Category: craigslist

Why Your Business Cannot Afford Not to Advertise on Craigslist

Craigslist is not always the best advertising option but there are certain situations in which a business cannot afford not to advertise on Craigslist. For the purposes of this article we will examine two common scenarios where a business owner should definitely consider advertising on Craigslist because failure to do so can be detrimental to his business. These examples include small startup companies without a large advertising budget and existing companies whose direct competitors are advertising extensively on Craigslist.

Small Startup Companies Benefit from Advertising on Craigslist

Small startup companies often have a great deal of work ahead of them to begin competing with existing companies who are already thriving. These companies may already have established client bases and may have substantial funding budges for the purpose of obtaining new customers. Customer loyalty can be difficult to break and new companies either have to offer significantly better quality products or services, comparable products or services at reduced prices or a slick marketing campaign with consumer appeal.

However, smaller companies rarely have the advertising budget necessary to orchestrate an elaborate advertising campaign. This is when Craigslist becomes a necessity. Smaller companies can focus their energy on creating outstanding advertising copy without spending exorbitant amounts of money to run these advertisements in other forms of media such as newspapers, magazines, television or radio.

It is important to not that while free advertising is appealing, the advertising should be just as sophisticated as it would in markets where the business owners would be required to pay a fee to run the advertisement. This will help the business to maintain a professional image and will entice potential customer to try their products or services.

Dont Let the Competition Corner the Market

Another scenario where a business cannot afford not to advertise on Craigslist is when direct competitors are making use of the advertising opportunities on Craigslist. This is important because businesses who do not advertise in the same locations as their competitors are essentially conceding potential customers who peruse those locations to the competitors.

Imagine you own a dog walking business in Portland, Oregon. If there are a large number of members of that community using the local Craigslist website to find dog walkers, you will likely miss out on these business opportunities because these individuals will likely select one of the individuals advertising on Craigslist for their dog walking needs. If you were to place a well written advertisement in an appropriate section of Craigslist you may find you are able to gain a market share of the available business.

There is, however, one caveat to placing advertisements wherever your competitors are advertising. This practice is not considered worthwhile when the market is already saturated with competition. Consider the above example of a dog walker in Portland. If there are a small number of competitors competing for business on Craigslist it is worthwhile to place your own advertisement here. However, if literally hundreds of dog walkers are flooding the website with their advertisement it is not worthwhile to post an advertisement because your advertisement will likely be lost in the shuffle. It is much more worthwhile to advertise in other locations. Checking Craigslist periodically may still be a good idea because those advertising on Craigslist are likely to not see great gain from this advertising and may resort to other options. When you notice a decline in competitor advertisements, it is a great opportunity to add your advertisement.

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Advertising on Craigslist

Advertising on Craigslist is worthwhile for just about any business offering products or services. Whether these products are offered through ecommerce websites or physical stores, the business owners can see financial gains through advertising on Craigslist. Firstly unlike other advertising opportunities there is very little risk involved in posting on Craigslist. With the exception of job postings and housing postings in specific markets, advertising is free on Craigslist. Users are asked to agree to the terms of service of the community and are expected to follow specific guidelines when posting advertisements but there are no financial obligations to those placing advertisements on Craigslist. This means those who post advertisements do not have to be concerned with whether or not the advertisement they place will meet their expectations in terms of sales generated.

Reaching Potential Customers on Craigslist

Another reason why posting advertisements for products or services on Craigslist is so worthwhile is the likelihood of reaching a large audience of potential customers. A review of the Craigslist fact sheet reveals pertinent information regarding the amount of traffic the website receives. According to this information Craigslist receives approximately four billion page views each month with ten million people using Craigslist each month. From these statistics it is clear that advertisements placed on Craiglist are likely to receive at least some attention from potential clients.

With so many visitors using Craigslist each month the advertising possibilities are limitless, however, there are no guarantee any of these visitors will be interested in your products or services. Like any marketing campaign, your advertisements on Craigslist must be intriguing, informative and in a location where you will reach your target audience.

Finding Your Target Audience on Craigslist

Weve already discussed the number of visitors using Craigslist each month but the key to taking advantage of these numbers is to target your advertising in a way aimed at reaching your target audience as opposed to a wide audience of individuals who have no specific interest in your products or services. It is much more worthwhile to reach a small audience of those with a keen interest in your products or services than to reach a much larger audience of those who are not interested. Those who have an interest in your products or services are your target audience.

The key to reaching your target audience on Craigslist is placing your advertisement in the most appropriate locations. Craigslist has a specific section for businesses to advertise their services. This section is broken down into a number of categories. Those who are in the business of computer repair would be wise to place their advertisement in the computer section as opposed to the automotive section because individuals looking for computer help will naturally migrate to the computer section. It may sometimes be appropriate to place an advertisement in more than one section. This is acceptable as long as it does not cross the line to spamming the section.

