I remember coming across a discussion in this forum a few months ago on "weeding through endless Craigslist ads" or something to that effect. At the time, I kept reading how "nobody sells RE through Craigslist" and how much of a mess the place is. "Don't waste your time advertising there" one agent commented.

I couldn't agree more. Craigslist is a jungle of free advertising space gone awry. Once you put up a vflyer or Postlet, it immediately gets buried under another 500 ads and reposting the same 10 listings day in and day out takes some discipline. Better yet, each reposting should be a bit sharper, cleaner, more informative and attractive or easier to search than it's predecessor. In short, the ads have to be constantly evolving, or raising the bar to bring in more views.

Admittedly, I've yet to sell even one home off Craigslist, however, I have learned to use a variety of tools to consistently enhance the quality, reach and frequency of my ads. This in turn has actually attracted both buyers looking for other nearby properties and sellers wanting their homes showcased (translation - new listing) in a similar manner, again assuming that homes actually sell in such free space.

Truth be told, I've gotten as many new listings from CL as I have from door knocking and cold calling combined, and over roughly the same period of time. That said, I now know it is possible to get off the ground and build a sizeable inventory with a near zero marketing budget in this business. Of course, that's just half that battle though...

Thanks for the great post! I have recently done some things on craigslist and the site is a tool. It's like anything else, it's a tool. I appreciate you sharing your story. I'm experimenting with some things on cl and see the potential but have not received new business "yet" from it.

With my website I can get probably a lead a day. Buyer leads. Some will need to sell. Of course this involves me redirecting them to my website which technically is a no no for craigslist. I also take the time to actually write decent copy that sets myself apart. In my and many of my office mates and other opinions, the typical postlets, etc. type ads are fast becoming the equivalent of sponsored links on a google search. They all look alike and people don't want to click on them or they don't stand out. For my own listings I utilize the syndicators but always use plain jane ads too because It looks more realistic. People don't want to talk to an agent til they're ready.

I've found it a task to try to gleam buyers from CL ads but its doable. Its a numbers game. I'm going to try to put up two ads a day this week at least just going for buyers. Median price range and below homes and of course investment properties.

I agree with you though seattle you can get some business. It's a numbers game though. Lots of low quality leads and buyers thinking they can buy a home with no money or credit. At least over here

I have to agree. CL is a great tool for the price though (free), and you have to be consistent with it. I can definately drive traffic to my site with CL, but it truely is a numbers game.

When I first started posting on CL I would get so frustrated I would be so mad that my posting was being buried just minutes after posting it. Then even with people having so many options I still was getting leads and thats when it hit me I realized 3 things;

1.)Many of the posting are repeats so the people looking for homes will skip them anyways

2.)Even though there are many people who are posting ads there are twice as many people looking through them and everyone is unique so whatever you are offering I'm sure there is at least one person out there who will be attracted to it.

3.)Remember many people know what they want so they'll type it in on the search so the best thing to do is to fill your post with many many keywords & terms that way your post will always show up no matter what they type in I have all of my keywords saved all I have to do is copy and paste them and every time I think of something new I will add it

Cirino,

Great information! Especially #3.

Craigslist has gone a bit crazy, but just like anything, if you are consistent, you will see results. In this economy, it's important to be prospecting based and marketing enhanced. Meaning, don't spend a bunch of money to market yourself when there are free ways to obtain business. Prospecting on CL is a tedious job, but it beats spending hundreds or thousands of dollars to close a sale. Remember, your ROI from CL is 100%!

I have great success finding tenants on Craigslist, but terrible success with real estate buyers and sellers.

Perhaps the signal-to-noise ratio is just too high for buyers, or perhaps the top-notch leads are using more sophisticated sites.

Right now we advertise our listings on Craigslist because our sellers want us to. We rarely, if ever, get calls on listings and have yet to source an actual client from them.

I've been an agent for only a few weeks and already converted a FSBO to a listing via CL (also already under contract.) I currently have 4-5 prospects I've been discussing price/commission with as well. One lady I contacted has already referred me to her friends (got a call two days ago from potential seller.)

In regards to CL you have to be tenacious. When I bought/sold homes as an investor I used CL several times to bring in buyers. But you have to be on it, putting up your listing again after it gets buried. Same goes for sifting through the FSBOs in search of listings. It can give you a head ache, but it's part of my prospecting for now. Tomorrow I will add in calling expireds to my prospecting routine. The idea is to do both every day and get listings.

[quote=CIProperties863]When I first started posting on CL I would get so frustrated ... [/quote]

My biggest complaint with CL as a seller was that I'd constantly get flagged and removed. I was constantly having to put my ad back up because of this, despite the fact that I was not violating any rules etc.