Free Digital Marketing Scope of Work Template [Docs / DOCX]
Adetola Rachael Iyanuoluwa
At some point, you’ve had clients who want more than you agreed to when you started working together. Perhaps, they want "more engagement" on social media or "better SEO rankings", and therefore need you to write another article or “refresh three old ones.”
A digital marketing scope of work helps you avoid this.
A digital marketing scope of work is a foundational document that specifies exactly what services you'll deliver and when you'll deliver them.
It describes what's included in your engagement (keyword research, optimized content, paid ads, social media management, email marketing, etc.) and what's not. It then provides context on:
Most digital marketing projects involve multiple channels, simultaneous campaigns, and changing priorities. A scope of work adapts to these changes and protects you (and your team) from working outside the agreed scope of work.
A typical digital marketing scope of work protects you in three ways generic project documents doesn’t:
It’s typical for clients to want a “quick boost” to an underperforming Facebook campaign. Or “just a quick refresh of a 2021 article” to see if it can increase overall organic traffic. These small tweaks often mean that your team has to work extra hours and you’d probably not be paid for them.
There are acts of good faith, and there is business. And sometimes, the lines are blurred by small, unpaid work that can take up your team's billable hours.
But with a scope of work, you can show your pricing structure for each service (and also specify the cost for additional deliverables). You can use the ManyRequests service catalog to even frontline all your services and the pricing structure for them. This way, your clients (or prospects) can see what each service (or add ons) will cost them before committing to your agency.
You can also customize the billing to be hourly, quarterly, or any other custom period you’d prefer.
Note: While designing your services (and pricing structure), always include specific rounds of revisions. For example, “Two rounds of revisions per blog post" or "Three A/B tests per paid campaign."
Any request beyond that attracts extra fees, so you can avoid overworking your team on unpaid, endless revisions.
A digital marketing scope of work also helps you clarify expectations. Instead of vague outcomes, you can specify the services you’ll deliver, the deadlines, metrics for success, and what is excluded from the services you’ll render.
For example, it can be as straightforward as “I will write and optimize five articles. I will not publish them on your CMS and will not design the custom images required.”
When clients understand exactly what you'll do and won’t do, and when they'll see results for their work, they're less likely to request services that are not part of the scope.
They can add more services to it though. For example, ManyRequests has a feature for “add ons” where clients can request for extra services outside the initial scope of work. They’ll be billed for this separately, but it lets you make room for extra work.
Sometimes, you get a retainer client who has consistent demand for a deliverable. They may need consistent services for new blog content, social media management, and YouTube videos (creation, editing, publishing) etc.
Whatever the workload is, this digital marketing scope of work establishes communication protocols on:
These protocols keep everyone aligned. Your clients know when to review your work and your team knows when to expect feedback.
This is a six step process (but you can use our template to get started right away):
Write every service you'll provide, and be specific about what each service entails. For example:
SEO Services:
Paid Advertising:
Social Media Management:
List what you won't do under each service. For SEO, specify that you won’t publish on their CMS (OR if you’re not hired for paid search, state it so you’re aligned on expectations). You can also do this in section 4.
Show when each deliverable is due and when clients should expect results. For example, based on your agency's structure/workflow, this could look like:
For services with longer timelines, write clear expectations to keep everyone on track.
List exactly what clients receive and how you'll measure success.
Deliverables:
Metrics (KPIs):
You get the gist.
These are tasks/activities that you won't render.
E.g., this project does NOT include:
When clients ask for these services, refer to this section and discuss additional fees or a separate project agreement.
You need some flexibility for revisions, so specify:
Revision Limits:
Whatever works for you.
Revision Timeline. Have a provision for this as well, so it can look like:
Define who approves what and how feedback is submitted. (Check the template for more information).
Point of Contact:
How to use and customize the Digital Marketing Scope of Work Template
First, download the template and follow these steps:
Send this document for review before you start work with this client. You can schedule a kickoff call to walk through each section and answer questions.
Use the call to clarify:
A digital marketing scope of work protects your agency from scope creep and helps you manage client expectations. You can use this template to specify the services you’ll offer and when, and always refer to it throughout the project to prevent scope creep.
Download the free digital marketing scope of work template and customize it for your next client project.
And if you want to further improve your agency's structure, use ManyRequests to access features like client portal, project management, time-tracking, and automated invoicing in one platform. This way, you can manage scope creep, deliver work, and get paid without integrating another accounting software. Give it a shot for 14 days, free of charge.