What should a dietitian practice check in a marketing agency contract?
A dietitian practice should check ten things in a marketing agency contract: term and notice, scope, fees, ad-spend billing, ownership of accounts and content, the Business Associate Agreement, clinical sign-off on health claims, state-limited targeting, reporting, and termination and handover. Ownership and handover matter most, because they decide whether you keep your website, email list and recipe library when you leave.
- Own everything: domain, website, Google Business Profile, ad accounts, email list, social handles, recipes and handouts should all be in the practice’s name.
- Require clinical sign-off: no health claim, condition page or meal-plan content should go live without approval from a credentialed dietitian.
- Limit targeting to licensed states so telehealth ads never reach clients you cannot legally serve.
- Get a BAA signed before sharing intake forms, referral details or client lists, and attach a written handover list to the contract.
- Every practice welcome — retainers from $499/mo, Goals-Driven engagements, Performance-Linked Payout Models available.
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“They were able to get all my ideas and work with me over a period of three to four months and create this amazing website. It's super customized, very modern, and it incorporates all the elements that I had wanted — the patient portal, nice pictures, a very interactive website, patient reviews. I would highly recommend their company to anyone who wants to make an excellent website.”
Which clauses in a dietitian marketing contract matter most?
Ten clauses decide how much risk a dietitian practice takes on: term and notice, scope, fees, ad-spend billing, ownership, the BAA, clinical sign-off on claims, licensure-aware targeting, reporting and termination. Read each against the table below. If a clause is missing, ask for it in writing before you sign.
Two of those clauses are specific to dietetics. Agencies write about diabetes, kidney disease, PCOS, GLP-1 support and weight, so someone with clinical training must approve claims. And because many dietitians work by telehealth, the agency must only market into states where you can legally see clients.
This page is a buyer's checklist, not legal advice. Have a healthcare attorney review the final contract and any BAA.
| Clause | What good looks like | Red flag |
|---|---|---|
| Term and notice | Month-to-month, or a short first term with a clear written notice period | A long lock-in that renews automatically unless you cancel in a narrow window |
| Scope and deliverables | A monthly list: blog posts, profile posts, newsletter sends, campaigns managed, referral outreach, reports | "Full-service marketing" with no list of outputs |
| Fees | Fixed management fee, any setup fee, and what triggers a price change, all written down | Fees that rise with ad spend without a cap, or vague "platform" charges |
| Ad-spend billing | Spend charged to the practice’s card inside its own ad accounts, or a separate pass-through line | One blended invoice where you cannot see what reached Google or Meta |
| Ownership | Practice owns domain, website, content, recipes, handouts, email list, social handles, ad and analytics accounts, phone numbers | Agency registers the domain, ad account or newsletter list in its own name |
| BAA and data handling | Signed BAA before any client data is shared; named tools; no ad pixels on booking or intake pages | "You don’t need a BAA" while the agency handles intake forms or client lists |
| Clinical sign-off | No health claim, meal plan or condition page goes live without approval from a credentialed dietitian at the practice | Agency publishes content about diseases or medications without review |
| Licensure-aware targeting | Ads, state pages and booking forms limited to states where the practice holds the required credential | Nationwide targeting "to test demand" |
| Reporting | Set cadence; booked initial consults, physician referrals, cost per booked consult; live data access | Reports that stop at impressions, clicks and follower counts |
| Termination and handover | Written handover list, fixed handover period, admin access returned, files and list exported | Handover only "on request" for a fee, or the site switched off at exit |
Who should own the website, email list and content?
The practice should own every asset it pays for: the domain, website files, Google Business Profile, ad and analytics accounts, tag manager, phone numbers, social handles and the email list. It should also own the content, including recipes, meal-plan templates, handouts and lead magnets. The agency gets user or manager access, never sole ownership.
Dietitian practices build a lot of reusable educational content. A recipe library or a downloadable guide can bring in leads for years. If the contract says the agency owns or "licenses" that work, you may lose it when you leave. The same goes for videos and photos featuring you.
Wording to look for
- "All accounts, domains, content, recipes, handouts, creative, data and phone numbers created for the Client are the property of the Client."
- "Agency will hold administrative access as a user, not as the owner."
