Craiglist a better way to advertise
Craiglist is an online platform where one can advertise. It is a classified ads website. There are different sections and each section is devoted to different topics of advertisement. For example, there are sections of the housing, wanted items, different services offered by individuals and organizations, gigs etc. Also, there are sections related to resumes and there are sections where one can post personal advertisements. Discussion Platforms are also available.
The site was started by Craig Newmark. It was launched in 1995. Initially, it was a service for the email distribution lists and the local events were featured as well. In 1996, the service became web-based and many other sections were added as well. The site gained popularity and by the new millennium, it was in many cities of the US. Presently, the service is being offered in more than 50 countries.
Benefits of Craiglist:
There are many benefits of Craiglist. One can consider it to be the digital version of the classifieds page of any Newspaper but with a difference that it covers more than 50 countries. So, you can figure out the benefits yourself if your ad gets visited by the population of 50 countries. Still, here is a list of benefits of Craiglist:
· Price:
One major benefit of Craiglist is that most of the postings are free. There are only some certain ads for which you need to pay for example, if you want to post an ad for apartments in New York or if there is an ad regarding jobs in certain big cities or for some of the medical services you have to pay. Another good thing is that there is no commission for any sales and this allows the sellers to get all the profit that they make from the sales. For all those people who want to offer their services as freelancers or others who want to sell something or any other sort of ad, this is the recommended platform and it is much better than those where you need to pay to post your ad.
· Reach:
Craiglist covers more than 50 countries. So, it has a global reach. Although the categories are based on the cities still, it is possible to get the global audience for your ads by posting for different countries. Now, this has benefits for both i.e. the one post the ads and the one who buys the products because users can look for a certain item in many parts of the world. If an item is not available in one location, it can be easily available in the other location. Also, the people who plan to move to some other country can easily look for places where they can move.
· Easy to use:
Craiglist is very easy to use. It has a simple interface and even the beginner can understand the method of posting ads. There is a form that you need to fill in with some details and you don’t even require an account for posting, although it is recommended that you get one. Editing of the ads is also easy and simple.
How to Post an Ad on Craiglist:
Posting an ad is simple as mentioned in step by step below:
· Go to Craigslist.com
· You will see different regions. Click the desired one.
· In the left side pane, you will see an option called post to classifieds. Click on this option.
· There you will see different categories like housing, jobs, personals, resume etc. From those categories, choose the one in which you want to post.
· Once you choose the category, you need to choose the sub-category. Lets take an example. If you chose the Services Offered, then you need to select which type of services. There will be various options like automotive services, computer related, real estate and various other types as well.
· After you are done with the categories stuff, you need to narrow down to your area. The page that opens shows you the areas of the region selected. You need to select the nearest area.
· Once you are done here, you will see the ad posting screen. There are different parts of that screen.
· Posting Title:
This is the first field. You will be seeing it often and here you enter the text on which people can click to reach your ad. Since this is the title, it should be appealing.
· Specific Location:
It is where your ad is getting posted from. Most of the people use the contact details here. You should make it a working link by using the http:// before the link.
· Posting Description:
The next field is the posting description. Here, as the name says, you will give the description of whatever your services or products are about. Here, the customer will know what he is being offered by you.
· You can make your add more descriptive by adding a picture to it. You can either upload one from your hard drive or you can use the address of a photo online.
· There is the email address field where you enter your email address, obviously.
Once the form is filled completely, you can proceed to the next page.
· Here, you have to enter a code. The code is five digits and to post the ad, you have to enter it.
· On the next page, you will see the terms and conditions. Agree to them. If you don’t your ad won’t be posted.
· Finally, confirm the address and click the link provided to get the things done.
