Why We Don't Do 12-Month Content Contracts

The most expensive mistake I see businesses make: signing a 12-month content agency contract.

Why? Because if the work isn’t generating ROI by month 4, you’re stuck paying for 8 more months of expensive screensavers.

We don’t do 12-month contracts. We do 90-Day Sprints.

The structural problem with annual contracts

Annual contracts protect the agency. They don’t protect the client.

When an agency signs you to 12 months, they have 12 months of revenue locked in regardless of performance. If the work is mediocre at month 3, they have 9 more months to either fix it or coast. Most coast.

The structural incentive is to do enough work to keep you from canceling, not to deliver results that earn the renewal. Those are different bars. Most agencies are excellent at the first and average at the second.

Why we chose 90 days

We built our business around 90-Day Sprints because we wanted the incentives to align with our clients.

90 days is enough time to:

• Run a real content strategy
• Test hooks and identify top performers
• Boost top performers as ads
• Measure conversions and iterate

90 days isn’t enough time to:

• Coast
• Hide behind “brand building” without measurable results
• Survive on the inertia of a long contract

If we don’t generate measurable results in 90 days, we don’t deserve to keep billing. So we built the entire operation around shipping wins fast.

What this means for the client

The Sprint structure changes the client experience in two ways.

First, the work moves faster. When the agency knows they have 90 days to prove themselves, the team operates with urgency. Hook tests happen in week 2, not month 4. Top performers get boosted as ads in week 6, not month 9. Measurement is set up day one.

Second, the renewal conversation is honest. At day 90, you sign the next Sprint or you don’t. If we hit our targets, the case for continuing is obvious. If we missed, you have an out. There’s no “well, you signed for 12 months, so let’s just see what happens.”

What to look for in any agency

Whether you work with us or not, the structural test stands:

• How long is the contract?
• What happens if you want to leave at month 4?
• What are the guaranteed deliverables and outcomes for the first 90 days?

If the agency wants 12 months and can’t articulate what success looks like at day 90, they’re optimizing for revenue stability, not results.

Confidence isn’t a 12-month lockup.

Confidence is showing up next quarter.

See exactly how our 90-Day Sprints are structured.