Craigslist Marketing Doesn't Work? I have to disagree...

jsatek said:
I just posted an IT job opening I had on Craigslist, The job paid $200k total comp and I got REAL resumes and REAL people from it. I may hire one of the candidates from the ad.





My brother-in-law is listing his house for sale for $819k in Fairfield, no broker...







Maybe things are changing as Craigslist matures?
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CL lists more cars for sale than any site in the world. Thus, there are many many people looking for automotive services there.



Because listing is free, there are a lot of flea market service providers there. They're easy to spot: poor grammar, no pictures, no logo...sometimes the business has no name!



Post a well written ad with many pictures, a logo, and prices and you will get business. Be sure to post your ad to the top daily.



Although in-person sales at body shops, car dealerships, car clubs, and repair shops are still a necessary part of your marketing, you simply can't beat the return you get from CL for a few keystrokes each morning.
 
AppliedColors said:
Be sure to post your ad to the top daily.
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I use CL to advertise and get alot of clients and hits on my website thanks to it.



But in my opinion reposting every day reeks of desparation. Once I'm off the first page or a week has passed, then I repost. To each their own.
 
About 2 weeks ago I posted my first ad on Craigslist on a Thursday night. It was nothing fancy - no pictures, but I did put a link to my site. On the following Monday, I got a call from a lady that raised a lot of red flags (various things she said on the phone) with me (I almost bailed on the detail), but once I met her in person, and did the detail, everything went fine. She even gave me a referral since then. I think she will be a good, long term customer. She did not try to bargain shop with me at all - she paid my asking price, with no issues.



I have since reposted my ad, and haven't gotten any more bites yet. For me, I don't depend on getting many clients this way - most of mine come from local cruise ins and car shows and from word of mouth, but I still wouldn't mind getting a couple here and there from places like Craigslist.
 
how do you guys do to repost everyday?

I tryed (after two days) cut and past my old thread and CL would not let me because "a similar thread as been started recently ..."
 
dbesins said:
how do you guys do to repost everyday?

I tryed (after two days) cut and past my old thread and CL would not let me because "a similar thread as been started recently ..."
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First, you need an account on Craigslist. Once you have an account, you can see your previous listings and repost them if you want.



To have your ad on the top every day, you need to go to your account summary and delete the current listing. After it is deleted, click the repost button and it will be on the 1st page. You need to do this every day though...
 
RickRack said:
First, you need an account on Craigslist. Once you have an account, you can see your previous listings and repost them if you want.



To have your ad on the top every day, you need to go to your account summary and delete the current listing. After it is deleted, click the repost button and it will be on the 1st page. You need to do this every day though...
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Did they discontinue that? If not, I have been doing things the hard way....
 
me too! Thanks Ryan.

Holden C04: THANKS after reading your post I put an add on CL and... two hours later I booked a wash and wax. Just came back from the job and it was a nice 07 tundra silver got $90+(10 tip) the owner was nice.

I was surprised how the customer was 30 didn't seem so rich but really care about is car and knows that $100 for a full detail is BS and he askes me how often do I need to come and wash+wax I told him every month would be fine, so he s probably going to become a regular!

Thanks again!
 
dbesins said:
me too! Thanks Ryan.

Holden C04: THANKS after reading your post I put an add on CL and... two hours later I booked a wash and wax. Just came back from the job and it was a nice 07 tundra silver got $90+(10 tip) the owner was nice.

I was surprised how the customer was 30 didn't seem so rich but really care about is car and knows that $100 for a full detail is BS and he askes me how often do I need to come and wash+wax I told him every month would be fine, so he s probably going to become a regular!

Thanks again!
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That's great! :D
 
I too have a listing on Craigs List. I have picked up at least 5 detail client's. @ who have become regulars. It's FREE,and I don't know about anyone else. FREE advertising is hard to beat!
 
Well I target the client that wants my services,no matter how they find out about the service that you privide,if you get business because of an ad. That's GOOD to me. I don't know if anyone has checked the prices for a web page lately,but it's not cheap. Neither is advertising period. Besides Craigs List, there are a slew of free ad sites. Localads.com Free ads.com. Magicyellow.com gauto.com I'm sure there are more.
 
So far, I've run about a week with this advertisement: ★Why Settle For Less★ Concourse Detailing Services★See Picture



I've been contacted by three people, one of them was from eBay's Kijiji.



First contact was within five minutes of posting the ad. Client had a 2004 Audi A6 2.7 lease return. It was involved in a minor accident, resulting in scratches on the bumper. Client gave a false description over the phone and the damage was much worse and could not be fixed with a simple touch up (did not want to risk it). Informed the client that he should contact me when he returned from his vacation and purchased his new vehicle so that I could perform a new car prep.



Second contact was a few days later on Kijiji. The prospective client emailed me with a request. He wanted to know how much it would be to wetsand his 1967 Impala SS convertible which had just been returned to him from the body shop. He wanted to know how much it would be to colour sand out the imperfections and orange peel. I informed him of the risks and that he might prefer a simple paint correction which is less expensive. After that, I gave him a rough estimate of what that type of job might start around. After waiting a few days, I contacted him again but it was to no avail. He probably thought it was a $200 job.



Third client had a 1998 Honda Accord which he wished to sell. It had some scratches but, from his description, they could be at least improved, if not removed. I gave him a rough estimate of what it would cost and that I would charge hourly. Although I pushed for an appointment, the client was unwilling to set one and told me (promised) he would contact me the next day. Haven't heard back yet.



I'm not surprised, though. If anything, 'I will call you back,' is simply code for I'm never going to call back.
 
I'm not disappointed at all, though. Not every call is going to result in a sale. Three calls in one week isn't that bad for a Craigslist ad, I think. I believe once I have a nice, Dreamweaver-designed html ad, the calls will go up substantially.
 
zoomzoom mazda5 said:
All i got was calls for 50.00 dollar full detail's. My washes start at that price.
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A quality ad will attract a quality buyer. None of these people offered me $100. They knew I performed high quality services. That's half the battle, right there.
 
Holden_C04 said:
A quality ad will attract a quality buyer. None of these people offered me $100. They knew I performed high quality services. That's half the battle, right there.
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+1



As long as your ad looks professional and lists your prices the customer should have no doubt that they can or cannot afford it, or that you are or aren't the right service provider for them.



Just looking at my local CL, there may be 2-3 ads from separate detailers directly surrounding mine. They are '***CHEAP WAX/DETAIL***' and 'Lowest Automotive Detail In Town'- we are obviously going after a different demographic. They aren't hurting me and vice versa.



If you don't pull any clients from CL, or the callers only want to spend $100 or $150- maybe you need to create a package for that market and capitalize. While my specialty is correction, I do offer more affordable packages at $100, $150, and $200 that are 1.5-3.5 hours respectively.
 
Update



Client two returned my call and set up an appointment for Tuesday. He's working within a budget but it wasn't unreasonable at all.
 
Holden_C04 said:
Update



Client two returned my call and set up an appointment for Tuesday. He's working within a budget but it wasn't unreasonable at all.
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Thanks for the update. Great to hear that you got some results.
 
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