All – Page 14 – Bark.com Blog

Our new-and-improved trades categories make it even easier to secure new business with Bark!

We launched 300 new-and-improved trades categories this week, to make it even easier to find great leads for your business with Bark.

As well as many services that are brand new to our platform, we’ve divided general categories (e.g. plumbing) into specific job types (e.g. bathroom repair, or leaking and burst pipes).

We believe this approach will make it even easier to find new customers with Bark – and today we’ll look at what these changes mean for your business.

Know exactly what customers are looking for

By making our general trades categories more specific, we hope to give you a much clearer idea of what each customer is looking for before you respond to their Barks.

Where previously someone might have placed a Bark for a builder, they can now specify exactly what type of work they need doing – whether that’s concrete levelling, block paving installation or anything else.

This will make it much easier for you to decide if a job request is something you want to help with before you respond to it.

Cheaper to pitch for smaller jobs

Splitting the requests placed on our site up in this way also helps us ensure the price of responding to a Bark reflects the value of the job the customer needs doing.

For example, we know a pipe repair job is worth less than a full bathroom remodel – so these new categories will help us make sure smaller jobs are cheaper to pitch for than big ones.

Easier to choose which leads you hear about

Last, but not least, these new categories will help us make sure we only alert you to the best leads for your business.

Imagine your company offers wallpapering services, but not shelf installation. In the past, these jobs would have both come under ‘handyman services‘ – but now you can use our new trades categories to specify that you’d like to hear about one and not the other.

Start hearing about customers completely FREE

Our registered pros are already signed up to hear about relevant Barks in our brand new trades categories. If you’re new to Bark, you can join them today and start hearing about potential customers in your area completely free.

Click the link below now to claim your free Bark account and start growing your business with our service right away.

Get the best leads for your business now.

5 essential checks to keep your home cosy and warm this winter

It’s National Maintenance Week! Founded in 2015 by the Society for the Protection of Ancient Buildings, this annual campaign is dedicated to reminding people how vital proper maintenance is during the winter months.

“Maintenance makes a difference – never put it off!” says National Maintenance Week spokesman and TV archaeologist, Neil Oliver. “The longer you ignore a problem, the harder it becomes to put it right.”

To help you keep your home in top shape and avoid costly repairs in the springtime, here’s our essential guide to maintaining your home this winter.

Wrap your pipes up warm

Being full of water, pipes have a tendency to freeze in winter. As the liquid inside them cools, it expands rapidly and puts strain on your pipes.

As a result, thousands of UK families experience blocked or burst pipes each year during winter cold snaps – especially those who live in older properties, or in colder parts of the country.

To make sure this doesn’t happen to you, we recommend drafting in a professional insulator to wrap your pipes up warm with insulating foam.

Get your boiler serviced so it runs smoothly

There’s nothing nicer than returning to a warm home on a bitterly cold day – but before you put the heating on full blast, you should book your boiler in for its annual checkup.

The extra strain that’s put on your boiler during the colder months can cause it to leak or break. So it’s important to make sure yours is in top working order before it gets too nasty outside.

It’s also a great way to make sure your central heating is running efficiently, and could save you up to 25% on your heating bills.

Bleed your radiators so they run efficiently

If your radiators are creaking, or colder at the top than they are at the bottom, that’s a sure sign there’s trapped air inside them keeping the heat from circulating properly.

That means it’s time to grab a towel, get on your knees and bleed your radiator. It’s a messy job, but a small price to pay for a lovely warm home.

Or, if you’d prefer not to get your hands dirty, simply place a Bark now to get quotes from local plumbers fast and free.

Keep the heat in with proper home insulation

About a quarter of your home’s heat it lost straight through the roof. So if you want to keep your home warm without having the heating on 24/7, the first thing to do is check your loft and wall cavity insulation.

Upgrading your current home insulation needn’t cost the Earth, and it could save you a fortune on heating bills over the long run.

Place a home insulation Bark now to get quotes from local insulation professionals fast and free.

Clear your guttering of leaves and debris

Gutters have one job – to guide rainwater off your roof and straight down the drain. But, despite their importance, it can be all too easy to forget about them until something goes badly wrong.

Allowing your gutters to become clogged can cause serious structural damage to your house, and lead to health issues for you and your family from the damp.

That’s why it’s important to hire someone to check your guttering thoroughly at least once a year to keep everything working properly.

