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How to Write Marketing Proposals That Get Deals Done

Learn how to make a marketing proposal that differentiates your plan, strategy, and services. Get customizable templates to make your best proposal yet.

Author Dominika Krukowska

5 minute read

How to write a marketing proposal

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Short answer

How to write a marketing proposal?

  1. Research the client’s competitive landscape
  2. Analyze the client’s marketing activity and find critical gaps
  3. Identify the client's needs
  4. Communicate with the client to validate their challenges and objective
  5. Build a tailored marketing strategy and game plan
  6. Used a marketing proposal template to create your proposal
  7. Have your champion review the proposal and provide feedback
  8. Send the proposal to decision-makers or schedule a meeting to walk them through it

Read on to learn how to write your proposal slide-by-slide ⤵

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What are the main types of marketing proposals?

Marketing proposals can take a few different shapes depending on what you actually do for clients. Some are tied to one-off projects, others are more strategic or ongoing.


7 main types of marketing proposals:

  1. Marketing strategy proposal: This one covers the big picture. It’s where you explain how you’ll help a client reach their goals - things like market positioning, messaging, finding the right audience, and choosing the best mix of marketing channels.

  2. Market analysis proposal: This type is more research-focused. It’s about giving the client a clear view of the market - who their competitors are, what’s trending, and what their customers actually need - so they can make smarter decisions.

  3. Marketing project proposal: This is usually tied to a specific job with a clear start and end, like launching a new website or running a short campaign. The proposal outlines what’s involved, how long it’ll take, and what the client can expect at the end.

  4. Marketing campaign proposal: Here, you’re pitching a single campaign - like a product launch or seasonal push. It covers what the campaign will look like, what you’re hoping to achieve, how you’ll do it, and how you’ll measure success.

  5. Marketing budget proposal: This one’s all about where the money’s going. You break down how the client’s budget will be used across different activities and show them why that spend actually makes sense.

  6. Lead generation proposal: If the client’s goal is to bring in new leads, this proposal explains how you’re going to do that - what tactics you’ll use, how you’ll attract the right people, and what kind of results they can expect.

  7. Performance marketing proposal: This type is focused on measurable results - things like clicks, sign-ups, or sales. It’s usually quite data-driven, and sometimes it ties your payment to hitting those targets.

What is the best marketing proposal format?

The most common marketing proposal format is a static PDF, but that’s also the least effective. A PDF format makes it practically impossible to stand out from the crowd or convey information in an engaging way.

A promising PDF alternative is the new interactive web-based proposals. This new format lets you include live data and multimedia, embed e-signature widgets, and lead forms, be easily read on mobile, and easily shared via a regular web link.

What does a marketing proposal look like?

A marketing proposal traditionally looks like a simple PDF with dense text and minimal design. But it is hard to stand out and differentiate your offer using this format.

For this reason, leading marketing agencies and service providers have been transitioning to interactive web-based proposals which are more engaging, convert better, and come with invaluable analytics built-in.

Check out the example below to see what I mean.

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If you'd like to learn more, check out our guide on how to design a marketing proposal.

How to write a marketing proposal slide by slide

Based on our analysis of marketing proposal performance, with over 100K reading sessions on Storydoc, we’ve come up with an optimal content structure for a marketing plan proposal.

This marketing proposal format works well for marketing agencies or consultancies looking to persuade prospective clients but also for internal teams seeking to promote their marketing projects internally.

Stick around to learn how it’s done.

But if you’re not looking for information, but more along the lines of inspiration, go check out our marketing proposal examples.

What to include in a marketing proposal?

  1. Cover
  2. About us
  3. Market challenges and opportunity
  4. Objectives
  5. Strategy and game plan
  6. Results tracking and KPIs
  7. Timeline
  8. Budget
  9. Case study
  10. Next steps
  11. Contact and Call-to-Action
  12. Terms and conditions, approval, and sign-off

1) Cover

The cover is your best chance to stand out from other proposals on your prospect’s desk and grab their attention long enough to persuade them you’re their top choice.

It’s critical to make the cover highly relevant at a glance. To do this use your title and tagline to communicate your value proposition. Make it short and sharp.

Additionally, add in personalization by including the prospective client’s logo, brand colors, and relevant industry imagery, and address your point of contact by name.

TIP: It’s good practice to provide the projected reading time to help the reader assess the time and effort involved in reading your proposal.

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marketing proposal cover slide

2) About us

This should be a brief description of your company in the context of the marketing services offered.

The point is to position your company as an authority and leading provider of those services.

Focus the description on what you do, how you do it different, and who you do it for, NOT on details like the year you were founded, number of employees, and office locations.

