Ecommerce Marketing Agency

How Much Does It Cost To Start An Ecommerce Marketing Agency? (In 2024)

Pat Walls

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Updated: October 6th, 2024

Looking to start an ecommerce marketing agency?

But curious about:

how much it costs to start an ecommerce marketing agency?
what are the typical ecommerce marketing agency startup costs?
or the actual cost of starting ecommerce marketing agencies?

Well, we have the data to prove it, supported by real ecommerce marketing agencies and how much they actually cost to start.

Let's go over it.

What is the average cost of starting an ecommerce marketing agency?

Based on our data reported by actual ecommerce marketing agency founders, the average cost of starting an ecommerce marketing agency is between $8 and $2,000,000.

Additionally, our data shows that the the median startup costs for an ecommerce marketing agency are around $5K.

Remember, though, not all ecommerce marketing agencies are the same - and neither are people's budgets. It's important to distinguish between different levels or types of ecommerce marketing agencies

Real World Examples: How much does it cost to start an ecommerce marketing agency?

We asked real ecommerce marketing agency founders and business owners how much it actually cost to get started?

Here is what they said:

Tudor Cioltea

Founder of Black Goat Media ($50K/month)

"All the initial costs for office setup and equipment were covered with money saved during college and a few loans from family and friends."

Tudor Cioltea is the founder of Black Goat Media, a paid marketing agency that helps e-commerce brands accelerate growth.

Read this case study

Read by 6,726 founders

Zac Cherin

Founder of Sidekick ($99K/month)

"When we started at Grid 110 in April 2019, Brendan and I were just a couple months from using up what was left of the bootstrapped runway we had left."

Zac is the co-founder of Sidekick, a digital marketing and web design agency for eCommerce businesses.

Read this case study

Read by 8,410 founders

Nicolae Pasecinic

Founder of UPQODE ($150K/month)

"It took us about 5 months to decide on a project management tool and about 1.5 years to write a handbook."

Nick is the founder of Qoders Family, a website building services and products business that generates impressive revenue across multiple ventures, including True Themes and HoneyApps.

Read this case study

Read by 5,586 founders

Greg Shuey

Founder of STRYDE ($180K/month)

"The nice thing (but also a bad thing considering the barrier to entry for competitors) about digital marketing is that the cost to test is relatively low. You’re looking at human capital and minimal advertising spend. We were probably burning $4,000 a month on wages and ad spends to test and build out scalable processes."

Greg Shuey is the founder of Stryde, a digital marketing agency focused on women-owned eCommerce companies.

Read this case study

Read by 5,460 founders

Chase Dimond, David Bozin and Amelia Blackwell

Founder of Boundless Labs ($8.3M/month)

"In terms of startup costs, thanks to our business being service-based, we didn’t need to raise any outside capital or take out any loans. For the first 12+ months of the business, we didn’t have any employees so we had almost no overhead."

Chase Dimond is the co-founder of Boundless Labs, an email marketing agency that specializes in working with eCommerce brands and has driven over $25 million in email attributable revenue for its clients.

Read this case study

Read by 12,820 founders

Adam Robinson

Founder of Retention ($1.78M/month)

"The initial launch used a video made with basic tools and a script from the Digital Marketer format. The first month yielded significant results, spending $5,000 on Facebook ads to create $10,000 in MRR. Despite facing challenges around balancing low-cost operations and refining product-market fit, the pivot was seen as essential due to new GDPR regulations and user feedback demanding integration flexibility."

Adam Robinson is the founder of Retention.com, an email marketing startup that helps businesses capture emails from website visitors who don't fill out a form.

Read this case study

Read by 58 founders

Jake Jorgovan

Founder of Lead Cookie ($55K/month)

"Within the first 2 weeks, I had closed $12k of MRR by selling to people within my existing network. That was rapid validation that I had something that was working!"

Jake Jorgovan is the founder of Lead Cookie, a Linkedin lead generation and appointment setting company that helps B2B companies schedule appointments with their target customers.

Read this case study

Read by 7,225 founders

Eldar Galiev

Founder of Growave ($110K/month)

"One of the lessons that we learned from the Growave launch is that we took over six months to launch the product, costing everything. Thanks to profits from ThinkLab, we managed to pull it through. Otherwise, it wouldn’t be possible to release Growave to the market."

Eldar is the founder of Growave, an all-in-one marketing tool for Shopify brands.

Read this case study

Read by 7,287 founders

Sophia O'Neal

Founder of Ignore No More ($13K/month)

"I had $5K in the bank when I started. That was it."