Book a boiler service today to ensure your home stays warm this winter

Autumn has barely begun and already there’s a chill in the air. Soon, it will be time to fire up the boiler and bed in for the cold months ahead.

Keeping your boiler in top working order is essential if you want to avoid unpleasant outages later in the year. It’s also a great way to ensure your central heating is running efficiently, and could save you up to 25% on your heating bills.

Here’s why you should book your boiler in now for its annual checkup to help make sure your home stays lovely and warm this winter.

Why do boilers break in winter?

Your boiler is the main system responsible for heating your home, and it does this by boiling water to generate steam. That steam then heats the air in a forced air system, such as your central heating or underfloor heating.

If your boiler doubles as your hot water heater, it will work all year round. But, as the temperature starts to cool, it will need to work much harder to boil its water.

This can put extra strain on your boiler, especially if it’s poorly maintained – and as a result, your boiler is more likely to break in winter.

How can you tell if your boiler is broken?

Boiler failure can present itself in a variety of ways – the most obvious being if it stops working entirely and your house becomes freezing cold. If your boiler also supplies your house with hot water, a broken boiler will also leave your home without hot water.

Worst of all, poorly maintained boilers can start leaking highly dangerous carbon monoxide gas. Over 4,000 people are admitted to A&E with boiler related carbon monoxide poisoning in the UK each year – so it’s important to get yours serviced regularly.

What does a boiler technician do?

During a service checkup, your boiler technician will check for oil or gas leaks, and maximise the efficiency of your boiler . An experienced boiler technician will also be able to listen for any strange noises that might indicate damage.

Should your boiler need replacing, they may also conduct a heating system flush to remove any waste or sludge that’s built up in your heating system.

How much could you save?

Having a boiler engineer optimise your boiler’s efficiency has the potential to substantially reduce your heating bills. For example, while some people view them as being generally less reliable, modern boilers are significantly more efficient than their older counterparts.

According to the Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland, boilers more than 15 years old are likely to have less than 70% efficient. By contrast, modern boilers are typically more than 90% efficient.

That means replacing your old boiler with a new one has the potential to knock 25% off your heating bills.

Where can you find a reliable boiler technician?

With Bark, finding a reliable boiler technician is easy. We’ll do all the legwork to find you recommended local pros, so you can simply choose the one that’s right for you.

When selecting a boiler technician, it’s important to keep their level of experience in mind. If your boiler runs on gas, you should also ask if they’re a member of the UK Gas Safe Register, as all UK gas engineers are required to register with this body by law.

Place a Bark today to prepare your boiler for winter, and get quotes from recommended boiler technicians in your area fast and free.

How to hire a great caterer for your next event or party

What party would be complete without delicious food? It’s the secret ingredient that keeps your guests dancing and having fun well into the small hours – so it’s important your caterer serves up a feast everyone can enjoy.

At Bark, we’re proud to be helping people throughout the UK find great local catering companies. But before we start putting you in touch with caterers in your area, you need to know what you’re looking for.

To help you choose the right pro for you, we created this easy guide to hiring a great caterer for your next event or party.

Know your guest profile

While it might be relatively easy to create a menu your closest friends will enjoy, when planning larger events you’ll often need to cater for a range of tastes and eating requirements.

For example, older attendees may prefer a milder, less adventurous menu to younger guests. Meanwhile, guests concerned with health and fitness may prefer more seafood or vegetarian options.

Considering your guests’ preferences in this way should help you arrive at a much clearer idea about what sort of caterer you’re looking for.

Plan your menu

Once you know what sorts of guest you’re expecting, it’s time to start planning your menu.

With Bark, this is easy. Simply indicate what sorts of cuisine you’ll consider when placing your Bark and ask the pros who respond to your request to propose a menu tailored to suit your tastes.

Make sure you know whether you’ll need to provide vegetarian or gluten-free options so your caterer can make sure there’s something for everyone.

Do you want any additional services?

Some caterers are more “full service” than others – and the level of service that’s right for you will depend on the kind of event you’re planning.

If you’re planning a birthday garden party, you might be happy with a simple buffet service. But for a larger event like a wedding, you’ll likely need cutlery, table linens, a full waiter service and more.

Simply select the level of service you’re looking for from our checklist when placing your Bark to help us find local caterers who meet your requirements.