- "The Client’s email subscriber list is the Client’s property and will be exported in a standard format at termination."
- "Images, video and audio featuring the Client’s clinicians may be used only for the Client’s marketing and only during the term."
Website platforms
Some agencies build on their own platform and license the site back to you. That is not automatically wrong, but ask what you can take with you at the end. If the answer is nothing, add a rebuild to the real cost of the contract. Our guide on what a dietitian website needs lists the pages worth protecting.
When does a dietitian practice need a BAA with its agency?
A dietitian practice needs a Business Associate Agreement when the agency will create, receive, maintain or transmit protected health information on its behalf. In practice that often means intake forms, physician referral details, client lists used for newsletters or review requests, and call recordings. Get the BAA signed before you share any of it.
First, confirm whether HIPAA applies to you. Under 45 CFR § 160.103, a health care provider is a covered entity if it transmits health information electronically in connection with standard transactions, such as insurance claims. A dietitian who bills insurance electronically is very likely covered. A cash-pay practice should confirm its status with counsel. Even if HIPAA does not apply, treat client data as if it did.
HIPAA also sets what a business associate contract must contain. Under 45 CFR § 164.504(e), it must, among other things, require the agency to report disclosures not allowed by the contract, pass the same limits to its subcontractors, and return or destroy protected health information at termination where feasible.
Data points to add beside the BAA
- A list of the tools and subcontractors that will touch client data.
- No advertising pixels on booking, intake or client portal pages. HHS guidance on online tracking technologies still applies to authenticated pages.
- Newsletter sends follow the CAN-SPAM rules: a postal address, a working opt-out and opt-outs honored within 10 business days.
- Text messages go only to people who gave documented consent, and opt-outs are honored.
Our page on what practices should require from agencies under HIPAA goes further. At Ichelon Consulting US, we sign a Business Associate Agreement (BAA) with every US client.
Which clauses protect your license and your claims?
Add two clauses that generic agency contracts leave out. The first requires a credentialed dietitian at the practice to approve every health claim before it is published. The second limits ads, state pages and booking to states where the practice holds the credential that state requires. Both protect your license as well as your marketing.
Clinical sign-off on claims
Agencies write quickly and lean on trending topics such as GLP-1 medications, blood sugar, gut health and weight loss. Those are areas where claims can drift past the evidence. The FTC's Health Products Compliance Guidance says health claims need competent and reliable scientific evidence, generally randomized controlled human trials for health benefit claims. The contract should say:
- Who at the practice approves content, and how long the agency must wait for approval.
- That the agency will not promise outcomes, such as a set amount of weight loss or reversal of a condition.
- That testimonials are real, unpaid or clearly disclosed, and never invented. The FTC rule on fake reviews and testimonials took effect in October 2024.
- That eating-disorder content follows your clinical guidelines, with no before-and-after weight imagery unless you approve it.
Our guide to advertising rules for dietitian health claims covers this in more depth.
Licensure-aware targeting
State rules on who may provide dietetics or medical nutrition therapy differ widely, and many apply to clients located in the state at the time of the session. A telehealth campaign aimed at the whole country can put you in front of people you may not legally serve. Write the list of approved states into the contract, and require the agency to update targeting only after you confirm a new credential. Our state-by-state licensure overview explains the four regulatory models.
Credentials in copy
Require the agency to use only the titles you supply, in the form you supply them, such as "RDN, LD (Texas)". A bio that says "licensed" in a state where you are not licensed is a problem for you, not the agency.
How should fees and performance terms be written?
Fees should be split into a fixed management fee, any one-time setup fee and the ad budget. Performance terms should name the goals, how they are measured and what happens if they are missed. For dietitians, the goal should be booked initial consults or referrals received, not clicks or followers.
Questions to settle in writing
- Is the management fee fixed or a percentage of ad spend? If a percentage, is there a cap?
- Are there extra charges for landing pages, email software, call tracking or review tools?
- Who pays for stock images, recipe photography or video editing?
- When can the agency raise fees, and with how much notice?
- Are there fees for ending the contract or for the handover?
Agency retainers in the US commonly range widely, from a few hundred to many thousands of dollars a month, depending on scope and ad spend. For pricing models, read how much a dietitian marketing agency costs.