Sophia O’Neal is the founder of Ignore No More, a marketing agency that specializes in building un-ignorable brands for SaaS companies.

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Read by 1,333 founders

Alison Murdock

Founder of Trusted CMO ($75K/month)

"I landed on the idea of starting a firm that could be a marketing team before there was one and also support a marketing function when needed. I knew this was the right move when I got the domain trustedcmo.com for about $10."

Alison Murdock is the founder of Trusted CMO, a boutique marketing consulting firm that has grown at least 50% yearly over its 4 years in business.

Read this case study

Read by 1,147 founders

Enjoyed reading these real world examples?

Our platform is full of case studies of successful ecommerce marketing agencies that you can learn from.

Starting an ecommerce marketing agency - what you should know:

Starting an ecommerce marketing agency involves several cost factors that can greatly influence your initial expenditure.

Initial Setup Costs

Your initial setup costs will largely depend on your business model and the scale at which you intend to operate. For a small, home-based operation, you might only need $2,000 to $5,000 for a computer, software, and basic marketing tools. However, if you are planning to set up a more professional office with multiple employees, your costs could leap to $15,000 to $30,000 when you factor in rent, furniture, more advanced software licenses, and office supplies.

Software and Tools

The software and tools you decide to use can significantly impact your expenses. Basic tools for project management, email marketing, SEO, and social media scheduling can cost around $500 to $1,000 annually. More advanced, feature-rich tools will cost more; for example, a comprehensive SEO tool can set you back $100 to $500 per month. If you're also investing in advanced analytics and CRM systems, you could end up spending an additional $1,000 to $5,000 annually.

Marketing and Advertising

To attract clients, you'll need to invest in marketing and advertising. Social media ads and Google Ads can cost anywhere from $500 to $2,000 a month depending on your targeting and reach. Content marketing, including blog posts and video production, can range from $200 to $1,000 per piece of content if outsourced. SEO services, if you’re not handling in-house, may require a budget of $750 to $2,000 per month.

Hiring Personnel

Hiring costs are another crucial factor. A junior digital marketer might require a salary of $30,000 to $40,000 annually, whereas more experienced professionals could command $60,000 to $100,000 per year. Consider also the costs involved in recruiting and training new hires, which could add several thousand dollars to your budget annually. For freelance or contract work, rates can range from $50 to $150 per hour depending on the expertise required.

Understanding these cost variables can help you plan your budget more effectively and avoid unexpected expenses, ensuring a smoother launch for your ecommerce marketing agency.

Potential Costs of Starting an ecommerce Marketing Agency

Starting an ecommerce marketing agency requires a range of investments from software subscriptions to labor costs. Below is a detailed breakdown of potential costs.

Expense Category	Description	Estimated Cost Range
Website Hosting	To host the agency’s website	$10 - $50/month
Domain Name	Fee to purchase a domain name	$10 - $30/year
Website Development	Cost of designing and developing the website	$500 - $5,000 (one-time)
SSL Certificate	Secure Sockets Layer for website security	$0 - $200/year
Email Hosting	Professional email hosting services	$3 - $15/user/month
Graphic Design Software	Tools like Adobe Creative Cloud	$52.99/month
Project Management Tools	Software like Asana or Trello	$0 - $20/user/month
Social Media Management Tools	Tools like Hootsuite or Buffer	$19 - $599/month
SEO Tools	Tools like Ahrefs, SEMrush, or Moz	$99 - $399/month
PPC Management Tools	Advertising tools like Google Ads or Facebook Ads	$100 - $1,000+/month
Email Marketing Tools	Services like Mailchimp or Constant Contact	$20 - $300/month
Marketing Automation Software	Tools like HubSpot or Marketo	$50 - $3,200/month
Content Management System (CMS)	CMS like WordPress or Shopify for client sites	$0 - $299/month
Legal Fees	Initial costs for legal consultation and documentation	$500 - $2,000
Accounting Software	Tools like QuickBooks or Xero	$15 - $60/month
Office Space	Rent for physical office space (optional)	$500 - $5,000/month
Office Supplies	Furniture, computers, and other essentials	$1,000 - $5,000 (one-time)
Employee Salaries	Wages for hiring employees (depends on number of hires)	$35,000 - $70,000/employee/year
Freelance/Contractor Fees	Payments for freelance or contract work	$20 - $100/hour
Training and Development	Courses, seminars, and certifications	$200 - $2,000/year
Insurance	Business insurance for liabilities	$500 - $2,000/year
Marketing and Advertising	Costs to promote the agency	$500 - $5,000/month