Sample the food in advance

It’s often a good idea to sample a few different caterers’ food before you hire someone. This gives you a chance to check the quality of their cooking and to experience how the food will be presented.

It’s also a great opportunity to meet the chef and determine how flexible they are. Many caterers will be happy to adjust their dishes to your tastes – so don’t be afraid to make your feedback heard.

Click the link below to now place your Bark we’ll do all the legwork to get you multiple quotes from local caterers fast and free.

Why you should hire a photo booth for your next corporate event

Everyone knows that photo booths are a great alternative to traditional photographers at weddings and anniversary parties. But for household brands like Dolby, Listerine and Adidas, they can also be powerful promotional tools.

Modern photo booths are kitted out with a host of marketing features that, with a little bit of creativity, can be a great way to promote your business at any corporate event. To find out exactly how some of the world’s largest companies do it, we spoke to Martyn Doherty from leading photo booth hire company, The Photo Cabin.

“Corporate photo booth hire is quite a broad area,” Martyn explains. “It covers anything from conferences in the day, as a sort of breakout thing for people to do, to work parties, product launches, festivals, fashion weeks – literally any kind of corporate event you can think of.”

Companies including Adidas, Listerine, PayPal, Nokia and more all make use of photo booth hire services at big corporate events – and right now, Martyn is working with Dolby at the Ministry of Sound to promote their latest clubbing collaboration.

“They’ve got the world’s first nightclub surround sound that they’ve just installed, so everything has to be remastered from stereo to Dolby Atmos,” he explains. “At every event they’re doing, they’ll have a photo booth there to help promote this night. So they’re doing animated GIFs, data capture and stuff like that.”

Having a photo booth present at the Ministry of Sound will create yet another way for people to enjoy themselves on these immersive new club nights. But the marketing benefits go way beyond the booth itself.

*Adidas hired The Photo Cabin to help them cover Milan Fashion Week*

“Data capture’s probably one of the most requested things with corporate photo booth hire,” Martyn says. “The most common way is just capturing an email address. So the user can just email their photo to themselves, they type it in and we can capture it that way.”

“On Facebook upload, we can also get your name, age, current city, date of birth, email address,” he adds. “Depending on the user’s privacy settings, you can get basically everything.”

Letting people share their photo booth pictures on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram is also a great way to boost your brand’s social media presence. This approach worked wonders for Adidas when they commissioned a custom photo booth for the last Milan Fashion Week.

“At Milan Fashion Week [Adidas] were targeting certain famous people outside venues, getting them to come over and have their photo taken,” Martyn says. “They were getting like 40,000 ‘likes’ when they uploaded the pictures online.”

Listerine enjoyed similar success with their photo booth campaign at the 2014 Isle of Wight Festival, generating over 130,000 Facebook impressions in just three days.

Listerine generated nearly 140,000 with their photo booth at 2014's Isle of Wight Festival — *Listerine generated nearly 140,000 Facebook impressions with their photo booth at 2014’s Isle of Wight Festival*

“From 400 digital prints, the number of impressions was something like 140,000,” says Martyn. “The ROI for essentially what’s an advert to be seen that many times is huge.”

“But also, it’s not just an advert,” he adds. “It’s going to be kept on that person’s Facebook profile forever, because they’re tagging their friends to it and they’ve liked it.”

By simultaneously letting you capture valuable data about your customer base and boost your online presence through photo sharing, photo booths really are a promotional tool like no other. But it’s not just the world’s biggest brands that are using them to promote their business and attract new customers – soon, you could be too.

Place a photo booth hire Bark today and we’ll find a great photo booth hire company for your next corporate event right away.

How to pick the perfect photo booth for your party, wedding or corporate event

Photo booths are the ultimate alternative to hiring a traditional photographer. Whatever event you’re planning, your guests will love piling inside and drawing the curtain to take a few cheeky pictures.

At weddings and anniversaries, they’re a great way to capture group photos without needing to call the party to a halt while everyone gets in position – and they’re the perfect icebreaker at corporate or work events where your guests might not know each other very well.

But with so many different types available, choosing the right booth for your event can be tricky. So we put together this handy guide to help you make up your mind.

Why you can’t go wrong with a classic booth

You can get a whole range of booths for a fraction of what you’d spend on a professional photographer, from affordable passport photo-style boxes, to luxury enclosed booths.

