PPCChat | PPC Freelancing & Consulting | 23rd January 2024

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Here is the screencap of the entire session of this week’s PPCChat session which was hosted by Julie F Bacchini.

Q1: Are you currently, or have you ever, worked as a PPC freelancer or consultant? If so, how many years have/did you work in that type of set-up?

I will hit 25 years as a consultant in July. @NeptuneMoon

I’m a full-time PPC freelancer. Started in March 2019 after 14 years working in-house. I can’t imagine ever working for someone else again. @Austin_Dillman

Yes, self-employed for 3 years now. Before that always had a couple of clients on the side. @BorisBeceric

Among other things, PPC is one of my services. I’ve been fully freelance for 2 years. I tend to not have it be the main thing I do, mainly because most businesses I work with have other priorities in their marketing. @ferkungamaboobo

Starting my 17th year. @Pete_Bowen

This year will be my 7th, agency life before that. @teabeeshell

My first freelance gig was in 2009. That’s still nowhere near Julie’s start, but it has been a minute. @heyglenns

I’m about halfway through year 2 as a full-time freelancer now! I spent about a year doing it part-time. @HarrisonHepp

I started my career in 2009 but I started freelancing in 2014. I like to say that my freelancing career became an agency in about 2018. @adwordsgirl

Since 2020 I’ve been running a few small campaigns as a consultant for local businesses
I mostly do technical consulting for advertisers (automation-type things) but like to keep a hand in actually in the weeds! @Greg_Asquith

I’ve been self-employed for 4 and a bit years now. prior to that I worked a a few agencies.  @Meriem

After having a job for 6 years, started as a freelance specialist. Still do consulting for 2 brands for their paid media and offer white-label services. 6th year of being a freelancer/consultant. Trying agency model as well but prefer the freelancer/consultant one as of now. @alimehdimukadam

Would you all have interest in an AMA type format where I would answer questions about longevity as a consultant, etc.? @NeptuneMoon

Interesting about the longevity as a consultant – don’t you just realise one day that you’re basically unemployable, shrug and keep going? @Pete_Bowen

That’s basically where I’m at in my career @Pete_Bowen I was a horrible employee years ago, I doubt I’ll be any better now. @adwordsgirl

Once you’ve been your own boss for a while it’s almost not possible to go back to working for someone else I think. @Pete_Bowen

Currently working full-time in-house and freelancing on the side part-time. I had about 4 years experience in PPC when I first started freelancing (now around 10 years experience). @kytaylor88

Have been running my own agency/consultancy for nearly 12 years now  (which was just me when I started and then morphed into more people) @revaminkoff

I’ve just started doing freelance on the side 1 year ago, but have worked at an agency and in-house for the last 7 years. I’m very interesting in that AMA. @IsaacTovares

Yes, this is year 11 for me…been off and on, not always full-time, but really trying to do DT now, but can’t get over that hump, it seems. I see all the positive, long-term folks here — what was your ” it factor” or ah-ga moment? @AmandaWitucki 

Started freelancing while travelling through South America in 2018 and went full-time freelancing in 2019.
Previously working client-side since 2012. @StevenWall

Agency has been around for 7 years.Spent a lot of my 20s and 30s freelancing while having day job. @duanebrown

Started around 10 years ago after being an affiliate manager in the online casino and poker industry for 6+ years before then. Got started in SEO and moved to PPC and been PPC and SEO since then. @MarkSubel

I have! about 3-4 years. @TheMarketingAnu

I’ve been doing some freelancing/consulting since about 2008, but full-time for about 8-9 years now. @robert_brady

Since 2017! before that, I was at Google. @MicheleJaeger1

Q2: How did you make the decision to become a PPC freelancer or consultant? What went into your decision?

