Classified Ad & Craigslist Marketing

Classified Ad Marketing

There are both free and paid type of classified sites. If you use paid classified ads, make sure to keep track of how many hits you get from them by using a special email address, url or a code for your visitors to type in. You don't want to pay $40/month and only make $20/month in sales.

1.) Get your information together

Putting all of the information in a word processor first [like MS Word] will help speed up the process, by allowing you to cut and paste the information as you submit. The following is a list of information you'll need:

• Headline [see below for help with these].
• Price of item/service [if applicable]
• Item/service [if applicable]
• Possible categories to be placed under.
• Contact name, email address, postal address, phone number, fax number and toll free (if applicable)
• Description of site- use this space to be your advertisement and keep it brief, most classified sites don't allow but 50 characters.
• Site title and address
• Photos will increase sales

 

2.) Placing the ads

• Utilize free classified directories. Go either to Craigslist. For other sites go to search engines and type in 'classifieds' and you'll find all the classified web sites you'll ever need.
• Posting to 8 classified ads a day will be a great start [also to keep your sanity from posting overload].
• Keep record of where you've posted and what you've posted. Copy the URL of the site's submission form and the information you posted, email the information to yourself and save the email in a specified folder. When it's time to renew ads all you have to do is go to the folder, click the URL and copy/paste the information.
• Adding a special code [i.e. #1234] to the classified will help to determine which email came from the classified web sites. Using a different number for each of the different classified sites [keep record of which code goes to which classified] will determine which one pulled in the most visitors.
• If you utilize your URL in the classified, add a site tracker that determines where your visitors are coming from. A good, free url tracking you can use is Bit.ly.
• The Canny Link is a great place to start looking for submission services, software and sites. And add a classified ad.

**Keep in mind that submitting to classified web sites will increase the spam mail in your mailbox. Spammers obtain names from classified submissions [classified owners can sell the names/email addresses for profit]. If you are marketing for a client, you will want to inform them before submitting.

***Be Safe! If you are selling products or services that cannot be postal mailed or delivered remotely then be safe. If someone has to come to your home, don't be alone. Try to have the items outside your home for pickup.

"Your headline is the ad for your ad" --Mark Hendricks Online Marketing Magic!
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