How To Post
On Craigslist?
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.
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.
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.
_____________________________________________
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
_____________________________________________________
Do Your Homework Before You Post
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.
http://www.ip-adress.com/
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!)
http://notlong.com/links/
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.
Refference:
http://hubpages.com/hub/How-To-Post-On-Craigslist
