Craigslist---Unclassified Marketing Success

A somewhat controversial website from the web 2.0 point of view, Craigslist is used by thousands to market both websites and products. It has, however, had many forms over the past several years. Its most recent incarnation, complete with an interactive interface and a platform geared toward marketing, though, allows it to make a serious impact on your overall marketing efforts.

Founded in the mid-nineties by Craig Newmark, Craigslist's primary focus was the San Francisco area. These days, though, it serves more than four hundred and fifty different cities. With nearly nine billion page views every single month, it's certainly an avenue to consider in your overall marketing plan. From personal ads to job listings to services, no matter what your product line, there's a spot for you on Craigslist.

The Initial Craigslist Setup Process

Getting started at Craigslist is perhaps one of the easiest jobs you'll ever have on your list of marketing tasks. Craigslist revolves around the idea of making posts to the website, all of which are then viewed by other individuals. To get started, all you really have to do to be able to post is confirm an e-mail address and fill in a security code in order to ensure that you are not a robot. There is no complicated profile to fill out, and there is very little work to do in order to build your account; it is simply a matter of posting material to the different areas of Craigslist.

Your Craiglist Marketing Plan

In many ways, Craigslist may be the most interesting part of your marketing plan. You literally have hundreds of marketing options on this site. If you've never stopped by before, it might help to understand the site itself. The whole website is a series of different posts people read. Posts separated by categories. For example, if you run a copywriting service, you could easily place a listing in the "Services" category. If you sell chainsaws, you could place a listing in the "for sale" category. Because there are subcategories within each larger category, finding a home for your post won't be a problem.

The key to really being successful at Craigslist is combining the format of the website with creative thinking. You have to consider exactly how you can reach people in a way that melds within the format of the site. For example, if you are selling an e-book about how to make money online through writing articles for websites, you might consider placing a job post in the online writing section. After all, your ebook could one day lead to them finding the perfect job in that category. You can also advertise your e-book in the "for sale" sections, and perhaps have a promotional online meeting that you can advertise in the events section.

If you are interested in trying to get money through affiliate marketing, take a look at the "requested" section of Craigslist. Look for people who want what you're selling and then e-mail them with an offer. If you sign up for an affiliate account at Amazon, you could potentially do this to everyone who posts provided that you can find what they are looking for on Amazon and send the link to them.

In most cases, however, it is really the things like advertising events and items for sale that bring people to your website. You do not have to be sly in order to bring people to your website this way. Be honest about what is available on your website, categorize your post appropriately, and you should see a terrific amount of traffic from Craigslist.

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