Leads/hired & Income/advertisement RATIOS

DeNoise_Studios · May 5

Hello everybody,

I am a Thumbtack Top Pro since 2012, but a new community website user, I run a video and photo production studio in the bay area CA. I would really love to know if a few others pro would share 2 ratios. It is not something I can get from Thumbtack or online. (average numbers are enough)

RATIO #1 How many paying leads do you buy to get hired once (me I get hired 1 time out of 10 leads) My lead/hired ratio = 10%

RATIO # 2 How much is your ROI, return on investment, how much income do you get from Thumbtack compared to the money you spend on Thumbtack. (me, to make $100K I must spend $50K, 8 years ago to make $100K I spent $20K) My income/advertisement ratio is now 50%, and 8 years ago it was 20%)

What are your ratios? I am just curious and I am sure people would like to know where they stand compared to the Thumbtack community. Thanks for sharing.

ArvinC · May 6

Hi @DeNoise_Studios , welcome to the Community. This is a great question and I know a lot of pros are curious about these kinds of numbers, especially as things change over time.

I am going to tag some of the top pros who may be open to sharing how they think about lead conversion and ROI:

@amccarthy @busyb @AR2i @soonerkimmy @SarzozaPhoto @Bretdouglas @Chuva @Cliff @CodyRisner @TechExpert @AntilleanRestoration @adonayflooring @callargo @Jack_Marquardt @JWC @Juliano_50 @_Nura101 @ShaquealThomas @Trevorbelk

It will be really helpful to see a range of perspectives here since results can vary quite a bit by industry and approach.

_Nura101 · May 6

Hey @denoise_studios! Your Ratio #2 looks normal for Thumbtack - but the Ratio #1 can improve. When ratio 1 increases, ratio 2 increases too. Since Ratio #1 is dependent on your profile, it would be worth your time to brainstorm ways to market your service even better on your profile. Do things that stand out like get a drone and give the customers a video tour of your production studio. Or post friendly pictures of your studio/team/results etc. You probably already know this but put yourself in the shoes of your clients and think about what would make them say "wow, this looks legit, I would hire this service" and pretend you're looking for the same service, what do you wanna see to feel sold?

Hope that helps!

AR2i · May 7

Hey @DeNoise_Studios — fellow Bay Area Pro here 👋

I think this is a really interesting question because the answers probably vary a lot by industry, lead price, and average job size. In Tax Preparation and Bookkeeping, my ratios would probably look very different from those of someone in photography/video production.

Looking back over my last 6 months across Accounting, Individual Taxes, and Business Taxes, I received 81 messages and converted 5 into clients. So, overall, I’m averaging about 1 client per 16 leads during that period, with a close rate of around 6%. That said, January–April is a very different season in the tax world because a large percentage of leads are price-shopping or mass-messaging multiple pros at once. During my slower season (roughly May–August), my conversion rate jumps significantly — usually landing 1 client for about every 5 messages once someone actually engages in conversation with me.

As for ROI, my Thumbtack spend during that period accounted for roughly 45% of the revenue generated by those clients. That said, I personally look at Thumbtack a little differently because many of my clients become recurring yearly tax clients, ongoing bookkeeping clients, or referral sources. In fact, about 98% of the clients I landed through Thumbtack in 2022, 2023, 2024, and 2025 are still clients today — which I think changes the ROI conversation quite a bit. The long-term value tends to be much higher than the initial project revenue alone.

One thing I have noticed over the years is exactly what you mentioned — costs have definitely increased. I think it’s more important than ever to have a very clear profile, respond quickly while still sounding human and personal, and move people into a quick call/consultation early, rather than staying in messages too long.

Really appreciate you bringing this up — I think a lot of Pros quietly wonder the same thing.

Laura

DeNoise_Studios · May 7

Thanks to pros for replying, honestly I thought my message would be deleted because having to spend 50% of an income on thumbtack (plus production cost) doesn't make Thumbtack look good, and it makes me feel a stupid business manager.

Even Booking.com who is considered the worst in its domain charges its commission only when the hotel gets a guess, they absolutely don't care about the pros, their fees are high, but the host pays only when he gets hired, no gambling.

On Thumbtack it is different, it is a gamble because 4 out of 5 pros pay for nothing, sometimes even 5 out of 5, you can only see some relevant numbers after a few months or a year, and know how much you spent over how much you made. And 50% plus the admin and production cost is just insane.

