A marketing proposal is a written document used by marketers to communicate a project to a client for consideration, which can include strategy ideas, delivery time frames and estimated costs, before finalizing the terms and signing a contract for approval. A proposal is designed to satisfy a client’s business goals, intended to persuade a prospect to become a customer and can be specific to a type of marketing, such as a social media marketing proposal.

How to Create a Marketing Proposal

Research the client

You may have written audience personas already on hand that can help you shape the tone, language, plan or other components of the proposal. If not, perform research on the client’s target audience, industry, products/services, past/current financials, keywords or topics and other relevant details.

Ask about client pain points to better address them. You can get an idea of the client’s pain points with questions like:

  • What are their challenges?
  • Do they have the resources to solve them?
  • Can they solve them in their desired time frame?
  • Can they measure their success using metrics?

Knowing their main pain points gives you a better understanding of how to market your products or services as the best solution for their problems. Ask yourself how your experience, expertise or background can meet these challenges.

List a Scope of Work

Like any reputable contractor, include a Scope of Work section in the marketing proposal that details your services and how you plan to provide them. The proposal should fulfill demands for marketing tasks that clients do not have the time or resources required for business growth or to meet other goals. For a social media marketing proposal, a Scope of Work may include making a social media content calendar, uploading or automating posts and analyzing social metrics.

Provide estimated time frames for deliverables

Projected times for deliverables are big factors in whether prospective clients decide to move forward with the contract process. Include estimated time frames for deliverables like social media planning template, graphics and other pieces of content based on your resources, tools and time management.

Include costs and terms

Another crucial factor in accepting a proposal is the estimated costs for the project and the potential terms of agreement.

Costs or terms you may want to include:

  • Pay rate (by word, week, etc.) or pricing strategy (flat or hourly rate)
  • Payment requirements (deposit required before project start, full payment due upon completion, etc)
  • Work location (on-site or remote)
  • Any guarantees you may have
  • Situations that warrant the termination of a contract

Show how you plan to measure results

Marketers have a variety of metrics to measure the results of their proposed work, including organic or paid traffic, social media engagement and conversions.

Pros of a Marketing Proposal

  • Establish a foundation of trust. Position yourself as an expert or authoritative figure in your proposal to gain trust early in your client-marketer relationship.
  • Make yourself stand out from competitors. The proposal details what is unique about your business that makes clients hire you instead of a competitor.
  • Communicate your products and services clearly. Your Scope of Work serves as an advertising platform to showcase everything you can do and provide for potential clients and any referrals who come your way.