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 Craigslist 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
We’ve 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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