Craigslist, founded by Craig Newmont in San Francisco in 1995, has grown into an online marketplace serving people in over 300 communities worldwide. Through Craigslist, people buy, sell, trade and communicate. Unlike competitors such as eBay, Craigslist is simple, local and free. This makes it the perfect way for businesses to reach customers.
Are You Right for Craigslist?
Service businesses or businesses that offer low-priced, hand-crafted, one-of-a-kind or specialty merchandise do best on Craigslist. People come to Craiglist searching for bargains or for items they can't find elsewhere. They also search for a particular item or service.
Craigslist has rules against selling certain items such as drugs, obscene materials, weapons, fireworks and a number of other items. These are spelled out in the Terms of Use, on the lower left-hand corner of the home page.
Crafting Your Ad
Identify your market. Is your business limited to your city, or do you have a product that can be sold across the United States or even worldwide? You can post ads in numerous Craigslist communities. To avoid being labeled as spam, write an ad targeted to each locale in which you advertise.
Spend some time thinking of a title. Make sure it's eye-catching, yet related to the product or service you're offering. Avoid hype or anything cheesy. Craigslist shoppers are savvy and wary of anything shady. Be straight-forward and honest.
Craigslist operates much like old newspaper classified ads. Keep your ad simple with a description of the item or service you offer, price, contact information and photo. Photos catch the eye and draw attention to your ad. If you don't have a photo of an item you're selling, put a picture of your office or something that represents the service you provide.
Include keywords customers would enter into the Craigslist search engine. Avoid being too wordy. Also include a link to your website.
Consider posting several ads in different categories. Word each ad differently to reach a different audience. For instance, if you run a lawn-maintenance business, post under Services. But also post under Resumes as someone who is available to do lawn maintenance. If you also sell items, such as lawn equipment, decorations or lawn-care chemicals, you could post a third ad in the For Sale category.
Update your ads regularly. The most recent ads are listed first in any search, and people often won't go back more than a page during their search. Change the wording of the ad often to avoid someone glossing over it as something they've already read.
With Craigslist, you can experiment with different advertising approaches. If one fails, you aren't out any money, and you can try something else. Craigslist offers a great bargain for buyers and sellers.
