Table of Contents
Introduction
www craigslist com is among the world’s largest digital marketplaces. The site has dominated its single niche so thoroughly that it has changed little in the 26 years since its inception. It may not be the first thing that comes to mind when you think of business advertising, but neglecting the site’s giant user base would be a mistake.
Anything you can think of is probably list on Craigslist. Need to hire an employee? It’s there. Find an apartment? It has that, too. Buy a new couch? There are listings for that. But what does Craigslist advertising for small businesses look like?
In this article, we’ll go over how you can leverage the power of Craigslist’s online storefront to market your business and reach new people. Continue reading to learn about the do’s and don’ts of Craigslist posting, as well as how to create an ad.
Building your Craigslist business ad
The site’s interface is famously streamlined, making it simple to post an ad. It can be as no-frills as a text post or more complicated with images and links. You can add HTML tags and URLs in your post, but Craigslist advises using HTML sparingly.
Think about what makes sense for your business when deciding what to include. Do you have an eBay store you can link? Are you a real estate agent who could benefit from adding pictures of the houses you’re showing? Add those elements if they make sense and don’t violate the terms.
Craigslist doesn’t use an algorithm like Google does for search results. Instead, it ranks ads based on the uploaded date and then by keyword. So, you’ll want to consider the text of your ad carefully.
Helpful things to include in your ad text:
- Keywords relevant to your product or service that can help people find the ad. For example, use words like “one-bedroom” or “in-unit laundry” if renting out an apartment.
- A direct approach. Keep the sales pitch to a minimum and cut down the filler.
- HTML if it makes sense, but don’t go overboard. It can make the ad too busy.
Remember that people are sifting through rows upon rows of ads when they search for something on Craigslist. Text that gets straight to the point is more likely to capture attention than all-caps headlines that don’t say anything about your product.
In addition to keywords, include location information like ZIP codes in your ad. It will help narrow down the results to those who need to see them. City names, community names, and even neighborhood names are all also helpful.
Deciding whether to sell on www craigslist com
Even if you’ve thought about marketing your business on Craigslist, you might not be taking full advantage of the platform. If you’re on the fence, you might be wondering if it’s worth the time and effort. Is it as good as, say, Amazon or Google shopping?
To make an informed decision, consider the following:
- What sort of goods and services do well on Craigslist?
- Who are your ideal customers?
Browse the site and look at the kind of ads your competition is placing or ads that are doing well. What do they have in common? What can you incorporate into your ad? Could you see an ad for your business doing well in the same space?
www craigslist com is especially good for businesses retailing goods and facilities in a specific location since the site is divide into pages for local communities. The exception is if you provide a service like writing, which can be done almost anywhere.
If that description fits your business, then it’s probably worth it for you to invest in Craigslist advertising. And that isn’t as niche as it sounds mechanics, language tutors, dog groomers, and more all get their business locally.
If you sell physical products, Craigslist lets you link your ad to an eBay store, which is a nice bonus. If you run a chain of businesses, you can also promote a franchise operation.
5 Craigslist-like sites for buying and selling used items.
www craigslist com is a fascinating piece of the internet’s history. Founded over 22 years ago as an email supply list, the site’s minimalist design and simple posting system have remained unchanged. Craigslist remains a favorite shopping site to sell stuff locally to hunters and an enduring site to post your classified ads for free.
Other sites like Craigslist want to sell stuff online, too. Most of those alternatives to Craigslist had failed before anyone knew they existed. Still, a few have managed to withstand the web’s churn and have endured as a viable choice for Craigslist.
Let’s look at other online confidential sites where you can trade old and new stuff online with rare clicks.
1. Oodle Marketplace
Oodle is a Craigslist and anti-Craigslist site at the same time. The basic idea of posting online classifieds is the same, but it adapts to Facebook to provide a more personalized experience and recommendations from friends.
It utilizes the same technology that powers Facebook Marketplace. You are not required to use Facebook to post, but you must link your profile to your actual Facebook profile.
Oodle’s focus on social media makes it less intuitive for people looking for items in a specific category. Some people will prefer this design, and others will find it disappointing.
There is a lot of activity on Odal. Not only can you sell your material online, but you can also use it to find jobs nearby. The site seems to do a better job of finding geographically relevant results than many competitors and is support by many countries besides the US. This site operates in Australia, Canada, India, Ireland, New Zealand and the United Kingdom.
2. Sell.com
Sell.com is not as old as www craigslist com, but not by far as it started in 1999. It started its life with only buying and selling ads. Today, it covers other kinds of classifieds, similar to pets and animals, jobs, and services.
