Angies List Help!

Just about to take the plunge and advertise with them. Need help! Are their rates negotiable? Have you had success with them? Is the advertising paying for itself? I have the contract and am ready to sign it.

I too would like to know your experiences with AL.

Hi El D

Check with your rep and ask how many members in your area,   then we can compare it to my market.  

We do very very well on angies list and its where 90% of our business comes from.    Advertising rates are negotiable.  

I negotiate with them each year when getting ready for another contract.     You can discuss the monthly rate,   negotiate the storefront % breakdown for online purchases etc  

Well be hitting in the 20k range per month just angies list customers this year,   slower months are in the 10k range which is only a few per year.    

Get as many good reviews as you can,   now that we have over 300 on their with almost all A's minus a few the advertising is starting to really show its worth.      It will snowball over time.      


I would first find out how many members you have because that will play into what offer they make you.    We started at 1k/month and now are right about 1150/month.      

summer time we cant keep up with the demand using 2 trucks,  makes it tough getting other ads going to balance out slower months and grow

One thing to consider:

People that look to AL when selecting a cleaner, tend to just go to the ones with the most reviews (as long as they are positives of course).

This is a great thing for guys like AC who has worked hard at piling the stats, but until you get there, results may vary greatly. I would think about that when crunching numbers and plan on a slow period until you can build the stats.

well thats where the ad placement comes in. We started with only 3 reviews and it snowballed very quickly

you have to hold a certain standard to be able to advertise with them, basically meaning you have to be a reputable company that does good work. Once angies list verifies this, then when people call in they match them up with you.

also when they search for carpet cleaning on the site, it will put you at the top but the customer has the option to search by number of reviews.

The storefront is what drives in the most business, they send out email blasts to all their members weekly and your deals will show up.

Since last night we sold 4 $280 deals, 4 $220 deals. The busy season is here, 10 calls today and scheduled almost all of them

but yes Mil is right, the first 3 month or so were basically an investment in the future... only a few jobs came in but it was expected.

The nice thing is customers are quick to leave reviews, havent once ever asked for one. There also is no unknown "filter" that blocks them out.. so you get every single one, good or bad.


El D, this is what we did. Our first year on Angies list we offered a lower price for 4 areas and it sold like crazy... give each customer more than expected, like hit the entry mats on the way out and they will in turn give you shinning reviews.

Once you have like 50-75 reviews and its looking good, then raise the offer prices.

10 jobs per day is awesome....might have to re-think my association with Angie's after all.

Keep the updates coming, my eyes are more open.

Once you get enough reviews you can just cancel the adverting and let the reviews do their job. That's what I did but Im starting to reconsider.

Diablo in your area I would imagine its pretty expensive

Where the heck is Cracker ?? He just signed with Angie earlier this month, we need your review too Dave

I haven't responded because I really have nothen to report. I just started with them, and haven't yet gotten any work from it. But I think I need to get more reviews build up, and it may not happen overnight

[quote="Davey Cracker"]I haven't responded because I really have nothen to report.  I just started with them, and haven't yet gotten any work from it.  But I think I need to get more reviews build up, and it may not happen overnight [/quote
How long has it been since you signed up? They are asking $361 a month from me.

361 isnt much, basically 1 job.

Started May 1st, my advo package is $399 a month, for web, call center, and monthly publication, and like AC said one job will cover it. Altho I'm expecting a lot more than that, but figure it'll be slow going until I get more reviews built up.

I just started a thread a couple weeks ago about this very same thing. And really only got one response, from AC..........I guess he's the only one here with some real advo experience on AL.

200 plus here. When I first advertised  4 plus years ago it was 10.00 so I was able to pump up the reviews on the cheap.

Diablo did you negotiate the cost?

So I don't derail or hijack this thread my comment need not me responded to but as I read I see where two of you say that about $400 a month is what it costs to advertise on AL and that one job will cover it? Um, my job average is such that I would need nothing short of three jobs to cover that. I'm just saying that not everyone has a $400 job average.

Yeah I would say for most its 2 jobs

most Angies List customers here are in a higher tax bracket and most have larger homes.

for example on your storefront you can put together a carpet/upholstery package with a large ticket and it will still sell, or even carpet/tile/upholstery

If we did air ducts I would do a whole house platinum package with a nice size price    

still do lots of 200$ cleanings because many people have less carpet or smaller homes.    

I love jobs in the 200 range because weve gotten them down to about 1.5hrs tops.

Ken Raddon wrote:So I don't derail or hijack this thread my comment need not me responded to but as I read I see where two of you say that about $400 a month is what it costs to advertise on AL and that one job will cover it?  Um,  my job average is such that I would need nothing short of three jobs to cover that.  I'm just saying that not everyone has a $400 job average.

Your advo package with them iis totally customizable, and they will cater to whatever you want or want to spend...and I'd bet in the UT market, the price for the same amount of coverage is much less than here.

I've done quite a few jobs from AL and have also noticed what AC basically said, AL customers are much higher end. So if you're not charging them higher amounts you're just shorting yourself and making them question you for being 'cheap', I believe.

Advertising for less than $400 per month is pretty good if it gets you even 5 jobs in the early stages. I do see it as catered more to the larger markets and only as a supplemental advertising source.

Around here, it is who do you know that matters. Old fashioned contacts and reputation are used to find work....kind of wish there was an easier way.

Davey Cracker wrote:Started May 1st, my advo package is $399 a month, for web, call center, and monthly publication, and like AC said one job will cover it. Altho I'm expecting a lot more than that, but figure it'll be slow going until I get more reviews built up.

I just started a thread a couple weeks ago about this very same thing. And really only got one response, from AC..........I guess he's the only one here with some real advo experience on AL.

I am going to go back at the sales rep today and tell him I just want a price on the internet search- not the publication or call center. In the digital age I just can't see consumers flipping through a magazine of prospective contractors. Sounds like another way that they pump up their profits.

Yeah D let us know how much that 400.00 drops. I might keep that email blast option though.

call center works well but we dont do the publication anymore

ACpower1 wrote:call center works well but we dont do the publication anymore

So they call the call center and the rep transfers them to you?

Mo wrote:Yeah D let us know how much that 400.00 drops. I might keep that email blast option though.

Is that "email blast", something they offered back when you advertized with them?.........like back when you last used that stinky 2790, when dinosaurs roamed the earth.

No! I received a call from someone a few weeks back saying that Angie's list sent them an email saying that I would clean 3 rooms for 79.00 bucks told them it wasn't me. I wonder how much control you have over pricing for those email blasts.