Hi pros, We couldn't wait any longer to give you the news: we’re making some changes and taking the Pro Community to the next level! We’ve grown to 20,000 members (and counting) over the last 18 months and we’re excited to celebrate this milestone by introducing a new, clear mission for our community: The Thumbtack Pro Community is where the partnership between Thumbtack and pros comes to life, networking opportunities occur, and potential is unlocked on Thumbtack and beyond. In addition to new discussions boards that align with this mission, you can also expect a refreshed look and feel to the community. Lastly, Thumbtack is a dynamic marketplace that is constantly evolving. We will always be happy to offer pointers, clarifications, and the most up-to-date product announcements to help you be more successful. But for technical questions about how Thumbtack works and exact product or pricing details, moderators’ first response will now be to refer you to Thumbtack Help , Pro Resources , or our support team.  The reason is simple: we have thorough education toolkits that are designed to get you the answers you’re looking for regardless of day or time. The Pro Community is your place for the latest Thumbtack updates, but should also be understood as a snapshot in time.  Our best guess is that the new changes will go live in the next month or two and we’re looking forward to sharing more as our timeline gets finalized. Stay tuned, Drew ... View more

At Thumbtack, we’re extremely data-driven and we conduct a lot of research to understand pro and customer needs. We learn a great deal from this research and, in the spirit of partnership, we want to share with you what we have learned! We recently concluded a survey of roughly 2,200 Thumbtack customers. In it, we asked Thumbtack customers: What matters most to you when you’re hiring a service pro? Customers want reasonable prices, good reviews, relevant experience, and fast responses.  According to customers, the top 4 most important attributes of a pro are: 1.  Reasonable prices that fit the customer’s budget Pro Tip: Keep your prices up-to-date and be clear what is included in your price  2.  A high average review rating Pro Tip: Remember to ask for reviews   3.  Relevant experience Pro Tip: Add past projects and clearly outline the type of jobs you do, as well as any jobs you don’t. These help customers understand whether you’re a good fit for their job. 4.  Fast responses Pro Tip: Set your saved responses and reply quickly. A customer who sees a pro respond in 5 mins is 50% more likely to reply than if the pro takes 6 hrs Obviously, customer preferences vary depending on the type of professional they need to hire but we were surprised to see that these four attributes were consistently ranked at the top even when we broke the data down on a per category level. So, whether you're a chef or a DJ, make sure you're communicating your prices upfront, collect reviews, showcase your experience, and respond quickly! ... View more

Hi pros, As of today, Thumbtack is partnering with  Nextdoor to help members of the world’s leading private social network for neighborhoods instantly match with pros.  Beginning with housecleaning, handymen, pets, and lessons, pros will benefit from increased exposure within Nextdoor search results and on Nextdoor business pages. Over time, the plan is to expand to more categories (including, but not limited to, home, events, and wellness) and we will share more information as it becomes available. All pros nationwide who show up in Thumbtack search results are also eligible to also show in Nextdoor .  Here’s how it works: When Nextdoor members search for local services, they can see up to three Thumbtack pros directly within the Nextdoor search results with information from the pros' profiles. When the customer chooses one of these pros, they are taken to the pro's profile on Thumbtack where they can reach out directly. Still having trouble picturing it? Below is a screenshot of what you can expect: Nextdoor is the newest member of Thumbtack’s Partner Network, which launched earlier this month with Google Local Services .  Interested in learning more? See the full press release here . In partnership, Drew ... View more

Below is an updated list for the month of August. We’d love to hear what you think and we want your feedback! Don’t see your idea on this list? That doesn’t mean we aren’t working on it. Some features are much more complicated than they seem and take time to implement. Have other ideas? Reply below to share your suggestion and you may see it in a future update! Updates for pros in August: New criteria for Top Pro: To qualify for the January 2020 Class, you’ll need to meet the new criteria for Top Pro. A few of the changes include: Faster response time from 24 hours to 4 hours, in order to align our criteria with customer expectations (24 hours simply isn’t fast enough to close most jobs!). Background checks are now required to receive this stamp of approval. We offer free background checks through Checkr, an accredited third-party provider. Checkr will ask for your name, contact information and social security number. You must be the Thumbtack account holder in order to take the background check. It can take a few weeks to get results, but you should receive them within 10-17 business days. Take yours now. Top Pro Criteria Value 4.8 Average review rate (verified reviews only) Exceptional Quality 5 Verified reviews Persistence Responds to 75% of contacts to within 4 hours Professionalism Has a background check on file Trustworthiness   Top pro insights page: In order to give pros more control and transparency, you can now view and track your Top Pro status directly in your insights page. This page will allow pros to track their progress toward earning Top Pro status. Check it out here. Hide my business: Going on vacation, or no time for new jobs right now? You don’t have to close up shop completely. Instead, hide your business from customer search results. When you hide your business, new customers can’t find or contact you on Thumbtack. You can still message current customers, and you decide when you’re ready to appear in search results again.   Customer Travels to Pro: You gave us great feedback — we’re excited to share a new update we’ve made that lets you choose how far customers can travel for your services! When you set your travel preferences, you can select how far customers can travel to you. That means you’ll only pay automatically for leads from customers within the distance you set.   Update to notification toggles: The email notification toggles in Settings have been updated to clarify what each notification means. Note: the filter on the jobs tab does not affect this notification If a pro has Targeting Preferences ON, they don't get any job opportunity notifications for that service. New leads and messages - Pros will be notified of new leads and responses from customers Lead reminders - Pros will be reminded of leads they have not replied to (including if they are not interested and have not declined the lead) All opportunities in Jobs tab - Pro will be notified of all job opportunities where the customer contacted another pro Best opportunities in Jobs tab - These are "Hot Jobs" where a customer hasn't heard from the pro they contacted in the first 4 hours.  Refunds - Pro will be notified when they are refunded from a lead (the money be in the pro's account, but won't be refunded to their card) Note: To turn off your push notifications, you can either turn off all notifications from the settings on your phone or you can log into the Thumbtack Pro app > Profile > Settings > Notifications and from there turn off specific notifications.   ... View more