Has Anyone Had Success Advertising On Craigslist- If So Can You Share Some Tips (writing, poor)

[windowtreatments]

I've tried numerous times with absolutely zero success.

[Mattks]

Yea and no. I've advertised for 2 different businesses on Craigslist. One was a great success, the other had zero interest, but with the second business type I wasn't sure if it would work. I had a lawn mowing business and that got great results. There are a LOT of people who advertise lawn mowing on Craigslist, but I discovered many of the ads were very unprofessional; poor grammar, miss spelled words, and most were just a couple sentences and the contact information wasn't noticeable. So to make myself look legitimate, I put a lot of effort into writing it neatly, but not too wordy. I put a link to my business Facebook page which had tons of work photos, and my phone number was very noticeable. I put X number of years of experience. I was getting 3-4 calls a day for estimates. I tripled how many lawn accounts I had in one year. The next year I decided I had no passion for lawn mowing and landscaping and sold the business, but Craigslist was a huge benefit for me.

A phone number is a must, a link to a Facebook page and/or website is a must imo. Keep the ad short, and easily readable. No spelling or grammar mistakes. You don't want to look stupid and you want it to be professional. Say how much experience you have.

I think the biggest thing is, if it's not easy for them to contact you, they won't. You will get spam calls, but that's just part of business. All my businesses get loads of spam calls, and it can be super annoying, but I get lots of potential customer calls as well. Sadly, if you advertise anywhere online, spam calls will happen.

[Cida]

Originally Posted by windowtreatments

I've tried numerous times with absolutely zero success.

Yes. But it might have helped if you would have been more specific.

I've both bought and sold via CL. I know people who have hired staff and found housing via CL. I think the major factors would be your location (i.e. if CL is big in your city) and your ad.

Here are my tips.

1. Most ads are just awful. When I was looking for a television, I couldn't believe how many ads just said something like "45-inch TV, works great." You waste everyone's time with vague ads. Write clear, detailed ads. And good headlines.

2. Be aware of pricing. I've had some people assure me that if something isn't selling, it's because it's priced too high.

3. CL has a lot of flakes, both buying and selling. You have a choice - you can either make yourself as accessible as possible by leaving open multiple avenues to contact you, OR you can let yourself be contacted only by telephone. If you choose telephone-only, you will get fewer inquires, but they're more likely to be serious ones.

4. Post/renew twice a week.

[marlinfshr]

I'll echo Mattks's response. Try to make a professional looking add and use correct spelling and grammer. And describe what you do. not just a line or two that looks like no thought whatsoever went into it. (ex; "I cleen boats very good. You need call me so I come clean you boat. 867-5309." No worry, I legit" ) I have a boat detailing business and i also posted a good variety of pictures. Just in case Craigslist filters would not show my phone numbers in the text I posted a picture of one of my adds and business cards as well. Basically, I want people to be able to contact me however they want. E-mail, phone. I want that info visible. I won't click on the contact link ever on other adds so I'm sure many others wont as well. Spam? Oh well, Gmail has been good with eliminating it. My Godaddy acct wasn't so good so i changed to the gmail. They need to clearly find my website and facebook pages. I think having all that info available gives a bit more legitimacy.

So yes, i have had success with craigslist. Not everything on there is a scam.

[cpg35223]

We sold a pool table on Craigslist. But I'd never do it again, chiefly because of all the scammers who hound you.

Craigslist Scams - Fraud Guides

[Icemodeled]

When we were doing lawncare, we got 90% of customers from CL. Had to weed them out a bit, some were on CL because they were looking for the cheap low quality service which we don't do. However we did get many good accounts from it. When we start up our next business in August, we will definitely be using CL to advertise. I suppose it depends on the business.

We posted a pic with the ad (before/after or clip art) we made it as professional as possible, just because we were on CL didn't mean we weren't a legit company - I know people are probably Leary of that. I also renewed it every other day.

[oregonwoodsmoke]

If depends upon what you are advertising. Some things sell really well and bring nice customers (like plants). Giving away free stuff brings a mix of nice appreciative people and crooks who will steal from you.

I advertise rentals and get nice people, crooks, liars, scam artists, losers, and dopers. But it is a good way to reach the nice people, you just have to weed out the rest of them.

I've bought all sorts of things off of Craigslist, including a house. Like everyone else, I expect things on Craigslist to sell for a bargain price.

I've also occasionally sold something to a person who had a wanted ad on Craigslist

[Moonlady]

I've sold lots of stuff on craigslist and here's what I've found to be ways to increase your success:


1. Pictures- good pictures and several of them.

2. Price it competitively - check other ads and even thrift shops to get an idea of the value (regardless of what you think it's worth).

3. Very descriptive ad with brand names and then maybe a little history like "bought a few years ago but have only used once or twice" or "had for 3 years and works great but time to upgrade".

4. If it's furniture, please list the dimensions.

5. Allow texting - that's how most people communicate these days.

6. If you are using email, put something in the ad like "respond with XXXX in the subject line" - filters out the spammers.

7. Timing is important - I had two suitcases I wanted to sell. I looked and there were several ads up for suitcases selling for $10 and $15 and not much activity. I waited until right as school was getting out and posted them at $50 for the pair and sure enough got someone who had just graduated and taking a trip out of the country.

8. Put a list of key words at the bottom of your ad - it will help bring it up in the search. For example, if you're selling a china hutch, list also sideboard, buffet, console, dining furniture.

I don't use craigslist for free stuff anymore - too many weirdos. I use Freecycle and my Nextdoor website or it goes to the Goodwill box.

[FastlaneR]

I used to refurbish cell phones and resell them on craigslist...and I've had a ton of success. But years down the road when I tried to advertise one of my businesses...I got 1 inquiry that didn't turn into a sale. It is difficult to compete with all of the spammers in the business section. Don't count on Craigslist.

I would suggest:
(1) Continue to market on Craigslist...just to get your presence know.
(2) Have your ad be as different and Non-spammy as possible.
(3) Focus your efforts on Google Adwords, Bing, SEO for your website, Yelp, and Angie's List
(4) Join a Networking Referral Company in your area

Ultimately...you want to be in as many places as you can~! Best of luck!

[jamies]

Best way to advertise on CL, is to use the "approved CL business plan," list something for sale really cheap, lure someone to an isolated place, then rob them!

I think that's about all CL is used for now.

Try Facebook.

(I'm joking about the robbery part.)