Spring ecommerce Makes for Easy Hiring. Leads You Want, When You Want. Angie s List Connects with Businesses

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Leads You Want,

When You Want

eCommerce Makes

for Easy Hiring

Angie’s List Connects

with Businesses

Spring 2016

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News From the List

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4 A Note From Angie

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5 Ready with the Offer

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6 Line Up Your Leads

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7 Short-Term Business Loans

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9 International Builders’ Show

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10 Experts Contributors Program

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12 TOOLBOX:

STAFF

CONTACT US:

Angie’s List Business Center 1030 E� Washington St� Indianapolis, IN 46202 Phone: 866-843-LIST (5478) Mon� – Fri� 8:30 a�m� – 8:15 p�m� ET Fax: 888-822-5414

Angie’s List Toolbox is published quarterly by Angie’s List, Inc�, 1030 E� Washington St�, Indianapolis, IN 46202� Reproduction of any material from this issue is expressly forbidden without permission of the publisher� Angie’s List assumes no responsibility for the return of any unsolicited materials� The publisher reserves the right to accept or reject any editorial or advertising material� The publisher is not liable to any advertiser, contributor or reader for any errors or omissions in advertising or editorial copy appearing in this magazine; however, the publisher will print a correction in the next issue of Angie’s List Toolbox published after the publisher has been notified of the error or omission, which must be made in writing to the publisher within 30 days of the original publication date�

Cover: Leslie McFarland

Spring 2016 • Vol� 1, Issue 3

WE WANT TO HEAR FROM YOU

Thank you for being a valued reader� Your feedback matters!

FOLLOW US ON…

toolbox@angieslist�com facebook�com/AngiesListBusinessCenter @AngiesListBC

Business Center

FEATURE

International

Builders’ Show

10

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1 HOME OFFICE DEDUCTION

If you work from home, then you might be able to write off that home office. Find out if the simplified option or regular method is best for calculating your deduction. If your business doesn’t qualify, you can always explore writing off depreciated office equipment.

2 CAR DEDUCTION

First, check to see if your car qualifies as a business expense. If it does, then there are multiple other deductions besides mileage that you can look into, including gas and oil, maintenance, insurance, loan interest, and so on. If you don’t already have a detailed record of mileage and expens-es for your 2015 taxexpens-es, then start keeping tabs on it for 2016.

3 AVOIDING MISTAKES

The best way to make sure your taxes are in order is to keep your records as up to date as possible. If you don’t feel comfortable filling out forms yourself, Angie’s List has many highly qualified CPAs who can help you out.

NEWS FROM THE LIST

TAX SEASON IS HERE!

Your business profile on Angie’s List is a great way to make a good first impression. Now’s never been a better time to update your profile with photos of your company’s owner, team and examples of your work. Send your company information and photos to photos@angieslist.com.

PUT A FACE

TO THE NAME

Whether you’re an early bird

or tend to drag your feet when

it comes to filing taxes, here are

three things to remember this year.

COMING SOON!

We’ve been busy at Angie’s List revamping our user experience for both members and service companies. The new design makes it easy for you to update your profile, read and respond to reviews, and look at or add inventory to your eCommerce offerings. Keep an eye out for an email communicating when the new Angie’s List Business Center website will be live in your area.

PHO TO S ©THINK ST OCK

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5 Angie’s List Toolbox | Spring 2016

There’s a revolution going on in how

consumers access home services and Angie’s

List will help you stay on the cutting edge.

That’s why we’re using our 20 years of

expe-rience and our state-of-the-art technology

to create LeadFeed

BETA

_{, new guarantees, and}

other innovative products and services to

better connect you to interested customers.

We have 10 to 12 million visitors

coming to the Angie’s List website every

month searching for home improvement

services. Our LeadFeed was born as a way

to connect these consumers with highly

rated service providers.

What we think is helpful for service

providers to know is that with LeadFeed,

you are the only one in control of the leads

you want to pursue. We will send you

customer leads as often as they come in your

market and category, but you decide when

it’s right to welcome additional customers

in your schedule.

A NOTE FROM

ANGIE

Angie Hicks, founder of Angie’s List, is a 1995 graduate in economics from DePauw University.

