How To Post On Craigslist
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If you intend to use craigslist to promote your business, be warned, it is NOT easy to post your ads on this highly traffic-ed website.
Using craigslist as an online marketing strategy can be very profitable, and as it is free to post ads on craigslist, it is also a very attractive one.
What is Craigslist?
Craigslist is a free classified ad and forum posting site that covers over 450 cities and 50 countries world wide. The site was founded in 1995, by Craig Newmark.
View the Craigslist fact sheet here.
Why Should You Market On Craigslist?
Right about now, your probably thinking...
"why is this supposed to be so hard?
It's just a free classified advertising site".....
Well here is where it gets tricky for the online marketer to
master posting ads on craigslist!
The Problem With Craigslist Marketing
Craigslist hates Internet marketers and does everything it can to KEEP YOU OUT. Well that might sound a little harsh, but it is true.
Craigslists creator started the site as a hobby and a service with the intention of providing free locality specific classified advertising.
The operation of craigslist includes a team of professional programmers who work on creating cookies, filters and ghosting protocol. This protocol is being constantly updated and enhanced to make it harder and harder for the online marketer to post on craigslist. This is the problem with marketing on cragislist.
I am not knocking it. Craig has every right to run his site exactly how he see's fit. This is a perfectly legal procedure and part of the terms of service. Plus, they do a heck of a good job at keeping the 'spammers' at bay.
Craigslist still runs today as a .org domain name, so it is considered a not for profit site, but if you can manage to get your ads to stay on craigslist, then it will definitely be to your business profits.
What You Need To Know Before You Use Craigslist
- Even though craigslist is a free classified advertising site you will need to invest time and or money into your marketing campaign to see any results.
- As the ghosting programs are being constantly updated, so to does your craigslist advertising routine. Be prepared for this.
- The steps outlined for you in this hubpage are as accurate and detailed as possible. You may need to use a mix of the techniques and tips as explained below in order to stop your ads from ghosting.
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How To Post On Craigslist
- The first thing to do in the, how to post on craigslist action steps, is to consider how many phone numbers you have access to. The current account creation process requires a valid phone number to be entered. Once you work through the sign up process you will receive a phone call or text message with a validation code.
- If you have access to 10 different phone numbers than you will need to set up 10 different emails. Go to http://www.gmail.com and setting up your free 10 email accounts here. Do not use any other free email accounts other than gmail. Once have 10 different email account that you use everyday to post from. You are essentially set up for 10 days or 2 weeks.
- Once you have set up your email accounts, go to Craigslist and create 10 accounts with Craigslist. Go to http://www.craigslist.org/. Click on my account on the left hand side. You will see a place where you can log in. Underneath that, it says don't have an account - Click on that. Follow the instructions. Once you get to a certain point, it will ask you to put a phone number in. Once you put that phone number in, you will receive either a phone call or text with the code you will need to enter into Craigslist in order to have a valid Craigslist account
- Fourth, you need to set up your ads. Never post the exact same ad twice - this includes your headline. Duplicate posts are NOT permitted on Craigslist. Try writing 10 ads and then sit down and try and get 10 different variations out of your original ads. This gets you 100 different ads! A common variation on the headline is to place a bunch of letters and numbers at the end. For example if your headline reads "Best Beef Jerky" alter it like so, "Best Beef Jerky________7r4f6FDe" & "Best Beef Jerky________Hw84HpF8"
Now here are some ideas if you don’t have access to a lot of phone numbers:
1. Use your work number.
2. Use your home number
3. Use your cell number
4. Use your significant other’s cell number
5. Use your significant other’s work number
6. Go to a payphone that accepts incoming calls and use that phone number.
You may need someone at your computer to put the number in but then you can stand there and wait for the phone to ring and get the phone number.
7. Ask a few close friends if you can use their number.
8. Partner up with someone in your industry and brainstorm other idea's. Perhaps one is willing go to a local train station of somewhere there's a heap of public phones, while the other does the online work. This might sound like a 'desperate' step, however it could turn out to be a very profitable partnership. Use your network and close business contacts.
Repeat the process 10 times. Remember, you will need to go to each email account that you have set up and click on the link that Craigslist sends to each email account to activate each individual Craigslist account.
How Many Ads Can I Post On Craigslist?
This is a topic for debate, but unless you are using auto posting software and are changing your IP address regularly (perhaphs every 3-5 ads) you should only post 3 ads every 48 hrs from one Craigslist account.
If you post 3 ads on the same day from the same Craigslist account, your last 2 ads will get ghosted.
Clearing Your Internet History, Cookies & Temporary Passwords
When you active or log into your Craigslist account the site places cookies on your computer. Now, if you don't know much about cookies, they basically read, record and track data while you are browsing. Cookies are used commonly online and are a natural part of online technology - there is no need to fear. Cookies are not like a virus so will not do damage to your computer.
So why information on cookies? Well all you need to know with regards to cookies and posting on Craigslist is that you must clear them after finishing with each account. You should also clear your browsing history, temp passwords and temp internet files.
Each operating system will be slightly different, so use these this as a guide. Open you computer's control panel. Go to network & internet. Internet options, then delete browsing history. Within that menu option you can select to delete your history and you want to check the box and clear all.
Sometimes the browser you are using is not the default for your computer. If this is the case try the following steps;
Instructions For Firefox
Menu option - tools, then clear private data (again you need to check all the box's to clear them all.
Instructions For IE
Menu option - tools, then internet options (clear everything!)
How To Get Your Ads To Stay On Craigslist
The common term used to describe the automatic removal of craigslist ads is, "ghosting."