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marketing proposal introduction slide

3) Market challenges and opportunity

This is where you give a clear picture of the landscape you’re working in - what the market looks like right now, who the key players are, and what challenges you’re up against.

You also need to be crystal clear on who you’re targeting. Listing broad groups like “tech professionals” isn’t enough.

Proper target market segmentation means breaking that down into meaningful subgroups - like IT managers at mid-size companies, early-stage SaaS startups, or freelance consultants.

This way, you can tailor the offer, messaging, and channels to match how each group actually buys.

If you skip this step or keep it vague, the rest of the proposal won’t hold up.

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marketing proposal challenge and opportunity slide

4) Objectives

The objectives should be the North Star guiding your strategy and marketing efforts.

Align your objectives with your prospect’s business goals. Ask yourself and your contact person what they’re aiming for and what metrics are most appropriate for measuring it.

Objectives should be Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-Bound (SMART).

You can set your objectives as single KPIs or write them as mission statements each involving multiple KPIs as a measure of success.

Example marketing objectives:

  • Increase brand awareness
  • Increase sales
  • Generate new leads
  • Launch product
  • Increase website traffic
  • Increase revenue
  • Improve customer retention
  • Increase market share
  • Break into new markets
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Marketing proposal objectives slide

5) Strategy and game plan

Your marketing strategy is your chance to distinguish your offering. Outline your strategic approach for product differentiation, content marketing, community building, influencer marketing, and partnerships.

Your game plan should detail the tactics for each strategy, in marketing channels such as PPC, SEO, social media, YouTube, traditional advertising, and brand collaborations.

In your game plan, detail how you will do the specific actions you’ll take to fulfill your strategy and reach your objectives.

Critically, tailor your strategy to the client’s target audience, or a smaller subset that is most likely to convert and get you closer to your objectives (based on your market research).

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Marketing proposal strategy slide
Create my marketing proposal with AI
Marketing proposal game plan

6) Results tracking and KPIs

Clients want more than promises. They seek tangible results, and they expect you to demonstrate accountability.

So give them concrete measurable KPIs and a clear forecast of the results you aim to deliver.

This enables decision-makers to weigh the investment against what they stand to gain, or in other words, calculate your service's ROI.

Nail this, and the deal is most likely yours. Just make sure the KPIs align with the objectives. And make sure you can monitor marketing metrics in real-time so you can make adjustments to your plan as you go.

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Marketing proposal results tracking slide
Create my marketing proposal with AI
Marketing proposal KPIs slide

7) Timeline

A timeline is a critical tool for maintaining structure and pace, keeping to deadlines, and avoiding confusion and misunderstandings.

This is especially true for project proposals or if part of your services takes the form of projects, like website development, or rebranding.

Your timeline should detail important events, activities, and milestones that concern your prospect, such as onboarding on a new tool, designing a website, launching a campaign, reaching a certain benchmark, or entering a new market.

How to present a timeline slide:

To establish a timeline effectively, break down major phases into manageable tasks. Use a visual timeline in your business document like a Gantt chart or an interactive timeline slide like in the example below.

This visual aid helps clarify the project timeline, including the specific hours dedicated to each task.

Example timeline structure:

  • Market research phase - week 1-2
  • Dedicated content creation - week 3-6
  • Content distribution and promotion - week 7-10
  • Bi-weekly check-ins with the marketing team - week 11-20
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Marketing proposal timeline slide

8) Budget

The budget slide details the cost of various marketing activities and deliverables.

The budget or investment slide is best presented as a table with a breakdown of the marketing services you are offering or distinct parts of a marketing project.

Each budget list item should be accompanied by a clear description of the value it brings. This helps buyers justify and rationalize the expense.

It’s also important to outline payment terms as straightforwardly as possible and specify the payment schedule, including any deposits required and the preferred payment methods (this information can be hidden and exposed only when clicked on).

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Marketing proposal pricing slide

9) Case study

Include case studies or success stories of happy clients. They will provide proof of your expertise and ability to deliver results.

However, make sure to only include case studies relevant to the client's industry and specific challenges. The more the client sees themselves in the case study the stronger the impact.

To save space you can use tabs to house multiple case studies on a single slide.

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Marketing proposal case study slide

10) Next steps

The next steps inform the client about the immediate actions they should take and the event taking place after accepting the proposal.

If the proposal is intended to close a meeting with decision-makers to sign a contract then the next steps could be sending them a contract for review, correction, and sign-off.

If the proposal includes an e-signature box, then the next steps will detail the first few steps in the client’s onboarding process.

For a SaaS product, for example, these could be meeting the team, creating user accounts, a training session on using your system, etc.