The worst example I have is "headshot photography", I charge $150 for one person, Thumbtack charges me $50 for the lead, since I get hired 1/10 times, I pay $500 to make $150, and when I asked Thumbtack about how it made sense, their answer was maybe the customer will come you next year. Really!

I know something is wrong with such business models for the society, for the pros, even for the customers, they don't know how it works, they just click on as many vendors as they can, sometimes they don't even have a job in mind, they just check prices and who is around. I even doubt the legality of the business plan.

At least thanks Thumbtack to let the discussion develop, if we don't say anything it will get worse.

_Nura101 · June 19

@DeNoise_Studios thanks for the follow up message. No worries, we always appreciate your thoughts and really glad you brought up your concerns :)

A common misunderstanding about Thumbtack is that it's a place where you sign up for a free profile and expect to be hired by the first person that reaches out to you - that's not really how it works. It's very competitive!!

Let me tell you a story of why Thumbtack is amazing:
I went on vacation to Chicago the other week, it was great. I took an Uber; a thumbtack ad popped up on the drivers radio. I did my nails; a thumbtack ad popped on the screen of the girls Instagram next to me. I watched a sports game on TV; a thumbtack add popped up as a commercial.

Do you think those ads are free? No. Did you pay $$$$$ for those ads? Nope, Thumbtack did.

Why? Because they invest in their Pros. So that people from all over the state can find our profiles and connect with us. We pay a lead fee, but zero ads.

Have you ever heard a Booking.com advertisement lately? Neither have I.

Thumbtack is doing their part by promoting the Pros, and when you get new leads, you need to do your part to convert them.

When it comes to pricing, its up to YOU as a savvy business owner to be competitive. If you know the lead fee is $50, and you charge $150 for a photo shoot, that's not really smart right? Being on Thumbtack means you can raise your fees according to the platform market.

Every platform has its game, you have to learn how to play it if you wanna succeed. The game incudes making your pricing competitive, maximizing your profile, responding to new leads quickly, and figuring out ways to stand out from others.

Hope that helps :)

DeNoise_Studios · June 19

Nice try but, I don't how much is the lead fee, I never know in advance, you don't know it either because you always say it is the algorithm. How smart (or stupid) is your algorithm to decide to charge $50 for a $150. Also remember nobody can win every single thumbtack bid, myself I win 1 out of 10, which means I have to pay 10 x $50 = to earn $150. What do you think I should do?
Yesterday I was charge $88 for a $150 job, the answer I got from your refund team, is that $88 is an investment in the future not just for this bid, maybe they will come back and hire you next year. What do you personally think about that, I am just curious.

_Nura101 · June 20

Then I have good news for you :) Beginning of this year Thumbtack changed the rules of the lead fee - so now you set your own fee in advance, and never pay more than the fee you set :)
**I attached the email info that all the pros got.

My personal thought about your question is that you should raise the price. Look at your competitors and see what they're charging, no one charges $150 because the lead price is too high for that. Try $350, that will give you a good buffer :)

DeNoise_Studios · June 20

Thanks for providing details, but again if I set the bid price too low, I will get ZERO lead, and second thing I know my photo market better than you, in 28 years I was never able to sell a headshot for more than $150 ($200 max) so that suddenly you tell me I should sell it for $350 is just a fantaisie. You should adapt to the market instead of just thinking high commission, at the end it will more profitable for you to keep happy vendors to.

Next issue: A lead wanted 6 hour wedding photo services and clearly advertised a $600 budget max. My advertised price was clearly $1800. I got charged $200 for a lead I can never win. My question is why are you asking the leads and vendors their budgets if you don't match them?

And please don't tell me she might divorce and hire me next year.

ArvinC · June 22

Hi @DeNoise_Studios ,

Thanks for sharing these examples. It sounds like your main concern is making sure lead costs and customer budgets align in a way that makes sense for your business.

One thing worth reviewing is your Max Lead Price setting, which allows you to control the maximum amount you're willing to pay for a lead.

You may also want to review your targeting preferences to make sure you're only being matched with the types of jobs that fit your pricing and business goals.

Your feedback about customer budgets and lead quality is valuable. Continuing to fine-tune your lead price and targeting settings can help you focus your spend on the opportunities that are the best fit for your business.

Leads/hired & Income/advertisement RATIOS

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