If you have attempted to place an ad and are not able to see it visible on the live site, then you have had a visit from the green ghost.
Ghosted means that Craigslist will act like your ads are posted but when you go to look for them, they do not show up.
Stopping Your Craigslist Ads From Ghosting
Test, test and then TEST again. Post 3 ads in 3 different cities then stop. I takes anywhere from 15 - 20 minutes for you ads to go live. If you go to the specific city and category and can see you ad live on the site, then you know what you did worked & you can run with that for a while.
If your ads are not visible, you simply start the process again.
How To Test for Specific Flagging Aspects
If you think it may be your link that is causing the problem, post an ad with a different link and see if it goes live. Perhaps try an image ad instead or test running your ad without the link at all.
Craigslist Marketing Options
Time Poor
If you don't have much time to invest in your craigslist marketing then there are options. Some companies will manage your craigslist marketing for you and then there is also the option of a craigslist co-op.
Cash Poor
Do it all yourself, but be forewarned, it is going to take you a fair bit of time to get it right and maintain any level of consistency. At the very least you will need to invest in something that will hide your real IP address so your real IP doesn't get banned while you are working this out.
Time & Cash Poor
Perhaps craigslist should be left until you have some time and money to get your campaign off the ground. Whilst it is free to place ads on the site you will need to invest some money to see any real results.
Are you really going to give up that easily? No way!
Just post one ad every 3 days using your real IP address. You may end up having your IP address banned from craigslist. So in the long run you will need to work on this issue. Here is a hubpage on this topic that you may find usefull.
For my first attempt with craigslist I posted manually for three days using software to hide my real IP. I didn't use an auto-poster I only managed to get three ads to stick for the entire time. Those ads produced over 100 hits to my website in the few days there were live. So let's just say that mastering craigslist is a step learning curve that never stops.
Craigslist is frustrating! That's exactly what Craig wants so deal with it.
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Craigslist Codes
Following is a suggestion for html coding when posting your craigslist ad....
....<p style="COLOR: #f5fff0"> enter the text that you want to be hidden here </font>
<font color="lightgoldenrodyellow"> enter visable ad text here </font>
<font color="honeydew"> enter visable ad text here </font>....
Remember that craigslist changes it's cookies and spam filtering rhythyms faster than I change my hair color, so what will work for you one day may not work the next.
The Real Secret To Mastering Successful Craigstlist Codes
Spend time viewing ads similar to yours that are active on craigslist. If the ad is sticking then you know that the current cookies and monitoring systems on craigslist have allowed that ad to remain active. You want to do the same with your ads. Learn from what successful ad posters are currently doing. This is KEY to your craigslist success and at the very least will save you time in the long run.
How To See The Codes For Active Craigslist Ads
Step 1
Click on the required ad and open it.
Step 2
Instructions for Firefox Browser
Select the menu option "view"
Scroll down to "page source" and click that option
A seperate window will open up showing you the HTML coding for that entire page.
Instructions for IE
Select the menu option "view"
Scroll down to "source" and click that option
A seperate window will open up showing you the HTML coding for that entire page.
If you are using another browser program the steps will be fairly similar, and there were just too many options to list in this 'how to post on craigslist hubpage'!
Obviously this option is only good for those who know how to read HTML. You need not be an expert at coding, so if you understand the basics - hyperlinks. image insert hyperlinks etc, you should be able to give this a go.
Watch for Redirections
When you first click on the required ad on craigslist, pay attention to the redirections occuring as the posted url is loaded. You will be able to see these at the botton of your Firefox Browser window. Where the term 'done' is displayed when a page is loaded, so does it show you where you are being moved amongst. These redirections will give you insight into the type of cloaking programs, url shorteners, domains, and subdomain types being successfully used on craigslist.
Using Image Ads & BlogSpot Redirects On Craigslist
Using image ads and BlogSpot redirects are another great option when it comes to getting your ads to stick on craigslist.
How To Create An Image Ad On Craigslist
1. Post an image ad that is clickable (people can just click the image and go to your site…
<a href="http://yatuc.com/cgl-v7UC5q7n" rel="nofollow"><img
src="http://i303.photobucket.com/albums/nn147/photosoloutions/freead.jpg"
border="0"></a>
- Make sure you replace my info with yours
2. Posting a regular image ad…cannot be clicked
<img
src="http://i303.photobucket.com/albums/nn147/photosoloutions/freead.jpg" border="0"></a>
How To Create A Blogspot Redirect On Craigslist
1. Go to http://www.blogspot.com
2. Create a new acct…
3. Create a post on your blog with this code:
<META HTTP-EQUIV="refresh" content="0;URL=http://www.putyourwebsitehere.com">
Make sure you create 2 different posts with this same code.
At the end of your blogspot url, you can put random letters and numbers…
Ex) http://enteryourblogspotnamehere.blogspot.com/?PKxP4NLA
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How To Get Most Out Of Your Craigslist Ads
This tip can be obvious if you know about checking for site trends and traffic hits, but don't know anything about this, then pay attention. This technique and following links for research can be applied to any free classified ad posting you choose to do online. Plus you may also find a use for these in other elements of your business promotions.
I highly recommend doing locality research before you begin posting. We have already established that craigslist has alot of traffic and readers, but which cities are the most popular? Where do people go when they visit craigslist.org?
If you visit alexa.com and find the traffic details for craigslist there is a ton of useful information.
http://www.alexa.com/data/details/traffic_details/craigslist.com
When you scroll to the bottom of the page there is a heading...
