Frequently Asked Questions

We run the marketing for small business owners in metro Atlanta and across Georgia. First we work out who your best customers are, what they are worth and what they cost to win. Then we make you the obvious choice for them, run your marketing every month, and show you what it earned in Quartermaster, our scoreboard.

Owners of established small businesses in metro Atlanta and across Georgia: local services, trades, professional firms and B2B companies. If customers already pay you and you want more of the right ones, we are built for you.

Georgia is our home and our focus. If you are outside Georgia, send us a note and we will tell you honestly whether we are a fit.

Not yet, and we would rather tell you now. A monthly service pays off once customers are coming in. Start with the free Marketing Leak Audit and a free Quartermaster trial, and come back when you are selling.

It is a working session, not a pitch. We look at your ideal client, how to get more of them, your offers, your sales and your marketing. You leave with three clear next steps, whether or not you hire us.

Ten quick questions across seven areas: online presence, winning customers, sales, keeping customers, your offer, your ideal customer and your numbers. You get a score out of 100 and your top three fixes in about three minutes. It is free.

Five business days, once the agreement is signed, the first payment clears and we have the access we need.

Honest numbers, access to your accounts and quick approvals. For Sailor, some video footage each month. We do the rest.

Black Mast is founder-led and based in metro Atlanta. You talk with the founder on the free call, and every client has a designated account manager you can reach directly.

Sailor is $1,500 a month, Navigator is $4,500 a month, and Captain starts from $14,000 a month. Quartermaster, our scoreboard, is included with every service. Ad spend is separate on every service.

Yes. Sailor can also be paid in four payments of $375 a month, on the 1st, 8th, 15th and 22nd, by automatic card payment. Once a month has started, the whole $1,500 for that month is owed.

No. Ad spend is separate on every service, paid to the ad platforms, and only spent on campaigns and budgets you approve in advance.

It depends on what a customer is worth to you and what one costs to win, which we work out first. Then we start where the math says ads will pay you back, and only with your approval.

No. Our prices are on the site and the work is month to month. Ad spend is separate and only spent with your approval. Any one-off project is scoped and priced before you agree to it.

Your monthly fee is billed in advance on the 1st of each month, by card or invoice. A partial first month is prorated.

Sailor, at $1,500 a month, is our starting service, and it can be paid in four payments of $375. If that is more than you want to spend right now, start with the free Leak Audit and a free Quartermaster trial.

Services are billed month to month so you are never locked in. If you would like a different arrangement, ask on the free strategy call.

There is no minimum term. Every client signs one standard Master Services Agreement that renews month to month until either side ends it. Price changes come with at least 30 days of written notice.

Tell your account manager in writing before the next 1st and you will not be billed for the following month. Service continues to the end of the month you have paid for.

Yes. It is month to month, so you can stop before the 1st and come back when you are ready. If you are seasonal, tell us on the call and we will plan the year around it.

Yes. Because it is month to month, you can move between Sailor, Navigator and Captain as your business changes. Tell your account manager and we will set the new service up from the next month.

Yes, four, for all Black Mast Marketing customers: Every Dollar Accounted For (20% of what you pay us back if we cannot show where your money went and what is next), A Clear Plan In 30 Days (25% of your first month back if you do not have a clear plan in 30 days), We Never Go Quiet (we refund part of your bill if we leave you hanging), and No Wasted Ad Spend (100% of your first 30 days of ad spend back if it produces no measurable value).

No, and be careful of anyone who does. Results depend on things outside anyone's control, like your market and how fast leads get a reply. We commit to doing the agreed work well and showing you exactly what it earned, and our four guarantees put our own money behind that.

You do. Your accounts, customer lists and materials stay yours. If you leave, you can export your data within 30 days.

You can keep your Quartermaster account on its own, or export your data within 30 days.

Yes. Both sides keep each other's information confidential. It is written into our Master Services Agreement.

Sailor, $1,500 a month, is for businesses beginning to invest in marketing: Google Business Profile setup and management, website setup and management, basic SEO and local search, 8 social posts a month on up to 2 platforms, 4 short videos a month made from your footage, basic strategy, a monthly report, a designated account manager and Quartermaster with 1 seat.

Navigator, $4,500 a month, is for steady growth. Everything in Sailor, plus a marketing plan built on your numbers, advanced SEO, Google and social ads run for you, landing pages, email marketing and lead follow-up, tracking and return-on-spend reporting, a dedicated account manager, a monthly 60-minute review and Quartermaster with 3 seats.

Captain, from $14,000 a month, is a marketing department without the hire. Everything in Navigator, plus fractional marketing leadership, brand positioning and offers, website and conversion strategy, budget planning, profitability analysis, coordination of your vendors and people, a monthly 60-minute strategic review and Quartermaster with 5 seats.

Sailor is for looking established and staying consistent. Navigator is for winning more of the right customers, steadily. Captain is a full marketing department without the hire. Ask the assistant above to help you pick, or book a free strategy call.

