Free Digital Marketing Retainer Agreement Template [Docs / DOCX]

Like you, I needed a well-structured retainer agreement when I started freelancing. I have mini-agency owner friends who scouted the internet with me—the standard templates available didn't cover the type of services offered, the nuances, or read professionally enough for our industry. 

That's why I created this template specifically for digital marketing agencies and freelancers. In this article, you'll learn what a retainer is, why you need one, and insights into what your contract should cover. 

What is a Digital Marketing Retainer Agreement? 

A digital marketing retainer agreement is a contract between you and your client. It explains the terms of your work arrangement, in which the client pays a regular fee (usually monthly) in exchange for your digital marketing & content services. 

Unlike project-based agreements, a retainer reassures both parties of the ongoing collaboration and sets clear expectations for deliverables until the end of the contract. 

Why Do You Need a Digital Marketing Retainer Agreement? 

You probably provide a lot of content services right now. Employees, freelancers, and even your family depend on you for their survival— you can't leave their chances of getting paid for their work to probability over a verbal agreement with your clients. Verbal agreements don't hold water, so you need to formalize your relationship with a retainer agreement. Other reasons are: 

• A retainer agreement explicitly mentions the full scope of your services, including the weekly or monthly deliverables and timelines for the entire contract duration. This protects the interests of the service provider and the client. 
• It clarifies the services the service provider will provide to avoid scope creep. 
• It ensures consistent work (& income) and assures clients you’re committed to their content marketing efforts. 
• It sets the ground for any add-on services you might need to add outside the retainer agreement. 

Disadvantages of Not Using a Digital Marketing Retainer Agreement

Here's what happens without a formal retainer agreement: 

• Unclear expectations: Clients might expect additional services or deliverables outside the original scope of your conversation. This may seem like miscommunication, and you would not have any document to refer to when they make such requests. 
• Payment delays: Verbal agreements often lead to payment disputes. Since you didn’t use any contract to communicate penalties for late payments, they can pay at whatever time suits them, especially if they are not intentional about your professional relationship. 

Tip: Here's what to do when a client doesn't pay. 

• Scope creep: If your experience is like mine, some clients love requesting extra work. It could be a "minor" content update that'd take "just 2-4" hours or keyword research to target an idea they want to rank for. Clients do this, but having a retainer agreement with a provision on how extra work will be billed can help you avoid working overtime and billing for extra tasks. 

• Lack of legal protection: If disputes arise, you may have no legal standing without a written contract. A written contract is easier to enforce than a verbal agreement. 
• Unstable work conditions: Clients can terminate the project without notice (or a few days' notice), leaving you with unexpected gaps in your workload and income. 

Key Components of Your Digital Marketing Retainer Agreement 

Now that we've established why you need the contract, what is included in this contract? 

1. Parties Involved: Write down your name, the client's name, their roles, and contact details. 
2. Scope of services: Write the specific digital marketing services you’ll offer, including the deliverables for each service. It can include:

• SEO: keyword research, on-page content optimization, technical SEO audits (once every three months), and backlink-building outreaches. 
• PPC: Setting up and managing paid ad campaigns on Google, optimizing for ROI, and preparing ad reports with performance analysis. 
• Analytics: Monthly or weekly reporting on key metrics like website traffic, conversion rates, user engagement, and ad performance. 

The more specific your scope of services, the better. You’ll see an accurate example in the digital marketing retainer agreement template attached to the article. 

3. Payment Terms: State your preferred billing cycle (monthly, quarterly) and specify how extra services (not included in the contract) will be billed. 

Also, include late payment penalties to ensure clients are incentivized to pay early. 

For example, charge $25 weekly for late payments or a percentage of the invoice amount (1% to 5% per month of delay). 

If an invoice of $1,000 is unpaid for a month, a 2% penalty would add $20 to the total owed. Depending on how you want to phrase your terms, you can also have a 5-10-day grace period before penalties are applied. 

Tip: Here is what you can do to get paid faster. 

4. Deliverables and Timelines: Be specific about your deliverables and timelines. It’s better to write: 

"The service provider agrees to submit monthly PPC performance reports by the 10th of every month,” than “The service provider will submit monthly PPC performance reports every month.” 

Also, it’s better to write, "The service provider will create and manage three email campaigns with at least X ad budget per month,” than write something less specific. 

5. Duration and Termination Clause: This clause states the length of the agreement and the conditions under which it can be renewed or terminated. 

You can specify a 6-month or 12-month contract, with the option for renewal at the end of the period. 

