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Don't Count out Craigslist: It just made me $9500

by Lazy
44 replies
Hey Folks,

About a month ago I posted an ad on the local craigslist service boards. Totally forgot about the thing until Saturday, when a prospective client called and referenced the ad.

This client needed SEO, and they needed it done fast. I sent a full proposal his way Sunday afternoon, and now it's late Monday, and I've got a new client.

It just goes to show that there are leads to be found everywhere, and to keep at this "offline thing" because if there's a marketing method that's closer to printing my own money, I haven't found it.
#$9500 #count #craigslist #made
  • Profile picture of the author buddy7
    Way to go, Lazy. I was just jumping on WF for 5 minutes before going to post on CL. Thanks for the encouragement.
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    • Profile picture of the author Slickest
      Originally Posted by buddy7 View Post

      Way to go, Lazy. I was just jumping on WF for 5 minutes before going to post on CL. Thanks for the encouragement.
      What is cL ?

      edit .. well duh - you all talk with so many acronyms I couldn't see what was right in front of my face .. lol
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  • Profile picture of the author Iemagine
    Thanks I needed this! Sometimes I forget about other offline tactics.
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  • Profile picture of the author Mreese601@gmail.com
    Great job! Way to go!
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  • Profile picture of the author Voasi
    With Craigslist being the 10th largest website, in terms of traffic, in the US... you should DEFINITELY not count out CL.
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  • Profile picture of the author JustinDupre
    It's true.. there are leads to be found anywhere online and offline. Congratz to your sales and keep up the great work!
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  • Profile picture of the author iAmNameLess
    Craigslist is great, anyone that counts it out, is just dumb.

    I have used craigslist to build up my business. Went from 0 money, and 0 clients, to getting a new client weekly, while expanding my business in other areas to build up clients.

    Without craigslist, I don't know if I would be where I am right now.
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  • Profile picture of the author jsnfou
    I think everyone's too hyped up in 'traffic generation online' and have totally forgotten how effective offline marketing/advertising can be. Grats on the new client!
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  • Profile picture of the author hallpart
    I haven't found it.
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  • Profile picture of the author summer07
    Thanks for the reminder! I've used CL in the past to find things I wanted to buy, but never posted any ads for my writing services. That's going to change today!

    This also makes me think posting on US Free Ads could be good, too. Do you have any experience with other online classified ad sites? any recommendations?
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    • Profile picture of the author jeffrey73
      BackPage would be better. More than 9 times the traffic of USFreeAds!

      Originally Posted by summer07 View Post

      This also makes me think posting on US Free Ads could be good, too. Do you have any experience with other online classified ad sites? any recommendations?
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      • Profile picture of the author davidjames42973
        It really is like a lottery when it comes to Craigslist. I have an appointment with a very big client tomorrow morning that I met on Craigslist last week. Wish me luck tomorrow!
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        • Profile picture of the author ADukes81
          Originally Posted by davidjames42973 View Post

          It really is like a lottery when it comes to Craigslist. I have an appointment with a very big client tomorrow morning that I met on Craigslist last week. Wish me luck tomorrow!
          How'd you big meeting go this morning?
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          • Profile picture of the author davidjames42973
            Originally Posted by ADukes81 View Post

            How'd you big meeting go this morning?
            It went very well ADukes. I landed a deal with a client that has an unlimited bank account. This is definitely the biggest success I've had in my SEO Consulting career. Guess who will be celebrating tonight???
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            • Profile picture of the author Jay Rhome
              Originally Posted by davidjames42973 View Post

              It went very well ADukes. I landed a deal with a client that has an unlimited bank account. This is definitely the biggest success I've had in my SEO Consulting career. Guess who will be celebrating tonight???
              Congrats! And I just LOVE that TShirt on your avatar BTW :p
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            • Profile picture of the author John Durham
              Originally Posted by davidjames42973 View Post

              It went very well ADukes. I landed a deal with a client that has an unlimited bank account. This is definitely the biggest success I've had in my SEO Consulting career. Guess who will be celebrating tonight???
              Sounds like a great victory! Congrats. If you have 100 ads out there , each of them placed with a venue thats kinda like the lotto, or hit and miss... at least one of them is hitting on any given day!

              Here's to your success!
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  • Profile picture of the author John Durham
    Killer Lazy!

    It cant hurt to take an advertising action every day... if only 33% of the ads you place only produce one client per month apeice... Thats 10 clients per month... its worth spending 30 days and placing an ad every single day... people dont get the pipeline stuffing thing alot of times.

    You always reap what you sow, but the day of reaping and the day of sowing arent the same day usually.

    I'll bet you are glad for the day you planted that seed in CL!!
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  • Profile picture of the author nandi
    Yeah CL is very good when it comes to traffic and produces quality leads. I can vouch for it with my MLM business, as long as your ads stick you are really onto something big. Congrats that was a windfall!
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  • Profile picture of the author carlo99
    Congrats, and way to go... offline strategies are sometimes neglected, yes, thanks for the encouragement.
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  • Profile picture of the author alwayshome
    I still advertise on craigslist, I miss being able to post in multiple cities. Sometime I wish craigslist would charge like backpage. I used to do good on craigslist...
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  • Profile picture of the author mindykoch
    I found my first client on Craigslist. Answered her ad.
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    • Profile picture of the author klittle
      Just wondering.