I got laid off. That’s truly what got me to start looking into it. Then when I saw there was a choice, I willingly grabbed onto it. @heyglenns

I originally started my PPC journey at 19. When I started my first company. I was doing events so I would use ads to sell tickets and somehow I was decent at it. After about 3 years, I decided that I would leave that life and pursue ads. I started working for an automotive agency and while I was working there, a few people had approached me to manage their accounts. I waited probably another year before I actually started taking contracts but the rest is history! @adwordsgirl

My big moment was when I did jury duty. I realized I was making the world worse in so many ways doing the work I was doing, and that I could be a force for change for the better. I had the opportunity with a contract to work for myself, and that was the beginning of working through an ethical lens. @ferkungamaboobo

At my last agency, I once got told to “be at the desk at 8:30 or else…” by a 20 something and that was the moment I knew it was time.
But I had gotten super lucky the month prior and got called to help as a freelancer on one of the biggest aviation accounts in EU, so I knew the bills were paid for the next 6 months. So I just said “f it” and walked out.@BorisBeceric

I had been doing it on the side for a year or so. At the time I was working for another agency and it was just me and the owner. She decided she wanted to go in a different direction and offered me some of the clients I’d worked with if I wanted to go out alone. So, she gave me a big jumpstart and here I am! @HarrisonHepp

I’d spent 5 years at an agency and thought I could add more value on my own terms (plus I wanted the freedom to work on what and when I wanted)My first client (and still to this day) was a friends business who was being charged by a small agency to do literally nothing in the accounts (didn’t even notice broken GA and conversion tracking etc) – I 10x’d their conversions in 2 months just doing basics that should have already been there. @Greg_Asquith

I was working doing marketing strategy and graphic design for a health system (before the internet – gasp!). I had a few clients on the side. Then, my entire department got eliminated. So I thought, “Well, I guess today is the day…”And I evolved from print design to web design to SEO to PPC. Once I found PPC I was in love and the rest is history! @NeptuneMoon

If I can make $Y for a company (an agency & brand I worked for) and get paid a salary, I can at least try to make $Z for myself. That’s how it started…would have maybe looked for another job and almost got a senior position as well had it not been for a steady stream of client work. @alimehdimukadam

By accident. A friend invited me to join his business as the techy guy and he was training small business owners to do PPC. I ended up building tools to make it easier for them to build campaigns and landing pages and the next thing I was managing campaigns for others. @Pete_Bowen

Living in the Midwest and wanting to move myself back home to CA, I was incredibly frustrated with job listings themselves. They showed an incredible ineptitude by the job posters, and in taking interviews, lack of job knowledge by the hiring team.I did get an offer from Target Corporate to run search for all North America, but that was in Minneapolis…not much closer to CA.So, I ventured out on my own, working both with the agency I left and with another that I found in CA. From there, I found additional clients and continued onward and upward! @teabeeshell

I was working 60-80 hours/week and was completely miserable. Wasn’t sleeping. I was constantly filled with stress and anxiety. Worked in an environment with execs that were always fighting with each other (literally yelling and cussing in meetings).On top of that, my fiancee (girlfriend at the time) was diagnosed with cancer and I was taking care of her through surgeries, chemo and radiation treatments. Made sure I was present at all of her appointments. I hit my absolute breaking point mentally and physically. Gave my employer one-month’s notice. Prioritized my girlfriend and my own health over money and work. Decided to start my own business.Best decision I’ve ever made. I’m in charge of my own success now and have achieved more than I ever could have imagined. @Austin_Dillman

I worked my way up, was head off for a few years and decided the politics at the top was too much and just didn’t align with my values. The fact that I could see how much profit we made and I couldn’t give my team members pay rises and watch them leave was sad. So I just did it, took the step and then big C happened and if I can survive that, then you know, hold on to your hats, it’s going to be a bumpy ride but you gotta do what you gotta do whilst you enjoy it (80% of the time)  @Meriem

The company I was at said we don’t need you full time any more but we’ll pay you the same amount to work for us as a consultant. Sounded good to me, and the rest is history. @revaminkoff

One of the things I love the most about being my own boss is having the flexibility to scale up and down in my client load as needed for life. A lot has happened in my life in the last 5 years and I am truly grateful for the ability to set my own schedule and workload. @NeptuneMoon

Amen to that @NeptuneMoon. By Feb 8, I will have had four surgeries this year. Flexibility in my schedule is so important. @Austin_Dillman