Top-of-the-line booths often come complete with a green screen, live social media sharing, touchscreen displays and more – like this one from leading photo booth hire company The Photo Cabin:

Screen Shot 2016-05-24 at 13.03.42 — *The Photo Cabin in action at the launch party for Supra’s Skytop IV trainer*

A classic booth like this will add a touch of class to any party. If you want premium features, and are happy to pay a premium price to get them, then look no further.

For great group photos, try an open air booth

For something a little different, why not try one of these ‘open air’ booths. With its tower-style camera and separate backdrop, your guests can simply gather round and strike a pose.

“The plus with these is that you can fit a hell of a lot more people in the photo, which is particularly good for weddings or corporate events,” explains The Photo Cabin’s Martyn Doherty. “Like if you want a big ‘groomsman and his mates’ photo, or if everyone at the wedding wants to try and fit in.”

Photo Tower 3 — *Tower-style booths like this one are perfect for taking fun group snaps!*

“You can’t do that sort of thing with a normal enclosed booth,” he adds. “The only type of event it’s not great for is, like, a kids’ party, because they’re not tall enough, basically.”

As the camera is at a fixed height, these booths aren’t really designed for small children – but they’re absolutely perfect for weddings, corporate events, birthday parties and anything else.

Save money with this “booth on a budget”

There’s also a range of cheaper booths available if your primary concern is getting a good deal. Expect fewer bells and whistles, but it’s still possible to hire a perfectly good mobile booth like this one without breaking the bank:

Photo Box 1 — *Affordable cabins like The Photo Box can be ideal for parties and corporate events*

“That’s your booth on a budget,” says Martyn. “It’s not quite as big, so you can only really fit three people in, max. The features are more limited as well. It’s not got a touch screen.”

“It’s really quick to set up,” he adds. “You literally wheel it in. You put it down, it expands out of itself and it’s got a five-minute setup time.”

Opting for a ‘stripped down’ booth like this one is a great way to get what you need on a tight budget. So if you want to keep your costs to a minimum, we recommend asking for a mobile booth.

Stand out from the crowd with a custom booth

Or, for something truly unique, you can even have your booth customised with a vinyl wrap or kitted out to include GIFs, slow motion videos, social media sharing, data capture and more.

One of our personal favourite custom contraptions is this cool GIF booth the guys at The Photo Cabin built into an arcade machine cabinet:

We converted an old arcade machine into an animated GIF photo booth. Pretty cool huh? #PhotoBooth #GIFBooth #GIF #ArcadeMachine

A video posted by The Photo Cabin (@thephotocabin) on Mar 24, 2016 at 7:30pm PDT

“I didn’t want to destroy an old school machine,” Martyn explains. “Taking like a vintage Pacman machine and killing it seemed wrong. So I just got a new arcade cabinet and built it into that.”

With so many different customisations available, the only real limit here is your imagination. Simply specify your requirements in your Bark and we’ll find you the right pro for the job.

Place a photo booth hire Bark today

We hope this guide has helped you decide what sort of photo booth you want for your next party. Now you’ve seen the full range of booths on offer, you’re ready to hire one of your very own!

Whether you’re planning a wedding, corporate event or anything else – we’ll help you find the perfect booth for you. Simply let us know what you’re looking for and we’ll start contacting specialists in your area right away.

Click here to get photo booth hire quotes today.

Ask the Expert: Five essential gardening jobs to do this spring

With spring in full bloom, now is the perfect time to create the perfect space to relax with your friends and family. Getting on top of things now will make all the difference as temperatures start to rise and barbeque season gets into full swing – and that’s where Bark comes in.

To help you make the most of that neglected outside space, we asked one of our top gardening pros – Harrison Gardens founder Julian Harrison-Jones – to run you through five essential gardening jobs to do this spring.

1. Fix up your lawn

*You can find hundreds of Lawn Care specialists on Bark.com*

One of the main things that people think about at this time of year is Lawn Care. Weeds are coming through, the edges aren’t done and it’s starting to look overgrown.

“It’s time to start working on your lawn,” says Julian. “That means aeration, mowing, weeding and feeding. You feed the lawn twice a year, in Spring and Autumn.”

“When you’re starting to mow the lawn, because it will be the first cut of the year you should do it on a high blade,” he adds. “You’re just encouraging new, healthy growth. Don’t go crazy otherwise you’ll do damage and you might kill the lawn.”

