If you want to get a lively debate going among entrepreneurs, here’s an idea: “in house vs agency.”
Some eCommerce founders insist that a digital marketing agency is indispensable to scaling up. Others prefer to work with freelancers, or build their in-house team.
So which one is better? And are marketing agencies worth it in 2025? Important questions, without short answers. The reality is that the “in house vs agency” question is not an either/or. An eCommerce business will need one or the other (maybe even both) at different stages in its development.
Let’s Cut to the Chase
Here, we’re not doing the stock standard “benefits of marketing agencies” blog. Because that would tell you nothing you don’t know already. Instead, we’re connecting each model to a different type of eCommerce brand, based on our experience working with eCommerce trailblazers. You may recognize your business in one or more of the types that we outline here.
So let’s get to it.
You’re a Marketing Agency…I See Where This is Going.
Hustler Marketing ranks #21 in organic search for “email marketing agency” (no cap). So, of course, we want as many brands to sign up to work with us. Right?
Not necessarily.
In fact, sometimes it’s in everyone’s best interests to stay on friendly terms without taking the step of working together. Here are some cases where an eCommerce brand does not need an email marketing agency:
- The brand doesn’t have enough budget to make full use of the agency’s offerings.
- The agency requires a length of commitment that the brand is uncomfortable with.
- An audit is done, and the agency confirms that the in-house team is knocking it out the park.
That last one happens more than you think, especially here at Hustler. Here’s a conversation between one of our SDRs and a brand that we would have loved to sign – but whose email marketing channel was in such good shape that everything we audited got a stellar rating.
Email Marketing Services: Who Are They For, Really?
Here are the types of eCommerce businesses who really succeed with an email marketing agency partner.
1: The Scale Up Superhero
You’re an up-and-coming brand with a healthy marketing budget. If you’re the founder, this probably isn’t your first rodeo. You’ve got product-market fit down, and your shipping and fulfillment infrastructure is good to go. Now, you need to scale fast. A full-service email marketing agency can be your fast track to getting the right expertise, resources, and tools.
2: The Growth Guru
Established ecommerce brands with a strong customer base can face stagnation. It’s always a good idea to refresh your marketing strategies – and an agency partnership might be just what you need to do that. Marketing agencies bring fresh perspectives, innovative ideas, and the latest tools to help established brands optimize their existing strategies and explore new opportunities for growth and differentiation, like UGC advertising.
3: The Niche Ninja
Most agencies take a jack-of-all-trades approach to email marketing. But others have taken a steep learning curve on a specific niche, so they can service specialized markets like luxury goods, high tech, CBD products, even SaaS. If yours is a niche brand, it’s a good idea to vet potential vendors based on their ability to work in your vertical. A full-service email marketing agency who understands your language, your audience, and the unique compliance issues within your field could help you to stay ahead as competition intensifies through 2025, and more niches approach saturation.
In House vs Agency: Who Should Stay on Team Freelancer (or Hire a Permanent Team)?
If any of these describe your brand or business, hiring in-house or sourcing freelancers directly might be the best option for you right now:
You have Specific, But Short-Term Needs
If you only need help with one-off projects (e.g., a website overhaul, a single email flow), freelancers offer flexibility without long-term contracts. Or, if you already have an established in house marketing team, they can quickly address these short-term projects as part of their daily operations.
Your Want Full Control Over Marketing
In-house teams or freelancers allow more direct control over branding, strategy, and execution. This is ideal for businesses that want tight integration with other departments (like product or customer service) and immediate decision-making. That’s because, in an agency partnership, control is always shared to some degree. After all, the agency’s insights and expertise are part of the package. Micromanaging an agency team can lead to suboptimal relationships and results. It could drastically escalate costs – especially if they bill by the hour.
In House Plus Agency: the Best of Both?
There’s a third scenario that we haven’t considered yet: the “both and”.
Working with an agency doesn’t mean firing your in-house team. In fact, if an email marketing agency’s model is flexible enough, they can help you to fill critical skills gaps that let your internal marketing team focus on product or business expansion.
This works especially well for businesses who want to expand into new marketing channels like UGC.
Laying a Strong Foundation for Success in Q1 2025
With a new year on the horizon, it’s time for brands to give their marketing infrastructure a health check. Whether you’re managing marketing in house, with freelancers, or in partnership with an agency, a full audit of your marketing channels could reveal new opportunities for growth in 2025.
Contact our team to schedule yours. Worst case scenario: you come away with a clean bill of health and the peace of mind that comes from knowing you’re set up for success as Q1 rolls around in just 2 months.