Exactly that  @NeptuneMoon I went for lunch today with my sister, if I was agency side still, I’d be lucky to have 30 mins lunch and that would have usually been at my desk. So that is definitely one of the perks. HOWEVER, the whole work life balance thing I still struggle with, what if I don’t have work in 3 months, can I turn this down… etc @Meriem

@Meriem I feel like I do an entire hour talking about balance and how to get comfortable in the doing work and keeping prospecting going. @NeptuneMoon

@Meriem When I was working at WordStream on their client services team, that was a common issue. 9+ hour days and barely 30-45 minutes to eat lunch. Was usually at my desk prepping for my next client call. @kytaylor88 

@Meriem ya the up and down of omg I’ll never work again and omg I can’t keep up with all this work is definitely a fun side of freelance. @HarrisonHepp

@HarrisonHepp I  know logically that the work will keep coming – it has for years – but the feeling of “I’ll never work again” always seems to be there. @Pete_Bowen

BTW – next week we are going to talk about burnout and not liking your job/PPC anymore.  @NeptuneMoon

@Pete_Bowen I’m not sure if it’s comforting to know that someone who’s been doing it along time still gets those feelings or terrifying it’ll never go away. @HarrisonHepp

Agreed, I got burnt out as well by chewing more than I could bite. Was putting in 14-16 hours a day regularly at a time but it finally caught up with me. Learned to say no and have the privilege of choosing my clients now. Sometimes I miss the structure of having a 9-5 as work can get carried over to the weekend. Sometimes I am glad I don’t have a 9-5. @alimehdimukadam

@HarrisonHepp I think I’ve got better at separating the fact from the feelings. Also helps that I married the most optimistic person on the planet. @Pete_Bowen

Short answer on the “will anyone ever want to hire me again?” moments… they don’t totally go away, even after being independent for a long time. What does happen though is you acknowledge the feeling and send it packing. Because you know that more work will come because you are doing all the things you need to do to ensure that outcome. @NeptuneMoon

I started doing freelance because I needed help paying for my wedding. I was fortunate to get a few clients pretty quickly through my network and cold-outreach and every little bit helped! I also love the ability to take what I already know in PPC and either know exactly how to help someone or knowing i’ll learn something new if I don’t. @IsaacTovares

Extra money and gain more experience. Was freelancing at night while having a day job. Started to hate my day job, so quit and went all in once I had 3 stable clients. @duanebrown

For me it was a – needs/must. I got laid off and the agency looking was looking for a freelancer. @TheMarketingAnu

Honestly, just stumbling into it after being in SEO for so long, seemed like I needed to finally learn PPC or else I’d be left behind. @MarkSubel

My first agency job I was hired as the “PPC guy”. I had to do all the work as they added clients. Eventually I was also putting together proposals and going on sales calls for it. So I developed all the skills I needed.I also put in work on the networking side to make connections with other people in the industry. @robert_brady

I didn’t really make a decision. I made the decision to leave Google from their ad sales team, and one of my clients asked if I could manage their accounts after I left. I realized at that point I could make good money, so I chose to do it mostly for the income to “tide me over” until I figured out what was next. Then I just started picking up referrals. @MicheleJaeger1

Q3: What has been the most challenging aspect of being a PPC freelancer or consultant for you? How did you deal with the challenges? Do you wish you did it differently?

Because I freelance in addition to working full-time (recently at a boutique agency and now in-house), it’s been balancing work/life and not overloading myself too much. @kytaylor88

When Google Ads or some other external factor causes poor performance and other issues. I used to feel incredibly guilty about it like it was my fault. I’ve got better at separating what I can control from what I can’t and also communicating this with my clients. @Pete_Bowen

Early days was getting clients. Then I used to think it was keeping clients. Now it is just running a business and making sure those invoices get paid. @duanebrown

Juggling ALL the things.
Figuring out processes.
Knowing when to work in the business vs on the business.
Figuring out how to attract the right clients.
Constantly being “on” is the most challenging thing for me right now.@BorisBeceric

