Thumbtack Pro: It isn’t for everyone, but it is worth a try
The short story – Thumbtack Pro isn’t for everyone… but it’s worth trying to see if it’s profitable for you.
***Important Editor’s Note: This is a review for Thumbtack Pro in 2022, the date is an important distinction as Thumbtack was once free to be listed in the marketplace. Thus be careful of older, dated reviews on the web.***
I love and hate Thumbtack. I get a lot of terrible leads, and I have to pay $10-20 per lead that comes through.
And now, you have to be a paying customer in order to be listed on their website, a feature implemented presumably to stop local businesses getting free leads through Thumbtack from customers who circumvent their system (eg. a customer could just Google listed businesses instead of signing up through Thumbtack).
However, as a professional photographer with portrait packages starting at $350, it’s still profitable and thus I keep it running. I featured Thumbtack last week as one of the 7 Websites I Market/Advertise My Pro Photography Business.
I convert about 25% of leads, which means on average, I’m spending about $60 for a customer.
The packages I sell are mostly the “MINI Portrait Package” for $350, and “PRO Portrait Package” for $500. With an $60 Cost Per Acquisition (CPA), on average, I still profit about $400 per lead. Note: I do sell more MINI packages on Thumbtack as customers tend to be more cost conscious on there.
I’ll breakdown a few tips and tricks to maximize profitability below. But first…
What is a Thumbtack?
Thumbtack is a free website and app that lets you hire local professionals. Everything from house cleaning, plumbing, roofing, pest control, photography, wellness, or any other business. You name it and Thumbtack probably has professionals for it.
It’s like Yelp, except contractors have to pay for the leads. As a contractor, you must have targeting preferences set in order to show up in search results, if a customer likes your profile and requests a quote, then you’ll be charged (around $7-25 in my field depending on the service). It’s a great way for contractors to get leads related to their field of work… albeit at a cost.
PS. If this review helps you in any way, please consider signing up through my referral link… it helps me pay for some of the Thumbtack fees.
Thumbtack vs Yelp
Unlike Yelp, you’ll pay for every lead you receive through Thumbtack. On Yelp, though I’m not a fan of their paid advertising, if you get enough good reviews to rank organically, you can get a lot of new customers for free.
This isn’t the case with Thumbtack.
Thumbtack has recently updated their policies, and now you’ll have to pay just to be listed in their search results.
It’s rather unfortunate, but it can still be worth it…
Pros and Cons of Thumbtack As a Contractor
Pros
- Since Thumbtack is newer than Yelp, and you have to pay to be included, there’s much less competition.
- Customers are become more weary of Yelp and their shady practices with businesses.
- It’s relatively cheap exposure for most businesses.
Cons
- Businesses love to hate Yelp’s review filter. It no doubt has a history of filtering positive reviews for businesses, and seldom doing that for negative reviews. Many have claimed that Yelp will un-filter good reviews and filter bad reviews when you become a paying customer. But the fact of the matter is, a lot of customers still trust it because it’s extremely difficult for a business to get fake reviews. Thumbtack does not have a filter, but it does show when a customer hires you.
- You don’t have to pay for anything on Yelp, yes they’ll make many attempts to sell you on something – but you don’t actually have to pay a dime. Thumbtack you’ll be paying for every lead.
- You’ll pay for every lead on Thumbtack, and most won’t convert. My personal experience, and experience with other businesses, show that you’ll convert about 1/3 of the leads that come your way.
- You’ll be emailing customer service a lot, get used to this. You’re going to get leads that don’t match the preferences that you set… more often than not, you should be eligible for a refund. But it won’t work every time as this is up to customer service.
How to Make Money on Thumbtack
My advice? Set extremely tight job preferences.
The most important being budget.
For me personally, I want to target the customers who want high quality work… not the customers who are shopping for the cheapest price.
Next, set a tight radius.
For me, I’m targeting customers within 10 miles of my zip code (feel free to adjust accordingly).
From there, test that on various services related to your field.
You’ll soon figure out good your conversion rate is for your field, with that data, you can set your preferences accordingly.
Thumbtack Alternatives: Thumbtack vs Yelp vs Google Ads
Organically (free leads), Google and Yelp reign king.
For paid advertising, I would rank Google Ads #1, Thumbtack Ads #2 and I wouldn’t touch Yelp Ads with a 10ft pole.
This could vary depending on your niche, at the end of the day, you should test all marketing channels to see if you could find a channel that’s repeatable and scalable, ie. for every 10 cents you put in, you’re getting a dollar back.
How Does the Thumbtack App Work?
Sign in to the app through Android/iOS for free and get to different professionals. Fill different sections with your details and post the job you want to hire someone. Finally, set the price. Obviously, for higher services and more features by paying some amount of money. Once you do that, you are all set to use the thumbtack pro app and get your work done.
The professionals have their accounts made to the thumbtack from where you can pick them and send them to the customers.
Pro-Tip: The app for Thumbtack Pros is a must, as responding to leads quickly does impact your rankings in Thumbtack Search Results.
What are My Reviews and Complaints?
Reviews and Complaints
I made an account on the Thumbtack app and got some professionals for home décor and other small services. Through research and my personal experience, I listed a few positives and negatives of the app. Here they are:
Pros
- You get some really good workers that you will never find otherwise based on their profile.
- You can increase your business by collaborating with big businesses through Thumbtack as they want more reliable contractors, and you can be one of those.
- The thumbtack is free. There is no harm in signing in and assigning professionals for free.
- It has a review system. You can rate the quality and efficiency of someone’s work. That is how non-professionals and amateurs are filtered automatically.
Cons
- Sometimes you don’t get the right person and hence paid for nothing.
- There are occasions that the person does not match with the skill set he/she put on his/her profile. In that case, you are almost scammed.
- If you and the person you hire have some issues regarding payment or other sorts then thumbtack does not step in to help. It is not accountable in such cases. This part of the thumbtack customer service is not good.
- There is quite a competition on thumbtack for work. So, you always have to scratch your head about what to do.
Is Thumbtack Worth it?
Is Thumbtack Worth the Money?
Well, to be honest, I believe if it were ineffective, it would have vanished till now. The reality is the opposite. It is still working. Some people are hiring and others are getting hired through it. You see, most of the reviews are from those leads that did not find it satisfactory. Many good leads are satisfied with the work and never give reviews. It might be possible that hundreds of people are getting good services. You never really know. My stance is, yes, it is effective if you use it wisely.
Quick Tips for Growing Business and Getting Better Jobs
Tips and Tricks for Better Thumbtack Use
1. Make a Decent Profile
Investing in a good profile is an intelligent move. If your profile stands out from the rest, you are more likely to appear on the front:
2. Immediate Responses
All the websites like Thumbtack Pro work on quick responses. You need to be more active than the others. This is the key to your success. You are likely to hire a professional who is quick and responds positively to every query.
3. Set Your Budget
Setting up a fixed budget for a particular job is essential as it will filter out those people to you that are interested.
For me, Thumbtack is a 3/5. They must improve thumbtack customer service. It is generally a good platform for work. Give it a try and see for yourself.