What is Ask A Pro?

Before homeowners are ready to hire professionals, they often have questions about their projects–questions which you are uniquely qualified to answer. On the Ask A Pro forum, homeowners will be able to ask questions they have about their homes, and get answers straight from Pros on the Porch subscription network. If you answer a homeowner’s question, and they end up needing help with a project, they can choose to hire you right from the Ask A Pro page.

Who can answer questions on the Ask A Pro forum?

The opportunity to answer questions on the Ask A Pro forum is included with your Porch subscription. At this time, access to homeowner questions on the Ask A Pro forum is only available to pros who are a part of the subscription network. As a subscription pro, use of the service is optional, free, and available to you whenever you’d like to use it.

How does it work?

We will alert you through your Porch Dashboard when questions have been asked in your service area, regarding a service type you have listed on your profile. Click on the notification icon in the top right corner of your Dashboard to go to the question, and simply submit your response. From the forum itself, you’re free to answer any questions you’d like, even if they are outside your service type and service area specifications.

If you’re not interested in receiving alerts about unanswered questions in your area, turn off Ask A Pro alerts from your Notification Settings page.

What are the incentives for Pros to participate?

Ask A Pro gives you access to homeowners who need your help! Each answer you provide is an opportunity for the homeowner to contact you directly, at no cost to either party.

Each answer you provide earns you points towards badges on your profile, which will signify that you are a knowledgeable member of the Porch community. Badges will appear on your answers within the Ask A Pro forum, on your profile in the directory, and on your Pro Profile, which homeowners see when you receive their project. To start with, badges will be given based on participation. You’ll earn the “Ask A Pro Contributor Badge” after you answer your first question, and can qualify for the “Most Helpful Badge” if the number of questions you answer puts you in the top 10% of contributors.

When you answer a homeowner’s question on the Ask A Pro forum, you’ll also get a link to your website added to your answers, so it will be visible to homeowners. This allows homeowners to take an interest in your business, and will help your business’s SEO.

What are the rules of the Ask A Pro forum?

1. Be respectful of other people’s opinions and ideas.
2. Try to add value when you post. Don’t just type something along the lines of “What they said.”
3. Use proper grammar to the best of your ability. We understand that English may not be everyone’s main language and will not be looking for a misplaced comma or for typos, but it would help everyone if you could make sure everyone understands your message.
4. Please respect everyone’s right to privacy and do not inquire about location, name, age, or gender.
5. No adult material. Be mindful that there may be users who are younger than you.
6. Do not make your post an advertisement about your business.
7. All threads that are nothing but a ‘test’ or an ‘ad’ will be deleted as they do not add value.
8. As was stated above, the Ask A Pro forum is only available to pros in the Porch subscription network.