Bweh, getting that initial net out there. Awareness is my number one challenge – I’m somewhat lucky in that I’m in a metro area, but it’s hard to do prospecting and setting yourself apart, and getting the referral alongside doing the work and paying rent and and and. Would love any insights on getting that “hi I exist” out there. @ferkungamaboobo

It’s not personal, it’s business – but it can feel very personal when it’s your business and when you feel like everything is on your shoulders. @revaminkoff

I think the challenges change throughout the years. Year 1 vs year 5:Year 1: knowing how to find clients, what to charge, how to charge, how to write contracts, etc.Year 5: how to scale without taking on more working hours and how to do more strategy work vs also being in the weeds (working with other freelancers for tactical work). @Austin_Dillman

@ferkungamaboobo This is why I haven’t made the decision to freelance full-time. All of my freelance clients are either referrals or former clients of mine from past agency work, trying to get new clients seems daunting, at times. @kytaylor88

Since I’m still early, consistently getting clients and leads is definitely a big challenge. I wish I’d invested more effort into this when I started. Also never being able to turn my brain off is a challenge. I definitely try to have a balance, but you never seem to get that real “day off” feeling when you know it’s all on you. @HarrisonHepp

I think the biggest realization I had about doing my own thing in a tech field was that there was so much out of my control that could really impact my whole business model. That is a big pill to swallow. Flexibility has been SO important. Flexibility with my service offerings, with what my working time looked like, etc. @NeptuneMoon

Switching off. Running a business means my mind is constantly ticking and thinking of all the small things. I feel like it comes in waves.@StevenWall

Charging what I’m worth and being unapologetic about that is really really hard. @revaminkoff

@Pete_Bowen That feeling sometimes snowballs into “they’ll fire me because of those out-of-my-control issues.” @heyglenns

When I started, it was about working with anyone and everyone. No proper expectation setting, no onboarding forms or checklists, no agreements, And not having a defined structure for work, timings, etc.My ADHD brain is somehow always late on creating an invoice. Have automated that now.Payments also become an issue at times and I hate following up for it. Had some clients just refusing to pay to try to save costs later (Working on a demand letter now to send to one of them) @alimehdimukadam

How to diversify what I do. I’m heavily focused on paid media. I worry more these days about automation in the ad platforms and how that may impact my future in this business.I have ideas for another business that I plan to work on this year as a bit of a safeguard. I’m always trying to think a few years ahead. Goal is to retire at 50. @Austin_Dillman

For those struggling with boundaries, a few suggestions: Have a separate physical workspace – if at all possible do not work from your living room or even worse your bedroom. That physical limit can make it easier to walk away/clock out from work. You do not have to be available 24/7. To anyone. Set your regular business hours, including time zone, in your contracts and then stick to them for yourself. Log off at night. @NeptuneMoon

So @Austin_Dillman one other piece of advice I often give is to really tune in to what is keeping clients up at night and what they are worried about. You can find some great ideas for new services or directions by doing this. Cause you can only sell stuff that people want to buy in that time. Again, my flexibility theme. @NeptuneMoon

For me, it’s saying no, understanding my worth and not overthinking it, you know the ‘am I sure I’m right’ as I have no one to bounce my idea or doubt too. Definitely something I’m still working on. @Meriem

It’s the juggle. With everything (most everything) squarely on your shoulders, time management becomes paramount. It’s easy to get sucked into a black hole, which can create “schedule debt” for oneself. @teabeeshell

This…it can get pretty lonely at times which leads to that self-doubt creeping up. @alimehdimukadam

what I found helps is connecting with fellow freelancers, regularily talking openly – I found many of us are going through the same things. @BorisBeceric

@teabeeshell I think being realistic about your actual working on PPC tasks available time is important too. It is easy to forget you have admin stuff to do and client communication and reporting to pull, etc. and not factor that in to your “how many hours do I have available” math. Each new client adds to all those non direct PPC tasks. @NeptuneMoon

t’s interesting because I think the broad base of skills and knowledge that I have hurts me from a sales perspective — I’ve been told multiple times that someone who can do bash scripting can’t do amazon ads. @ferkungamaboobo

