Marketing Retainer Proposal (Scope-Fence)

A freelance marketer or small agency converting a one-off client into stable monthly recurring revenue.

Fill four variables: {client_business} is the client's line of work (e.g. 'a skincare clinic in Taipei'), {monthly_fee} is the monthly figure (e.g. NT$45,000), {contract_length} is the engagement (e.g. 6-month), and {service_focus} is what you actually deliver (e.g. Instagram content and ad management). Run it on ChatGPT or Claude; both hold the 550-word cap fine. The thing to watch is that models tend to write the 'Not included' box too politely — soften that wording and the fence stops protecting you. After it generates, audit every line: change '12 posts' to a volume you can genuinely sustain, load the 'quoted separately' list with the requests you get nickel-and-dimed on most (extra edits, surprise live streams, last-minute copy), and trim filler so the proposal reads as an audit checklist, not a sales pitch.

The real design move here is turning a price quote into a boundary document. It forces deliverables specific enough for both sides to audit at month's end — because a vague line like 'help with social media' always gets stretched after signing, whereas '12 posts, 2 reports' is a hard number nobody can argue with. The fenced 'Not included' box is not politeness; it is leverage: by naming what costs extra up front, you get a reason to re-quote instead of silently absorbing scope creep. The prompt also plants two time anchors: a 3-step onboarding for the first 30 days so the client feels momentum the moment they sign, and a day-90 review clause that pre-loads renewal into the contract, so they expect the decision to rest on data from the start rather than on whether they happen to like you.

• 01When {contract_length} is short (e.g. 3-month), frame the fee as a 'trial alignment period' and offer the discount only on rollover to a longer term — far easier to close than locking someone into 12 months on day one.
• 02Split {service_focus} into two or three separate deliverable lines with their own quantities (e.g. 'Instagram content' and 'ad management') so the client can see exactly where the fee goes and finds it harder to haggle down.
• 03List the three things you get pulled into for free most often (brand design, website work, last-minute event copy) in the 'Not included' box, each tagged 'quoted separately', to fence verbal add-ons outside the contract.
• 04Put dates on the 30-day onboarding steps (content calendar by day 3, live by day 7) so the client sees progress in month one — and at the day-90 review you have a delivery trail to point to when you pitch the renewal.

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