You should also include a notice period (e.g., 30 or 60 days) for termination so that either party has enough time to conclude any ongoing campaigns or projects. 

This helps prevent the sudden cancellation of services, which could negatively affect your marketing campaigns and finances. 

6. Client Responsibilities: Write what you need from the client. This can include 

• Timely feedback on ongoing work or a proposed strategy, 
• Access to their Google Analytics account, and 
• Social media account details (if you manage social media accounts). 

Stating this lets the client know what you need from them to make your relationship successful. 

7. Confidentiality and Non-Disclosure: Given the sensitive nature of the data clients share, you must include clauses to protect them. I've had clients share case studies from companies that don't want to be named— just because I needed to understand how their service helped this Fortune 100 company. 

So, to get started: 

• Define what is considered confidential (e.g., customer information, internal marketing strategies shared with you by privilege, or passwords to their CMS or other accounts). 
• Include a clause that states how you will protect sensitive data. 
• Mention that you can document your strategies and results for use while creating your portfolio. 

Writing these things keeps them aware of your intentions and protects you from future issues. 

8. Dispute Resolution: Set a clear process for resolving disputes related to results from their organic or ad campaigns, payment delays, or missed deadlines. 

This is usually mediation, but in some cases, depending on what went wrong, you can promise a refund. If you take this route, ensure you write down the circumstances that would necessitate a refund so clients understand the clause. 

9. Signatures and Date: Provide space for you and your clients to sign and date the agreement to formalize it. 

Tips and Best Practices for Creating a Digital Marketing Retainer Agreement 

Here are some best practices while creating your contract: 

• Be specific about the services you offer. Avoid general statements—write the specific tasks and deliverables. Rather than just writing, "I will run social media ads," specify the number of platforms, campaigns, or ads you'll create and manage each month. This sets clear expectations so clients know exactly what they're getting for their retainer. 
• Be clear about payment terms: Avoid ambiguity. Write the exact payment structure (50% upfront and 50% after the work is done, net zero), as eCommerce and SaaS writer Kaleigh Moore does. 

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Also, explain the payment frequency (monthly, quarterly, 50% at the start, and 50% at the end of a project, especially if it’ll take months). You can add any penalties for late payments to ensure the client is incentivized to pay early. 

Lastly, mention that you’ll charge extra fees for add-on tasks. 

• Include your preferred communication channels and response times in the contract. This lets clients know how often they'll be updated about their tasks and how you'll reach out to them. 

For Kaleigh Moore, it’s every three days: 

You can also include that you’ll hop on a Zoom call with them once every two weeks to discuss your strategies and update them on what you’re doing. 

It all depends on what works for you and your clients. 

Many agencies and freelancers use a custom client portal to manage communications and projects on a single platform. This alternative helps you avoid switching between multiple apps to chat with clients, receive their tasks and assign them to your team members, and manage invoices and payments. 

You can read more about how ManyRequests helps centralize client communications and improve project management here. You can also sign up for a free 14-day trial to see how it works firsthand. 

• Include a clause that they can hire you for extra services outside the initial contract. This ensures you have a process to handle such events and bill for the work. 

You can use our add-on feature for this or create an addendum to the agreement. Specify how you’ll be paid for the task, and avoid verbal agreements, which are less specific than written agreements. 

• Review your retainer agreement regularly to update your services, prices, and tighten any loopholes that may have emerged since you started using the contract. 
• If you want a professional opinion, consult a legal professional to ensure your agreement is legally sound. 
• Lastly, use simple and clear language to ensure your thoughts are aligned with the clients' and there are no surprises in the future. 

How to Use Our Free Digital Marketing Retainer Agreement Template

Our retainer agreement template is designed to help you design your contract as easily as possible. Here's how to customize it for your agency: 

• Edit the text to include your name, address, and other relevant details.
• Customize the scope of services based on your services (SEO, PPC, content marketing distribution strategies, etc.).
• Add your brand elements (logo, colors, etc.). 
• Review it thoroughly to reflect what you discussed with the client before sending it to their email. 

Wrap up 

I am glad you read to this point and hope you find every part of this article helpful. 

A digital marketing retainer agreement secures your business interests, just in case anything goes wrong while your contract is active. With your contract in place, create a custom client portal via ManyRequests to manage communications, projects, invoices, and payments in a single platform. According to Bruce, head of production at a digital content agency, Video Taxi, ManyRequests helps them "track all our digital content production in one place,"— which makes it easy to work with different corporations in New Zealand. 

Want to see how ManyRequests can help you scale your business? Sign up for a free 14-day trial.