Building an ecommerce marketing team comes with one big question: should you hire freelancers or commit to full-time staff?
There’s no one-size-fits-all answer. Both options have their pros and pitfalls, and the right approach depends on where your business is in its growth journey, your budget, and the kind of flexibility you need.
At Constant Hire, we’ve helped brands build lean, agile freelance teams and fully scaled in-house departments. Here’s what we’ve learned - and how to decide what’s right for you.
Freelancers are ideal for brands that need quick execution, niche skills, or extra capacity during high-demand periods.
In the startup phase, budgets are tight. Hiring a full-time paid social manager, email specialist, and content lead might sound ideal - but payroll eats up cash fast.
Freelancers let you access senior-level talent without committing to full-time salaries. You pay for the exact hours or deliverables you need, whether that’s a week of creative production or a short-term SEO audit.
This works especially well for early ecommerce brands that are testing channels and don’t yet know which roles they’ll need long term.
Some projects require skills you won’t need every day. Think:
Freelancers bring focused expertise without the overhead of a full-time hire. An experienced ecommerce marketing recruitment agency can help you tap into a network of vetted freelancers who know your industry.
Peak periods like Black Friday or new product launches can overwhelm small teams. Hiring permanent staff for a seasonal spike doesn’t make sense. Freelancers let you scale capacity up or down as needed.
At Constant Hire, we often help brands source contract talent during these times - UGC video editors, Meta ad buyers, and email marketers who can slot in quickly and keep campaigns moving.
Freelancers aren’t perfect for every situation. Some common challenges include:
✅ Limited Brand Immersion – Freelancers juggle multiple clients. They may not fully understand your tone, product nuances, or customer base.
✅ Variable Quality and Availability – Not all freelancers are equal. And good ones book out fast, which can leave you scrambling if a project grows.
✅ Less Long-Term Thinking – Freelancers tend to execute briefs, not build strategies. If you need someone thinking about lifetime value, retention cohorts, and multi-channel growth, full-timers are better.
Full-time hires are best for brands where marketing is a core growth driver.
When you know which channels drive ROI and you’re ready to double down, full-time talent brings the consistency and accountability needed to scale.
A performance marketing manager who owns Meta and Google spend. A retention lead who builds and optimizes your email flows. A content director who plans quarterly shoots in line with sales goals.
These hires think beyond campaigns - they embed into your brand’s DNA.
Full-timers sit inside your business. They align with your mission, understand internal workflows, and collaborate across teams (product, ops, customer service).
This cultural alignment is tough to replicate with freelancers. When you need teams pulling in the same direction, full-time hires deliver.
Ecommerce isn’t just about executing ads. It’s about understanding your customer, your product margins, and your brand story.
Full-timers retain this knowledge, iterate on it, and train others. Freelancers leave when their contract ends, taking their insights with them.
Full-time teams also have challenges:
This is where a partner like Constant Hire can help. As an ecommerce marketing recruitment specialist, we reduce the risk by screening for technical skill and cultural fit upfront.
Many fast-growing ecommerce brands take a hybrid approach.
Here’s how it works:
This structure gives stability while keeping flexibility. You get a team that understands your business deeply, supported by specialists who handle overflow work or niche projects.
Constant Hire helps brands design these hybrid teams. We source full-time hires for key roles and maintain a network of freelancers who can plug gaps fast.
At Constant Hire, we specialize in building ecommerce marketing teams that scale revenue. From performance marketers and growth leads to freelance creatives and developers, we help brands find the right mix of talent for their stage.
We don’t just post job ads and hope. We tap into a deep network of vetted professionals, screen for ecommerce-specific experience, and guide you on structuring teams for each growth phase.
Whether you’re assembling your first marketing team or adding horsepower during peak season, we’ll help you avoid costly missteps and find people who actually deliver.
Freelance or full-time? The answer isn’t one or the other- it’s knowing which roles to hire when. The wrong call can lead to wasted budget, missed opportunities, and burnout.
With Constant Hire as your ecom recruitment agency, you get expert guidance and access to world-class talent. Let’s build a team that drives growth on your terms.
.png)
How to hire an e-commerce manager – sample interview questions, what good & bad answer look like, and more
.png)
Over 56 terms from growth marketing, creative testing, ad platforms and more. Become an expert in DTC terminology in only 10 minutes.
Learn how to hire ecommerce marketing experts who drive results. Find out what to look for and how to make your next hire a success.
Top talent on your calendar in under 5 days.
