What the Heck Is Fractional Marketing? (AKA the Smartest Way to Market Without Hiring In-House)

May 1

Let’s be honest: most small to mid-sized businesses don’t have the time—or budget—to build an in-house marketing team.

So what happens?
You try to do it yourself.
You hire someone junior and hope they can “figure it out.”
Or you end up with five freelancers, none of whom talk to each other, and everything feels a little… disconnected.

That’s where fractional marketing comes in.

What Is Fractional Marketing?

Fractional marketing means hiring a part-time team instead of one full-time person. It’s like outsourcing your entire marketing department—but only paying for the portion you actually need.

At Charcoal, that means you get access to:

A marketing strategist
A content writer
A designer
A social media manager
A digital ads specialist
...and maybe even a photographer, videographer, or web developer—depending on your goals.

All working together. All aligned. All managed for you.

Why It Works for Growing Businesses

Fractional marketing isn’t for billion-dollar brands with massive internal teams. It’s for:

Businesses who are growing but don’t want the overhead of a marketing department
Founders and managers who are sick of doing it all themselves
Companies who want more than just “posting on Instagram”
Teams who need results, not more meetings

Hiring even one full-time marketing employee can cost you $60k–$90k/year, not including benefits, training, or tools. And unless that person is a unicorn, they can’t do everything.

With fractional marketing, you get specialized talent across the board—without bloating your payroll.

**So… Who Actually Does This Stuff?**

We do.

We’re Charcoal Marketing—a boutique firm based in Halifax.
We work with small and medium-sized businesses across Nova Scotia who want smart marketing without the fluff. That means no bloat, no unnecessary overhead, and no getting lost in a massive agency pipeline.

We’re not here to win awards for clever headlines (though we do write a good one). We’re here to help you:

Sell more
Book more
Rank higher
Look better
And finally stop wondering if your marketing is “working”

What Makes Us Different From Big Agencies?

Let’s put it this way:
Big agencies do great work—if you’re a national brand with a six-figure budget and a 12-month timeline.

But if you’re a busy business owner just trying to get leads, grow your audience, or launch your next offer—we’re probably more your speed.

We don’t have five layers between you and the work.
We don’t hand you a plan and disappear.
We don’t treat you like a line item.

We’re a boutique firm, which means:

You’ll know the names of the people doing the work
We’ll know your goals (and your Q2 stress points)
You’ll get strategy, execution, and reporting in one place
You won’t have to manage us—we manage it for you

Is Fractional Marketing Right for You?

If this sounds familiar, the answer is probably yes:

You're doing marketing reactively (or not at all)
You’ve tried freelancers or agencies and felt underwhelmed
You don’t have time to micromanage someone junior
You want marketing that drives growth—not just “looks nice”

Let’s Make It Simple.

You don’t need a bloated agency.
You don’t need to hire five people.
You need a trusted team that gets it done.

That’s what we do at Charcoal.

Fractional marketing means you get all the marketing expertise you need—without the full-time cost, commitment, or chaos.

Want to see if it’s a fit?

Charcoal Marketing