Craig's List Computer Ads

[neotechnet]

Does anyone post to CL computer ads on a regular basis and more importantly get any leads from it?

Half the ads I see posted there are atrocious to say the least. I wonder if there is any added benefit of Google indexing the ad especially when you put a link to your website.

I wonder if any businesses actually look there for IT services?

Any thoughts?

 

[InsaneTech]

I've been posting pretty frequently, nothing has come from it tbh. I occasionally get spam messages saying they need me to format 5 laptops and they'll send me a outrageous amount of money. I think CL is somewhat a waste of time, only thing coming from it is perhaps a laptop sale every now and then.

-IT

 

[katz]

Pros - free advertising

Cons - you are usually contacted by the bottom feeders that want the cheapest repairs

Craigslist is ruled by the pizza techs in my area. The $20 fixes everything guys - it really puts a dent in business in my area, so for that reason, I stay away from Craigslist. I don't need customers who haggle over a repair for $20-$30.

 

[Rosco]

i post to craiglist daily. I have had a lot of success with CL. i do get some tire kickers and spam but the good clients far outweigh the drawbacks.

 

[neotechnet]

@ Rosco - do you actually get any business clients or only residential?

 

[Rosco]

@ Rosco - do you actually get any business clients or only residential?

i have gotten both. Craiglist has been really great some of my favorite clients are from craiglsit

 

[pctutor]

Same here - I post an ad on Craigslist every morning and it is definitely worth the 30 seconds it takes. All I am really doing is just renewing a previous ad.

Here is what I did. I created an image ad. Actually 7 of them - one for each day of the week. Each one has unique content. Here's the one for Tuesday. The whole image is a clickable link that goes to my website.

This type of ad stands out from all the other crap text ads, and it has my picture so people can actually see who they are dealing with. I have gotten a substantial amount of business this way, including some ongoing business clients. Yeah, I might go a month with nothing from Craigslist, but then I get a few in one day so it balances out.

 

[Rosco]

Here is what I did. I created an image ad. Actually 7 of them - one for each day of the week. Each one has unique content. Here's the one for Tuesday. The whole image is a clickable link that goes to my website.

this is what you have to do to have any luck i have tried it all. I have posted every day for 3 years and this is the formula i use too (after much testing).

 

[neotechnet]

Very interesting, thanks guys.

@ Scott - Since you are using a picture, I don't believe that would be searchable in CL? So someone actually has to see your ad and click to see?

 

[pctutor]

Very interesting, thanks guys.

@ Scott - Since you are using a picture, I don't believe that would be searchable in CL? So someone actually has to see your ad and click to see?

Correct. People would need to go to the Computer Services category and see my listing and click on it.

It seems like I saw somewhere that Craigslist is going to discontinue allowing people to host their own images, and just be required to use the standard image format that Craigslist offers. That will be an unfortunate change when that happens.

 

[katz]

You guys that do post on Craigslist -

Do your ads get flagged continuously? That's another big reason that I'm not a fan of posturing on there.

Computer repair ads get flagged all day because there is so much competition in such a small area. You can place an ad & it will get removed within 15-30 minutes, guaranteed.

 

[pctutor]

You guys that do post on Craigslist -

Do your ads get flagged continuously? That's another big reason that I'm not a fan of posturing on there.

Computer repair ads get flagged all day because there is so much competition in such a small area. You can place an ad & it will get removed within 15-30 minutes, guaranteed.

I don't think I have ever had a single computer repair ad get flagged. And I have been posting one daily for well over a year. I guess it depends on how cowardly your local competition is.

 

[Rosco]

You guys that do post on Craigslist -

Do your ads get flagged continuously? That's another big reason that I'm not a fan of posturing on there.

Computer repair ads get flagged all day because there is so much competition in such a small area. You can place an ad & it will get removed within 15-30 minutes, guaranteed.

At different times there are been lots of flagging. I guess it was other techs because i post in the services section not the for sale. It always stops after a while.

 

[katz]

I don't think I have ever had a single computer repair ad get flagged. And I have been posting one daily for well over a year. I guess it depends on how cowardly your local competition is.

What do you mean by "cowardly"? Not sure I understand.