The site also does not automatically categorize classified ad by region, though you can enter your zip code. You can also drill down to the city of your choice and then refine it with an advanced search.
Want to save yourself some time?
Log in to the site and set up an alert to match new ads to your keyword. Sell.com allows you to pay to increase the visibility of your ads on the site. You’ll find eBay-style features like seller ratings and a shopping cart. Products are more visible thanks to the thumbnails.
Note that there’s no charge to browse, make offers, or buy items and services on Sell.com. But, you must pay a small fee to list and sell items and services.
3. Geebo
Here’s another internet veteran of the buy and sell manufacturing. Geebo has never obtained the household name position of corporations like Craigslist and eBay but has remained pertinent for anyone looking for another classified site.
Like most classified sites, the design is simple, but like eBay Classifieds, it is far more colorful and modern than www craigslist com. Another similarity is this site’s focus on the United States.
Geebo uses the tagline “safe communal classifieds” and has the right to a more personal atmosphere than the competition. The site’s blog does devote a lot of time bashing the rivalry for sketchy practices, but otherwise, the site isn’t any safer than any other online classified site.
4. Facebook Marketplace
There was a clue about Facebook’s market when we spoke about Oodles. There are previously thousands of clusters on Facebook that have the same idea at their heart, but the Marketplace brands it a bit more organized. Think of it as a specialized corner where you can search more specifically for stuff you want to buy and sell.
Snap a photo and issue it to sell your stuff. To buy stuff, type the keywords and strainer by position, category, and price or conclude a map.
With the community-powered Marketplace, you can “know” the person you are dealing with through their social profile. That’s always a wise precaution before any big-ticket purchase, even though it can also be a hotbed for scammers.
Check the listings carefully and the Facebook public profile behind it. opt for verified profiles on the Marketplace. You can contact the seller using Facebook Messenger to convey the last price and close the sale. If you commercial a red flag, be careful of the details you give out.
Marketplace is accessible in the Facebook app and on desktops and tablets. Look for the Shop icon at the top of the app on iOS or at the highest of the app on Android.
5. LetGo
LetGo follows the template of Facebook Marketplace and others with its large thumbnails. But it seems to do a better job than Facebook with its pinpoint filters. It is a mobile app first and a website second.
For instance, clicking a photo and loading the information with the apps is much easier. It uses artificial intelligence to categorize the creation and title it. Also, the in-app chat platform is necessary to talk to buyers and sellers.
Letgo is free and doesn’t charge vendors a fee for placing their listings. You don’t have to give a percentage of your sales either. Letgo offers in-app purchases to let you feature your listing. It’s an optional feature that you can pay for to highlight your product amidst the crowd.
Managing applications from www craigslist com
When you post an ad job for free on Craigslist, you will usually receive requests via email, possibly using Craigslist’s mail relay to protect your account from spam. That means you must monitor your inbox over the next few weeks. Your email will be use to manage day-to-day communications, as well as to review and respond to candidates, send requests to your team members, and track feedback. And that’s it before you start scheduling calls or interviews.
An applicant tracking scheme like Workable will help. Recruiting is actionable software that teams use to help improve their recruiting. Instead of individual applications arriving via email from Craigslist, Workable automatically compiles applications into a searchable candidate database. Each candidate can be assess through the candidate profile, and other followers of your team can add comments.
Recruiting software will help you centralize your recruiting activity. In short, it is used:
- Get more exposure for every job by posting to multiple free and premium sites with a single submission.
- Aggregate candidates in a searchable, searchable candidate navigator.
- Collect and share team feedback as candidates go through the process.
- Schedule interviews and screen candidates.
- Gain greater insight into your recruiting activity with reports that collect and analyze your data.
Conclusion
www craigslist com is an online marketplace competitor, but today there are many alternatives to buying and selling goods and services. If you need to go beyond e-commerce, consignment stores and used bookstores are still popular places to sell your stuff.
Craigslist job boards may not compete with LinkedIn and Indeed for job hunting, and you can even find job openings online without reading Craigslist postings on sites like Fiverr and TaskRabbit. In the mid-’90s, Craigslist might have been the place to find a home to rent or buy, but with sites like Trulia, Apartments.com, Zillow, and the like, it’s much easier (and some people believe can say from). ) to find a place to live through a specialized site compared to Craigslist.
This old-school e-commerce experience can be more useful for finding local used household items (think outdoor furniture or reclaimed wood) than a new roommate, babysitter, or new job.