Where people go on Craigslist.org
Listed in traffic volume you will find an up-to date summary of the most visited cities. It stands to reason that if you try and focus on these cities you are bound to get more visitors.
http://www.google.com/trends?q=Craigslist.org
To apply the above to other websites, simply substitute the extension =Craigslist.org for you desired website. eg =hubpages.com
More Craigslist Tips & Resources
IP's
- Check what IP address your a using online at any given time, but most importantly for craigslist marketing, it is the location of the IP that is the most significant. Make your initial posts in the wrong city and you account will be flagged and you will never post a live ad to that account PERIOD. Once you account, IP, headline, content has been flagged...never try and use it again. Once flagged by the craigslist programs these resources are obsolete.
URL Shorteners
- There are plenty online for you to choose from. Simply google the term. Don't bother trying to use the ones that are known for being popular with internet marketers, like, viralurl, tinyurl, yatu etc...
- Try this one to get you started. Scroll down midway on the screen and you will see a list of "services not reviewed" - these links will take you to external URL shorteners that are less common with online marketers (well maybe until now - the flip side of sharing all your secrets!)
Buying Domain Names
For as little as a couple of dollar's you can purchase a domain name. (consider the cheapest options first) Set your domain up so that it frame redirects to another destination (your website or lead capture page for example). If you choose a unique name that has never been registered before this is better, cause then you know it isn't blacklisted on craigslist yet. This domain will do for craigslist posting for a while until it gets picked up by the bots. It doesn't matter what name you choose, but I wouldn't use words like 'make money' 'internet marketing' ....
Linking To Other Ads
Take the url for an ad you have posted on another website and use that url for your craigslist marketing. Sending people to a video link is another option.
How To Have Your URL Temporarly Whitelisted
So by now you understand a little more about how craigslist works and what types of things will get your ads ghosted.
Great! Let's work the system and use craigslists rules to our advantage.
How? Here is one of my best tips, but it requires a little more investment on your part. If you are already considering purchasing software, auto IP changing cards etc you can digg a little deeper and give your ads a better chance of sticking by adopting this trick.
- Pay for a ad in one of the cities where craigslist is charging per post. Then you have a URL that is listed as safe on the craigslist system at least for the period that your payment covers. The prices vary from city to city so check around and find the cheapest city.
- Using this domain, create multiple sub-domains to use for your bulk posting submissions. Too easy : )
- Just be sure to check that your domain service provider allows unlimited sub-domains at no extra charge to you. If yours doesn't, simple, find one that does and use their service instead.
Comments
If I ever needed to use Craigslist for marketing, this would be my first resource. I'm certain many people will benefit from your highly practical hub.
Thanks freesecrets...always aim to share knowledge & if I can quote from your profile "knowledge is power" and the more people have the stronger they will grow. Best of luck!
Shaye
Ahh Rob you don't know what hair pulling frustration you are missing out on : ) -sar
I appreciate your comment.
Hi Shaye
Thanks for your post about craiglist, very very good info. I've tried to post many times in craiglist, but with little success, but know i'll try again with your tips.
Anyway there's another big problem in craiglist, i've even started a discussion in craiglist forums, it has to do with the "professional" flaggers. I'll explain there are people who go to craiglist and they're flagging just about everything, there are two reasons for it, one is to kick competition out of craiglist, the other is the pure pleasure of kicking ads out, i think those people don't have a Life and they just do that cause they have nothing else to do. One time i was in a forum (not at craiglist) and some people were there admiting that they flagg lots and lots of people everyday just because they want. They gather 3 to 5 friends and they all flag the same ads, then the system automatically removes your ad.
Many craiglist users said that they have contacted to craiglist about this situation, but it seems they don't care.
I guess this has no solution, but i'll try again with your tips Shaye, thank you very much for sharing:)
All the best
Helder
Hi Helder - you have some very valid points and I feel your frustration. People who choose to do that come from another world or something. Where they find the time and why they even care so much is beyond me. All is NOT fair in love & war, right?!
I agree that there is no soloution to the 'group' flagging. Of course CL admin won't do anything about it....they have little soldiers out there to help 'fight the good fight'with them.
Ta
Shaye
Lots of great information here, thanks.
Boy was this hub "johnny on the spot"! I was just going to do some investigating of Craig's List as a marketing source. This was most timely!
Wow! This is very good to know. I did not hear of the site before this so I am going to have to read this, and read it again.
Also, I shared this all over my compamy yahoo group.
Thank you
Marie
I never knew how much a craigslist listing could help marketing, but I definately know now and I plan to use some of your great advice! Thanks!
Shaye, I completely trust you on these topics and you are definitely the kind of person that has good, helpful knowledge. I use Craig's List more than eBay for a number of reasons, but I don't really use either one very much overall. This will help a great deal in the future when I have things to sell. Thanks for another superb hub! Steph
Your welcome Steve : )
Hi PassionatePurpose...what a great name. I am glad the hub has been useful.thanks
Shaye
This is an absolute great read. Never thought about craigslist.
Marie - you are a star. Thanks for sharing this hub with your group, I appreciate it. Having just re-read the hub myself I can see some gramatical error's I didn't pick up the first time round....so just ignore those when you do your re-read - ok? Deal? - lol
Shaye
Your very welcome Wisonskennel.
I blush at your compliments and praise Steph. I am yet to master ebay for marketing - one day when I get some spare time....whats that? Thanks for your comment, it means alot : )
Shaye
Hi Rudra, isn't it funny how the simple ideas are often the least thought of...
Good hub really, but becoming member there is little long process. At the same time retired persons can do this easily but working person will feel little long and will not able to attend all the process properly!
yes it is actually, never crossess the mind. Thumbs up for this one...
