Start with the job, not the hire
Before you compare people, write down the job. Is it one Meta campaign for a new kurti range, or Meta, Google and creators at once? How much will you spend on ads each month, and how fast must it grow? A brand spending a small, steady budget on one channel needs something very different from one launching in three cities before Diwali. The right choice follows from the job. Hiring first and deciding the job later is how brands pay for work they do not need.
Freelancer vs agency vs in-house
| Point | Freelancer | Agency | In-house |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cost structure | A monthly fee or a per-project price | A monthly retainer, sometimes tied to ad spend | A salary, plus tools and training |
| Control | Direct contact with the person doing the work | An account manager sits between you and the team | Full control, day to day |
| Speed | Quick to start, limited by one person's hours | A team covers ads, design and reports | Slow to hire, fastest once settled |
| Risk | Work stops if they fall ill or leave | Your account may go to a junior | A bad hire costs months |
Own your Meta accounts and pixel
Whoever runs your ads, the accounts should belong to your business. Set up your own business portfolio in Meta Business Suite, with your ad account, Page and pixel inside it. Then share them. Meta lets an owner with full control give a partner, such as an agency, full or partial access. Partial access covers set tasks like managing ads. Even a partner with full control cannot share your asset with another business. The pixel sits in a dataset, which you share the same way under Data sources. Turn on two-factor authentication first, as Meta asks.
Own your Google Ads account too
Agencies manage Google Ads from a manager account. Google says a client account has only one owner. If a manager creates a new account, it becomes the owner. If it links to an account you already have, it does not own it by default. So create the account yourself, with your own email and payment method, and accept the agency's link. Google says the client still owns its data and can unlink. After unlinking, your account keeps its campaign history.
Questions to ask before you hire
Ask who will work on your account each week, by name. Ask what they will report and how often. Ask which numbers they judge themselves on. Cost per delivered order is better than clicks or reach. Ask how they count COD orders that come back. Ask for two brands they have run ads for, and call those founders. Ask what happens to the accounts, creatives and data if you part ways. A good answer is that everything stays with you. Finally, ask for a short paid trial, such as one month on one product line, before a long contract.
Red flags
Walk away if someone wants to create the ad accounts in their own name. Be wary of promised results, such as a fixed ROAS, before they have seen your numbers. Watch for reports full of reach and likes but no orders or revenue. Be careful with long lock-in contracts and fees you cannot tie to work done. And be wary of anyone who asks for your personal Facebook password. Proper partner access never needs it.
Giving access on your own store
Your store admin needs the same care as your ad accounts. On The Storemate you can invite a freelancer or agency as a staff member and give them a custom role with only the permissions they need. When the work ends, you remove them from the team. Start with the channel that already works, measure cost per delivered order, and change who runs ads only when the numbers say so.