5 Proven Ways to Raise PPC Retainers Without Losing Clients

You scaled their account by 300% in six months.

You optimized their PMax campaigns until they printed money.

Yet, your invoice at the end of the month looked exactly the same as it did on day one.

This is the definition of the freelance media buyer struggle.

You take all the risk of execution.

You deliver massive upside.

But you receive a capped reward.

Meanwhile, the client views your flat retainer as a growing liability.

They do not see it as an asset.

It leads to freelance burnout and resentment.

You watch your client growth stagnation vanish while your own revenue hits a hard ceiling.

It is time to face a hard truth: your skills are not the problem.

Your business model is broken.

Here is the deal:

If you want to move from a rented pair of hands to a strategic partner, you must change.

You must fundamentally restructure how you charge.

You need to implement a performance based pricing model.

You need to master the art of upselling agency services.

This is not about greed.

It is about alignment.

The Structural Trap: Why Retainers Kill Growth

The traditional agency model is built on a lie.

It assumes that hours worked equals value delivered.

In reality, a fifteen-minute adjustment to a Meta Ads campaign can generate $50,000 in revenue.

Charge by the hour or a flat monthly fee?

You are punishing yourself for efficiency.

Clients develop mental budgets for your services.

They anchor your value to the initial price you set.

When you ask for more money because you are doing a good job, you face retainer increase resistance.

They do not see the logic.

To them, the software is working.

You are just maintaining it.

This is the undervaluation trap.

The Fix: Implementing a Hybrid Performance Based Pricing Model

Pure performance models are risky.

If the client’s site crashes or their inventory dries up, you make zero.

Pure retainers are stagnant.

You need a hybrid approach.

Hybrid performance pricing is becoming the industry standard in 2025.

According to Maxio’s 2025 SaaS Pricing Trends Report, companies using hybrid pricing models (combining subscription with usage or performance elements) report the highest median growth rate at 21%, outperforming pure subscription and usage-based models.

You need to tie fees to ad spend or revenue lift.

This aligns your incentive with their growth.

The “Base + Floor” Structure

Do not abandon the retainer.

Keep a baseline fee that covers your operating costs and basic tools.

This protects you from total downside.

Then, add a performance tier.

For example, charge a $2,000 base fee plus 5% of ad spend managed between $10k and $50k.

If spend goes over $50k, the percentage drops to 3%.

However, the absolute dollar amount rises.

This removes the firing risk that comes with asking for a raise.

You don’t have to ask.

Your raise is baked into the contract.

As you scale their Google Ads dashboard results, your invoice scales automatically.

Executing the Upsell: Moving Beyond Media Buying

The second half of the equation is upselling agency services.

You cannot rely solely on managing ads.

The market is facing market saturation.

Algorithms are getting smarter.

Clients can hire cheaper labor on Upwork or Workana to push buttons.

You must sell outcomes.

Do not sell inputs.

Industry research consistently shows that retaining and expanding existing customer relationships is significantly more cost-effective than acquiring new customers, with upselling to current clients delivering substantially higher returns on investment.

Yet, most freelancers are afraid to offer more.

They fear rejection.

Stop thinking of upsells as asking for favors.

Think of them as necessary ecosystem expansions.

1. Creative Strategy and Testing

Media buying is 80% creative in 2025.

If you are just running the ads, you are vulnerable.

You must own the creative feedback loop.

Offer a “Creative Performance Package.”

This involves analyzing which hooks stop the scroll.

Then you script new iterations.

This is distinct from ad management.

It is high-value consulting.

You cannot rely on intuition here.

You need data.

For example, tools like holito let you test this by uploading creatives to find personas and simulate messaging.

This is where holito saves time.

It allows you to validate concepts against AI-simulated audiences before you burn client budget.

2. The Conversion Rate Optimization (CRO) Add-On

Driving traffic to a bad landing page is malpractice.

Yet, freelancers do it every day.

When results tank, the client blames the media buyer.

Flip the script.

Audit their funnel.

Offer a “Landing Page Conversion Audit” as an upsell.

Use benchmark results to show them where they are leaking money.

For deeper insights on optimizing your ad performance and conversion rates, see our guide on why ads fail on cold traffic and how to optimize ad spend in 2025.

3. CRM and Lead Nurture

Leads are useless if they don’t close.

Many clients have terrible follow-up systems.

Upsell complementary services like setting up email sequences or SMS automations.

Help them build content lead engine workflows.

When you own the data entry point and the nurture sequence, you become irreplaceable.

You are no longer a vendor.

You are the infrastructure.

Navigating the Transition: Avoiding the “Fire Me” Moment

The biggest fear is loss aversion.

You worry that changing the deal will make the client walk.

Here is how you handle it:

Do not spring a new contract on them overnight.

Use a “Value-Anchoring” conversation.

Show them the data.

Show them the 300% growth.

Then, frame the new performance based pricing model as a win for them.

Say this: “I want to be incentivized to scale your account to $100k/month. Under the current model, I have no reason to take that risk.”

“Under the new model, I only win if you win big.”

Most business owners understand risk and reward.

They respect skin in the game.

Data-Driven Leverage: Stop Using Feelings

Never enter a negotiation without a dashboard.

Your feelings about being “overworked” are irrelevant to the client.

The Facebook Ads dashboard data is the only truth.

Prepare a quarterly business review.

Highlight the Revenue/Ad Spend ratio.

If you have generated a 5x ROAS, you have leverage.

If you haven’t, you don’t get to raise prices yet.

Use this data to justify the upselling agency services conversation.

Tell them: “We are getting clicks, but the conversion rate is 1%. We need to implement a CRO project to fix this bucket.”

That is not a sales pitch.

That is a diagnostic prescription.

Dealing with Cold Prospects

For new clients, never start with a flat retainer alone.

Set the precedent immediately.

Use a personalized cold video pitch to break down exactly how your model works.

Explain that you are not a cheap freelancer from a marketplace.

You are a growth partner.

The freelance media buyer struggle ends when you refuse to play the commodity game.

By combining a scalable pricing model with high-margin upsells, you insulate yourself from the devaluation trap.

You build a moat around your business.

Rapid Fire FAQ

Q: What if a client refuses the performance based pricing model?

A: If they refuse to share the upside they are receiving, they are viewing you as a cost center. They are not a partner. You must replace them with a client who values growth.

Q: How do I track revenue for the performance fee?

A: Use a third-party attribution tool. Or gain read-only access to their CRM/Shopify backend to ensure the numbers match the Facebook Ads dashboard.

Q: Can I use this model for lead generation clients?

A: Yes. But tie the performance fee to “Qualified Leads” or “Booked Appointments” rather than just raw leads. This ensures quality control.

Q: Is upselling agency services annoying to clients?

A: Only if the offer is irrelevant. If the upsell solves a bottleneck that is costing them money, they will thank you for it. Examples include bad creative or slow websites.

Q: How do I start upselling if I’m just one person?

A: Start with high-margin, low-fulfillment services. Try strategy audits or consulting hours. Or use software to automate the fulfillment.