Did not know it was such a pain to post on Craigslist!!!
thanks for the info
Jacob
Good information. I have been looking into this for a while and you have pointed out some other good information. There are some really good softwre tools available for posting ads on Crigslist nationwaide but like anything else in life Buyer BEWARE. thanks for all the great information
Shaye,
Very good info, but I don't recall all the signup hubbub when I signed up 10 google emails in one evening - without any phone calls. Is this sign up process you describe new or from before I signed up?
Thanks for the info and the links (IP one was good as my daughter was just asking about IP earlier tonite and I had no clue).
Alex
MoreMoneyBetterLife.com
CraigsList marketing is actually next on my list. thank you for all the great and useful tips for success.
@healwell51 - yes you are right, it does take alot of time and patience with craigslist. It's definately not my favorite site as far as time efficency goes as I run around after 3 kids all day : )
@ 22jakes22 - yes it is a pain cause as soon as you have a working strategy the rules change on you.
@ titan2k5 - well said. Definately buyer beware. My advice when paying for new marketing campaigns is to test small. No matter what the sales copy is telling you about how much money you can save by purchasing the bigger package! Start small & if it works, only then spend more.
@Alexi - as far as I know the phone verification is very new. I am not too sure what you mean about the google accounts. I have always used new accounts when the old ones get flagged. I prepare for the inevitable flagging by having the accounts ready to go as and when required. I hope that is what you meant ; ) thanks for commenting.
@D.Jackson - very glad you found it useful and I will try and keep this as up to date as I can as I learn more about new techniques.
Cheers everyone & have a great weekend
Shaye
Thankyou for all of the great info, I have been trying to get going with them for a while, but it has not been working, it should now.
Nice one cowgirljess, thanks for commenting. Hopefully with all the extra info and options you will starting getting those ads to stick.
This is a great hub - very informative and helpful - probably the best hub I have seen on this topic. I have never used craigslist - but if I do I will follow your suggestions.
Thanks Glycodoc appreciate it - I tried to cram in as much information in as I could.
I noticed some of the other craigslist hubs were more like ads rather than information sources.
Hi, HTH!
I do have a question, though. If they are so intent to keep internet marketers out and even added it to their terms of service, why would anyone want to sneak through that system? Just curious about that because I know the problems they have here at HP trying to keep a clean site with quality work here. Those that want to post their unwanted hubs here that are nothing more than ads can repost these same hubs "just above legal" for the TOS and get them listed. But that doesn't mean that they are useful hubs. I know that Craigs list is an ad site. However, isn't it their choice as to what kind of ads they want to post? Just wondering about that and why anyone would want to go through so much trouble to post ads on a site that didn't want your ads there lol.
Bonnie
^^^Excellent points Bonnie Ramsey^^^
Hi, I didn't like this hub at all. I'm a frequent craigslist user (Bay Area Resident) and it's really frustrating that there are so many people trying to squeeze the tiny website for cash. It's clearly not intended to be your marketing tool, that is why you're having so much trouble using it as such. Craigslist users are not paying attention to your advertisements.
They are there for the 'locality specific classified advertising' as you very accurately put it. If you're not selling a bed in my neighborhood, or a bike in San Francisco, I probably have no reason to ever stumble upon your ad. I only read classified ads with things that I'm interested in buying. This involves finding transportation to that persons house, paying them cash for said item, and getting it back home. Or in some cases I take ride shares to places that people are already going and want to split the gas price with another passenger, for obvious reasons. And I look for jobs on it, every single day even when I'm working. There's always a better gig out there.
What I don't get on craigslist to do is follow links outside of craigslist, or read a bunch of garbage about your blog or whatever other service you're trying to offer. I don't even have an account with the site, and I use it every day.
Anyway, I think it's pretty ridiculous to encourage people to try to do their marketing on craigslist. It's offensive to me as a craigslist user, and it's just not going to get your site very much real traffic at all. Nobody on craigslist cares about your spam, and you're wasting your time and money for just a few clicks, or so it would appear to me. No offense or anything, I just think it's a waste of your time and mine, and it's costly to craigslist to have to host all your ads , accounts, and provide bandwidth (albeit they are very tiny text-based webpages, I doubt it costs them much)
@ Hi Bonnie, thanks for your comments, Unfortunely I had to fliter another comment that was of the same point of view as you, however they were not able to express themselves is a constructive way as you were. I don't really have an answer for you bonnie. I guess I justify it to myself by knowing that my intentions are good even if my actions are wrong.
I do try my best to contribute online in a constructive and positive way, and when I write at hubpages my only aim is to provide quantity and quality infomation on my topic of choice.
@ Johno thanks for sharing your experiences as a user of the site. I think you've just about covered it all there.
Very informative article and now we all know how to use Craigslist properly. Thanks for the research.
Very Impressive help my friend - I've had some success with Craigs list in the past, now all of a sudden no luck getting posted ads - guess I have been black listed.
Thanks for the tips - very good stuff!
Thanks Sweetiepie - Perhaps I should have called this hub 'how to get around the rules on craigslist' - as it has been pointed out in other comments, this is all about how to NOT use it properly! lol
I guess you can't keep everyone happy, but I am glad you liked it.
Yes Neil, I would say that is the case. Either your account or url have been flagged - more than likely both have been! Use the tips above hopefully you can to try and test for these flagging aspects, otherwise you may need to draw up a new plan.
Nice Hub which part of Australia are your from Im from Western Australia .
Very nice hub, good tips about craigslist posting. I was wondering if it is equally difficult to post on www.kijiji.com and www.khrido.com I have had very little success with these also.
