Posted by Matham on 4/30/11 11:17am
Msg #381814

Advertising on Craigslist

I been advertising on CL for the last month and I'be only gotten one legitimate response, besides the hordes of spam responses. The response didn't Pam out as he thought 20 miles was too far for him for me to travel to him.

I've been questioning whether it's worth the daily effort despite it being free and all. It's not the only place I'm advertising so I'm not too disappointed or frustrated that it isn't yielding sufficient results.

So I'm curious to see everyone's experience with Craigslist. Do you use it with success or you avoid it for its futility.

Reply by Morgan/PghPA on 4/30/11 11:25am
Msg #381815

Best advertising I have done is creating a website - brings me tons of business

Reply by Roger_OH on 4/30/11 12:30pm
Msg #381817

It depends partly under what category you're advertising. I'm under legal services, but also rotate ads under auto/boat title transfers, financial services, and real estate. I place about once every week or two.

Absolutely agree that a website is a must, and this is not an area to scrimp on. Spend a few tax-deductible bucks and get a good one that creates a positive first impression of your business.

Reply by C. Rivera Chicago Notary Services on 4/30/11 1:21pm
Msg #381821

Agree with Roger... n/m

Reply by James Dawson on 4/30/11 11:35am
Msg #381816

waste of time for me in this area n/m

Reply by C. Rivera Chicago Notary Services on 4/30/11 1:21pm
Msg #381820

I use it...NOT a problem for me...updated weekly...it takes

practice and not alot of time, but creative marketing, targeting, etc.

I about 10% business from that site, and for being free, I think that's not bad at all.

I get calls for general notary, but have gotten a few real estate and attorney clients.

Update on Mondays or Fridays, and please don't ask why, but it works for me!

Good luck.

Reply by topflyt on 4/30/11 7:16pm
Msg #381830

Re: I use it...NOT a problem for me...updated weekly...it takes

I've gotten a couple of responses so being free is a good thing...and inexpensive!!
gets your name out there!

Reply by BarbaraL_CA on 4/30/11 11:06pm
Msg #381837

Forget CL and have a professional website. n/m

Reply by LKT/CA on 5/1/11 7:34pm
Msg #381848

Like you, I'd receive a lot of spam responses - nothing to do with notary service requests. So I eliminated my email address and only posted a phone number - with a disclaimer that if any call was not a notary service request, I'd hang up immediately. I did receive one assignment about 2 years ago but nothing since.

Since it's free, you don't have anything to lose. I would just suggest that you only post a phone number and not provide the option to contact you by email.

Reply by JanetK_CA on 5/1/11 7:42pm
Msg #381851

nothing to lose - except all the time spent on listings, etc n/m

Reply by Jodith/WA on 5/2/11 2:52pm
Msg #381923

Forget Craigslist. You need to list your business with Google and choose your keywords wisely. I get a great deal of my non-mortgage business from my Google business listing.

And, yes, it's quite free.

Here's the link: http://www.google.com/local/add/analyticsSplashPage?service=lbc&pli=1

Bing's listing is also free, but the setup is annoying. Yahoo wants over a hundred dollars a year for their listing, so I told them no thanks.

I do get occasional jobs directly from my website, but then, that domain has a pagerank of 4 :-)