The “Why” Behind

Our New Offerings

In addition to creating LeadFeed,

we recently introduced our new Fair

Price and Service Quality Guarantees.

Our Fair Price Guarantee promises

consumers will receive exactly that, a fair

price for their eCommerce purchases

made on Angie’s List. Our Service

Quality Guarantee promises that if a

member purchases services through

Angie’s List and is not completely

satis-fied with the quality of service provided,

we’ll make it right or refund the price of

the eCommerce purchase up to $100,000.

We want our members to know that we’re

willing to stand behind their purchases.

Send your thoughts to me at

askangie@angieslist.com.

“ We have more

than 100 million

unique visitors

coming to the

Angie’s List

web-site each year

searching for

home

improve-ment services.”

Get new leads.

Leads expire after 24 hours or sooner.

Pick the ones that fit.

Only pay for the leads you want.

Get hired.*

Call the customer, provide a quote and tell them why you’re right for the job.

INTRODUCING

* Customers ultimately choose which provider to work with. Price of the lead is non-refundable. LeadFeed is currently in limited markets.

LeadFeed

BETA

Angie Hicks, Founder

askangie@angieslist.com @Angie_Hicks

ANGIE

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With the Internet readily accessible at our fingertips, consumers have an easier time finding the information they need before purchasing a service.

A recent survey from the Pew Research Center, indicates that “81 percent of online Americans report their Internet and cell phone use has made them better informed about products and services today than they were five years ago.”

This type of access brings about a new consumer. Nowadays, we can purchase just about anything online, including home repairs and services. It’s evident homeowners, particularly Angie’s List members, are ready to make home improvement-related pur-chases toward their homes.

“A majority of our members are gearing up to invest in their homes

at the same or greater level than last year,” says Angie’s List co-founder Angie Hicks. “We found even greater opti-mism among service companies, with many of them saying they’re already booking more jobs than at this time last year and expect to have a great 2016.”

Providing eCommerce or online sales is one way to help fill the schedule books with appointments, as well as show cur-rent and potential consumers popular or even lesser-known services businesses offer. These offers conveniently live on Angie’s List, via your profile and the Shop Deals page, or even through social media outlets such as Facebook and Twitter. Consider the benefits:

• No upfront costs to post offers. • Offers are year-round and fair-

market priced.

• No limit to the number of offers you post.

• Dedicated team to assist making offers competitive.

• Increased business exposure. • Opportunity for additional revenue.

Along with these benefits, eCom-merce gives businesses more

opportu-nities to collect reviews and feedback from their consumers.

Once work is completed from an of-fer they purchased, members are encour-aged to leave a review on the businesses they hired. Since consumers do not have to be members to purchase eCommerce, this gives businesses an opportunity to build a relationship with those not quite ready to join Angie’s List.

Feedback is valuable, whether from a member or not. The Angie’s List Business Center provides several op-tions for businesses to gather the re-views they need to better their service. From classic review forms to business cards with a personalized review link, businesses should be prepared to ask for feedback after every fulfilled eCommerce job.

Both eCommerce offers and reviews work hand in hand to build a business’ presence and reputation on Angie’s List.

SERVICES

Ready with the Offer

eCommerce offers

makes shopping for home

improvement services easy

BY CAROLYN DUNCAN

READY TO SET UP

YOUR OFFERS?

Contact your representative or the Business Center today at 866-843-LIST (5478).

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LEADFEED

Finding potential work is time-consuming. Returning calls, answering emails and catering to homeowners who may or may not end up needing your services is part of the job — but what if there was an easier way?

LeadFeedBETA_{is a new Angie’s List}

program that will email you job leads that fit within your business’s category. You’ll have access to the description of work,

the customer’s zip code and the desired timeframe to have the work completed. After you review the particulars, you can decide if you want to purchase the lead. The price varies per market and lead type.

Once purchased, you’ll receive the cus-tomer’s contact information and he or she will receive the details of your company. You’ll get the chance to provide them a quote and explain why you’re the best for

YOUR LEADS

LINE UP

BY STACI GIORDULLO

GET ON THE LIST

Currently, LeadFeed is only available in the limited markets

and categories listed on the following page, with plans to expand. To start receiving leads

in your inbox, contact your Angie’s List representative

or the Business Center at 1-866-843-LIST.