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Marketing proposal next steps sli

11) Call to action (CTA)

The contact slide is meant to help buyers and decision-makers easily contact you when they need to, for inquiries, requests, or comments.

In cases where the goal of the proposal is to book a meeting with the board of directors or any other meeting to finalize the deal, then your CTA should be a link to your calendar.

In cases where the goal is to hand over the contract for review, the CTA should be a button to download the contract or a link to review it online.

Whatever your goal is, the CTA should be the next simplest step toward materializing that goal.

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Marketing proposal CTA and contact slide

12) Terms and conditions, approval, and sign-off

When sending your last and final proposal it’s best practice to include the terms and conditions and the approval sign-off within the document.

Digital proposals like the ones you can make with Storydoc let you embed an e-signature in your proposal and enable your buyer to sign the agreement right then and there.

Create my marketing proposal with AI
marketing proposal terms and conditions
Create my marketing proposal with AI
marketing proposal approval and sign-off slide

How to prepare for your marketing proposal

A great marketing proposal doesn’t start with a pitch - it starts with research.

The more you understand your client’s world, the better your chances of delivering a proposal that actually lands.

That means knowing their market, their goals, what’s working (and what isn’t), and what their competitors are doing better.

Once you’ve done the legwork, you can build a proposal that plays to the client’s strengths, speaks their language, and focuses on the outcomes that matter most to them.

1) Research the client’s competitive landscape

Start by getting a feel for the space your client operates in. Look into the key players, market share, industry trends, and any shifts that could open up opportunities - or introduce risks.

Try to identify areas where competitors are underperforming, where the messaging feels outdated, or where certain audience segments are being ignored.

Tools like SimilarWeb, Crunchbase, or industry-specific reports can help you dig deeper and spot patterns.

2) Analyze the client’s marketing activity and find critical gaps

  • Start with the company’s public face, including its website, press releases, and published interviews, to grasp its market position.
  • Audit their SEO, PPC, and other significant marketing channels.
  • Assess their activity on their social media accounts and analyze their customer engagement strategies.
  • Look at what your target client’s competitors are doing successfully. It will also help uncover gaps that can be transformed into opportunities.
  • Look into how they showcase their products, their unique value proposition, and differentiation.

3) Identify the client's needs

  • Take a direct approach and communicate with your prospects about their goals and pain points.
  • Involve project stakeholders in these discussions since they can provide other perspectives that might otherwise be missed.
  • Deduce from similar past clients what your prospect is struggling with and validate your assumptions with them.
  • Assess critical risks or major opportunities based on your research of the client's competitive landscape and their marketing activity.
  • Get data and insights from your prospect’s reports and case studies to help you understand their industry trends and consumer behavior.

4) Define what success looks like

Get clear on what the client actually wants to achieve. Whether it’s growth, visibility, better-quality leads, or improved retention, you need to know what they’ll be looking at when they judge whether the work was worth it.

Set clear, trackable KPIs upfront - because if you don’t align now, you risk building a proposal that looks great on paper but solves the wrong problem.

5) Map out internal and external constraints

It’s easy to pitch ideas. It’s harder to pitch ideas that actually stand a chance of getting implemented.

Take stock of the practical limitations your client is working with - budget, timeline, team capacity, internal approval chains, legal or compliance issues.

A proposal that acknowledges these realities shows that you’re strategic and operationally aware too.

6) Turn your research into a focused strategy

Once you’ve got a clear picture of the client’s market, needs, and constraints, it’s time to shape that insight into a strategy they can actually say yes to.

Start by outlining what you’re going to do, how it ties back to their business goals, and why this approach makes sense given what you’ve uncovered.

The goal isn’t to list everything you could do - it’s to make a strong case for what you should do based on what matters most to this client.

Before you send the proposal off, get internal feedback if needed, tighten the messaging, and prep your contact person to champion it internally.

The clearer your proposal is, the easier it’ll be for your champion to make the case on your behalf when you’re not in the room.

Create your marketing proposal from a template

You want to spend your time closing deals - not stuck formatting documents or rewriting the same pitch for the tenth time.

To help you cut down on the prep work, we’ve put together a collection of our best-performing marketing proposal templates.

They’re built around a structure that consistently works for Storydoc users, designed to grab attention, build trust, and move things forward.

Just grab one.

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Dominika Krukowska

Hi, I'm Dominika, Content Specialist at Storydoc. As a creative professional with experience in fashion, I'm here to show you how to amplify your brand message through the power of storytelling and eye-catching visuals.

Table of contents
How to write a marketing proposal? (short answer) Main types of marketing proposals Best marketing proposal format What does a marketing proposal look like? How to write a marketing proposal slide by slide What to include in a marketing proposal? How to prepare for your marketing proposal Marketing proposal templates
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