7 Steps on How to Start a Content Creation Agency in 2025

Are you struggling to start your content creation agency from scratch? It can be overwhelming, but we're here to help. 

You've been freelancing for what—3, 5, 10+ years? And you have more work than you can handle. You've gained valuable experience and have pivoted from different niches to one you're most comfortable with. 

Now that your clients love your process, you need to expand your team to hire creators who can provide the same type of content. 

In this article, I'll explain how you can start your agency in 7 steps, and what you need to run one. I'll also explore how you can use our all-in-one client portal to oversee your content creation processes.

What is a Content Creation Agency?

A content creation agency produces written and visual content for businesses. This could be blog posts, landing pages, product videos, social media content, or even podcasts, depending on your area of expertise.  

These agencies help businesses create content that meets their target audience and achieves business goals. They also help companies scale their content needs, especially if they can't afford to hire full-time creators (writers, videographers, photographers, etc.) in-house. 

How to Start a Content Creation Agency?

Here's everything you need to do to start a content creation agency: 

Step 1: Define Your Agency's Niche and Value Proposition

Niched agencies are considered experts in their field. 

They have a reputation for doing one thing well, and businesses looking for that service will trust the agency to deliver quality results. This is why you should also pick a niche you feel strongly about. 

Niching gives you;

• Deep expertise in your industry. Clients are more likely to work with you if they see that you have a deep knowledge of their industry and can create content relevant to their target market.  
• Industry-specific referrals. Clients within an industry know each other and can potentially refer you to others who need your services. Especially if they're not direct competitors. 
• More profits. You can charge more for your services because you understand the industry better. This makes you more valuable to clients who need content creators with experience in their niche— and don't mind paying for the skill. 

Here's how to niche:

1. Assess Yourself 

Niched industries usually require a deep focus, so it's important to choose one that genuinely interests you. 

During your assessment, prioritize your interests and strengths. Consider going for niches that you love working in. For instance, if you like the intricacies of B2B Tech, you could venture into B2B SaaS. However, you must consider how good you are at it—satisfying your clients is an even bigger priority. 

For Araminta Robertson, founder and manager of Mint Studio, she offers content marketing services to financial technology companies ONLY. And when asked why, the marketer who started her career as a blogger wanted to learn how to manage her money. 

She read a lot of books and materials, and fell in love with the impact financial services have on helping people save money. She ended up working for fintech companies before she started her agency.  

We're not saying your story has to be like hers, but if you find something you're extremely curious about, it could be a niche you want to primarily focus on. 

2. Know Your Target Audience

Consider the type of clients you want to serve. One way to do this is to look back at your previous projects. 

If you enjoyed working on video ads for a client in the retail space, you may focus on the video production niche for retail businesses. 

You can also carry out market research on the niches that pay the most. For instance, this report shows that digital marketers and SEO specialists in the freelance sector earned about $52,000 in 2023. 

If you’ve chosen a niche, you may need to validate it to know if you made the right choice. To do that, you should:

• Use tools like Google Trends to see how often people are searching for services related to that niche. This shows you if there’s a growing demand for them. 
• Check your competitors. Look at the services they offer and the type of clients they attract. For instance, if you find that your competitors are ranking well but don’t offer specialized video services for retail businesses, you can fill that gap.
• Test your services with a small group of clients. You can do some discounted work for a few clients to see if your services really make an impact. 

Another way is to consider the services you've offered to previous clients. Araminta mentioned that her agency started offering pay-per-click advertising services because her clients asked for them. 

Check your past clients and see what they asked for the most— you can integrate the service into your overall agency offering. 

3. Examine Your Customer Base

Take a closer look at the clients you've worked with in the past. Select the ones who have brought in the most revenue for you; it may be a retainer client who pays well. 

High-paying clients are a good indicator of the type of projects and industries you should focus on. This is especially important if you have experience across multiple niches and want to cover two or three niches at the same time. For context, this could be the retail, logistics, and construction industries.

4. Assess Your Market

If you choose a saturated niche, you’ll face many competitors offering similar services. Since you're just starting out, it may be difficult to compete against agencies with experience and an established client base. 

For instance, if you're niching in SEO content writing for B2B marketing tech companies, you’ll find that many agencies are already established in this space. 

Look at things like their pricing models and client testimonials to see how long they've been in the market—it shows you what you're up against.