2. Get on top of the weeding

Your lawn isn’t the only thing growing again now the winter months are behind us. Rolling up your sleeves and tackling the weeding now will mean you have a head start going into the rest of the year.

“To be honest, weeding is probably ‘number one’ because of the time of year,” says Julian. “You’ve left it over the winter, they’re coming up now and if you don’t tackle weeds now they’ll compete with shrubs and plants that you want to keep.”

“Basically, they’re all competing for nutrients and water,” he adds. “So if the weeds take over, they’ll take that away from the actual plants. As well as some weeds, like Ivy or creeping weeds, which will can strangle and kill your plants.”

It’s time to start working on your lawn

3. Choose your ‘feature’ plants

*Julian planting flowers for one of his many happy clients*

Once you’ve got the weeds under control, it’s time to think about the plants you actually want to look at.

“It’s still relatively early in the gardening year,” Julian explains. “So you can plant your ‘feature’ plants or architectural-type planting – your shrubs, the backbone of your garden.”

He adds: “If you like roses, this is the perfect time for them, as well as perineal flowers and trees.”

4. Get mulching and feeding

Mulching and feeding goes hand-in-hand with weeding and planting, but the exact type of plant food you use depends on what you’re using it for.

“It could be manure, it could be peat, it could be leaf mould or compost,” Julian explains. “If it’s roses, for example, they really like a horse manure. Whereas, in general, your shrubs prefer bark just to supress weeds and keep the heat in.

“With your lawn, it would be nitrogen. Generally, a well-balanced fertiliser containing nitrogen, potassium and phosphorus in equal proportions. You can’t go too wrong with that.”

5. Repair damaged trees and fencing

Starting with storm Desmond back in December, the UK has been buffeted by a wave of severe storms over the past few months. Thankfully, the worst of it is behind us, and you can now be thinking about repairing those damaged fence panels.

“Because of the recent storms, any damage that’s been caused over the winter – fencing, staking trees – those kind of essential works can be done,” Julian explains. “That’s what took up most of January. Lots of fencing work.”

“About two weeks ago we had a job that involved a lot of staking and getting everything back into shape,” he adds. “You should have two large stakes either side of the tree, which should be tied together firmly, then the tree tied to that.”

Find a local gardening expert today

With thousands of registered gardening professionals, giving your garden a makeover in time for summer is easy with Bark.com.

Whether you’re fixing the fence, clearing away those pesky weeds, or planning a full-blown garden renovation, we can help. Simply click the link below to find gardening professionals in your area today.

Hire a pro to fix up your garden today.

Why we’ve stopped asking for budgets

“There needs to be a way to stop timewasters who ask for a quote without any intention of ever going ahead,” says one Bark pro. “Maybe a guide with realistic budget advice may help this?”

This was a piece of feedback we heard time and again in your responses to our recent Seller Survey. The overwhelming consensus was that we should give people more guidance to make sure they have realistic budgets.

It got us thinking about what we could do to make sure everyone who uses our site knows what things actually cost. We’ve been testing a number of ideas behind the scenes, and today we’re happy to announce what we think is the ideal solution.

It’s called the Budget Estimator, and it essentially simulates the experience of having an expert on hand to let you know what everything costs.

Here’s why it should mean a better experience for both you and your customers:

The problem with letting the
buyer dictate the price

So why were so many people selecting unrealistically low budgets when placing their Barks in the first place? Are they all cheapskates?

We don’t think so. Based on the feedback we get from you and your fellow pros, it looks like most people simply don’t know what things cost – especially when they’re first-time buyers.

For example, you might guess that a 10-shot photo shoot lasting two hours costs less than a 200-shot wedding shoot with album and retouching services. But unless you’re a professional photographer, you probably have no idea what the price difference is.

Some people intuitively consider this when setting their budgets, and get good responses as a result. But, unfortunately, others do not.

So, when presented with a series of prices and not knowing what something is really worth, most people worry about getting ripped off. They think: “I don’t want to be quoted more than I should be, so I’ll choose the cheapest option just in case.”

How we used to ask for Buyer's budgets — *How we used to ask Buyers their budgets*

The upshot of all this was that people tended to select the cheapest option available when placing their Barks, even when that’s not what they really wanted.

This led to a mismatch between what people placing Barks expected to be quoted and what pros like yourself usually charge for their services.

The result was bad for everyone: buyers got fewer responses at higher prices than they were expecting, while pros felt that most Barks weren’t worth their time and didn’t bother responding to them.

