Who the primary, and if needed secondary, targets are.

What categories and locations are most effective when considering your targets.

The type of sales copy that will attract and entice your targets.

Which keywords your target buyers are most likely to use when searching for your offer.

This type of research can be done offline, as well as online.  A useful approach for gathering this type of information is to survey your target group.  When done right, you can use their answers to get a solid idea of what your target buyers are most likely looking for.  Then all you have to do is combine the information you've gathered into your ad campaign. This will make it a markedly more successful campaign.

Your Competition

One of the best ways for internet marketers to research their competition is by using the Craigslist search feature.  It is important to study the competition as it will teach you ways to be more successful.  To have more success in this way you can do two things.  You can figure out what your competitors are doing to be successful, and adopt those techniques.  Or, you can figure out what they are doing wrong, and avoid those techniques.

Enter keywords that pertain to your offer to get some idea of who your competitors are on Craigslist. Chances are you'll get results that have ads from your competitors.  Then, analyze those ads to figure out how to create better offers at better prices and how to write better ad copy.  Even though you may be able to do a good job analyzing your competitors' ads, you may find it tricky to create better ads.  If this happens look for a professional ad copywriter that has SEO (search engine optimization) skills.  The writer will be able to use their copy writing and SEO skills to persuade your target to buy your offer, or to at least take a closer look.

Your Business Needs Craigslist
 

There may be specific instances when Craigslist might not be the best choice for a marketing campaign, yet there are times when your business can't afford to overlook Craigslist for its advertising.  Below are two likely situations where your business should seriously consider marketing on Craigslist, failing to do this could be detrimental to your business.  This would include emerging startup companies that lack a substantial marketing budget as well as existing businesses whose competitors advertise prominently on Craigslist.

Marketing On Craigslist For The Emerging Startup Company

An emerging startup company often has to do a lot of work if they wish to start competing with already existing companies that are thriving. Companies like this often have an established client base along with substantial budgets for luring in new customers.  Another stumbling block startups often face is customer loyalty.  To break customer loyalty a new company has to either have higher quality offerings, comparable offerings at a better price or a memorable ad campaign that appeals to consumers.

Of course, newer companies hardly ever have a marketing budget large enough to develop a full-scale ad campaign.  This is where Craigslist is a virtual necessity. A smaller company is able to focus more resources on creating fine-tuned ad copy without having to spend large sums of monetary resources in the running of these ads in other print or air media.

Even though there is much that is appealing about free advertising, this advertising needs to be as sophisticated as if you were placing it somewhere that you would have to pay for it. K eeping this rule in mind will aid your business in developing and keeping a professional image.  It will also help your business in enticing potential customers to give whatever you offer a chance.

Keeping Your Competition From Dominating The Market

The other situation where your business needs to seriously consider advertising with Craigslist is when you find direct competitors taking advantage of the marketing possibilities on Craigslist.  It's important to do this because if you don't, in effect, you are handing your competition all of its customers it is getting from Craigslist.

Let's say you have a dog grooming business in Phoenix, Arizona. If a lot of people in Phoenix are using their local Craigslist page to locate dog groomers, you are sure to miss out on many of these potential clients. After all, these people are likely to choose someone advertising through Craigslist for any of their dog grooming needs.  However, if you placed a well-written ad in the appropriate category on Craigslist you would likely gain some of the available market share.

There is an exception to placing ads where your competitors are currently advertising.  That is if the local market is saturated with competitors.  Look at the above sample business of dog grooming in Phoenix.  If there were only a few competitors on Craigslist it would be a smart choice to place an ad of your own.  On the other hand, if there were hundreds of other dog groomers marketing on the Phoenix Craigslist site, then your ad would not stand out.  And your advertising would be better served elsewhere.  It is a good habit to check Craigslist from time to time because the number of competitors could decline.  At that time it would be acceptable to place an ad.