You're running social media for 12 clients. One text at 9 PM asking for an "urgent post" tomorrow. Another wants five rounds of revisions on the content you delivered two weeks ago.
A social media management proposal template would've stopped this. But yours was too vague. No clear deliverables. No revision limits. Nothing about what counts as extra work. Now you're managing scope creep through text messages instead of doing actual work.
It spells out what you'll do, what clients get, how much it costs, and the rules. If you run subscriptions, this is where you set limits that actually hold up when clients start asking for more.
Most templates treat social media like a one-time project and skip the details that matter. How many posts? Which platforms? What counts as a revision?
Projects end. Subscriptions don't.
You need rules for approvals, revisions, what's included versus what costs extra. Put them in your proposal.
Here's what subscription agencies need in every social media proposal to avoid operational headaches later.
List the platforms you're covering, like Instagram, LinkedIn, Facebook, TikTok, and Twitter. Then get specific about what's included on each one. Does Instagram mean feed posts only, or does it include stories and reels as well?
Spell out the work you're doing. Content creation, copywriting, scheduling, publishing, and monthly reports. Community management is usually separate unless you say otherwise. Paid ads are always a different service.
Just as important is what's not included. Clients assume influencer outreach is part of the deal. They think extensive graphic design or video editing is included. If you don't do these, say so.
Once you've defined what you do and don't do, the next step is getting specific about how much of it you'll deliver.
Saying "comprehensive social media management" in your proposal invites scope problems. Numbers prevent them, so build tiers with specific quantities.
Basic might be 20 posts monthly across two platforms. Mid-tier bumps to 40 posts, adds a third platform, and includes Instagram stories. Premium adds video content.
For example:
Define post types now or argue about them later. Does a five-slide carousel count as one post or five? Is a video priced the same as a static image?
Price your add-ons clearly, like extra posts, additional platforms, rush turnaround, and community management. When clients ask for something outside their tier, you're just pointing to pricing that's already documented.
Now that clients know what they're getting and what it costs, they need to understand how the work actually flows.
Walk through your workflow so clients know what to expect.
You build the content calendar, send it over, and the client reviews and requests changes. Then you revise, they approve, and everything gets scheduled.
Two revision rounds max.
One agency on Reddit let this slide and ended up with 47 rounds on a single project before they finally put limits in writing. After that, extras get billed as add-ons or counted against next month.
Set turnaround times. Deliver calendars five business days before the month starts, and clients get three days to respond. No response means you're scheduling everything as-is and moving forward.
Delayed feedback on their end pushes your timeline back by the same amount. Your proposal should say that clearly.
With the workflow defined, you need to structure how clients actually pay.
Price this as a monthly retainer because per-post pricing is an administrative nightmare. List your monthly rates for each tier, and adjust based on what you're delivering and your positioning.
Spell out payment terms clearly. Bill monthly in advance, payment due on the 1st. If cards fail, services pause after five days and resume once payment processes are complete.
Handle mid-cycle upgrades at the next billing cycle unless clients pay prorated amounts for immediate changes.
Beyond the money, you also need to set expectations around ongoing communication and reporting.
Set boundaries around when and how you communicate. Otherwise, you'll get "quick call" requests that derail afternoons.
Most agencies send monthly performance reports. Some do weekly for premium clients who pay enough to justify the extra work.
Pick communication channels and stick to them. Client portal, email, whatever works for you. Tell clients where to send requests and what you don't monitor. Texts at 9 PM? Not happening.
Response times save you from weekend work. Twenty-four business hours for emails is reasonable. True emergencies get same-day attention, but emergencies mean actual PR crises, not "can you change this caption real quick."
The last piece of your proposal needs to nail down exactly how revisions and additional requests get handled.
Be clear about what counts as a revision versus a whole new request.
If a client wants to tweak copy on two posts from the approved calendar, that's a revision. If they want to scrap an entire post concept and replace it with something different, that's a new request eating into their monthly allowance.
Standard revisions might take two business days to turn around. Rush revisions cost extra as an add-on.
