In this episode of The Clerics of Marketing, Adam tackles one of the biggest questions he hears from friends, clients, and even other business owners. Why is marketing so expensive? Instead of giving a fluffy answer, he breaks it down with real numbers, labor hours, and a transparent look at what it actually takes to run high quality marketing for a home service business.

Adam walks listeners through the hidden workload behind Google Business Profile optimization, social media content creation, email marketing, and full website builds. He breaks down exactly how many hours go into each task, why cheap agencies can charge $500 a month, and the huge difference between template swapping and true custom work done by real professionals.

This episode also includes a first look at the Marketing Clerics new 2026 model. Adam explains how the next evolution of the agency is moving away from rigid packages and toward a flexible base plan with modular add ons that contractors can scale up or down with the seasons. Instead of locking clients into bloated retainers, the new model focuses on transparency, choice, and a build-your-own-marketing-stack approach that adapts as the business grows.

Along the way Adam gets real about the pressure small agencies face when competing with overseas labor, how margins work in a service business, and why fair wages and honest work matter. If you’ve ever wondered what you’re truly paying for in a marketing retainer, or if you’ve been burned by low cost “set it and forget it” agencies, this episode gives you clarity on the real cost of doing it right and a preview of what smarter marketing will look like in 2026.