How To Spot A Fake Marketing Agency

By Ali Saleh

Most marketing agencies are kinda scummy...

Most "marketing agency" advice is written by people who don't even run a marketing agency.

You know the type. Those people that spent more time in zoom meetings than actually running ad campaigns.

One of my professors was a textbook guy. Knew every 'proven' strategy in the book - the ones that all these agencies are using. When he tried to use them though, it was a disaster.

No clients, no results, just a bunch of theory and empty promises. His last resort was to run ads, and the ad salesman - who got paid every time the ad ran - looked him dead in the eye and said,

Yeah, you should run it very often. Veeeeeerrrrrrryyyyy often.

Of course he did. That's how the game works. The more they can make you spend, the more they get paid.

What they teach in business school is great if you've got $600 Million to spend (Like Coca-Cola), but if you're not flying private, these strategies will take your money and put it right into their pocket.

The secret is that: Most marketing agencies are just middlemen who learned how to talk a good game. They'll show you some charts, say 'brand awareness' a lot, and send you a bill that's sharper than a bee sting.

So how do you find a real marketing agency?

1. Look at Their Clients

The obvious, yet underutilized method is to look at what they've done before. Don't check out their website reviews, as they can easily be faked. Check out their Google & Facebook reviews. See what people say about them on Trustpilot.

If a marketing agency can't show you real results, real clients, or just proof that they know what they're doing, 99% of the time they're hiding something. Ask them for specifics - 'How many leads did you generate for (client)?', 'How long did it take?', etc..

Doing research is essential before throwing your money down the drain!

2. Ask About Their Process

Any marketing agency on the planet has a plan. For example, if you were to hire us our plan is to, in short:

  1. Get an understanding of your business
  2. Analyse your previous work, including websites & social media presence
  3. Do keyword research on the most efficient places to target for your business, based on previous data
  4. Ensure your website is up-to-date & efficient, including SEO (it's not all ads!)
  5. Run ads based on all previous data

The marketing agency you choose should walk you through what they'll do, why they'll do it, and what you can expect before giving you the decision to pay. If they can't, well... somethings wrong.

3. Do They Have Skin In The Game?

In other words, do they guarantee anything?

Take us for example, we only win if you win. Our entire paycheck relies on you getting results - not the other way around. Is the marketing agency you're looking at willing to risk their own business for the sake of yours?

Check out their website, socials, and blogs. Do they guarantee anything? Does that guarantee actually mean anything?

Red Flags (or, How to Spot a Scammer in 10 seconds)

  • They make big promises, but can't back them up (150% results in 30 days!)
  • Their testimonials smell like ChatGPT, not real clients
  • They can't explain what they'll actually do for you.
  • Zero pricing transparency (that is, if you have to push them for pricing)

If you're tired of losing money to people who couldn't market their way out of a trash can, start here.

Talk soon, Ali.