Running an unlimited request model?
Explain how the queue works. Clients can submit as many requests as they want, but you tackle them one at a time. Nothing new gets started until the current piece is approved and done.
You've seen what goes into the proposal structure. But how do you actually price these packages?
Most agencies use tiered monthly plans. Some do custom pricing for bigger clients who need it.
Tiered pricing works for subscription businesses because it keeps sales simple instead of turning every conversation into a negotiation. Three packages at different price points, clients pick what fits.
Custom pricing makes sense for enterprise needs that don't fit a template. Eight platforms plus daily community management? Quote based on time and complexity.
Price add-ons clearly. The whole point of subscription pricing is predictability. You bill the same amount every month regardless of whether clients use everything.
Even with clear pricing and deliverables in your proposal, certain client requests always test your boundaries. Here are the ones that come up most often and how to shut them down before they start.
Clients love urgent, unplanned posts. Something happens, and they want it on social immediately. Without addressing this in your proposal, they'll assume everything gets same-day treatment.
Define what counts as a real emergency. PR crisis? Actual brand emergency? Same-day attention. Product announcement that could've been planned last week? That goes into your normal queue.
As marketing consultant Kelsie Downs puts it, emergency marketing is one of the fastest ways to quietly damage a brand. Rushed content breaks messaging, shifts tone, and trains the wrong audience over time.
If they want guaranteed same-day turnaround for non-emergencies, price it as an add-on.
Another common confusion happens around content formats.
You quoted 28 posts, thinking everyone understood that meant feed posts. Client assumed it meant 28 feed posts with stories and reels. Now you're doing triple the work.
Break down content types in your deliverables matrix.
Static feed posts, carousels, stories, reels, and videos all get listed separately with quantities. Instead of "28 pieces of social content," break it down and say "16 Instagram feed posts and 12 stories," which leaves no room for misinterpretation.
Content format isn't the only thing clients misunderstand. They also assume ongoing engagement work is automatic.
Community management is real work. This covers replying to comments, handling DMs, and interacting with other accounts. Many clients assume it's included.
Is community management part of the package? Yes or no. If not, list it as an add-on with pricing. If you do include it, set boundaries between responding to comments on your content versus handling customer service complaints in DMs.
Even when you've scoped everything clearly, some clients will still push boundaries through endless feedback loops.
Some clients will request seven or ten rounds of revisions on every post. They tweak a word, change their mind, send another email. It never ends unless you stop it.
Cap revisions at two rounds per piece, and honestly, even that's generous. After that, bill hourly or count it against next month's work. The cap forces clients to think before sending their fourth round of "minor tweaks."
Clients assume different services are bundled together.
Paid advertising is completely different.
Say it in the proposal that paid ads aren't included. List it as a separate service if you offer it.
Your proposal can prevent all these scope issues, but only if you have systems in place to enforce what you wrote.
A solid proposal protects you from scope creep. Use specific numbers for deliverables. Set clear limits on revisions before you start. Structure everything as monthly retainers with transparent add-on pricing.
Otherwise, you'll spend half your time managing client expectations instead of doing the actual work.
But writing the proposal is just step one. Delivering on it month after month requires systems that actually work.
Most agencies patch together ClickUp, Stripe, and email, which holds up with five clients but breaks around 8 or 12. You end up tracking usage in spreadsheets, manually chasing failed payments, and hunting through threads for approved content.
ManyRequests replaces that stack with one tool built for subscription agencies: client requests, recurring billing, and client communication in one place. Download the free social media management proposal template, customize it for your agency, then try ManyRequests free for 14 days.
Start with a clear scope covering platforms, services, and what you don't do, then build a deliverables matrix with tiered options and exact post counts. Walk through your approval workflow with revision limits, set pricing as monthly retainers, and add payment terms. More specificity upfront means less scope fighting later.
Social media management is the execution work, like creating content, scheduling posts, publishing, and maintaining a presence. Social media marketing is a strategy, such as campaign planning, paid advertising, and growth tactics, aimed at hitting specific business goals.