If most of these agencies offer general SEO writing, you can create a niche within this space that focuses on subject-matter-expert & interview-driven content, as Beam content does, for instance. 

The trick is to offer value that clients need but won't often find in the overcrowded space. 

To do that, create a unique selling proposition (USP) that can set you apart from other agencies. It could be how you approach content creation, a proprietary tool you have, or a specific service you offer. For instance, HigherVisibility, a US-based content marketing agency, has free SEO tools, which sets it apart from other competitors. 

Your USP should clearly communicate the benefits your clients will get compared to other agencies. 

Here's an example of a value proposition from Spotify for Podcasters

Spotify for Podcasters defines what they offer and how it benefits their users clearly here: 

One tip is to ask yourself why customers should choose you over others. Your answer is your value proposition. 

Step 2: Set Up Your Agency's Business Structure

Your business structure affects your agency's operations, taxes, and liability protection. 

The structure you choose determines your business's legal and financial responsibilities. It also influences how you manage internal operations and growth in your agency. 

There are several types of business structures, with their advantages and drawbacks. 

Here are some: 

• Sole Proprietorship

This is the simplest business structure. It's best suited for a one-person content agency that's just starting out and handles small projects. However, it comes with many liability risks. 

One of these risks is that the business isn't a separate legal entity from you, so any debt or legal issues the agency faces will also affect your assets.

• A general partnership 

This is similar to a sole proprietorship, but it requires two or more people to share ownership, liabilities, and responsibilities. 

The downside is that just like the sole proprietorship, you and your partner(s) are also liable for the business’s debts. If your partner is sued or incurs debt, you will be responsible for covering the liabilities. 

• Limited Liability Company (LLC)

This is the third and the most advisable business structure you should consider. LLC has a hybrid structure. 

This means that you and the business are separate entities. You have no personal responsibility if your business incurs debt.

Your business is solely responsible. 

If you're a single owner, you can also consider registering as an S—corporation. This treats you as an employee of your company, not an owner, which is great for bypassing some self-employment taxes that can hurt your income.

Step 3: Develop Your Service Offerings and Pricing Structure 

Depending on your niche, you could offer several offerings. There's 

• Content writing, where you provide blog posts, articles, eBooks, website copy, and dedicated bottom-of-the-funnel type of content that shows you actually understand the client's products or services like Grow and Convert does. 
• Visual content, such as graphics design for infographics, and social media content, like carousel posts on LinkedIn. 
• SEO keyword research and content strategy, including keyword optimization and link-building/PR. 
• Social media management—  content planning, posting, and creating strategies for engagement. 
• Email marketing— newsletter and promotional emails. 

As for pricing structure, there isn't a one-size-fits-all approach. This is why many agencies keep their prices private. 

Animalz, for example, follows a model that encourages potential clients to reach out for personalized quotes.

The agency then sends you a personalized quote on how much an article on their website could cost a potential client. 

If the client is satisfied with the price range, Animalz prompts them to book a 30-minute call.

Depending on your service offerings and how you want to engage your clients, you can follow several pricing models. 

There are two common pricing rates: 

• Hourly rate: Here, you charge based on the number of hours you worked. It's flexible and allows you to charge for the actual time you've invested in the project. 

If you're charging an hourly rate, it's important to maintain transparency with your clients. 

One way to do that is to update your clients on the number of hours you've spent on the project. 

ManyRequests has a time-tracking tool to document the time you spend working on a task.

There are two ways to track your time with ManyRequests. 

You can use the Actual Time Tracking option by pressing the tracking button to start the time tracker when you’re working.

It will confirm that your time tracking has started. The time will also appear at the top of your page. 

You can also use the Manual Time Tracking. Here, you manually input the time into the Timesheet. 

Read more on how to track your billable hours here. 

• Per-Project Pricing

Most agencies prefer pricing per project. 

This allows you to charge for the project's outcome instead of the hours you spend working on it— you set a fixed price for delivering the final product.

The main challenge with this method is making sure you and your client agree on the project’s details before you start. If you underestimate how much work you need to fix, it might end up costing more than you charged. 

To avoid this, outline the scope of the project, agree on the number of revisions you’ll allow, and notify the client that any extra changes after a certain point will be an add-on service and will cost more. 

You can use ManyRequests's add-on service to bill clients for extra services you offer. 

