14 replies
"Let me paint so you don't have to"

That was my headline. I placed an ad on Craigslist when I was looking for extra money. I didn't even put a phone number, because I only wanted a few jobs. I got more reply emails than I could handle. I turned more work down than I actually took on. I didn't do anything with the leads, it just wasn't worth the additional effort to me at the time. I also got people asking if I could do additional things for them - gutter cleaning, windows, etc.

I'm not a professional painter, but I was rehabbing a house I bought to flip and had the supplies. I wanted to put them to use. In the ad, I stated that they picked out and bought the paint, covered what they didn't want to get paint on (furniture, etc), and I would supply the labor. I charged $200 for two rooms, or $175 per room for 3 or more. I could usually do three rooms in 4 hours.

One guy has updated his entire kitchen already. He had also refinished the hardwood floors and installed new carpet. He just didn't like to paint. He wanted somebody else to, and that's exactly who my ad was for.

I did several jobs over the period of about two weeks. This was last summer, so not long ago.

Anyway, that was just a small single Craigslist ad. I thought I would share it for people looking to make extra money out there. It could be anything, not just painting.
There's almost always somebody looking for what you are offering.
#craigslist
Avatar of Unregistered
  • Profile picture of the author craigsposterpro
    Thanks for sharing. Was that posted under the Gigs section? Very clever ad angle.
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[11511505].message }}
    • Profile picture of the author StevenTylerPjs
      No it was under the "services" section.
      {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[11511524].message }}
      • Profile picture of the author eccj
        Originally Posted by StevenTylerPjs View Post

        No it was under the "services" section.
        Was this recently? I've heard stories like this when craigslist was new but haven't in a long time.
        {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[11511797].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author aduttonater
    Services now charges $5 per ad. I still pay it though. I don't mind investing.
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[11511917].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author cearionmarie
    You can actually make a business out of this. If you can have a team and be able to do multiple tasks then it should also be quite profitable. The world has a lot of opportunities, I guess some just don't know where to look. Thanks for sharing!
    Signature

    Cearion Uy - Marketing Advisor
    www.influencerauditor.com

    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[11512679].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author Ahmed Umair
    craigslist is a good source of lead generation.. not only gig section, real estate section is also a good place to generate business leads and its still free
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[11531340].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author mindtricks18
    Banned
    Thanks for sharing. if charge $5 then, you should need to calculate ROI within a week
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[11532452].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author craigsposterpro
    You should also keep a close eye on the Gigs > Labor section to connect with homeowners seeking your services. The $5 Craigslist fee has really helped to reduce the spam effect and increase the visibility of the legit local service providers like yourself. You may also want to look into LetGo, ClassifiedAds.com and Facebook Marketplace for placing ads all of which are free to post to.
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[11532813].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author ryan lin
    Even one single ad can do magics in social handles!
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[11535892].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author earman
    What did you say in the body of the ad? Do you have a copy of it?
    Thank you in advance
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[11562580].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author StevenTylerPjs
    I just laid out the prices. I don't have a copy of it.
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[11562738].message }}
Avatar of Unregistered

Trending Topics