By Andrew Moon · Orange Nomad · Updated March 2026
Most MSP owners either spend too little and wonder why nothing moves, or spend too much on the wrong things and conclude that marketing doesn't work for their business. Neither is true. The problem is almost always sequencing — spending on channels before the infrastructure that makes those channels productive is in place.
This guide gives you real numbers, by revenue tier, with line-item breakdowns. These figures come from working with MSPs across all three stages of the 3Cs Framework — Foundation, Growth, and Scale.
The Rule of Thumb
Spend 3–7% of ARR on marketing, allocated toward the 3Cs stage you're actively building. Under $1M ARR, the priority is infrastructure — most of it costs almost nothing. Over $3M, the priority shifts to amplification and systems. Spending out of sequence is the most common way MSPs waste their marketing budget.
Foundation — Under $1M ARR
Tier 1 · Foundation
Under $1M ARR
Owner-operated · 1–5 staff · 5–20 clients
$800–$1,500
per month
LinkedIn profile + outreach
50 targeted connections/week. Headline rewrite. No paid tools needed.
$0
Google Business Profile claim and setup
One-time afternoon. Ongoing posts weekly.
$0
Email platform (HubSpot Starter or equivalent)
For welcome sequence and weekly newsletter.
~$50/mo
One-page website hero + niche page refresh
Copywriting + minor developer time. Not a full rebuild.
$500–$800 one-time
Lead magnet design
One-page checklist, branded. Canva or a freelance designer.
~$150 one-time
Quarterly Lunch and Learn
$25 GrubHub per attendee × 10–12 attendees. Virtual.
$250–$300/quarter
Avoid at this tier: Paid ads (no credibility infrastructure yet), full website rebuild (premature), SEO agency retainers (too slow a return for the current stage).
Growth — $1M–$3M ARR
Tier 2 · Growth
$1M–$3M ARR
1–15 staff · 20–60 clients · Some outreach activity
Copywriter or Andrew's plan delivery. Highest-ROI single task.
$150–$200 one-time
Website hero refresh
Developer + copy update on existing site. Not a rebuild.
$200–$400 one-time
Lead magnet (checklist or assessment)
Design + landing page. Connected to email sequence.
$150–$200 one-time
Quarterly Lunch and Learn
$25 GrubHub × 12–15 attendees. Virtual or in-person.
$300–$500/quarter
PandaDoc or DocuSign
For proposal e-signatures. Speeds close cycle measurably.
$25–$50/mo
Descript or video editing
For repurposing LinkedIn content from Lunch and Learn recordings.
$20–$30/mo
Avoid at this tier: Full website rebuild in Month 1 (fix the key pages first), paid LinkedIn ads before outreach cadence is proven, an agency retainer before the positioning is locked.
Scale — $3M+ ARR
Tier 3 · Scale
$3M+ ARR
15+ staff · 60+ clients · Dedicated sales role likely
Pipeline tracking, email automation, lead scoring.
$200–$500/mo
Content production
Blog articles, LinkedIn content, repurposed video clips.
$1,000–$2,000/mo
LinkedIn paid (test budget)
Targeted to ICP job titles and industries. Test before scaling.
$500–$1,000/mo
Video editing
For webinar clips, LinkedIn content, and case study videos.
$100–$300/mo
Events (quarterly)
In-person Lunch and Learns + a larger annual event for top clients and prospects.
$1,000–$2,000/quarter
Avoid at this tier: An agency that doesn't understand the MSP world, marketing spend without tracking attribution, a content engine before the positioning is locked and the niche pages are performing.
Summary: Budget by Tier
Tier
Monthly Budget
% of ARR
Primary Focus
Foundation
Under $1M
$800–$1,500
~2–5%
Infrastructure — ICP, GBP, LinkedIn, one-page website fix, lead magnet
Systems — full messaging overhaul, content engine, paid channels, HubSpot
The percentage of ARR going to marketing actually decreases at Scale — not because the spend is lower, but because the ARR has grown faster than the budget needs to. The Foundation tier looks expensive as a percentage because much of the spend is one-time setup cost, not recurring overhead.
The most common budget mistake at every tier is not spending too little — it's spending on the wrong things in the wrong order. Paid ads before the homepage converts. An agency before the positioning is defined. A full website rebuild before the niche page is even written. The 3Cs Framework exists to sequence this correctly.
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