When your business is ready to grow, marketing quickly becomes one of the most important investments you’ll make. But the big question many leaders face is: Do we hire a freelancer or partner with an agency?
Both options come with advantages, and both can create challenges if not aligned with your goals. The right choice depends on your stage of growth, your budget, and the complexity of your marketing needs.
At The Diamond Group, we’ve worked with brands at every stage—from early start-ups to scaling enterprises—and we’ve seen how this decision can accelerate or stall momentum. Here’s a breakdown of what you need to know when comparing freelancers and agencies.
The Case for Freelancers
Freelancers are independent professionals who specialize in specific services such as graphic design, SEO, copywriting, or paid ads, for example.
Advantages of hiring freelancers include:
- Cost-effectiveness: Freelancers typically charge lower rates than agencies, making them appealing for businesses with smaller budgets.
- Specialized expertise: A freelancer can bring deep knowledge in a niche area, such as technical SEO or UX design.
- Flexibility: You can hire freelancers on a project-by-project basis without long-term commitments.
Potential drawbacks:
- Limited scope: Most freelancers are skilled in one or two areas, not a full suite of marketing services.
- Scalability challenges: If your business grows quickly, a single freelancer may not be able to keep up with the demand.
- Management overhead: Coordinating multiple freelancers across projects requires more time and oversight on your end.
According to this report on Statista, the number of freelancers in the workforce has steadily increased, with over 60 million Americans freelancing in 2023—a trend that shows no signs of slowing down.
The Case for Agencies
A digital marketing agency like The Diamond Group brings together a team of specialists to cover strategy, design, SEO, paid media, and sales enablement under one roof.
Advantages of working with an agency include:
- Full-service expertise: Agencies provide access to a wide range of services, from web design to managed SEO.
- Scalability: As your brand grows, an agency can expand campaigns and add services without disruption.
- Systems and processes: Agencies rely on proven frameworks that keep projects moving and deliver consistent results.
- Strategic alignment: Rather than focusing on one-off projects, agencies build long-term growth strategies tied to your business goals.
Potential drawbacks:
- Higher upfront cost: Agencies often cost more than freelancers, especially for businesses in the earliest stages.
- Less direct control: Because agencies operate as a team, communication often flows through account managers rather than individual specialists.
And here’s why growing brands increasingly choose agencies: Backlinko reports that 75% of large B2B companies outsource content marketing activities, compared to just 37% of small businesses.
As organizations scale, outsourcing to an agency becomes more valuable than building a full in-house team or piecing together multiple freelancers who may not coordinate. Agencies offer a cohesive system of experts working together, ensuring alignment, efficiency, and momentum across every channel.
Key Factors to Consider
When deciding between a freelancer and an agency, consider:
- Budget: Freelancers may be best for early-stage businesses with limited resources, while agencies provide long-term ROI for scaling brands.
- Complexity: If you only need help with one task—like blog writing—a freelancer could be enough. But if you need strategy, design, and multi-channel campaigns, an agency is a better fit.
- Time and management: Do you have the internal capacity to manage multiple freelancers, or would you rather have one agency streamline the process?
- Growth trajectory: If your brand is growing fast, you’ll likely outgrow the capabilities of a single freelancer sooner than you think.
Why Growing Brands Choose Agencies
For brands looking beyond one-off projects and toward sustainable growth, agencies offer the structure, accountability, and expertise needed to scale.
At The Diamond Group, we help businesses build marketing systems that integrate directly with sales. Whether it’s PPC campaigns or our proven Momentum System, our focus is on driving measurable outcomes, not just deliverables.
And the numbers back it up: LinkedIn’s The Art of Winning reports that companies with aligned marketing and sales functions generate 208% more revenue from their marketing efforts. That level of integration is difficult to achieve when you’re coordinating multiple freelancers working independently.
Making the Right Choice for Your Business
Both freelancers and agencies have a role to play in the marketing landscape. The key is aligning your choice with your business stage and long-term goals.
- If you need quick, tactical help on a limited budget: a freelancer may be the right fit.
- If you’re ready for strategy, systems, and scalable growth: partnering with an agency positions your brand for long-term success.
The most successful brands don’t just outsource tasks, they invest in relationships that drive results.
Build Momentum with The Diamond Group
At The Diamond Group based in Wilmington, NC, our mission is to equip businesses with the tools, strategy, and clarity they need to grow. If you’re weighing whether to hire a freelancer or an agency, let’s talk about your goals and explore which path will deliver the momentum you need.
Learn more about our services or schedule a conversation with our team today.
