Note from Jennifer: Because I have been busy putting the finishing touches on my course, I decided to update a blog post from awhile ago that I think is still very relevant and often has different opinions. I think many writers overlook working with agencies because they assume that they are lower paid, but that’s not always true. My post today walks you through the pros and cons of both.

Speaking of my class, tomorrow is the last day of early bird pricing. I’ve already had over 100 writers sign up for my self-lead class. The price goes up from $99 dollars to $125 at midnight tomorrow (Tuesday Feb 21). And if you sign up and you aren’t fully satisfied in the course, I will refund your money. My goal is to help writers not take people’s money. Register here and get started learning how AI writing tools can help your business.

If you ask a roomful of freelance writers this question, the majority will assume that you make more money working with direct clients. And yes, that can be true in some cases. But in my experience, it’s not the blanket statement that some writers make it out to be. I have made more money with agencies on some projects and in other cases projects with direct clients have been more lucrative.

But I do think that freelancing content marketing writers that do not market to content marketing agencies are shooting themselves the foot, or more accurately their bank account. I think that some writers dismiss agencies because they think that all are low paying, yes there are some agencies that pay ridiculous rates, but there are also some agencies where you can earn $200 an hour on the right project. I also think other writers send a few LOI’s to agencies, but market themselves as a generalist when the agencies want a writer with experience in the client’s industry. Side note: You can absolutely make a crap ton of money as a generalist, but with agencies you need to present yourself as an expert in areas that you specialize in.

I personally don’t think that you can put all agencies into a single bucket. Some are high paying, some are low paying. Others are a pain to work with while some are a dream. Many writers dismiss agencies after one or two experiences when instead I think they should be evaluated totally separately.

Each writer has to find the balance of clients that works best for their personality, their industry and the work/life balance that they want. For me, it’s a mix of both, with more clients on the agency side. For the past year or so, I’ve been keeping a list of the upsides and downside of each type of client based on my own experience and stories that others writer share. Today I decided to turn my chicken scratch into a readable list and see what other writers find the pros and cons of working with agencies and direct clients. 

Why I Like Working through a Content Marketing Agencies

• Often higher per hour pay rates. Agencies typically come up the ideas, find the sources and handle the schedule. I have even had a client pay $300 or $400 an hour in a project rate hand me an already approved outline for the project along with transcriptions of the source interviews. This lets you focus on writing which often results in a higher hourly rate. Agencies also typically have a project manager that handles the project management details that writers typically tend to when working with a business. So while the rate may appear a little lower, it’s often actually higher based on the amount of time you earn, meaning a higher hourly rate.
• Access to Graphic Designers and Editors. As you probably already know, I am the typo queen and should never be the last set of eyes to look at a piece of content. When I work with a business, I typically hire my own editor since there is typically not an editor on the project. But agencies typically have an editor and while I do my absolute best to avoid typos, are typically fine with catching the occasional error. Agencies typically also have graphic designers who can help with charts and illustrations, while businesses have asked me to hire my own designer.
• Opportunities to work on other agency projects. This is probably the main reason that I like to work with agencies and think that overall I earn more money with agencies. You are typically brought on for a specific project, but once you do a great job, most agencies are willing to put you on other projects. This is a great way to get more clients for no marketing time and also expand your niches and types of writing. A client that knows you may very well hire you for your first whitepaper while a brand new client will be much more hesitant. To me this is one of the BIGGEST benefits of agency – it’s much easier to turn an agency into an anchor client as well as get experience in different types of writing and niches.
• Ability to focus only on writing. This is a plus or minus, depending on your perspective. Typically with agencies, I only have to worry about writing. I don’t have to handle project management, strategy, social media, finding sources or all of the other million things that are involved with creating a piece of content. My job is to write a fantastic piece of content.
• Understanding of how to work with freelancers. Most agencies have been working with freelancers for a long time and have a set of processes for working with writers, such as project tracking, submission and invoicing. They also understand how freelancer writers work. But when you work with a business, you may be the first freelancer that they have ever used. I have found that this means you often have to forge your way through the process and also set boundaries much more than with agencies.

Why I Like Working Directly with a Brand                   

• Greater ability to negotiate pay rate and raises than with an agency. Agencies typically have set rates that they use for all freelancers. While there is some room for negotiation with agencies, I have found much greater ability to negotiate pay rates when working directly with clients.
• Feeling like part of a team. With an agency, you are one step removed from the client. If you are lucky, you get to work directly with the client, but sometimes you never have client contact. And at bigger agencies with a lot of freelancers you may feel very much like a cog in the wheel. On the other hand, many writers who work directly with a client on long-term projects are able to find the sense of team that is often missing in our daily lives as a freelancer. I love my dogs, but sometimes its nice to have co-workers that don’t want to play “throw the ball” all day.
• Higher job security than agencies. Businesses often change agencies, which means that if you are going through an agency then you lose the client. I have lost many clients this way through agencies. But when working directly with a business, future work is typically more dependent on your results and your work than an arbitrary decision made about which agency to use.
• Ability to learn a lot about the industry. When you work directly with a business, you typically have greater access to subject matter experts on the topics you are writing about. In addition to making it easier to get information as mentioned above, I have also found that I have many more opportunities to ask questions about the subjects I am writing about and really gain a higher level of expertise in the niche.
• More opportunity to participate in content marketing strategy. I love being able to plan an editorial calendar, work on audience personas, plan social media strategy, and be involved with tracking metrics. But agencies typically handle these tasks and freelancers are usually not involved, unless you are really lucky or hired for a strategy role by an agency. When working directly for a business, you typically have more opportunity to learn about strategy and be involved in tasks other than writing.

What are the pros and cons for working with both agencies and businesses? Which do you prefer? Let’s discuss.