In my area I would view it as more of a "survival of the fittest". It is a pain to have your ad flagged all day, but that's what these guys seem to do in order to survive - shutting their competitors ads down.

pctutor - I just did a quick search on the areas that you service -

Clearweater - 107,685

Palm Harbor - 57,439

Safety Harbor - 16,901

Oldsma - 13,618

Dunedin - 35,354

With numbers like these I can see why you may not have a problem with your competition. You should try surviving in two towns with a pop. of 5K each. It is bad around here - I need to move...

 

[Cornerstone Technologies]

You should try surviving in two towns with a pop. of 5K each. It is bad around here - I need to move...

Im in a smaller market, and I figure if you can make it in these types of places, you can do this anywhere.

 

[pctutor]

What do you mean by "cowardly"? Not sure I understand.

I mean they are choosing to compete by shutting down competitor's ads, rather than improving or building up their own business. That's a very petty, immature and shortsighted way to conduct business.

You should try surviving in two towns with a pop. of 5K each. It is bad around here - I need to move...

Interesting. I used to live up north, in a rural town in midcoast Maine - population was 5075 in 2010. I considered that to be an ideal situation, because I had no competition. Everyone in town had computers and I was the only guy that could fix them (and for the surrounding towns too).

Then we moved back to Florida, and there's a computer shop on every corner practically. Took a while but I built up my client base again (and I still work with a lot of my Maine clients remotely, since they now have no one they trust locally for repairs).

So I have seen both ends of the spectrum. Your success isn't determined by the population of your city. It's whether or not you bring enough value to your clients to keep them loyal to you and to tell their friends.

 

[katz]

Interesting. I used to live up north, in a rural town in midcoast Maine - population was 5075 in 2010. I considered that to be an ideal situation, because I had no competition. Everyone in town had computers and I was the only guy that could fix them (and for the surrounding towns too)

There's the problem in my area. In the local town of 5K, there are about 8-10 pc stores, all in a battle w/ each other - offering $35 virus removal, $50 full reload, etc. And that's not even considering all the pizza tech guys who offer even lower pricing, some as low as $5 & I'll drive to your house - I can't believe it when I see some of these ads.

 

[pctutor]

There's the problem in my area. In the local town of 5K, there are about 8-10 pc stores, all in a battle w/ each other - offering $35 virus removal, $50 full reload, etc. And that's not even considering all the pizza tech guys who offer even lower pricing, some as low as $5 & I'll drive to your house - I can't believe it when I see some of these ads.

In a situation like that, if you want to continue in this business, you have to "get out of the pile" so to speak. Make yourself different from the rest. If the average customer is shopping around for a computer repair, what would be their reason to choose you? If you are only competing based on price, then you are no different from the others. Website, email newsletter, write a column in the local paper, do a podcast, write a book, etc - there are lots of things you can do to establish yourself as the authority so that your higher prices are justified. People are willing to pay more if they feel the difference is worth it.

 

[katz]

Great points, pctutor.

Although, I can't say I really agree with the last sentence. Not too many people I know who will want to pay more money for the same repair as the next guy, i.e. screen replacement for example. Not in minimum wage area with no jobs. YMMV...

But I do hear that said from techs & other business people. Chris Barre is famous for that kind of thinking, but when I google his area (lol) I find that he lives in a very rich, affluent area - not my area where folks are struggling to earn a penny more than min. wage. His whole lecture series is based on servicing that level of clientele. Definitely works out well in his case, for sure.

There are businesses, and I do have a handful of those clients, so that keeps the ball rolling a bit. As we all know res. work is not too good for the long haul if you want to stay in this business.

However, I do realize there are "pockets of gold" areas around the country for residential, where you may be the only tech for miles around, however this is the exception, not the rule.

As far as community outreach, I did volunteer a bit of time at a local senior center for instruction and repair. Met a lot of nice folks, and actually did generate a few leads, but nothing to write home about. How are you going to convince an 85 yr. old they need to preserve their data long term with a backup HD...

 

[callthatgirl]

I found that posting niche type work gets me better calls. I don't do a lot advertising for viruses and tune ups, mostly because there are so many. I just do now Outlook and stuff, I get calls and they are $69-$200 jobs. So it pays off for me, all business clients usually.