How Much Should a Small Business Spend on Marketing?

If you're under $10,000 a month, learn marketing yourself or hire a freelancer. Once you hit $10,000 a month, set aside a percentage of your revenue. 5% if you want to stay the same, 10% if you want to grow a bit, and 15% if you want to scale. The goal is to scale and grow.

Key takeaways

Under $10,000 a month, learn it yourself or hire a freelancer.
Once you hit $10,000 a month, set aside a percentage of revenue.
Use 5% to stay the same, 10% to grow a bit, and 15% to scale.
A business doing $100,000 a month would set aside $15,000 if they really want to grow.

If you're just getting started

If you're a small business and you're wondering about getting some help, and you want to hire either a marketer, an agency, or do it on your own, here are the numbers. If you're under $10,000 a month, learn and do it on your own, or go to a freelance site and hire a freelancer to help you get started.

Set aside 15% if you want to scale

Once you hit $10,000 a month, you need to start setting aside a percentage of your revenue. 5% if you want to stay the same. 10% if you want to grow a bit. 15% if you want to scale. The average business we work with, if they're doing $100,000 a month, they actually set aside $15,000 for marketing and ads if they really want to grow. You could set aside 5% if you want to stay the same, but the goal is to scale and grow.

For a related starting point on ad spend, see Google's free $500 ad credit and How long digital marketing takes: SEO vs. advertising.

From AutomationLinks

Common questions

How much should a small business spend on marketing?

If you're under $10,000 a month, learn it yourself or hire a freelancer. Once you hit $10,000 a month, set aside 5% to stay the same, 10% to grow a bit, or 15% if you want to scale.

What if I want to scale?

Set aside 15% of revenue for marketing and ads. If a business is doing $100,000 a month, that is $15,000 if they really want to grow.

Should I hire an agency right away?

If you're under $10,000 a month, Brad recommends learning it yourself or hiring a freelancer to get started.