Following the discussions on Technibble I have come to the realization that Craigslist is not a well liked tool. Having restarted my business 3 months ago, by moving to another city - Also having limited Capital. Craigslist was one of the ways I advertised my business. For awhile, it was my only means of Advertising.
The secret to Craigslist is simple... Keep it simple! I have tried to fancy HTML written ad, with graphics, photo, pretty font styles... And neither really work. A Friend of mine who is a plumber (not service plumber btw), made a living off of Craigslist and word of mouth. He led me to the Simple 4 - 6 line advertisement.
My ad looks like this :
★★★ Computer Tech & Geek ★★★
I treat your home like my own.
Honest Help and Support
Over 15 Years of Experience
Reasonable Rates
Virus / Adware removal
Desktop, Laptop, and Networking repair.
Phone: (602) 218-5929
-Justin
I use it till this day. There are multiple points to this ad. 1 - If they search on craigslist for Computer Repair, Laptop repair, Networking Help, Virus removal, computer virus etc... My ad is always on the top, even if it is 6 hours old. Keywords are crucial.
The other secret - I dont disclose prices. When the customer calls, is my turn to sell. The advertisment is not meant to sell anything. Just call. After 5 minutes with a customer, they know what I am talking about. I can then close the call. About half the time, they dont even ask how much it will cost. They just provide me with there address and time to be there. My rates are not the cheapest. I charge $65/hr. I felt advertising that would drive customers away.
Another Secret. Post throughout the day. In a high traffic area such as Phoenix, AZ - You could post your ad at 7:15am and by 8:00am you are 20 spots down. Asking my customers, there way of picking me - the most common - Was:
1. "I called people going down the list - your the only one that would come to my house"
2. "Your ad was simple, straight to the point"
3. "You seemed knowledgeable on the phone, and appeared genuine"
So, I post my ad every 2 hours. You need to change the first 40 characters of the ad, otherwise you cant post it. Says it appears the same. So i take the bottom two lines, and put them on the top. In reality, people see the first Ad. the 2nd, and if your lucky, the 3rd.
Now that I have made a decent customer base by word-of-mouth and some money on the side, I have been able to expand my marketing into areas that cost actual money. However, my first couple months I did relatively well. I broke the numbers down:
Daily calls from Craigslist - 1.9
Average Value per Call - $72.50
Daily Value: $137.75
The numbers arent fantastic, but for free, 5 minute advertising. It was great. I was able to build my reputation, under-promise and over-deliver and build a loyal customer base.
The best part is, when you meet a customer, who needs more. A website (I program PHP, C#), or you get referred to there boss, for a small company, and you land that contract. Every customer is a big oppurtunity I have learned.
Craigslist fed my family during our move. It was my sole source of income. I shall never discount that value.