To do that, Go to the Services, then Add-on feature, and Create Add-on: 

In his article about pricing, Devlin Peck says, “you may be skeptical about quoting big numbers, but if you quote too low, you risk sending some worrying messages about the quality of your work—worse, you regret taking the job down the line.”

One way to create a new pricing structure is to compare your past pricing list. 

• How much you charged clients for similar projects as a freelancer.
• How much you should charge now as an agency with more value to offer. 

Also, compare industry reports to see how much freelancers charge and how you can improve your pricing. For instance, the Peak Freelance report shows that most freelancers charge between $250 and $399 for a bylined blog post. But this is on the average. 

Some people charge as much as $999, even $1,500 as you can see in the image below. Compare the value you'll offer (and factor in your experience, expertise, cost of hiring creators, etc.) before setting a price on your services. . 

Once you decide on your pricing and service offerings, you can create a service catalog with ManyRequests. 

Once you set one up, ManyRequests provides a link to your service catalog. You can add this link to your website home page or social media platforms  to direct potential clients to your service offerings and the prices for them. 

Step 4: Build Your Content Creation Team

Some marketers believe that a content team should have about ten people, while others say five creators is enough. The number of professionals on your team depends on your needs. For instance, you may need to hire more creators if you are offering video and written content services. 

To set up your content creation team, you need: 

Writers. They will create written content to meet your clients’ content needs. Hire writers with strong research skills and enough creativity to make boring articles as engaging as possible.

• Content strategists: plans and aligns content with business goals. 
• Content marketing managers: directly oversee the kind of content published on a client's website and ensure it helps the client achieve their marketing needs. They also create content calendars and other phases of the content marketing cycle. 
• Editors. They edit drafts, send feedback, and maintain consistency in the client's tone and style. 
• Graphics designers provide visual elements that enhance the content you produce. 
• A social media manager who can manage distribution and engagement on social media platforms.

Now, there's no right way to build a content team. 

One tip is to assess the skill sets you already have on board, even if it's just you. Check if you are a good writer who needs help with content strategy or an SEO strategist who needs help with content creation. 

Assessing shows you your strengths and what skill set you need in the agency as you're getting started. 

If you have a list of candidates to hire, you’ll also need to consider the hiring structure—are they full-time employees or freelancers? 

This should give you a clear picture of the roles you need to hire people for and what kind of professionals you're looking for. 

📌 PRO TIP: You can start with a lean team. Don't feel pressured to hire a large team immediately. Many successful content agencies began with one or two core team members and focused on the essential roles first, such as strategy. 

Benji and Devesh from Grow&Convert, for example, started as a two-person team in 2015 and are now a respected content marketing agency in the industry. 

As time goes on, you’ll take on more clients, and then you can gradually scale your agency by bringing in more talent to complement your existing skill set. 

Step 5: Establish Your Agency's Workflow and Processes 

In an agency, a single piece of content passes through many desks. A typical task goes through the content marketing manager, writer, strategist, and editor(s), before it reaches the client. 

Without a process, a client's deliverable  can get mixed up. 

Having a content process, from creating a content strategy to writing, optimizing for SEO and  final submission ensures:

• you finish these tasks without confusion. 
• your clients understand every stage. 

Here's an example from Beam Content. 

Beam uses a 15-step content process to create content for clients. During this stage, Beam reaches out to the client to pitch some topics to the client. 

Then, they create a Work-In-Progress brief and send it to the Head of Content, who gathers the inputs needed to tie up all loose ends. 

Beam sends this completed brief to the writer, who writes a quality and detailed draft and sends it back to the developmental editor. 

The editor and writer go through every point to determine what's needed and what's not. 

They make final edits and submits it to the client, who passes on their feedback and comments. The editor then retouches the piece to fit the client's comment. 

Your workflow process is smoother when everyone knows their responsibilities. This is nearly impossible without a project management tool. Like Beam, your tasks will go through many individuals before they are completed. 

You can use ManyRequests to track these tasks at each stage, oversee who they are assigned to, and communicate with your team members without switching platforms. 

There's also an option to set projects to high and low priority to notify your team members of what tasks they should prioritize.  

Step 6: Acquire and Retain Clients 

You can't start an agency without clients. If you already have a client base while working as a freelancer, you have a head start. 