THINK

ST

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LEADFEED

Albany Albuquerque Austin Baltimore Boston Chicago Cincinnati Columbus Dallas/Ft. Worth Dayton Detroit Greensboro/Winston-Salem Greenville/Spartanburg Hartford Houston Indianapolis Jacksonville Kansas City Knoxville Las Vegas Los Angeles Madison Memphis Milwaukee Nashville

New York City (tri-state) Northeast Ohio Oklahoma City Orlando Philadelphia Phoenix Pittsburgh Portland Providence Raleigh/Durham Richmond Rochester Sacramento Salt Lake City San Antonio San Diego

San Francisco Bay Area Seattle Southwest Florida St. Louis Tucson Tulsa Twin Cities Virginia Beach/Norfolk Washington D.C. West Palm Beach

SERVICES COVERED

LeadFeed is active in the following categories: Appliance Repair Carpet Cleaning Ceramic Tile Countertops Decks & Porches Doors

Drywall Electrical

Flooring Sales/Installation/Repair Garage Doors

Gutter Repair & Replacement Handyman

Heating & A/C Housecleaning Insulation Landscaping Lawn & Yard Work Moving Painting-Exterior Painting-Interior Pest Control/Exterminating Plumbing Remodeling-General

Remodeling-Kitchen & Bathroom Roofing

Tree Service Windows

COVERAGE AREA

LeadFeed is active in the following markets:

the job. Typically, only three businesses can purchase each lead, on a first-come, first-served basis. If no one buys a lead within 24 hours, it expires.

“The benefit of LeadFeed is you only buy the leads you want,” says Mark Brodahl, Angie’s List product manager. “If the service provider sees a lead that is a good fit for their business, they can choose to buy it.”

Angie’s List has more than 100 million unique visitors every year — and not all of them are members. With LeadFeed, every visitor now has the opportunity to reach out and submit a lead directly to a service provider through Angie’s List.

“LeadFeed allows service providers to purchase leads when they want them, and connect with consumers that need local services,” Brodahl says. “It’s a great way to keep your business busy during

slow times or simply to supplement existing advertising.”

LeadFeed is designed for ease-of-use and convenience. “We’re continuing to improve on the experience, with the goals of sending the most relevant leads to service providers and empow-ering them with technology to both purchase and manage those leads efficiently,” Brodahl says.

Companies already using LeadFeed enjoy the ability to choose their next cus-tomers and supplement their schedules.

“LeadFeed is a fantastic program,” says Kip P., owner of Millenium Remod-eling in Lansdale, Pennsylvania. “With control of where, when and what type of projects we target, LeadFeed allows us to have total control of our market-ing. As we get booked, it’s so simple to reduce leads.”

“With control of where, when and what type

of projects we target, LeadFeed allows us to have

total control of our marketing. As we get booked,

it’s so simple to reduce leads.”

Kip P. | Owner of Millenium Remodeling

THINK

ST

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Loan purpose, credit profile and other factors play an important role in determining where a business owner should look for financing. Buying a new warehouse or heavy piece of equipment has very different financ-ing needs than a service business launchfinanc-ing a new marketfinanc-ing campaign or filling a short-term cash flow gap.

Most of us would never use a 30-year mortgage to purchase a new automobile — the total interest expense would make the automobile prohibitively expensive. Loan purpose helps determine whether short-term financing or long-short-term financing make sense.

Business expenses like purchasing equipment that can be amortized over several years may not always be a good way to use short-term financing, however a short-term business loan can be a great tool that allows you to take advantage of unexpected opportunities or meet other short-duration challenges.

There are more financing options available today than ever before, but knowing which type of financing makes the most sense might not always be obvious. For example, while the total cost of a short-term loan will often be lower than a longer-term loan, the periodic payment will likely be higher. Considering loan purpose before you start your search will help you know which could be a better fit.

What Loan Purpose is a Good

Fit for Short-Term Financing?

Here are four examples of loan purposes suited for a short-term loan:

MORE ONLINE

Click HERE to learn more about a small business loan from OnDeck.

THIS CONTENT IS SPONSORED BY ONDECK

Is a Short-Term Business Loan

RIGHT FOR YOU?

