and brand ambassadors as soon as possible in this process.

As an example, the American Avalanche Institute moved most of their in-class training to an online environment due to concerns about COVID-19. They will still provide field sessions for their students. However, they can now provide the classroom portion in easily digestible online segments.

In addition, with sales of backcountry touring equipment up over 300%, we’re predicting a big season for beginner backcountry travelers. Therefore, AAI’s entry level course, Avalanche Fundamentals, is now completely online, and for just $30 bucks!

So, AAI is addressing concerns about classroom safety well before the start of their season. And, increasing students’ level of comfort. That is valuable.

The result? The kick-off of their 20/21 season was by far their busiest to date! Several courses were sold-out weeks after releasing the course schedule!

Final thoughts

We believe in the power of learning management tools to help small businesses like gyms, outdoor equipment, and apparel companies expand their offerings, educate their brand ambassadors, and better connect with their consumers. And, create new revenue streams!

Taking the steps to produce online courses and programs is a big investment. Therefore, building out an LMS shouldn’t be done without a clear strategy.

That said, if you’ve done the research, and feel like an LMS might be something that is right for your business, please reach out.

Let’s map out your e-learning strategy together!