Both in employment and client relationships. @ferkungamaboobo

@ferkungamaboobo I call BS on that. I can program and run ads, and sell to people and I’m not exceptional. @Pete_Bowen

Oh for sure, I know it’s all related and a broad set of skills – just trying to diagnose issues in my business out loud. @ferkungamaboobo

Saying no is hard. Finding new clients is hard at times. Keeping balance in your life is hard. Running the administration side of things is hard. But the flexibility and income diversification is totally worth it to me. @robert_brady

For sure the emotional toll of feeling responsible for client’s business. Which I know is ridiculous, but it’s hard when they are spending lots of money with you. I’ve gotten better at this, but it’s still tough. The other thing is figuring out how to take a REAL completely offline vacation when there are thousands of dollars getting spent everyday, and if something breaks, it could totally derail everything if I don’t catch it in time. @MicheleJaeger1

@NeptuneMoon On that topic (understanding client issues), I work with a collective of 120 other consultants. I tap into their expertise and bring them on with me which the client loves and is also an additional revenue stream – I earn a particular % of all revenue for referring the client and doing all the paperwork.Bizdev/referrals are a decent part of my (mostly) passive income. @Austin_Dillman

Q4: What do you really like about being a PPC freelancer or consultant?

The flexibility has been so so helpful. I love being able to set my own hours and adjust my schedule as needed. @revaminkoff

Tons of freedom and control. I joke with friends that the best part of being your own boss is also the worst part, you make all the choices. The buck stops with you.  @duanebrown

The flexibility was especially helpful when pregnant, post-partum, and now having a kid in daycare. Just has made parenting much easier. @revaminkoff

I love being the boss of me. And deciding who I work with and on what kinds of projects. And as I mentioned earlier, the ability to scale up and down my workload as I have needed to has been a godsend. @NeptuneMoon

Work in sweatpants and not wear shoes never miss school play, dinner with the kids walks with the dog
whenever I feel like taking a break I can go to the homegym and get a workout in. @BorisBeceric

Apart from the usual, the ability to suggest & recommend improving other areas of business connected with PPC like CRO, business metrics, etc and not just remaining siloed in CPC, CTR, cost/conv, ROAS. @alimehdimukadam

The flexibility is definitely up there And being able to choose clients is a big win. @Greg_Asquith

I like that I control my own destiny. If I want to make more money, I can work more and accomplish that. If I’m more efficient and get the work done, I can take that time and spend it elsewhere.@robert_brady

So for me it’s a little different. I’m so happy that I can talk to clients and free them from thinking that marketing is this horrible thing. That it’s something so arcane and the deals you have to cut are so unfriendly. Seeing that a client continues with the accessibility work that I do, or that someone’s website continues well after our engagement is wonderful to me.  @ferkungamaboobo

The flexibility and control are definitely huge. Also getting to choose your clients and not working on accounts or with people you don’t enjoy. I also always struggled knowing that I was in charge of driving $X for the business but I only made $Y even though there was little value add outside of my work. @HarrisonHepp

It’s freeing in that the agency life was so focused on MRR and “what do we do” and “how do we fit into the hours” where with my own business I can say “I did good work, we both feel good, feel free to call me if there’s something I can help with in the future.” @ferkungamaboobo

For me, it’s the double-edged sword of ensuring the highest level of quality of work (vs. having perfection get in the way of progress). I love being able to deliver superb work and hold it to the highest standard. There is always value (and scalability) in relying on others, but there is less coordination when one individual controls the work output. @teabeeshell

Flexibility, especially when the kids were still young. @Pete_Bowen

I genuinely think the agency model – and this is no shade to anyone – but that the model is VERY broken and hurts everyone. @ferkungamaboobo

The relative “job security” is nice. While I understand that technically, it might be less secure, it feels more secure to be your own boss and control your own destiny. @revaminkoff

Freedom to work on what we want to work on. And really lifestyle flexibility, especially being able to do things with my kids if I want to. @MarkSubel