      What categories do you guys post on craigslist that have had success?

      Keith
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      • Profile picture of the author SamyE
        Way to Go Lazy.

        I have used your services, and they were great, and I will use you again when I am ready.

        You can structure your craigslist tittle by adding in your keywords and phone number. This way when they get indexed by google the contact information is intact even if CL killed the ad, or is no longer showing the ad.
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  • Profile picture of the author veenafurtado
    Is it not mandatory to have a phone number for CL?
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  • Profile picture of the author dgridley
    Bingo!

    So many overlook the power of offline sales.. often you will make more money offline than on because you're not fighting the competition you have online.

    One of the things I enjoy most about reading magazines are the ads.. I still read the business opportunities in the local newspaper.

    Next time you have a nice website, product, or service, consider pitching it locally.. for example, an auto repair niche website and domain might sell for more to that local auto repair shop that's either been wanting to go online or hadn't thought of it til you came along.

    I buy and sell antiques and stopped listing 99% of my items online because I have an offline list and don't have to buck the competition on eBay. Invariably, I get top dollar offline.. how about you?

    Originally Posted by Lazy View Post

    It just goes to show that there are leads to be found everywhere, and to keep at this "offline thing" because if there's a marketing method that's closer to printing my own money, I haven't found it.
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  • Profile picture of the author psyche22
    Banned
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    • Profile picture of the author tankeroo
      Originally Posted by psyche22 View Post

      Can someone please tell me about craigslist, I'm fairly new here so I don't have a clue. Is it like an outsourcing site or something?
      Craigslist.org is a free classifieds on steroids, lol! Anybody selling or giving away anything posts there, lol! Free advertising for local businesses, job listings... I posted home listings with links to our one site, I got 72 hits in just a few hours! They've made the rules a bit more stiff on posting to keep out the spam, but it's an AWESOME platform. Go check it out!
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  • Profile picture of the author googlelink
    i will start to post my service on Craigslist , i hope i can get client
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  • Profile picture of the author MichaelParsons
    Places to look for needy companies on CL, under JOBS:

    • Internet Engineer
    • Sales/Biz Dev
    • Technical Support
    • Web/Info Design

    Go to them, as opposed to advertising your own site. Sometimes the GIGS section is good too.

    Fill the need!
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  • Profile picture of the author whyeyeschoice
    Craigslist is a Great place to promote your products and services for Free. Actually Anyplace you place an ad for Free can Be Productive in the End if Leads and Sales Come from them. Remember You are Trying to get people to SEE Your Website And the Only way to Do it is to PROMOTE,PROMOTE,PROMOTE. So I would Encourage Anyone to Place at least 5 to 10 Free Ads in Various Free Classified Ad Sections A Day. Especially if Your Money is Low. This Can Be Very Effective Free Advertising. Even if You Have to Go to The Library to Do Some Promoting. An Hour a Day Of Consistent, Income Producing Activity Can Bring a World of Change. DO IT. ....Oh Yeah ...Go Craigslist.
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  • Profile picture of the author sdentrepreneur
    I used to use Craigslist, only problem is the quality of clients. They seldom have over $500 to pay for Internet Marketing and looking for a deal...
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    • Profile picture of the author Voasi
      Originally Posted by sdentrepreneur View Post

      I used to use Craigslist, only problem is the quality of clients. They seldom have over $500 to pay for Internet Marketing and looking for a deal...
      That is completely false and is only your experience...

      Let's see, just in the last week we got $2,500 (2 deals) from Craigslist. And we banged a credit card for $10k the following week off our Craigslist ad.

      Yes, Craigslist drives buyers.
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  • Profile picture of the author credasys
    Your story is a good reminder with a good idea on how to get online income.
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  • Profile picture of the author Dr Dan
    I was planning I using this tactic as well since it worked like magic for me when i used to offer mortgage loans back in 2004-2007. Man I was having 10-20 calls a day rolling in from people wanting a loan! But after a year or so CL started changed the posting rules and my strategy wasnt as easy to implement anymore.

    Where do you guys post your ads? What sections work best for SEO, IM, Services? I would love to hear more about it.
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  • Profile picture of the author JBroyer44
    I was just looking at this as I am thinking about starting up a local small business Content Creation/Site Development/ and SEO services company but the Ads in my area (boston, New Hampshire) seem flooded with SEO companies, in my offline business we always see competition as a good thing what are people thoughts on this?

    I am trying to find how to develop my companies USP (unique selling point) which will help me cut through the noise. Do those of you on here just make a "Web Design" or "SEO Services Ad" or do you have a unique strategy for attracting the clients?
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  • Profile picture of the author Torreylee
    Originally Posted by Lazy View Post

    Hey Folks,

    About a month ago I posted an ad on the local craigslist service boards. Totally forgot about the thing until Saturday, when a prospective client called and referenced the ad.

    This client needed SEO, and they needed it done fast. I sent a full proposal his way Sunday afternoon, and now it's late Monday, and I've got a new client.

    It just goes to show that there are leads to be found everywhere, and to keep at this "offline thing" because if there's a marketing method that's closer to printing my own money, I haven't found it.
    Well that is very encouraging, I've never had ANY success with craigslist but maybe I'll give it another shot.


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  • Profile picture of the author Mike McAleer
    Just contacted about 40 businesses on CL. Wish me luck!
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