Positioning sprint vs a messaging agency

What a messaging agency usually does

A fair picture of a messaging or copy agency is that it writes the lines buyers see. The files are often homepage sections, emails, ads and a messaging document. Some agencies also design or build the page. The work is easier with a brief already in hand: who the product is for, what buyers use instead and why they should switch. When that brief is missing, the agency has to choose those things while it writes.

What the sprint covers

A positioning sprint makes the decision and the core copy in one fixed project. Boundset runs two weeks. Stake is $7,500 and includes positioning, a messaging matrix, homepage copy with variants and a wireframe. Stronghold is $12,000 and adds three more pages, three activation assets and a year of async coaching in Slack. See the positioning sprint.

When each one fits

Choose an agency when the positioning is already written down and you need a large set of copy, or a designed site, produced from it. Choose the sprint when the team describes the product in different ways and you want the decision plus the core copy in two weeks. One workable sequence is the sprint first, then an agency for the rest of the site. A freelance SaaS copywriter is the same kind of hire at a smaller scope. Positioning sprint vs a SaaS copywriter compares that hire with a sprint. Positioning consultant vs agency covers the wider choice. April Dunford alternatives for startups sets her workshop next to her books, a sprint, a fractional product marketer, and an agency.