Being able to choose who I work with is my #1 thing. It’s the reason I’ll likely never get into an agency again. @robert_brady

@revaminkoff having been laid off twice in my career I honestly think that there is more job security. You’re more likely to be laid off from one job than have all of your clients fire you at the exact same time. @HarrisonHepp

I love the day to day flexibility. I love some of the projects I get to work on – for the great clients, it’s great to feel like you are contributing to their success. @MicheleJaeger1

  • Way more free time and schedule flexibility
  • Charge what I want
  • Choose my clients
  • Can work from anywhere
  • No manager
  • My clients value me way more than any manager ever did when I worked in-house @Austin_Dillman

Q5: What advice would you give to someone thinking about going freelance/consultant? What do you wish someone would have told you?

Honestly? Don’t overthink it. I wish I’d done it earlier, but I was always too afraid because kids & bills and such. You can always go back to employment. @BorisBeceric

First piece of advice, take advantage of all the smarties here who have done it! Ask and ye shall receive advice. @NeptuneMoon

It’s harder than you think – it’s a cliche and everyone says it, but there are tough days/weeks/months
But it’s worth it! @Greg_Asquith

Charge more sooner. Know your worth, but keep it objective. Ground a fee in hard data that you can show potential clients.Don’t budge (too much) on what’s charged. You will find the right clients who value your work/expertise and can pay for it. @teabeeshell

Money stress is real. Don’t quit your job till you’ve got enough clients signed up to cover the bills. Save a buffer so you can go a year or so without earning before you buy a Ferrari. @Pete_Bowen

Do not reduce price without reducing scope work. EVER. Beware of any potential client who tries to get your price down with the promise of “there is lots more work for you if you do a good job with this for super cheap.”That work hardly ever materializes and IF it does? Guess what? They want to pay the same low price and you’ve screwed yourself royally. @NeptuneMoon

Develop a system that works for you and keeps you on task and on time. When you’re the boss, you have to make sure the work gets done. @robert_brady

@NeptuneMoon that is the best advice, and it is the MOST difficult to implement! @MicheleJaeger1

Set the expectations early on and define what success means for the client – benchmarks, KPI’s etc. @alimehdimukadam

Also, don’t believe that little voice in your head that might tell you you’re not as good as this person or you don’t have expert knowledge in every single aspect of PPC. You can learn as you go too! @NeptuneMoon

If you can definitely try and start it on the side first so you can get some of the learning pains out of the way with a steady income. Don’t wait to start building out some sort of lead generation effort. Some days you’ll feel like a failure and other days like you’re the greatest there is, but don’t let either get to you. @HarrisonHepp

I get into full PPC Mom mode on this topic. @NeptuneMoon

There is more demand for quality PPC managers than there is supply. @robert_brady

Maybe think about your work environment – are you okay working by yourself everyday? Are you good at cultivating relationships with people? Are you ready to work on your boundaries? You will have to learn a lot of new skills that you might not expect (e.g. structure, time management, people skills, expectation setting). How you present yourself is often how you will be received. @MicheleJaeger1

I’d add that you should make up your mind on whether you’re solo or going to add others. They are two very different things, each needs their own processes & ramp up time. Don’t just call yourself an agency for fear of looking small. Decide what you’ll be & wear it proud. @heyglenns

Yes @heyglenns I was thinking about maybe setting up an agency (I guess micro agency is what the younguns say these days) but ultimately decided against it. I’m good at PPC, not good at managing people. @BorisBeceric

Do it part time while you’re employed. Just don’t let it interfere with your job and make sure it doesn’t go against your employee contract.Part time allows you to test the waters, see if you can find clients on your own, helps you understand how to charge, and gives you some clients to use as referrals.Also make sure you have enough savings to last you a good amount of time (3-6 months?) in case business is slow. @Austin_Dillman

Know what your skill set and experience is worth. Remember the clients that are willing to pay you the least will chomp up all your time. Find clients that will pay you what you are worth to help them succeed. There will be more respect and better relationships. @KimRoutley

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