But sometimes, that isn't even enough—clients come and go, and your current ones may leave at any time. This is why it's important to always source new clients and try to retain your current ones for as long as you can. 

There are many ways you can attract clients in your niche. Here are some: 

• Reach out to your current and past clients and ask them to refer you to potential clients if they know any. 
• Add reviews to your website to show potential clients what to expect from your services. 

Here’s an example of a review from our homepage: 

• Network with potential clients or people who can refer you to potential clients. 
• Talk about your work in public—at conferences, on LinkedIn, on Twitter, and everywhere else. It shows potential clients that you know what you are doing. 

Retaining clients is more cost-effective than acquiring new ones. The most obvious way to keep your clients is to consistently deliver high-quality content. 

If your clients are confident in your ability to deliver content that resonates with their audience, they will stay. 

Another way is to communicate and be transparent with existing clients. The best way to do this is to onboard your clients and guide them through your content process. 

ManyRequests is client portal software that makes all of these tasks easy. It allows you to communicate with your clients and keep them in the loop. 

Your clients can create requests and track the progress of the task. 

You, in turn, will be able to manage all of your clients in one convenient place. You can share and send your invoices and embed reports so clients can get them as easily as you sent them. 

Step 7: Scale Your Content Creation Agency

Scaling your agency means increasing your profitability while improving your operational efficiency.

One fast way to scale is to charge your value’s worth. If you're improving your value, your compensation should also scale. But it's important to live up to that value.

This means that your agency must:

• Have a strong team. Hire the right talent, whether freelancers or full-time staff. They should be able to handle the kind of content you create and be willing to learn on the job. 
• Have a defined workflow. Ensure every team member, from your writers to editors, understands their role perfectly. 
• Use project management tools. To scale any business, everyone on the team needs to be on the same page. Tools like ManyRequests help you manage tasks, prioritize projects, and track content progress easily. You can handle more clients and projects without missing any key steps in production. 

Essential Tools for Running a Content Creation Agency

Some of the tools you should consider include: 

Project Management and Collaboration Tools

Project management ensures your workflow is organized and your tasks are on track. Tools like

• ManyRequests manages client communication and project tracking. With ManyRequests, you can run your entire business, from meeting with new clients to creating a client portal for their requests on one platform. You can also collaborate with your team— assign tasks to writers and designers, run drafts through editors, et cetera…
• Asana streamlines task assignments and timelines.
• Notion combines project management and document editing in one place

Content Creation and Editing Software

You need tools that support your team’s creative process if you want to deliver high-quality content. 

• SEMrush Keyword Magic Tool helps with keyword research for optimized content. 
• Grammarly polishes your writing and keeps it error-free. 
• Canva helps you design professional visuals, like infographics, even without advanced skills. 

How ManyRequests Integrates with Your Agency’s Tech Stack

Your agency's tech stack is the tools you use to create content, manage projects, analyze team performance, and communicate with clients. 

ManyRequests has a custom client portal and project management feature that helps you avoid chatting with clients via email, chatting with your team members via Slack or WhatsApp, and managing the lifecycle of your project in one dashboard. With ManyRequests, you can: 

• Create different services through our Services catalog page. You'll refer clients to these service pages, and they'll pay. 
• Onboard clients to your platform so you can manage their requests and deliverables 
• Add your team members so you can assign tasks to them and see the status of each task 
• Use our invoicing feature to automatically send invoices to clients after a set of projects is completed. 

Sign up for a 14-day free trial to learn how ManyRequests can simplify your agency's workflow.  

Frequently Asked Questions

What services should I offer as a content creation agency?

You can offer any service as long as it's within your scope of expertise. Having existing clients in the niche is also an added advantage. 

How do I price my services competitively?

You should research and compare how different agencies and freelancers charge their clients. You can also read industry reports on what prices are charged based on niche, years of experience, and other filters. There are different pricing structures that can help you establish a competitive pricing model. 

Wrap-up

Building a content creation agency can be difficult, especially if you’ve run things on your own for so long. You need to decide on a niche, set up your team and workflow, create a pricing structure, and still scale your agency. While this article teaches you a clear process of doing all of these, tools like ManyRequests can help you manage client onboarding, communicate with your team, and create your service offering and pricing structure, all of which are important for scaling your agency.

If your goal is to improve your workflow while finding your feet, sign up for a 14-day free trial at ManyRequests and take your business to the next level.