Thanks for the Hub. I was thinking about craigslist but I do not think it is worth the trouble.
HTH,
Thanks for allowing my comments. I didn't mean to sound critical. It really was a legitimate question and not meant as a personal attack on your intentions. I have read your other hubs and I have no doubt that your heart is in the right place with this hub. I apologize if it seemed that I was meaning anything personal against you. I was just curious as to the people who would go through this much trouble to post on a site they aren't welcome. I am in MLM/NM as well as internet marketing myself so that is why I am curious to the need for these extremes. Hope you can understand my curiosity on the issue.
Bonnie
@ Mulder - thanks very much. I am in the NT : ) It's good to find another aussie here....there is not too many of us. I might have to become your fan just to support the green and gold!
@ Kam k - your welcome. From what I can tell with the sites you've asked about...IP and ad content is the most important. I would recommend similar steps to CL, this is what I do & it works pretty well.- make gmail accounts- clear cookies, history etc- change ip if needed & check location of same- register your ac (register in same city as ip is best, however not essential on k&k.com as far as I can tell)- never repeat the same ad twice and don't post twice from the same account in the same catagory/city
http://hubpages.com/hub/best-way-to-change-your-co
my ads last for the whole term, but more often than not they are flagged after a couple of days.For me khrido.com doesn't get enough traffic for my liking. I have a strict time limit for ad posting & that translates to having specific criteria - that's not to say it's not going to work though.
@ Magriet - I am hearing you! Many feel the same way & CL & the users appreciate it : )
@ Bonnie - that's ok Bonnie. I didn't find your comments offensive. As I said there was another that was not so kind with stuff like "just want to make a buck" - "what gives you the right" that kind of stuff it wasn't nice or productive so I deleted it.So as to why the need for the extreme measures? CL is good at keeping IM'ers off the site, that's the only reason it's so hard. So why do it? It's free quality advertising - pure and simple. To most IM'ers craiglist is the big fish and everyone wants to catch it! At the end of the day we all have opinions & thoughts & I respect yours as I do everyone else's. Ya know I think I'd make a terrible used car sales man cause the reason I got offensive is cause you made me stop and question my values. hugs to you.. 0 0
Shaye : )
Yeah go the green and gold Ha Ha
I tried posted an ad to craiglist, it had nothing to do with internet marketing,.but it's gone the next day.
That's doesn't sound right/fair Genuine H....perhaphs there is some information on the craigslist forum that can help? Not too sure. The only thing I can suggest is that your ip is not located at your physical location?
very nice post!!!
Thanks for the info here. I just started using craigslist and I get a huge chunk of traffic from it every day.
Good tips. Thanks.
Appreciate your comment guidebaba
Great. Very good to know. Good info.
This is superb post i really love it, but can you tell me if someone from outside the US can post on craiglist, i am in Africa?
Yes you can, however you will find that if you can not register a US account using US phone numbers, posts to US cities will most likely be flagged and ghosted. While a majority of the craigslist traffic goes to the US citites, if you post your main keyword/s in your headline, the listing will be indexed on the search engines pretty quickly...so you can still get US traffic from the SE listings and country specific from your craigslist ads. Hope that helps
Shaye
Hey I do post on craigslist and these are most of the tactics I use to do it. I really can say that the writer knows their stuff and you would do well to listen to the advice if you are thinking about using CL. There was a couple tips I even found useful such as actually using alexa to check for the most traffic. Good stuff!
You've posted some really great suggestions for people who want to play Craigslist. I've posted there for years but not to the degree that I've had an account suspended although a former boss of mine did.
A couple of years ago I got away with posting affiliate links in the job section for a freelance writer site I was promoting. I was pretty successful with it. A guy saw what I was doing and copied it in fact. I didn't cloak or redirect anything-just listed the site with a typical aff. link. It was a month or two after that, that Craigslist started cracking down on aff. links. I like to think I had a little somethng to do with it. LOL.
What is your view of autoposting software such as Ad Bomber? I think it says in the Craigslist "terms" that you can use it if you get permission or did I misinterpret it?
Have you used it with success?
Very nice Hub with lots of good info. I've used CL in the past for selling different items and had very good luck with it. My daughter keeps an on-going ad there for her Wilton cake classes and has had some response.
It's like anything else, if you try to abuse it, you'll get hurt in the long run. Follow the rules (and some of your suggestions) and everything should work out fine.
i love this hub. I think I will refer to it! You have all the details here girl. This will be very helpful to my team and I just wanted to give you a thumbs up and a Kudos comment :). I love your HUBS!
This is very interesting. I will have to read it several times to get the full benefit out of it.
Barb
@ - patnet autoposters all have their ups and downs. I am yet to find a product that I am 100% happy with. While I try not to recommend specific products unless I can say for sure that they work, I do know a couple that are worth paying for : ) email me if you want the details.I have no personal experience with AdBomber so can not give an opinion on that particular product.
@Ruthie17 thank you for your balanced opinion. While being 'agressive' on craigslist is not for everyone, I know that there is some helpful information here for almost everyone.
@myhappylaptop - so love getting your comments. Thanks for sharing this with your team.
@iloveearningcash - yeah I can understand the need for a re-read. When I first started learning about craigslist posting I figured I'd know it all in a couple of days, but truth be told it was more like a couple of months
: )
Shaye
Really thorough and comprehensive--lots of stuff here I didn't know. Great job and thanks:-)
Craigslist is a much more important tool than many give it credit for. Thanks!
@ robie2 - thanks for that - it's a long hub but it had to be, there is alot to learn for craigslist marketing.
