How to Make Money From Craigslist Advertising

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Making Money on Craigslist

I made money on Craigslist in two very different ways. When I decided to expand my photography portfolio from corporate work to family and portraits, I knew I would have to branch out of my current client list and was at a loss for where to turn. I mean, how do you advertise services you’ve yet to actually perform? That's when I decided to turn to Craigslist

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It All Started With a $5 Ad

On a whim while spring cleaning, I posted a classified ad on Craigslist. One $5 ad, and a month later, I had landed $2,700 in photography work – with no website, business cards, networking, or marketing. Craigslist requires a $5 fee for advertising services. I can confidently say that the ROI on my $5 advertisement was well worth it.

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Finding Your Niche

After reading posts on The Work at Home Woman about finding your niche, I spent time thinking about:    What hobbies do I enjoy?    On what subjects am I the expert?    Is there any type of work I could spend hours doing?    Any topic I could spend hours talking about?

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Deciding What to Sell on Craigslist

After that, the answer was easy – aquascaping! Aquascaping is the art and design of living, planted aquariums. Along with my ad for photography and a host of items I found while cleaning out my closet, I posted an advertisement for live aquarium plants. And that's how I earned the next $800!

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What is Craigslist?

Before we get into how to make money on Craigslist, it may help to talk about what Craigslist is exactly. Craigslist is a no-frills classifieds advertisement website that is reminiscent of newspaper classifieds. Most people know of the Craigslist sales section, but you can also find jobs, real estate, apartments, lost pets, garage sales, services, and even discussion forums.

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Here’s How to Get High-Quality Responses and Make Money From Craigslist Advertising

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1. Use Photos

If you don’t use photos in your advertising, you’re unlikely to get a response – period. Include at least 4-8 photos in your ad. If offering a service, create yourself a graphic.

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2. Introduce Yourself

Especially with a platform like Craigslist, making your ad friendly and personable is one of the easiest ways to establish trust with buyers.

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3. Search Terms

When you create your ad, consider your prospective clients and customers and for what they will be searching. Include in your description, naturally-placed search terms.

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4. Offer a Deal

Ads that include “OBO” (or best offer), “price negotiable,” or “discounts available” have a greater response rate. Price your services and items with room for negotiation.

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5. Onboarding

You're likely to get lots of emails asking the same questions. Having an onboarding plan in place, like a list of FAQs or a client questionnaire, can help you stay organized.

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Safety Tips

You’ll want to take certain precautions to ensure your safety on Craigslist. Consider meeting buyers in a public location. When selling high-dollar items, police stations are a safe bet. For smaller items, a busy public parking lot will usually do. You can avoid most scams by not allowing buyers or clients to pre-pay without meeting or seeing the item.