Luckily, our new Budget Estimator changes all that…

Now the power is in YOUR hands

Letting our users specify their own budgets clearly wasn’t the way to go. That’s why, starting today, we’ll be doing things differently.

Instead of having people guess what a service costs, we’ll show them what to expect based on what you and your fellow pros usually charge. Here’s how it will work:

Whenever someone submits a Bark, we’ll identify what they’re looking for based on their answers to our questions.
We’ll then cross-reference their request with historic estimates for Barks in the same category and area, and remove any outliers that look far larger or smaller than usual.
Finally, we’ll present the customer with a range of prices to help them work out what they can expect to be quoted.

As you’ve seen, our old system meant people expected unrealistically low estimates because of the “Market for Lemons” effect.

But our new Budget Estimator should give everyone a more realistic idea of what the services they’re looking for actually cost.

You’ll be able to see the guide prices we provide for each of the Barks you receive, so you can consider them before responding.

If you decide to give an estimate that’s less than the industry average, your customers will feel like they’re getting a great deal – and your customers should still be happy to pay more than the industry average in exchange for a premium service.

In short, we believe our Budget Estimator will help educate our users – so you can win more business at higher prices than you might have been able to in the past.

Let us know what you think!

We’ve tested this new website feature thoroughly to ensure it works smoothly for buyers and sellers alike, and we hope it means you can win even more new business thanks to our service.

Please let us know how you’re finding it by emailing our friendly Customer Service team at team@bark.com, or leaving a comment using the form below.

How we give you better leads than Google AdWords – for a fraction of the cost

If you’ve tried growing your business online with Google’s AdWords service, you already know it’s not for everyone.

The costs are increasing year on year. You’re competing with giants like Amazon that will happily spend £34million-a-year on paid search advertising. Even small businesses routinely spend upwards of £6,500-a-month on PPC, according to online advertising experts WordStream.

With some popular keywords costing as much as £38 per click, it’s easy to see why so many people struggle to make this kind of marketing strategy work for their business. It takes great deal of research and technical know-how to get up and running – and that’s where Bark comes in.

We provide an affordable service that sends you better quality leads than you typically get from paid search advertising, at a fraction of the price. That’s why we believe every small business can grow quickly and easily with Bark.com.

Yet some people seem to think we’re more expensive than Google.

So today we’ll show you how we beat AdWords on both quality and price – and why, if you aren’t already, you should start winning new customers with Bark right away.

The real problem with online advertising

The promise of “pay per click” (PPC) advertising is simple: if the people who click on your ads spend more than it costs you to provide your services and run your ads, you turn a profit.

Sounds easy, right?

The problem is, only a very small percentage the people who click your ads actually end up spending any money.

Imagine you’re a DJ looking to promote your services in Manchester. Let’s say you put an ad on Google which costs you 50p per click.

Being fairly tech savvy, your website is decent. But you know a high percentage of the people who click your ad will just be browsing. So, based on what you’ve read online, you expect around 12% of them to ask you for an estimate.

That means you can get 100 clicks for £50, and generate roughly 12 enquiries. That works out at £4.17 per enquiry.

Mind you, not all those enquiries will be useful. You might be busy on the day they need you, their budget might be too small, or they might be too far away for the trip to be worth your while.

But let’s assume 75% of the enquiries you get are for jobs you want to do. So from 100 clicks you receive nine valid enquiries, costing you £5.55 each.

Even though you respond promptly and politely to each of those nine people, only six of them get back to you. Perhaps the other three weren’t really serious in the first place. Maybe they simply forgot to respond. It’s annoying, sure, but these things happen.

You still have six potential customers who have read your quote – and each of which has cost you £8.33. But, of course, most people will shop around to make sure they get a good deal.

In our experience, people like to get 2-5 different quotes before they make a final decision. So let’s assume each of your leads has also contacted two other sellers – giving you a one in three chance of securing the business.

That should translate into two new customers, and an average cost per booking of £25.

Here’s what Bark does differently

Ask a marketer what’s different about Bark and the’ll say we’re “further along the buyer journey” than Bing or Google. What that means is, there are fewer opportunities for the buyer to drop off.

We handle all the PPC for you completely free of charge, and hunt down quality leads for your business using a variety of other techniques.

