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

I used some of the tips and advice in this thread to post my own listing last week and since have had a few calls. Two were price shopping and one made a solid appointment for this week on his '06 BMW.



I don't care what anyone else says about CL, but for $0 invested and a couple hours of my time even one job makes it worth it.



I'm still surprised how many local "professional detailers" advertise their works there with ads like ...

Car detailing at its best. "Take it to the Extreme" Extreme Clean is where its at. You want a great job at detailing? Than you better call the best in the business Extreme Clean (***) ***-**** Call now and save mention this ad and we'll give you 10% off. So call now and save!
Click to expand...

(Copy/pasted directly from my region)



Call him! He's EXTREME!
 
todd@bsaw said:
Call him! He's EXTREME!
Click to expand...



That's an ad that can be used as a good example of how not to do it... it's all about him.



When writing ad ad, imagine yourself as the customer. What are YOU looking for?



- Quality

- Convenience

- References

- Price



Price should ALWAYS be the last thing mentioned... if mentioned at all. If you want to get cheap customers who beat you down on price, then go ahead and mention prices and discounts. If you want Ferrari, Porsche, Jag, Vette, Benz... owners, then write the ad for these people. BTW, CL is so popular with Google, that I have seen new ads get picked up and indexed in a matter of hours.
 
DavidB said:
That's an ad that can be used as a good example of how not to do it... it's all about him.



When writing ad ad, imagine yourself as the customer. What are YOU looking for?



- Quality

- Convenience

- References

- Price



Price should ALWAYS be the last thing mentioned... if mentioned at all. If you want to get cheap customers who beat you down on price, then go ahead and mention prices and discounts. If you want Ferrari, Porsche, Jag, Vette, Benz... owners, then write the ad for these people. BTW, CL is so popular with Google, that I have seen new ads get picked up and indexed in a matter of hours.
Click to expand...



Great advice, DB. I've taken a lot of that into consideration writing my own ads as well as some help from friends that are in advertising. My main listing is a .gif image that looks very top end and professional (I took some formating from an example you posted once, actually).



As far as CL getting Google hits, does that mean 'buzz words' will help it hit the Google search engines? Should I post my image ad with a lot of indexed phrasing typed in the actual ad to bring attention to search engines?
 
todd@bsaw said:
As far as CL getting Google hits, does that mean 'buzz words' will help it hit the Google search engines? Should I post my image ad with a lot of indexed phrasing typed in the actual ad to bring attention to search engines?
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Yes! That has been my whole point all along is that you can actually get double exposure (CL and Google) if you write a good ad. (I guess I must have bad English skills!) The secret is to put "spam" information in an image that the CL ad checker can't see and put great keyword info in text.



I did a Google search for car detailers in San Diego and found this:



2008 Best of San Diego Award Winners! Auto Detailing "The SoCal Way!"



Look at the way this guy educates and then solves the customer's problem (time, convenience). This is a good ad that could be made a little better with the help of a small graphic with his biz name, email, web address and phone number.



Take note of this ad, people, because it got Google's attention and it was posted TODAY!



db
 
I keep stealing your titles, LOL!



The 'High End' one snagged me 3 trucks, 1 motorcycle and 2 RVs. Looks great next to the other guys advertising 'Cheap WAX!!!1'
 
JonP said:
Just a little list of Craigslist alternatives in case any of you would like to expand your free advertising.



US Free ADs

Locanto

Adoos

Google Base

ListSomething

edgeio

Gumtree

backpage

Kijiji by eBay

iNETGiant

HandyList

oodle

Classifieds For Free

Domestic Sale

Recycler

Hoobly

Ad Post

AD Land Pro

MySpace Classifieds

WebLeeg

Merchant Circle



How to Use Craigslist and other Alternative Classifieds to Make Money Online
Click to expand...





Thanks for the list!!:up



I have used craigslist and backpage as the basis for my advertising in Atlanta. It has been inconsistent, but I have got work. I get more work out of google search, though. Craigslist people are looking for low price, as I have lost more than a couple of jobs to a cheap competitor.
 
I put an add up about 4 days ago on a free advertising service website. Today I got my first call. The gentleman is looking for paint correction, polishing and some steam cleaning.



He had a lot of questions that could only be answered in-person. I told him I'd love to give him an answer over the phone but I wouldn't be doing him right. I said my minimum for looking at a car is $25, to cover expenses. He's happy to pay the minimum, and we are on for Friday.



I left no room for misunderstanding in how expensive my services are.
 
GoogleScreenCapture.jpg
 
Oh, and I forgot to mention that a client was booked in today with an RX330 (Black) for a full multi-step correction. It should take me an entire day to finish.
 
a perfected car ready to win awards at car shows....whats the point to your post efnfast?



Holden, that just proves CL does work, and that by hitting key words, google picks up on it and it WORKS!!!
 
Yeah, probably not an abrasive polish or just slightly abrasive at the best.



I offer a similiar package + clay and AIO via PC for $110, but that is for a clean mini cooper sized car. Unfortunately the area I'm in plays a big role in that price.
 
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