What is a Digital Marketing Proposal?
A digital marketing proposal is a document created to engage and persuade a client looking for strategic digital marketing services. A good digital marketing proposal includes a concise summary of the problem statement, digital marketing plan, pricing, and project timeline.
Simply put, digital marketing proposals should show that your plan of action and expertise align with clients’ goals. It’s your opportunity to create a unique value proposition, alleviate clients’ pain points, and instill trust in a potential partnership.
Creating a proposal that is too long, confusing, or detailed can result in a negative decision. That’s why it’s important to know what to include when looking to write a digital marketing proposal.
What to include in a digital marketing proposal sample?
Including the right sections in a proposal is key to seizing the opportunity in front of you. Remember to portray the value of money for your digital marketing services and a problem-solving mindset. Consider including these pointers to make your digital marketing proposal stand out:
Cover page
First impressions are often the most lasting—so is the cover page of your proposal. Create an aesthetically pleasing cover page to pique the client’s interest and encourage them to dive deeper into your offerings. Aim to create a lasting impression by adding these elements:
- An intriguing title
- Contextual information
- Acknowledge any special requests made by the client
Executive summary
An executive summary is an overview of what’s in the proposal. Think of it as an elevator pitch that covers the essence of the proposal without the fine details. Consider highlighting important sections that the clients need to know so they can easily get to what they’re looking for.
Company overview
Next is the company overview section where you can outline the team structure, services, location served, and clientele. Digital marketers should use this section to educate potential clients about:
- Digital marketing services: such as SEO services, for generating leads, gaining visibility, and improving marketing ROI
- Strengths: that allow your team to harness digital disruption and create innovative processes
- Track record: of successfully working with prestigious clients across industries
- Target market: that you specialize in serving, and how that helps with this project
Team members
This is a great value add, especially when you work with a team of digital marketers or as a digital marketing agency. There is no fixed length for it but here’s an idea of what to include:
- Names and headshots: of the digital marketing experts who work alongside you
- Team roles: so that clients know who they’ll be working with at different stages of the project
- Biography: focusing on individual history, skills, and experience
- Social media handles: so that your team get potential followers
If you work alone as a digital marketing expert, this is an opportunity to let your unique approach to providing digital marketing services shine through.
Portfolio
Creating a digital marketing portfolio can be intimidating, but knowing what to include makes things a little easier. It’s super easy to make a fabulous portfolio when you know the secret ingredients. Aim to keep both design and messaging clear and simple, with an aesthetic layout that lets the digital marketing project speak for itself.
Use this section to mention the expertise, clientele, and incredible digital marketing results you’ve delivered during past projects. Here’s more on what you can add:
- Previous experience: of working for other clients in similar industries
- Projects: that showcase your digital marketing expertise
- Testimonials: to backup everything you’ve been saying
- Case studies: that serve as a testament to your skills and highlight the KPIs that your work helped hit
Digital marketing challenges, goals, and strategies
This is the section where you dive deeper into the challenges and goals of the project, and the strategies you will use in response. Think of this as an opportunity to impress clients with your understanding of their problems, and convince them with your strategies to solve them.
This section will vary depending on the clients’ needs. Consider asking questions during the discovery call so that you don’t miss mentioning anything here. Here are a couple of great question ideas, for example:
- Revenue goals: for this quarter or year, and how they’re expecting their digital marketing efforts to support this
- Metrics: that will measure digital marketing efforts and the impact it creates
- Resources: that the client currently has available to them, such as software or spokespeople
- Challenges: that have prevented the client from achieving digital marketing goals in the past
- Priorities: that need to be considered alongside the digital marketing goals
- Revision of timeline: details on timeline flexibility when digital marketing goals are difficult to accomplish within the proposed timeline
Using this information, you’ll then want to outline how you intend to meet their goals with your digital marketing project.
Project scope
This section provides information on how you plan to meet their project expectations and create an impactful digital marketing campaign. Use this space to outline project aspects, including related activities, timeline, and deliverables. Here are some ideas on what to add:
- Requirements: that the client has specified beforehand
- Work breakdown structure: for breaking down the entire project into manageable tasks
- Exclusions: that define project boundaries and avoid scope creep
- Constraints: for specifying challenges that you foresee and how they’ll be dealt with
Fees, finances, pricing, and terms
This is where you mention the proposed fees for the project. Digital marketing freelancers can either go for an hourly rate or fixed service-based fees. It’s a good idea to talk to clients beforehand so that you know their preferences.
Also consider how you prefer to be paid, and whether you think this project is more suitable compensated by the hour or by a fixed fee. Consider the requirements and discuss options with the client—this isn’t set in stone but it’s good to set realistic expectations for both sides.
You can also use this section to outline the billing schedule, the preferred mode of payment, and payment terms.
How to Draft a Proposal for Digital Marketing
Creating a plan of action based on clients’ needs is key to landing freelance digital marketing gigs. Knowing what to include is great but you also need to know how to put it all together.
Find out exactly what the client wants
Converting potential leads into paying customers becomes easier when you know what they’re looking for. That’s why it’s super important to get on a discovery call at the beginning of a proposal and project and understand their pain points in detail. It’s best to start by understanding:
- Digital marketing goals: that they want to achieve with this project
- Timeline: to specify how much time you have to accomplish these goals
- Tools: that the client has access to and wants you to be comfortable with
- Budget: that prospective clients are able to allocate to digital marketing services
- Metrics: that will be used to measure ROI for digital marketing efforts
Questions and queries to ask the client
During a one-on-one or virtual meeting with clients, consider asking the potential client about their current situation and expectations. Here are some questions to help guide you:
- What results do clients expect to see over time?
- Do clients have a digital marketing strategy in place already? How is it performing?
- What’s the visitor-to-lead conversion rate?
- Have they conducted data surveys for customer insights?
- Do they have case studies for understanding ideal buyer personas?
Highlight what sets you apart
Digital marketing helps clients increase website traffic, acquire leads, and improve sales. That’s why clients want experienced digital marketers who can deliver results.
Use this section to mention how your experience and skills make you a perfect fit for this project. Don’t forget to include what you’re good at and how you can create the impact they’re looking for.
Include a CTA
This section is all about the most logical next step. Whether you want clients to sign the proposal or get on an exploratory call—mention it clearly. This will help them to understand what’s next and how to move things forward.
Creating a Digital Marketing Proposal Template is Simple with Bonsai
Creating a winning digital marketing proposal becomes a whole lot easier when you have ready-to-use and customizable templates. Whether you are in a rush to send a proposal or don’t have the time to create one from scratch, Bonsai’s here to help. Here’s how to get started:
- Sign up for free to Bonsai
- Select a suitable digital marketing proposal template
- Edit and customize your proposal
Then, you can send proposals to new clients for acceptance and get them signed without ever leaving the Bonsai platform.
Digital Marketing Proposal FAQs
What are some examples of digital marketing?
Some examples of digital marketing are:
- Content marketing
- Email marketing
- Social media marketing (SMM)
- Search engine marketing (SEM)
- Digital advertising
- Affiliate marketing
- Pay per click advertising (PPC)
Is digital marketing well paid?
Yes, digital marketing is well paid. The demand for experienced digital marketing professionals is quite high compared to the number of experienced marketers available.
A freelance digital marketer can earn up to $50,000 per year while a full-time specialist makes $86,000.