Sailor includes website setup and management, and Navigator adds landing pages built to turn visitors into leads. A full custom website build is quoted separately and only if you ask.

Yes. Sailor covers basic SEO and local search visibility, including your Google Business Profile. Navigator runs advanced SEO. Search takes months to build, and we never promise rankings.

Yes, in Navigator and Captain, where ads fit your business. Ad spend is always separate from what you pay us and only spent with your approval. Sailor does not include ads.

Sailor includes 8 posts a month on up to 2 platforms and 4 short videos made from your footage. Navigator and Captain use the channels that fit your customers, which can include social media and content.

Your Google Business Profile, reviews included, is managed in Sailor. Asking every happy customer for a review, automatically, is one of the most common fixes we set up.

Yes, in Navigator and Captain when it fits your business, for example bringing past customers back and following up on leads faster.

You film short clips on your phone, and we turn them into 4 finished short videos a month in Sailor. You know your business best; we make it look good.

Yes. Nothing goes out and no ad money is spent without your approval.

Occasionally, scoped and priced separately. Most of our work is monthly, because marketing needs looking after every month.

Yes. Captain can lead your people and vendors, and Navigator can run channels alongside them.

Our business scoreboard. It shows what every customer is worth, what they cost to win, and which marketing pays you back, any time on your computer or phone.

Yes. Every Sailor, Navigator and Captain service includes full access to Quartermaster at no extra cost. The $97 a month price is only for owners who use it on its own.

Yes. 14 days of everything with no card to start. After that it is $97 a month, or included with every Black Mast service.

Sailor includes 1 seat, Navigator 3 and Captain 5. Extra seats are $97 a month each.

No. Rough monthly numbers are enough to start, typed in or imported from a spreadsheet.

Only you, unless you invite us. Black Mast clients share the same view with our team, so we all work from the same numbers.

LTGP is the gross profit a customer brings you over their whole time with you. CAC is what it costs to win one customer. When LTGP is several times CAC, your marketing pays for itself. Quartermaster shows both.

By customers and profit, not clicks: what a customer costs to win, what they are worth, and which channel paid for itself.

Many agencies lock you into a 3 to 12 month contract and send reports full of clicks. We are month to month, our prices are on the site, our agreement is public, and you get a scoreboard that shows what every dollar earned. Plus four guarantees with our own money behind them.

Most consultants love the activity. Some will even help you do it. But when it is time to prove it made you money, they are suddenly just the adviser. We do not hide behind activity. We take responsibility for getting you results, and Quartermaster gives you the numbers to hold us accountable. Experienced consultants often charge $100 to $300 an hour, or $3,000 to $15,000 a month on retainer, for advice alone (MarketerHire, 2026).

An experienced marketing manager in Atlanta earns around $121,000 in base salary, and insurance, retirement and payroll taxes bring the real cost to around $170,000 a year, before tools and your time managing them. One person rarely covers strategy, ads, SEO and content. We give you a team for a known monthly fee, month to month.

Freelancers on Upwork commonly charge $25 to $60 an hour, and a month of real marketing work is often 40 hours or more. That buys one skill, not a plan, and nobody is accountable for the result. We bring the plan, the work and the scoreboard together.

The usual stack of six tools adds up to about $1,607 a month, before you spend a single hour learning, setting up and running it. Software does not do the work; someone still has to. With us, the tools and the work are included.

AI plans run from $20 to $200 a month, plus all of your time. AI can write a post, but it does not know your numbers, decide where your money should go, or answer for the result. We use the best tools and still take responsibility for what they produce.

That is common, and it is usually the same three things: long contracts, reports full of clicks instead of customers, and work you cannot see. We avoid all three: month to month, reporting on customers and profit, and a scoreboard you can open any time.

Because most owners are guessing. In one survey of 1,000 US small businesses, 62% said their marketing was not working or they did not know whether it was (InfusionSoft and LeadPages, 2016). If you cannot see what a channel earns, you cannot fix it, cut it or grow it.

You can. The free Leak Audit gives you your top three fixes to do yourself, and a Quartermaster trial shows whether they worked. If you would rather hand it off later, we are here.

Every client gets a monthly report, and Navigator and Captain clients get a monthly 60-minute review. Quartermaster is open any time. And if we ever leave you hanging, our We Never Go Quiet guarantee refunds part of your bill.

Some fixes show up in weeks, like faster replies to leads and more reviews. Search takes months. We tell you what is realistic for your business on the call, and we never promise rankings or revenue.

Tell us your rules on the free call. Nothing goes out without your approval, and we will tell you honestly if we can work within them.

We are founder-led and based in metro Atlanta. Ask on the free call if you would like to meet in person.

Tell us on the free call which languages your customers speak, and we will tell you honestly what we can do.

Of course. Send us a note and a real person on the team will reply, or book a free strategy call.