@02SmithA - I do agree with you. While some people argue that traffic generated by craigslist is junk traffic, I think that's rubbish. If you have written an ad or posted an image ad designed to reach your target market and someone in that group clicks to your website, that's 'targeted' to me!
hi thank you thank you! i changed from dealup to att usb modem month ago then flagging started heavy. i had no clue. i need more numbers only have cell phone. i thought i heard theres free numbers you can get? thought go phone maybe? is there time limit to entering code after its sent to a pohone number? i advertize my self not web page so i want my ads be consistent but different so i dont post sa
No worries - that would have been the cause of your sudden flagging problems. As far as more numbers? I dunno - I'm all tapped out.....the list in the hub was the best I could come up with : ) I am not sure about the delay period - I'll see what I can find out. If you want to have consistant ads but mix it up a bit perhaps you can use a rotator? I am not too sure what your mean when you say you are advertising yourself...so sorry if that was way off mark. gl
Shaye
Great Hub you have here :) please read my new hub about getting free online car quotes...
Thanks very much for leaving a comment Free Car Quotes.
Thanks for sharing these valuable Craiglist secrets How To Hub.
Your posts are amazing.
Mia
Thumbs Up!
No worries Mia, thanks for such a great compliment! : )
Bookmark for later use. Thanks for sharing. C.S.
Thanks CS...use it well : ) Hope you find the time to make it back... I know how life gets busy! Take care & I apprecaite your comment
Shaye
This might come in handy when I finish my book and want to publish it at a later time. I, too, have bookmarked it. It seems like a lot of work though just to get one ad up. I don't know if I have that much time on my hands!
Thanks Lady Guinevere - craigslist is not for the faint hearted or the time poor that's for sure! Be sure to let us know when you publish your book : )
All the best
Shaye
The How To Hob,
I am writing chapters on hub pages. The Title is "Whispers From OZ". Come join my hub and you can read them there. I just found some old pictures and learned how to use my new scanner machine and posted them up. I am working on chapter 4 right now, but am no where near finished.
Ok I'll go check it out : ) Work in progress right?!
I got all I need to know here.thank you so much.
Fantastic! I am glad it has been useful.
I have not liked Craiglist up to this point, since this has been so informative, I just may have to try it again!!!! Thanks for all the great tips!
Not a problem K, ya know I have come to detest the time craigslist takes to keep on top of all the changes : )
I hope this helps and you see some good results.
The info was very helpful. I was thinking of advertising on Craig's list and this is the stuff I needed to know.
T. A. Northburg
thanks for the info. I want to use craigslist and you have just made it easier.
@ T.A. I am happy to read your feedback and know that you understand what you are in for : ) Craigslist frustrated me so much until I took the time to learn more.
@ ajcor glad I could help you out. All the best with your craigslist posting!
Thanks for sharing this! I really had a hard time using craiglist. But this might be the answer for my frustration. Thumbs up! :)
Drop by at my hub when you have time.
warmly,beth
I think you chose a hot topic, many people use craigslist to find items, jobs, etc. I found hubpages that way, I answered an ad someone posted under writing gigs. Advertising on craigslist is in my opinion is only going to grow bigger, the more people find out about it.
I would say to all the other hubbers that your hub--aside from the subject matter is a good template to use for " How to write a informative, explainatory, instructive, hub that gets people talking"
The other thing I like about this hub is that it is written in a way that showcases your actual experience, with you sharing your personal hands on knowledge is what makes this hub stand out from the rest. Its easy to summerize information that has already been reviewed, but to write a tutorial on how to do something that one has personally done, takes skill, Which I feel you have accomplished.
Great work, thanks for providing the useful hub.
Thanks for all the info.
Great tutorial. I have had good and bad luck with Craigslist. In my experience, sports tickets and rentals have produced the best results.
@ beth - craigslist is not at all what I thought it was going to be....but persist and you will see results.
@ research analyst - thanks for the fantastic feedback : )
@ spacebull - appreciate you stopping by
@RyanRE - thanks!
I thank you for putting this info together. It has helped me to understand where I am going wrong with my posts sticking. I had a good start for about a week, where the ads I initially posted remained. Lately, I haven't been able to have them to stick. In addition to formatting some fresher ads, I also need some more redirect urls.
Question: Can I post from the same account while changing my ip address? Can that work instead of having multiple accounts from which to posy? Or do I have to have the multiple accounts in order to have a greater chance of being able to post?
Feel free to respond to girlfriday8767@yahoo.com
how do i close a cl account that i cant post on,the account isnt doing me no good if i cant use it,when i try to post it says i need to phone authicate,i am not giveing my phone# plz help me
I have had so much difficulty getting my ads on craigslist but will surely try ur tips out.however do u know of anyother site dat re similar to craigslist that would help as well.
HTH - do you know if craigslist can filter out an ad based on if its coming from a proxy ip? recently, on brand new never used accounts my ads are being ghosthed whenever they originate from a a proxy ip.
do you know of any companies that do bulk posting on cl?
thanks.
Wish I would have read this before I got banned. Now to figure out how to change my IP. I tried using TOR and it failed to get me past the CL police force.
GREAT SOURCE OF INFORMATION BUT WORTHLESS SINCE CAN'T BE PRINTED OUT FOR REFERENCE, WHO HAS TIME TO STARE AT A SCREEN THAT MUCH !
Kills me how people freak out at the dreaded SPAM! Watch TV, commercials are spam, drive, billboards are spam, read newspaper, ads are smap, its just commercials, our economy depends on them. Think of the net with no advertising at all, no Google, no Yahoo, it would all look just like Craiglist.