Then you can see exactly what your potential customers are looking for in advance, from their budget, to when and where they need your services – and everything else you might need to decide if they’re right for you.

Plus, you’ll never waste money on people who aren’t serious about hiring you, as we’ll refund every estimate you give that doesn’t get read.

Now, the average Bark gets just over two responses, and each potential customer may have tried somewhere else too.

You can respond to a DJ Bark for just five credits, which will usually cost you £5 + VAT. So if we assume they’ve contacted two other pros in total, your chance of winning the business is one in three again.

That means, in this example, each booking costs you just £18, and you save 28% compared to what Google would have charged you.

That’s why we believe Bark is a smarter, more effective way to find new customers online – but the story doesn’t end there:

You could save another 30% today

The bottom line here is that, in many cases, using Bark to grow your business can be much better value than other lead finding services.

Of course, every business is different, and it may be that PPC strategies work well for you – and if so, that’s great.

But if you’d prefer not to bother with the hassle and expense of managing an AdWords account, and don’t want to deal with the expense of hiring an agency to do it for you: we can help.

Not only can we often send you high quality leads at a fraction of the cost of Google AdWords, but you can also enjoy extra discounts on packs of Bark Credits – making our service even more profitable.

In fact, if you open a new Bark account today you’ll be able to claim an extra saving of 30% on your first credit pack.

It’s free to sign up, and we’ll start sending you quality leads right away.

So, if you’re not a Bark member already…

Click here and claim your FREE account today.

Why Service Areas Matter

Following some feedback from a recent seller survey, we felt it would be helpful to run you through exactly how service areas work.

The whole point of service areas are for you to ensure that you are getting Barks relevant to you and your business. The Barks you receive are generated through the service areas that you cover. They can be added and edited at any time. Please see a few important questions and answers below which should hopefully give you a better understanding on how they work:

“What are service areas?”

Service areas are a combination of the area you cover geographically and the service you provide as a professional. You put in what it is you do as a business (by selecting one of our categories), a location and then set a radius in miles accordingly (up to 30 miles around one location). There is no cap on the number of service areas you can add to your profile. The more service areas you have – the more Barks you will potentially receive.

“I don’t get enough Barks”

Try extending your service areas. It is always worthwhile covering a wider radius just to see what might come in. If a high value job comes through, you may feel it’s worthwhile travelling that little bit further. So long as an email alert is not going to be a nuisance we would always suggest covering as wide an area as feasibly possible. It’s better to see what’s out there than not. Of course, if you get something that is not relevant or of interest then there is absolutely no obligation to respond.

Extend your Service Areas to get more Barks — With a 30 mile range this Seller had 15 matching Barks. A 10 mile range only gave 5 matching Barks

“I get too many Barks”

Great that you are getting a high number of enquiries, but we only want to be sending you over relevant leads. If it is because they are coming in too far a field, you can reduce the radius you cover to make it smaller – this will then stop so many leads coming through to you. If you are receiving the wrong type of enquiry, you can simply remove this service area. You will find a small ‘X’ which will remove this for you.

Remove Service Areas — Click the small X to remove a Service Area

“I cover the whole of the UK”

At present, we do not have a feature that allows you to cover the whole of the UK with one click. That said, you can put yourself down as covering every major city with a 30 mile radius (we have the cities listed in order of popularity at the bottom of each page). For example:

Web Design in London with a 30 mile radius
Web Design in Manchester with a 30 mile radius
Web Design in Bristol with a 30 mile radius
Web Design in Liverpool with a 30 mile radius

Service Area Locations — There is no limit on the number of Service Areas you add.

You will then be alerted to all the Barks placed in these areas.

You can find a list of the top UK cities here

“I cover many trades as a supplier”

No problem at all. Like with locations, you can have as many of our categories as you like listed in your service areas. You can also have a different radius set for each one so you can cover a smaller area for the lower value jobs and then a larger area for the higher value jobs. We would always suggest adding in as many categories as possible so you can see the other types of enquiries we receive which could be relevant to you.

For example, someone in the Gardening industry might have the following:

Gardening in Richmond with a 5 mile radius
Landscape Design in Richmond with a 30 mille radius
Fence repair in Richmond with a 10 mile radius.

Vary Service Areas by category — You can vary your service areas by category if you’re willing to travel further for larger jobs.

If you are having any difficulties with service areas then just give the customer service team a call on 0207 1172 656 or email team@bark.com – we would love to help.