Marketing on Craigslist .. Make it Easy
Since its launch in 1995, Craigslist.org has quietly become the world's largest online classifieds website with a regional presence in 190 cities in 35 countries. Every month, more than 10 million people go to the seventh most popular website to buy and sell almost everything. From real estate to furniture, promoting services like hiring, house cleaning, and even babysitting, Craigslist is the only place anyone can connect regionally to meet a need.
As their popularity has continued to rise, so have the chances of vendors, large and small, marketing their products on Craigslist. What is the big attraction? For the most part, Craigslist is 100% free to post and search. Only job postings in San Francisco, L.A, and New York City cost a small fee to post. Otherwise, Craigslist is free and open source for targeted new customers, ready for selection, waiting for your company to give them what they want.
Craigslist is a regional website that really promotes community involvement.
However, you can post in any of the available metropolitan areas and also in various metropolitan areas. The trick is to design an ad that grabs people's attention, have a regular posting schedule, follow the rules (or at least not overtly break them), and seek out new customers on a daily basis.
Simplicity in ad design is paramount and matches the vibe Craigslist likes to attract: real human peer-to-peer interaction. It lacks the commercial aspects that add fluff and confusion in exchange for simple ads, most of which are posted by real people. Designing your ad to fit that outline is key to a successful campaign.
Get in the habit of posting frequently on Craigslist, and visit multiple metro areas with different ads for greater reach (if your business can support it). Publishing is free, so what have you got to lose?
Understanding the Craigslist rules is pretty simple as they are openly posted.
They are very picky about what you can post, but there are exceptions like cattle and anything illegal (drugs, weapons, etc.). One of the main rules that I consider to be a marketing rule rather than a terms of service rule is to post in the category that best matches your product type. This ensures that your ad will hit the best target without adding to useless clutter.
More than 8 million people post on Craigslist monthly and that number is growing every day. Don't just sit back and post ads, respond to ads looking for your products and services as well.
Craigslist is one of the best ways for all businesses, large and small, to find a new voice online for little more than effort.
