10 Secrets to Craigslist Advertising

Successful promotion of your website and your business means using multiple approaches to reach your target audience. As an online business, it’s important for people to know what you have to offer and where to find you.

Using classified ads on websites such as Craigslist can help generate interest in your website and your products. Classified advertising has been around a long time, and it is not stranger to the Internet. As this type of advertising continues to grow in demand, it can be highly effective in helping you promote your brand.

Two of the most unique and exciting things about classified advertising on Craigslist.org are:

It’s free to post your classified ads and promote your products in your particular category of goods or services, and promote your business through the Services section.

Craigslist enjoys over 9 billion page views monthly with more than 30 million users from around the globe.

Free advertising and millions of online users searching to buy or sell products and services! It’s a golden opportunity to optimize your selling strategy.

Some important tips and secrets to posting classified ads on Craigslist are provided to help you leverage this important medium for promotion of your online business:

Only post one ad in a community (city) at a time. Craigslist forbids multiple postings. If you have different IP addresses and emails, then you can post in different cities.

Always include your URL, email address, and any other contact information that will make it easy to access your website.

Avoid all semblances of SPAM.

Create attention-grabbing headlines that intrigue your visitor or spur them to action. Blah headlines will not attract the traffic you desire.

Repost your ads after they expire (currently at 45 days) so you can maintain a consistent presence.

Participate in relevant forums and build a reputation as a professional and an expert. Then start adding your URL or ads with your forum postings to attract more attention (but only after you’ve tested the waters of the forum!).

Make every word of your classified ad count – use keywords and descriptions that show what you have to offer that is valuable to your target audience. Give them a reason to click your website link.

Evaluate the competition posting ads on Craigslist to see what they’re saying and adapt your ad as needed to make it more compelling, engaging, and exciting than our competitor’s ads.

Evaluate and track the effectiveness of your ad. Craigslist does not offer tracking statistics, so you’ll have to do this. You can count hits to a particular webpage or landing page, or use other methods to evaluate traffic coming from your classified ad. If it’s not working, then you need to change your content and make it work.

Always ensure you are responsive to inquiries and emails from visitors who see your ad and submit requests to you. Responsiveness is the best way to retain visitors and convert them to customers. Once you have their email information, obtain their opt-in permission to stay in touch and continually feed them valuable information.

Craigslist offers a phenomenal opportunity to expand your marketing reach and find your target audience. It’s free and it’s effective so what do you have to lose? Give it a try and use the tips provided above to optimize your results.