CraigsList is DEAD

[23hitman]

Ok now that I have your attention,

Is marketing via CraigsList/Backpage dead for a small business?

• Having to post multiple times
• Verified accounts
• Time commitment

PPC's not cost effective for a grassroot/startup/no budget.

So what are other viable, working options?

Please be specific. Help me. Help Others. Pay It forward. The world is 6 billion strong....

[onera]

Article marketing, social media sites, email list, newsletters, facebook group, etc.

[Adam Bshero]

Craigslist/backpage are not dead... they just take a bit more effort to get your ads posted. Take a look around the forum and you might find some threads that help you out in this area.

[Loren Woirhaye]

Start putting up fliers and bandit signs. Make calls.
Build relationships. Join your chamber of commerce.

Why people feel entitled to free advertising is beyond me.
Nobody says NO to free ads but then again, you get what
you pay for - low perceived value, hassles and headaches.

The SPAM from internet marketing people is about the
worst thing that ever happened to Craigslist, which is
a gem of a community site.

Read the CL terms of service. It's for local usage only.

[23hitman]

Who said "entitled"? Let me ask you, why do you feel entitled to belittle others for using CraigsList? I didnt see the latest poll results...you must have some right...

[Andrew Wong]

In the small business category of CL, it depends on what you are advertising. If you are going to teach someone how to start a home based biz or generate income, then I'm pretty sure you would get some response.

Andrew

[sevenish]

I do really well with CraigsList.

Your subject line leads me to believe that you can't be taught or are unlikely to succeed with CraigsList.

[AndyCamden]

Craigslist is just an art form, but if you can learn how to get past Ghosting and get your ads to stick, there is a huge opportunity to make money.

[OmarNegron]

Nah I don't think it's dead yet. I still get leads plenty of leads from there.

It sucks that they are becoming more strict though..

[imlogic]

no money... no honey.

That means just do forum marketing.

or set up an affiliate program and let others spend their money to sell your product.

[charless61]

Is there an alternative to craigslist that we can post instead? I really phone verification process a hassle

[SeanyG]

Originally Posted by 23hitman

PPC's not cost effective for a grassroot/startup/no budget.

Limiting belief!!!

[Black Hat Cat]

Originally Posted by SeanyG

Limiting belief!!!

Not if you don't have any money, lol.

[Eric Lorence]

Originally Posted by 23hitman

Who said "entitled"? Let me ask you, why do you feel entitled to belittle others for using CraigsList? I didnt see the latest poll results...you must have some right...

I don't think he meant any offense by that, marketers are being squeezed out of CL.

I think you should learn a little from the forum, there is a world of advertising beyond CL, and it's free.

[RedSynergy]

It's pretty dead if you are outside USA.

[bombdiggity]

I've never had much luck with Craigslist. There's always too many people there flagging posts, even if they're relevant to the category. I think some people just like to do it for fun. I wouldn't mind seeing a viable alternative to Craigslist in the near future.

[OnlineMasterMind]

Originally Posted by 23hitman

Ok now that I have your attention,

Is marketing via CraigsList/Backpage dead for a small business?

• Having to post multiple times
• Verified accounts
• Time commitment

PPC's not cost effective for a grassroot/startup/no budget.

So what are other viable, working options?

Please be specific. Help me. Help Others. Pay It forward. The world is 6 billion strong....

For a local small business? Definitely not. You can easily find someone over seas to place your ads for also. 5-10 a day would probably more than enough I'm guessing - and that will cost you peanuts...

What kind of business do you have?

There are MANY ways it depends how aggressive you want to be. But in terms of return on investment (whether it's time or money) it's tough to beat geo-targeted ppc. (of course, it depends what kind of business you have)

[ahuddy]

When marketing on craigslist you really need to understand your targeted audience and if it even matches up with craigslist users. You also have to hope the competition doesn't flag your posts just to eliminate some competition on there. It's definitley not dead, but its no walk in the park either.

[Amber_Writes]

Just thought I'd poke my head in here, but isn't Craigslist part owned by those dumb blokes over at eBay? You know they have a problem with having power over everything, so there might be a lot more bull crap lurking behind Craigslist than what has thus far been shown. And considering the way eBay is going, I wouldn't really be surprised if this Craigslist fad did eventually die.

P.S. I use Craigslist, and I like it. Make a fair deal from it, too.

Just thought I'd add that in...

[OnlineMasterMind]

ahh I just read your post again and it looks like I thought you said LOCAL, when in fact you did not...

Again it really depends on what kind of business you have...

TIP: Know EXACTLY how much each visitor is worth to you. (No one does this - and it's precisely why most people are going nowhere - fast)

So for example, if you have a website design business and you know that out of 100 people that visit your website - 20 will become leads - and then 1/20 will become a client - and the average client is worth $320

That means each visit is worth $32.

Obviously these are just examples off the top of my head and of course there are other variable but you get that idea...

Thinking "i don't have money to spend on advertising" is the wrong idea. You should be thinking how can I create a website/business that is so profitable that I can't spend the money fast enough...

It shocks me how many people just wing it and hope their "somehow" gonna make money.

You gotta know your numbers. Create a website that makes you money FIRST... and then invest some money to make a lot more.

Now, you say have absolutely ZERO budget to invest in your business?

Think about what you're actually saying lol but nevertheless, here's a SHORT term solution for you: Go write articles (5-15 per day) and submit them to ezine articles, then add a bunch of myspace friends (thousands) - don't try to sell them anything at all and just bribe them to give you their email and then overwhelm them with value. Then hit em' with an irrestible offer.

Simple.

This will get you the money to start treating your business like a business.

[AverageGuy]

why craigslist is so successful? one of the most important reasons, according to experts, is that craigslist keep fighting spam constantly. it makes average users feel the site is reallt providing values.

so, if you provide values to it, it works. if you try to flood it with ads (assume the ads have values, not spam), yes, it is dead, because the ads will be removed quickly.

I seldom post on craigslist, but I check it everyday. made some friends locally, and got businesses from local people too.

use it, not work it, then, no, it is not dead, and actually, it works.

just my own experience.


david

[Loren Woirhaye]

I actually do use CL - to market services to my local market
and to buy and sell stuff locally. I like it a lot and I have
no problems running several ads on an ongoing basis.

What I feel is not worth the trouble is trying to use CL as
a mass-advertising and traffic machine. It's a lot of work,
they are trying to prevent you from succeeding at it
by changing it around at the time, and it clutters up the
community so it's rude and (usually) deceptive and spammy
from what I have seen.

DO you want a walk-away traffic machine? Why do you think
CL is the only way to build one? My argument is that there
are several other free advertising options that could yield
sustainable traffic for you in the long-term and not involve
what is basically a black-hat, short-term mindset.