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Craigslist Marketing
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Low-Cost Advertising With Craigslist
The fact that most of postings on Craigslist are free makes
advertising about as affordable as it can get. At its
inception Craigslist was a non-profit service. This
changed in 1999 when they made the switch to being for profit.
Craigslist's overhead is covered with the small fee it charges
for employment postings made in eight U.S. cities. Also a
fee is charged for some real estate in New York.
With upwards of 450 sites, the overwhelming majority of people
can, amazingly, post for free. Looking at it financially
it makes a lot of sense to post ads on Craigslist. Even
though it's free to post ads on Craigslist, you need to be
careful that you make postings wisely. While there may be
no apparent financial loss improper posting can be a concern.
There is no real profit potential if you misuse time and other
resources.
How Can Craigslist Be Free?
Craig Newmark, the 'Craig' in Craigslist, had offers from
advertisers to place banner ads on the site as far back as 1997.
Even though this could have been profitable for him, Craig chose
to keep the site noncommercial. Eventually Craigslist
switched to being for profit, yet commercialization has been
kept in check. This may be due to the following factors.
Although all of the 450+ sites have 'craigslist' in the address,
each has its own distinct community. There isn't the feel
of a corporate dictator telling those who post what to do.
Craigslist is firmly planted in everyday things. It is
laid out in an uncluttered easy to use format. Allowing people
from many backgrounds to discuss, share or meet.
Craigslist Or Affiliate Marketing?
Another way to sell is with affiliate marketing. Business
owners often find this to be cost effective and advantageous.
The main appeal to business owners is that their affiliates only
get paid when they produce the desired result - income, website
traffic, customer leads, registration or filling out a form are
some examples of desired results.
The many advantages of affiliate marketing can make it a good
choice. Still, there are a couple of reasons why Craigslist may
be a better option. The two main reasons are the (usually)
free posting and the large amount of traffic the Craigslist
community gets. Again, when done right this will save time
and money.
There are, however, certain instances when free advertising on
Craigslist isn't the best choice for your marketing campaign.
If your offer does not fit into the appropriate category on
Craigslist for example. When that happens posting on
Craigslist probably won't be worth the effort. The ad may
not cost you any money, but chances are that it will not get the
full attention of your target buyers. Obviously this would
be a waste of time and resources.
The other instance where Craigslist is likely not the best
option for advertising is in a category saturated with ads from
your competitors. The reason this is not ideal is that you
will have to expend more time and resources to overcome your
potential customer's loyalty to a competitor. It may make
more sense to purchase ads in a less saturated market.
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