M AT T M UKER JEE/ ANGIE’ S LIS T

1

2

3

4

Project start-up costs: Ramping up a new project can include upfront costs that can be recouped in 60 or 90 days.

Overcoming a short-term seasonal cash flow slump: Many seasonal businesses sometimes require additional capital to meet expenses between seasons.

Launching a marketing campaign:

Financing a marketing campaign could be a good use for a short-term loan.

Covering unexpected expenses: An unexpected expense could be solving an emergency plumbing crisis or repairing a piece of critical business equipment.

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TRADE SHOW

BY CAITLIN DELK

For the first time, Angie’s List exhibited at the NAHB Inter-national Builders’ Show from January 19 to 21. More than 110,000 builders, general con-tractors, remodelers, design-ers and flooring professionals gathered at the Las Vegas Convention Center for the largest annual light construc-tion show in the world.

Attendees were able to complete a free business pro-file or optimize their existing profile with Business Center experts, and hundreds of providers took advantage of the opportunity. Angie’s List specialists had conversations with thousands of business owners that stopped by the booth about advertising opportunities and our new product, LeadFeed.

“We know consumers want to find best-in-class

Angie’s List

Draws Crowds at

International Build

ers’ Show

Service providers received help updat-ing their Angie’s List business profiles during the International Builders’ Show.

DOUG MCSCHOOLER/ANGIE’S LIST

“Working at the IBS

show was a great

opportunity to connect

with thousands of

service providers

and discuss the value

Angie’s List offers.”

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TRADE SHOW

products and services. This show allowed us to both introduce LeadFeed to some of the most engaged contractors in the country and evalu-ate new building products in the market,” says Michael Benz, Director of Strategic Accounts.

Angie’s List employees enjoyed meeting the contractors they often don’t get to meet in person. “Working at the IBS show was a great opportunity to connect with thousands of service providers and discuss the value Angie’s List offers,” says Brian Stiegelmeyer, Manager of the Angie’s List Business Center. “We were able to show that we care about building successful relationships with businesses. It’s important to us.”

Thanks so much for everyone who was able to stop by and visit.

Brian Stiegelmeyer of Angie’s List, above, talks with an attendee at the show. Jason Ryan of M. Johnson Contracting (below left) won a GoPro camera at the Angie’s List booth and poses with magician Lee Lentz (below and right) who entertained and educated attendees about Angie’s List throughout the event.

DOUG MCSCHOOLER/ANGIE’S LIST

SAVE THE DATE

The 2017 International Builders’ Show will be held January 10-12 in Orlando, Florida. Don’t forget to mark your calendar!

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If you’re a highly rated company with serious industry know-how and insider information for consum-ers, you could be a great fit for our Experts Contributor Program. We’re looking for knowledgeable service providers, such as yourself, to provide regular articles for readers of our website and magazine.

Submitting articles to our Experts Contributor Program is about much more than getting your name in a byline. Your articles inform consumers looking to hire and build your brand as an expert service provider in your field, expanding your reach to consumers. Consider the following benefits:

We have published

more than 1,000

Experts articles

on topics from

plumbing to

interior design

to roofing.

BRAND EXPOSURE

By sharing articles, you can promote your company’s in-depth expertise and experience to the AngiesList.com audience and beyond.

CONTENT MARKETING AND SEARCH

ENGINE OPTIMIZATION (SEO)

If you’re already using advertising, website or social media efforts, supplement your efforts with this free content marketing channel. If you and your articles qualify, we can link to your company’s social media accounts and/or possibly your company website.

AN OPEN-ENDED COMMITMENT

Contribute as many consumer-focused articles or high-quality photos as you prefer – there is no limit to how many articles you can share.

FEEDBACK FROM EXPERIENCED

CONSUMER EDITORS

Angie’s List has been creating articles and information with consumers in mind for almost 20 years, so if you’re not sure where to start or what to write about, Experts’ online editors are more than happy to help.

Think you have what it takes to be an Expert

with Angie’s List?

What are you wait-ing for? Get started today by submitting a 300-800 word consumer-focused article with a high-quality photo HERE.

BRANDON SMITH/ANGIE’S LIST