Freelance Marketing Manager (Maternity Cover)

Your marketing manager is going on maternity leave, and someone needs to keep the whole function running until they're back. I work as a freelance marketing manager for maternity cover, for UK small and medium businesses and in-house marketing teams. Freelance marketing manager maternity cover means a freelancer runs your marketing while your marketing manager is on leave, then hands it all back when they return.

I pick up the channels they look after and keep the campaigns and reporting moving, so nothing drifts while they're away.

Why Work With Me While Your Marketing Manager Is Away

Cover should feel like a continuation of what your marketing manager was already doing. Here's how I keep it that way.

• It starts with a free discovery call, where we talk through your goals, budgets and timeframes, what your marketing manager looks after and how long you expect the cover to last.
• You get a custom Looker Studio report and a monthly meeting to go through it. That gives you, and your marketing manager when they return, a running record of the cover period.
• Return dates can move. Fees are fixed monthly, and there's no long-term contract to work around if plans change.
• I reply within 24 hours at the latest, so your team isn't left waiting on decisions.
• If a channel isn't the right fit, I'll say so, and I can point you to people I trust: SWOT for social media, Uncommon Sense for CRM and email, and Kreative Freedom for graphic design.

I've been working in digital marketing since 2017 and an SEO specialist since 2019, and I spent my career in small, fast-paced agencies before going freelance.

What I Can Cover

You might need one channel kept ticking over, or the full spread your marketing manager normally handles. Either works, and you can see my full range of digital marketing services too.

• SEO. Ongoing SEO work each month, from technical fixes to strategy, plus writing content where there's a resource gap.
• PPC and Google Ads. Day-to-day PPC management and ongoing optimisation of your Google Ads campaigns across Search, Shopping, Performance Max, Display and remarketing. You keep full ownership of your ad account and data.
• GA4 and tracking. Keeping your Google Analytics and tracking in good order, including Google Tag Manager, so the numbers your marketing manager comes back to still mean something.
• Reporting. Custom Looker Studio dashboards pulling in Google Ads, Google Analytics and Search Console data, with rankings for SEO work and paid social data where campaigns are running. I can add other sources, such as email.
• Paid social. Campaigns on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter (X) and LinkedIn, including LinkedIn Ads.
• Email marketing. Campaigns on HubSpot, Campaign Monitor, ActiveCampaign and Mailchimp.

How Maternity Cover Works

Maternity cover with me starts with a free discovery call to scope what needs covering and for how long. Next comes a handover briefing with your marketing manager or team where possible, then a start date and an agreed reporting routine. At the end, I hand everything back.

1. Discovery Call

We go through what your marketing manager looks after, which channels need active management and which just need keeping steady. We also talk about how long the cover is likely to run. Statutory maternity leave can last up to 52 weeks, so cover could be anything from a few months to most of a year.

2. Handover Briefing

Where possible, I meet your marketing manager before their leave starts to go through current campaigns, plans, logins and anything in progress. If that can't happen, a briefing with the wider team works too.

3. Reporting and Who I Report To

We agree who I report to during the cover and how often we check in, alongside the Looker Studio report and monthly meeting every client gets.

4. Running Your Marketing

From the start date, I manage the channels we agreed and keep plans flexible to adapt to seasonality, core updates and events in your calendar.

5. Handing Back

Towards the end of the cover, I put together a handover for your marketing manager covering what ran and what's coming up. If they and your business agree to use one of their Keeping in Touch days for a catch-up before they return, I'll fit around it.

Who This Is For

This suits UK small and medium businesses with a marketing manager going on leave, and in-house marketing teams that need continuity while a colleague is away. It works two ways:

• Covering the whole role. Your marketing manager runs the marketing on their own, and you need someone to take on all of it.
• Covering specific channels. Your wider team can absorb most of the work, but you need someone to run the specialist channels, such as SEO, Google Ads or tracking.

Agencies with a team member going on leave can also get SEO and PPC support on a white-label basis.

Frequently Asked Questions

How Does Freelance Marketing Manager Maternity Cover Work?

It starts with a free discovery call to scope what needs covering and for how long, followed by a handover briefing with your marketing manager or team where possible. During the cover you get a Looker Studio report and a monthly meeting, and at the end I hand everything back.

What Can a Freelance Marketing Manager Cover During Maternity Leave?

I can cover SEO, PPC and Google Ads, GA4 and tracking, Looker Studio reporting, paid social and email marketing. That can be one channel or everything your marketing manager usually handles.

How Is Maternity Cover Priced?

Pricing is bespoke to what needs covering, and we scope it together on the discovery call. Fees are fixed monthly with no long-term contract. For SEO, the only variable is how much gets done each month. PPC is priced on the number and type of campaigns, never as a percentage of your ad spend.

How Much Notice Do You Need to Arrange Cover?

As much as you can give. Every project starts with a discovery call to scope timings, and more notice leaves room for a proper handover briefing before your marketing manager's leave starts. If time is tight, drop me a message anyway and we'll see what's possible.