Any business that wants to sell more of its products or services should consider advertising on Craigslist. It doesn’t matter if the products are sold through websites or physical stores, Craigslist can still be very profitable. With the exception of posting jobs and housing in some markets, advertising on Craigslist is free. Because of this, there is little monetary risk in placing your ads and you can experiment without worrying about cost. The only thing you will have to worry about is agreeing to Craigslist’s terms of service and following the specific guidelines when posting.
One of the main reasons to advertise with Craigslist along with free ads is the sheer number of potential customers you’ll be able to reach. According to the Craigslist newsletter, they get over 9 billion page views per month and have ten million new images each month. More than 30 million people, including more than 25 million in the US alone, use Craigslist each month. Currently, there are 450 Craigslist sites in all 50 US states and in more than 50 countries. I have to say that these kinds of numbers really support the claim that Craigslist advertising is the biggest bargain in the world.
With mind-blowing numbers like Craigslist has, you’d think any type of ad you put up would be a winner, but it’s not. You should still have an attractive ad with good perceived value in a place where people search for it. If you don’t, you won’t be successful no matter how many people visit the site. Big numbers are great, but you still need targeted traffic to be successful no matter what you’re selling. With so many different sites like them, you can point your ads to the exact geographic site you want along with the exact category of your product. Marketers know that a small, well-targeted audience that is interested in your product will make you more money than a large audience that is not as interested.
One of the keys to marketing to your target customers on Craigslist is to place your ad in the best location on the overall site. Craigslist has specific sections for different types of businesses to advertise for. If you think your ad should be in more than one section or area, then you need to write another variation of your ad so it won’t get flagged.
Even if there isn’t a section for your business or service, you still have some options, such as placing your ad in the small business advertising section. There’s a chance someone searching this area could find you, but a better option, if you can’t find a good category to advertise in, is to ask Craigslist to add your category. They may accommodate you if they think you deserve it. Having your own category all to yourself for a while could turn out to be a real winner for your business.
Advertising on Craigslist is great, but spam is not good or tolerated. Under no circumstances post the same ad in more than one category or in more than one location. If you want to run more than one issue of the same ad, you should rewrite it so it doesn’t appear to be spam to readers or spam watchers on Craigslist. Spam can not only cause your potential customers to boycott your ads if they see them all over the place, but they can also remove all your ads and possibly even get you banned from advertising in the future. Follow the rules set forth by Craigslist and you won’t find a better ad deal anywhere.