If there is not a specific section for the products or services offered by your business there are a couple of options. Business owners can place an advertisement in the section for small business advertisements where it might be found by those doing a search in this section. Alternately the business owner can contact Craigslist to suggest the addition of a new category. They might be willing to oblige if they believe this category warrants an addition.

The Difference between Advertising and Spamming

Advertising on Craigslist is one thing but spamming is quite another. Placing an advertisement in an appropriate section of Craigslist is acceptable; however, placing the same advertisement in nearly every section of Craigslist websites for a number of different geographical regions is considered spam. Spam is ineffective for a number of reasons. First of all potential customers who see a particular advertisement in a number of different locations are likely to recognize the spamming techniques and be less inclined to patronize this business. Also, if Craigslist detects the practice of spamming they may delete all of the postings and could potentially ban advertisements from the individual in the future.

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Answering Advertisements on Craigslist

Craigslist is an online community which has a great deal to offer to both individuals and business owners. Some of the features on Craigslist include sections for community events, activities and news, personals advertisements, discussion forums, housing opportunities, for sale items, services offered, small business advertisements, jobs and resumes. While some of these sections such as the discussion forum and parts of the community section exist exclusively for the purpose of exchanging information or ideas, other sections such as the personals, housing, sale, services, job and resume sections provide the opportunity for users to respond to advertisements for more information or to make a purchase. In these cases uses should exercise caution. This article will focus on specific precautions which should be taken when answering advertisements in the personals, housing and jobs sections of Craigslist.

Answering Personals Advertisements

The personals section of Craigslist can be a great place for individuals to meet platonic friends or potential romantic partners. However, it can also be a location for predators to prey on unsuspecting victims who do not realize the threat of danger which may exist with meeting online partners in person.

One of the simplest ways to avoid potentially harmful situations is to never agreeing to meet someone in a desolate location. Initial meetings should take place in busy, public locations to minimize the potential for danger. Predators are much less likely to attempt to harm you in a public location. Additionally, it is wise to not travel to a secluded location with someone you dont know until you are positive they do not intend to do you any harm.

Precautions should also be taken to avoid giving out personal information such as your address to those you meet online. The Internet affords a certain degree of anonymousness and some unscrupulous individuals can take advantage of this to mask their true identity.

Answering Housing Advertisements

The housing advertisements on Craigslist offer opportunities for those who are seeking housing situations such as rental of a housing location, roommate opportunities, sublets or house swaps. Care should be taken in all of these opportunities to ensure the person you are working with does not have any ill intentions towards you. This can be done by carefully screening all potential roommates or others who might be using your house or apartment.

When selecting a potential roommate it is important to verify the individual is trustworthy and able to pay the rent. It is also important to seek out an individual with living habits similar to your own to avoid the potential for conflict.

Answering Job Advertisements

Craigslist is an excellent location for finding exciting new career opportunities. There are many different job advertisements in a variety of different categories. These job opportunities include full time, part time, telecommute and contract positions. The downside to answering job advertisements on Craigslist is the advertisements are often placed anonymously. Those who place the advertisements are given the opportunity to either use their own email address for candidates to respond or to have candidates respond through an email address generated by Craigslist. Therefore, candidates do not always know who has placed the advertisements. For this reason care should be taken when responding to these advertisements to avoid supplying specific contact information. Candidates are instead urged to supply only an email address when responding to advertisements.

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Finding Telecommute Positions through Craigslist

Telecommuting is quickly becoming one of the most desirable types of employment. The ability to telecommute, either full time or part time, is appealing to employees for a number of reasons. Some of the reasons telecommuting is so appealing to many include the opportunity to spend more time with family, the ability to work according to your own schedule and the chance to avoid the hassles of commuting. While telecommuting is appealing for all of these reasons, there are some pitfalls to telecommuting.

Using Craigslist to Find Telecommute Positions

For those who are interested in securing a job where they are able to telecommute there is no better place to begin the search than Craigslist. While other popular websites designed specifically for job seekers have been slow to make telecommuting a prominent part of their community, Craigslist is leading the way in promoting telecommute options.

When employers post their job advertisements on Craigslist they are asked a series of questions regarding the position. These questions include some of the standard questions such as the salary range, years of experience required, education required and job locations. However, Craigslist also includes questions referring to whether telecommuting is an option for the position. The simple inclusion of this question makes it possible for job seekers to include whether or not telecommuting is acceptable in their search criteria.

Spend More Time with Family

Why are so many users of Craigslist seeking telecommute positions? As previously mentioned there are a number of appealing aspects to telecommuting. Those who have a spouse or children prefer telecommuting because it gives them more time to spend with their family. Employees who telecommute do not have to spend time traveling to and from their job during rush hours. This travel time can really add up and can take time away from the family. Parents who commute to a traditional job are often much more tired than those who are able to work from home. Those who commute also endure additional amounts of stress which can detract from family time.