Performance terms that work
Good terms tie the agency to numbers it can influence and you can check. Examples are booked initial consults, completed referral forms from physician offices and cost per booked consult. Say how each is counted. A booking for an out-of-state client you cannot serve should not count. Guaranteed rankings or guaranteed client numbers are a warning sign, because Google controls search results and your team controls how enquiries are handled.
At Ichelon Consulting US, retainers start from $499/month, custom-scoped. Engagements are Goals-Driven: we agree monthly goals with you, track them live on Ichelon Agency OS and report every Monday. Performance-Linked Payout Models are available. See how we scope this work on our dietitian marketing agency page.
What are the red flags, and what belongs in the handover list?
Before signing, check four red flags: a long auto-renewing term, agency-owned accounts or email lists, no BAA when client data is involved, and no written handover list. Any one of them can make leaving slow or costly. Ask for each to be fixed in writing, and walk away if the agency will not change it.
A handover list to attach to the contract
- Admin access to the domain, hosting, website, Google Business Profile, ad accounts, analytics and tag manager returned to the practice.
- Website files, content, recipes, handouts and images exported.
- Email subscriber list exported with consent records and unsubscribe status.
- Phone and call-tracking numbers ported or transferred at no extra charge.
- Social media handles and login recovery details transferred.
- Final report and campaign settings documented.
- Agency access removed and client data returned or destroyed, as the BAA requires.
Agreeing on this list at the start costs nothing. Arguing about it at the end can cost months of leads. If you are weighing whether to hire at all, compare the options in agency versus doing it yourself. To have a contract or proposal reviewed against this checklist, book a call with the US team.
Everything here reflects our reading of federal sources as of October 2026. Confirm the details with your counsel.
Related pages from the US team
Dietitian marketing agency USA
How Ichelon Consulting US scopes and runs dietitian accounts.
Dietitian agency RFP template
Ask agencies for these terms before the contract stage.
The first 90 days with an agency
What should happen after the contract is signed.
Dietitian licensure by state
Which states license, certify or protect titles.
Every practice welcome — Goals-Driven engagements from $499/mo
We benchmark your last 90 days, agree monthly goals with you, and track them live on Ichelon Agency OS with a report every Monday. Performance-Linked Payout Models are available. Our US leadership is based in Dallas, and strategy calls run in US business hours.
Common questions
Should a dietitian marketing contract be month-to-month?
Month-to-month, or a short first term with a clear notice period, is the safest structure for a dietitian practice. It keeps the agency accountable every month. A website build can reasonably be a fixed project fee, but the ongoing retainer should not lock the practice in for long periods or renew automatically without a reminder.
Who should own a dietitian practice’s email newsletter list?
The dietitian practice should own its email list, in an account registered to the practice. The agency can manage sends as a user. The contract should require the list to be exported at termination with consent records and unsubscribe status, so the practice can keep emailing subscribers lawfully under CAN-SPAM after changing agencies.
Does a dietitian marketing agency need to sign a BAA?
A dietitian marketing agency should sign a Business Associate Agreement if it will create, receive, maintain or transmit protected health information for a practice covered by HIPAA. That often includes intake forms, referral details and client lists. Practices that bill insurance electronically are very likely covered entities. Cash-pay practices should confirm their status with counsel.
Should a dietitian approve content the agency writes?
Yes. A credentialed dietitian at the practice should approve every health claim, condition page and meal-plan resource before it is published. The FTC expects health claims to be backed by competent and reliable scientific evidence. Writing a named approver and a review window into the contract keeps speed and accuracy in balance.
Can an agency run telehealth ads for a dietitian nationwide?
It should not, unless the practice can legally serve clients in every state reached. State dietetics laws differ, and many apply to clients located in the state during the session. The contract should list approved states, limit ads and booking to them, and allow new states only after the practice confirms the required credential.
A note on this guide: it explains marketing practice, not legal advice. Rules on privacy, advertising and insurance change and vary by state, so confirm anything compliance-related with your own counsel.
Reviewing a dietitian marketing contract?
Book a call with Ichelon Consulting US. We will walk through the proposal clause by clause and show how we handle ownership, the BAA, claims approval and state targeting. Retainers from $499/month, custom-scoped.