Hello is there a program where you can post in every city state and country at once?
I attempted to post in multiple cities/ares with the same ad, using different e-mail addresses. It appears that I have been flagged, as I can not post to these same cities with ANY e-mail address, including brand new ones. Do you think my IP address has been flagged? If so, how can I change my IP address? I obtain my IP address dynamically, from Comcast. I can release and renew, but it appears that I get the same IP address. Plus, I can not release my wireless IP from my Netghear wireless router.
Any suggestions?
Thank you so much!
I wouldn't release and re-new. That won't help you out at all cause are you going to do it all over again the next time you get flagged? That would be in the 'too hard' basket for me :)
I too have wireless so have found that the best option for me is to use a program that changes my ip to random ones, but still allows me to choose the country. You can do a trial demo of this program for 30 days and see if you like it?
Try this site to locate address map's
Otherwise there are other similar options if you want to look around. Hopefully that will help you out and get you back up on craigslist.
Thanks for all your advice!! I would also like some suggestions for auto posting programs if you would please email me at alligator2708@yahoo.com
Thanks!
Ross
Very Informative and a great post - Do you know how to post hyperlinks on crag list. Meaning if I am able to post my website address and when the visitor click on the add my website open up in the same or different window ? My email address is waqar@theremodelcompany.com
Nice Article. Would like to use Craigslist but dont want to waste time and money.
Hi waqar - sure, I can send you the code.
Fair enough wildstuff, it does take alot of time to get a handle on all the craigslist posting rules.
I need someone that can post ads on craigslist for many city regulary for many months. Basically, craiglist will prohibit any non local ads. If someone live in Australia and post ads in USA, this ads will be deleted. So I need someone that can post a non local ads in many city and the posted ads must not be deleted.
Best of luck with your search Jack.
This was so great!! Thank you...I love you...I want to marry you...well, but I am a girl, and I am already married... But this helped me so much. I just could not figure out how to post an image. Now I know so THANKS again.
lol nancy :) Thanks for the laugh.
Wow, great hub and smile. Keep up the good work.
How To Post On Craigslist
This article is very helpful to me
Wow!!! Best Craiglist article I've ever seen! Great job!
I appreciate all your comments, they help me improve my writing and encourage me to keep on going ;)
There are categories to post free ads on graiglist. Like business but other categories like real estate ads are purchased in single ads or blocks. This is how graislist is maintained. Ads are free in other categories but you must post only what is intended for that specific category. Like pets you post pets not laptops or TV. That would be considered spam! Any over post is considered spam and will be flagged buy existing users or staff. Companies that over post in all categories are spammers and if you like using graigsist they become very annoying. Although I find your post very informative I use graiglsit everyday as a valuable resource to find deals and business ideas. But by you teaching people how to spam graigslist it only makes graiglist less attractive. We could all do without all that spam in our mail box and you have to admitt it is pretty annoying.
Great, very helpful information, i use these tricks, i also give away a free e-book on this topic called Craigslist exposed at my website, some people charge for this book i give it away as a thank you for visiting my site.
How To Post On Craigslist
very good, I support you, come on , welcome to my hub!
@ Patrick - categories is pretty important when you want to post on craigslist, I do agree. Choosing a category that suits your ad is important when posting. While to main intent of my hubpage was to share information on how to post on craigslist - how people choose to use that information is up to them. Some of the feedback I've had by comments and emails was to tell me about how people trying to sell everyday household items, like secondhand furniture, have their ads flagged! Despite posting just one ad in the right category their ads disappeared. This would be an example of the auto spam filter going too far & someone like that would find my information very helpful.
@ Jeremiah - that's great of you to share information for free, thumbs up.
@ontheway - thanks...will do :)
Except for a couple of locations, Craigslist is no longer worth the hassle for me. It's such a PITA that I've turned to another free classified service.
I can appreciate where you are coming from Sallie! It certainly can be a pain .... :) I guess at the end of the day when you weigh up the time and effort v's results you simply have to do what's best for you. Thanks for stopping by and leaving a comment.
What are you doing man? Im trying make a living here and you're giving out all the secrets! JK, this is great information here for anyone interested in CL posting. This must have taken you quite awhile to put together! Thanks!
YOUR HUB IS EXCELLENT! COULD YOU PLEASE SUGGEST SOME GOOD CRAIGS LIST AUTO POSTERS AND EMAIL TO ME AT NORM123@SHAW.CA
@ craigslist posting - lol ;) I spent alot of time banging my head against the brick wall with craigslist before I realised there was alot more too it than simply creating ads & posting away. After months of learning, testing and re-testing it started to come together.
@ norm - thanks for taking the time to leave your thoughts. Will see what I can put together for you.
I know of several job listing sites where there are people who will pay people to post on craigslist for the. I have been considering doing this to earn a little extra money, thinking "how hard could it be". Before I did this I wanted to do a little research into craigslist. With your extremely helpful hints I think I can pull this off. Thank your for sharing this info with everyone. I am going to re-read it several times and learn your techniques. I am also going to share this info with some friends who get frustrated with trying to post on craigslist.
Again MUCHO thanks for this!!!!
crafty-d
@ Mohammad Afaq & @ cratfy-d Your comments are appreciated. Thanks for taking the time.
I am looking for some software to assist in my Craigs List market. Any idea's????
Thanks
Chris - If you need a CL posting tool go to www.troopal.com that is what I use it works well.
Absolutely great hub, Step by step and to the point. As you pointed out it's not and exact science and like everything has its bumps. Just keep plugging along and you will find success!
