What Is a Marketing Consultant Agreement?
A marketing consultant agreement is a type of consulting agreement between a company and an outside marketing expert. It explains the services the consultant will provide and the marketing tasks they’ll handle to guide the company’s next steps. It also sets the terms for deliverables, payment, ownership of marketing assets, and access to marketing tools.
Marketing consultants usually work as independent contractors, not employees. If you need to outline that broader relationship, you may also want an independent contractor agreement.
When to Use a Marketing Consultant Agreement
Use a marketing consultant agreement whenever you bring in an outside expert to guide your marketing efforts. It’s important when you expect specific deliverables and need the work to move in a steady, organized way. Use an agreement when:
- You need defined deliverables, such as messaging guides, keyword research, ICP profiles, or campaign plans.
- You’re sharing sensitive access, including ad accounts, analytics tools, or other marketing systems.
You’ll also need a marketing consulting agreement when the work runs month to month. Ongoing marketing support needs clear expectations so strategy, content, and campaigns stay aligned.
A marketing consulting agreement also states who owns any creative or strategic work before it’s produced. And if your team relies on firm deadlines, review cycles, or reporting updates, a marketing consulting agreement puts those details in writing so everyone stays on the same page.
Benefits of a Marketing Consulting Agreement
- Keeps marketing work organized
- Reduces back-and-forth
- Helps resolve issues quickly
- Creates an easier handoff if you switch consultants later
What to Include in a Marketing Consulting Agreement
A marketing consulting agreement should guide how the work will run. Marketing projects move quickly, so it helps to ask the right questions before anything starts. Consider:
- What level of quality do you expect for each deliverable — a draft, a final deck, editable ad files, or polished copy?
- How will feedback work, and where will reviews happen? How many revision rounds make sense, and how fast should updates come back?
- When should invoices be sent, and what should trigger payment — a campaign kickoff, asset delivery, or a monthly check-in?
- Do you want the consultant to hold weekly or monthly strategy sessions to keep campaigns aligned?
- Which marketing costs are you willing to reimburse, such as stock images, research tools, or platform fees?
- Can the consultant bring in outside help, and when do they need approval?
- What should happen to unfinished campaigns, drafts, or assets if the agreement ends early?
- How will you handle disagreements about performance, timelines, or deliverables?
These questions help set clear expectations for the work ahead. Legal Templates uses your answers to create a clear, ready-to-use marketing consulting agreement.
If you’re outlining when and how invoices should be sent, our consulting invoice can help your consultant bill you in a clear, consistent format.
Sample Marketing Consulting Agreement
Refer to the sample marketing consulting agreement below to see how each section comes together. Then use our guided form to customize and download your agreement in Word or PDF.
