How Much Does YouTube Marketing Cost for Financial Advisors in Australia?

Nobody wants to ask about pricing on a call and feel ambushed. So let's put it all on the table.

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This article covers every approach to YouTube marketing for financial advisors — from doing it yourself for nearly nothing, to hiring freelancers, to working with a full-service agency. We'll break down the real costs, the hidden costs, and most importantly, whether the investment makes sense for your practice.

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We'll also share our own pricing, because we think transparency builds trust faster than a "contact us for a quote" button.

Option 1: DIY ($0-200/month)

The cheapest path. You handle everything yourself.

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Equipment (one-time):

• Smartphone camera (you already have this): $0
• Lapel microphone: $30-80
• Basic ring light or desk lamp: $50-150
• Tripod or phone mount: $20-50

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Software (monthly):

• Editing: DaVinci Resolve (free) or CapCut (free)
• Thumbnails: Canva (free tier or $18/month)
• Total ongoing: $0-20/month

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The hidden cost: your time.

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‍Expect 7-11 hours per week for research, scripting, filming, editing, thumbnail creation, and publishing. If your billable rate is $300-500/hour, the opportunity cost is $8,400-22,000 per month.

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DIY costs almost nothing in cash but is the most expensive option when you account for your time. It's a good starting point for testing the waters, but most advisors can't sustain it past 2-3 months.

Option 2: Freelancers ($2,000-6,000/month)

Hiring individual freelancers for different parts of the production process.

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Typical rates in Australia:

• Video editor: $500-1,500 per video (depending on complexity and turnaround)
• Thumbnail designer: $30-100 per thumbnail
• Scriptwriter: $200-500 per script
• YouTube SEO consultant: $500-2,000/month

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For 4 videos per month:

• Editing: $2,000-6,000
• Thumbnails: $120-400
• Scripts (if outsourced): $800-2,000
• SEO: $500-2,000
• Total: roughly $3,400-10,400/month

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The hidden costs:

• Your time managing freelancers: You become the project manager. You're briefing the editor, giving feedback, coordinating timelines, and chasing deliverables. This can easily add 3-5 hours per week.
• No strategy: Freelancers execute tasks. They don't tell you what topics to cover, how to position your channel, or what's working and what isn't. Strategy falls on you.
• Quality inconsistency: Different freelancers have different styles and reliability. You may go through several before finding the right fit.
• No compliance understanding: A general video editor doesn't know ASIC RG 234 or what can and can't be said under an AFSL. You're responsible for compliance review.

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Freelancers can work well if you're hands-on, enjoy managing production, and want to control each element. But the total cost often creeps toward agency pricing once you account for management time.

Option 3: Full-Service YouTube Agency ($5,000-15,000/month)

A done-for-you service where the agency handles everything from strategy to publishing.

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What's typically included:

• Content strategy and topic research
• Scriptwriting
• Filming (in-person or remote)
• Professional editing
• Thumbnail design
• YouTube SEO (titles, descriptions, tags, cards, end screens)
• Publishing and channel management
• Performance reporting

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Price range in Australia:

• General YouTube agencies: $5,000-10,000/month
• Specialist agencies (like Compound One, focused on financial services): $10,000-15,000/month

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Our pricing at Compound One:

‍$12,000/month plus GST. That covers everything listed above — 4 videos per month, weekly filming sessions, strategy, production, compliance-aware scripting, and monthly reporting. No setup fee. No hidden extras.

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Your time commitment: 1-2 hours per month for filming, plus 15-30 minutes reviewing scripts and final edits.

Option 4: YouTube Ads (Variable — $2,000-10,000+/month)

This is separate from organic YouTube content, but worth mentioning because some advisors confuse the two.

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YouTube Ads (running paid video ads through Google Ads) is a different strategy entirely. You're paying for ad placements, not building a content library.

‍Typical costs:

• Ad spend: $2,000-10,000+/month
• Ad creative production: $500-2,000 per ad
• Agency management fee: $1,000-3,000/month (if using a PPC agency)

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YouTube Ads can work for financial advisors, but they don't compound. When you stop paying, the leads stop. Organic YouTube content keeps generating leads for free, forever.

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Most advisors get the best results from organic content first, then layering ads on top once the channel is established. We don't manage YouTube Ads — we focus entirely on organic content production.

The ROI Question: Is It Worth It?

Let's do the maths for a full-service agency at $12,000/month.

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Annual investment: $144,000 (plus GST)

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What you need to break even: If a new client is worth $8,000/year in ongoing advice fees (a conservative estimate for a high-net-worth client), you need 18 new clients per year from YouTube to break even. That's 1.5 clients per month.

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What we typically see: After 6-12 months, our clients are generating 5-10+ qualified inbound enquiries per month from YouTube. Not all of those convert — but at a reasonable 30-50% conversion rate, that's 2-5 new clients per month.

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The compounding factor: Unlike paid advertising, the content you create today keeps generating leads tomorrow. After 12 months, you have 50+ videos working for you around the clock. Even if you paused production, the existing library would continue driving enquiries for months or years.

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Wattle Partners saw a 400% increase in monthly high-net-worth leads within 12 months. The lifetime value of those client relationships far exceeds the cost of production.

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Read the full Wattle Partners case study.

Which Option Is Right for You?

Start with DIY if:

• Your practice revenue is under $300K and budget is tight
• You genuinely enjoy content creation
• You want to test YouTube before committing significant budget
• You have 10+ hours per week of available time

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Consider freelancers if:

• You want better production quality than DIY but aren't ready for an agency
• You're comfortable project-managing multiple contractors
• You have a clear content strategy and just need execution help

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Go with an agency if:

• Your practice generates $500K+ in revenue and can sustain the investment for 12 months
• Your time is better spent on clients than editing videos
• You want professional quality, strategic guidance, and guaranteed consistency
• You want someone who understands financial services compliance

Want to See the Numbers for Your Practice?

Our free growth audit includes a market analysis and realistic projections for your specific situation. We'll show you the opportunity, the likely timeline, and whether the investment makes sense for your practice.

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No pitch deck. No pressure. Just data.