Thanks Gary Rust - Pura Vida!
hey buddy tnx
i was searching and i got your post its really amazing and very good
Hello,
Can I post in CL from other city that cl support(450)?
i got already my bussiness this page contain a lot of information! is true but you need experience on it craigslist is very sensitive...and you need to know and learn some tips ...you dont need to invest for the software when you start this bussines..you can do manually until 100 posts daily ,once u get u people they willl pay for the software...if anyone wants my service as poster on craigslist let me know ;)also im selling a guide for the complete set up for make this job..contact to:info@advertiseposter.com no phone calls for the guide...check my website www.advertiseposter.com
I TRIED POSTING AN ADS ON CRAIGSLIST BUT IT DOESNT SHOW THERE.....CANT I POST FROM OUTSIDE US?????????? IS THERE ANY IP CHANGER I CAN USE TO BE ABLE TO POST ON CL...PLEASE ANYONE WITH PROXY OR IP CHANGER SHOULD GIVE ME, I NEED MY BUSINESS TO GROW...YOU CAN EMAIL ME TO :timsigler101@gmail.com
Not all ads on Craigslist are free, and it doesn't just operate as a .org, .net and .com also work.
wonderful detailed information, which is really helpful.
With a account I have posted an Ad and it is showing but with the same account when I posted another Ad it doesn't show me....Why???
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Great post. I am also using very similar technique to post ads on craigslist for my website prundo.com. So far I have not been blacklisted!
i TRIED POSTING AN ADS ON CRAIGSLIST BUT IT DOESNT SHOW THERE.....wat m do please guide me whats is rite procedure to post ads on craiglist
craglist posting great i was searching for tips its really glad for this
Great article. It is a pain in the butt posting ads on Craigslist. Also there are so many competitors on there flagging your ad. I left Craigslist alone for awhile and started back up using them yesterday.
It's very helpful
Very well written hub .....
very much informative ......
Thank you very much for your great hub, for good advice, good wishes and support. Thanks for sharing your experience with all of us.
I'm put off by the lack of editing on this page. I didn't finish because it took too much work to understand the poor writing.
Great hub!!! I have been thinking about using Criagslist, but I am broke and unemployed, so I think I will wait a long while before I try to tackle it.
hello hubpages, i like what am seeing, it has really helped me alot on craigslist. i want to ask you if i can add your site to my website so as to tell more people about this useful information. i deal with the sales of "MAKING MONEY (INCOME) ONLINE E-BOOKS" . And people are really gaining from it. so i want to do everything possible to help my clients.
My URL is http://wwwfbcincorps.com
info@fbcincorps.com
I was Watching the online software that is selling, that allows you to change ip every 2ndpost random ad selection etc does anyone have that
What is your advice for changing IP address's? I'm in the US. I'm advertising rentals. CL is the go to place if you're looking for a rental in my area. I've had some ads flagged off, some ads ghost and some post. I'm not a techie. Thanks
I post daily 5 totally different ads from one account (email and phone number)and then post to another area of the state with a different account 5 more different ads. I just keep changing them so the exact same ad does not post any closer then every 10 days. I have NEVER been flagged or ghosted. Is that because my ads are so generic?
nmuldowney@vandykgroup.com
Thank you for this very detailed write-up.
I followed your advice for creating a redirect on Blogspot and I received an error telling me that the specific code I used is not permitted.
For those who need help changing their ip addresses without a lot of drama try this article: http://www.overclock.net/faqs/122708-how-change-yo
It details how to change your ip with a linksys router. I have done it more than a dozen times already, so I know it works. Always check your ip address before and after to make sure the change occurred.
Good luck.
looking for free single/double axle trailer; For moving trash/junk clean/up details.
how do you post image ads on craigslist and not just words
Here I thought CL was for meeting transsexuals and cross-dressers for secret romantic rendezvous at the truck stop or "whores" too unsuccessful to afford real advertising or hiring a babysitter who would beat the crap out of my kids!
Craigslist doesn't hate marketers. They are a classifieds site. The type of content people are trying to post on Craigslist in the name of "marketing" is simply not classifieds.
If you have people coming to your site and trying to constantly comment and post non related items you might be unhappy about it too.
I use Craigslist to sell things I don't want locally. And it's a shame, but I nearly almost always just get scam replies. The Nigerians are still scamming on Craigslist, tons of direct mail spams from supposed "affiliate marketers".
You really have to question the ethics of people who continually violate personal rights and privileges in the name of profit.
You don't have to do any tricks or gimmicks to post ethically on Craigslist.
Very thorough, informative and valuable. I am using your suggestions in posting real estate services and it works!
I read this and wanted more information about this. The only post that craigslist charge are NY real estate, job postings and adult ads. I'm just selling classified stuff.
Is there a catagory that requires payment for this area?
what did you mean by this below?
Using this domain, create multiple sub-domains to use for your bulk posting submissions. Too easy : )
* Pay for a ad in one of the cities where craigslist is charging per post. Then you have a URL that is listed as safe on the craigslist system at least for the period that your payment covers. The prices vary from city to city so check around and find the cheapest city.
* Using this domain, create multiple sub-domains to use for your bulk posting submissions. Too easy : )
* Just be sure to check that your domain service provider allows unlimited sub-domains at no extra charge to you. If yours doesn't, simple, find one that does and use their service instead.
Thank you so much for sharing your practical experiences with us. The article is very informative. I appreciate it.
freesecrets says:
18 months ago
Very informative! I have to admit Craiglist is not one of my favorites no matter how much success people have on it, just like ebay but armed with so much info - I just might have toexplore :)
Cheers