Work at Your Convenience

Another reason job seekers are flocking to Craigslist to find telecommute positions is because they enjoy the ability to work around their own schedule. Parents of young children who telecommute can wake up early and work for two or three hours before their children wake up. They can then spend the morning with their children and then work a couple more hours after lunch while their child naps. Finally, the parent can conclude their workday in the evening after their children go to bed for the evening. This allows the parents to put in a full eight hour workday without compromising anytime with their children.

Parents who have school aged children can be available to drive their children to school in the morning and pick them up in the afternoon but spend the time while their child is in school working. The parents may also wake early to work before their children wake up or put in additional hours after their child goes to bed. Again, it is clear why so many members of the Craigslist community are seeking these types of positions.

Avoid the Hassles of Commuting

Still another reason why Craigslist members are delighted with the ability to search for positions which specifically offer a telecommute option is the desire to avoid the hassle of commuting. Whether an employee commutes to a job via car, bus or train, it is likely to add a significant amount of time to the workday. This is time for which the employee is not usually paid and is time which detracts from family time. Also, depending on the difficulty of the commute it can result in dramatically increased stress levels.

The Downside to Telecommuting

Although many Craigslist members fully understand the appeal of telecommute positions, it is important to note there are some pitfalls to telecommuting. One of the obvious downsides to telecommuting is friends and family members do not always respect your personal time. They often feel as though imposing is possible because you are at home and have flexibility in your schedule. Another downside to telecommuting is it may sometimes be difficult to separate work and home. Those who work in a traditional office often have an easier time leaving their work at the office while those who work from home are not always able to make this distinction and may spend too much time working just because it is convenient. One of the most important downsides to telecommuting is the employer may question the amount of work the employee is doing. Although many employers offer telecommuting options, these same employers often put less faith in these employees and do not allow them to climb the corporate ladder as quickly as those who work within the office.

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How Do You Use Craigslist?

The beauty of Craigslist is it can be used in a variety of ways. Those who use Craigslist do so in many different ways. Some of the most popular uses of Craigslist include advertising, meeting people and finding jobs. This article will discuss these three distinct uses of Craigslist.

Advertising on Craigslist

Advertising products and services is one of the many valuable uses of Craigslist. Those who are hoping to generate a profit from the sale of their products and services often turn to Craigslist for advertising for a number of reasons. The two most significant reasons are affordability and a large existing audience.

To say advertising products or services on Craigslist is affordable is certainly an understatement. Craigslist only charges a posting fee for help wanted advertisements in three specific markets and specific housing advertisements in one city. Therefore all advertising of products and services is free.

Finally, advertising on Craigslist is appealing because there is no need to generate traffic to the website. Craigslist already receives approximately ten million visitors per month who generate approximately four billion page views per month. There is no denying advertising on Craigslist has the potential to reach a massive audience.

Meeting People on Craigslist

Another one of the many uses of Craigslist is to meet people. The personals section of Craigslist is the most obvious section designed specifically for meeting people. Here individuals can read or post advertisements seeking either platonic relationships or romantic relationships of different sexual orientations. The personals section of Craigslist is restricted to individuals over the age of 18. Additionally there are restrictions beyond the normal terms of use place on the advertisements. Specifically individuals are prohibited from impersonating someone else when placing an advertisement.

The discussion forums on Craigslist also provide an opportunity to meet others. These discussion forums are divided into a number of different categories so individuals can focus on a topic which interests them and are likely to meet others who share this interest. However, it should be noted that on any discussion there is the very real possibility of heated debates. Those who visit discussion forums are likely to meet others who share their opinions on relevant issues but there are two sides to every issue so they are also likely to encounter those who oppose their viewpoints. Debate on important issues may remain civilized by there are often situations in which this debate degrades to an uncivil manner.

Finding Jobs on Craigslist

Many people who use Craigslist are those who are seeking new jobs or career changes. The job posting section on Craigslist is quite extensive and the available jobs are broken down by a number of different categories making it easier for users to find their dream job. Additionally, there is a search feature in the jobs section which enables users to search for a particular word or phrase in one of the job categories. Users can also search specifically for jobs with certain criteria such as telecommute capabilities, contract positions, internships, part-time positions or positions with non-profit organizations.

Job seekers can also post their resumes for consideration on Craigslist. Although the resumes section of Craigslist is not as well organized as other sections, those who know how to write an eye catching resume can still attract attention. The keys to attracting attention in the resume section is to create a descriptive and attention grabbing title and to fill the content of the resume with relevant keywords to make it easier for those who search for these keywords to find your resume.

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