I’ve been asked this question a few times and finally decided to write a detailed post about it . There’s a lot of power in controlling the images that go into your Craigslist ad. This can work a couple different ways:
A) Your entire ad can be image-based (or a single image) that could look much more appealing than the standard text-based ads that users are used to looking at (stand out!)
B) Your ad can incorporate more than 4 images, and they can be placed Read more…
Given the state of the online market in the current recession, wasting money on website marketing might not seem like a very bright idea. In fact it might seem foolish to spend money when you have little hope of recovering it. Yet even now there is enough money in the market to make a decent living. I am not kidding when I say this.
* Get A Plan
All you need to know is the way to go about making money. Website marketing is very important to this plan. If your website is invisible you are not going to make any money. So you need to spend money to make money. You might now say that you have no money. You don’t need to spend millions, just a few dollars in the right places can Read more…
Guerrilla marketing is for wimps. Here’s how to generate real publicity for your business:
Extreme Marketing How-To #1) The Road Warrior
- Carjack a Hummer.
- Carve your company logo into the tires.
- Install a paint application system in the wheel wells that provides a thorough coating of paint to the tires.
- Drive around where your potential customers will see you, leaving behind a very memorable and newsworthy trail to get your target audience talking about you. Bonus points for leaving tracks on non-road surfaces. Read more…
These last few days I’ve been out of town on vacation, and have been using Google Maps to help me find my way around. Searching for grocery stores, coffee shops, and free wi-fi reminded me how important it is to list your business with Google Maps and Yahoo Local. In case you’re Read more…
Just about every popular blog these days is set up with social bookmarking links to make it easy for the reader to share the article with friends and contacts. After reading a bit on President Obama’s blog (www.barackobama.com – after they ask you to buy the t-shirt 
), I noticed that those buttons are missing from the page.
I think it would be an excellent idea to incorporate a ’share this’ bar or a digg box plug in to make it easy for their visitors to share articles. Read more…
After the large number of views and responses on our past Craigslist posting articles, I thought I would follow up with a few more items and a real example of what we use to achieve great results.
You can see a perma-copy of one of our best performing Craigslist ads here: Vanivo Craigslist Ad. Here are a few things that make this ad effective:
1) Eye-catching, actionable title.
The asterisks (***) draw the attention to the phrase “web design.” We phrased the title as a question because the mental cue for a ‘yes’ answer Read more…
Lately I’ve been studying testing and implementing the best tactics for Craigslist posting. I’ve been experimenting for over 4 months now, and I’ve gotten measurably better responses (ad views and click-throughs to my website) by using the strategies outlined below, and for the first time ever, I’m sharing them with you.
Tip 1) Don’t Blend In.
Your first goal on Craigslist is to not get lost in the crowd. To view your ad, visitors have to find your title in the category page, which is easier said than done these days.
- Include the keywords for whatever you’re listing in the title. This way, users can search ‘titles only’ and still have your listing come up. Avoid the obscurity and confusion by Read more…
As a relatively new blog, I’m always looking for ways to bring in legitimate traffic and reward contributors for thought-out comments. Now, the opportunity is built in to this blog. I’ll describe how the nofollow process works in my next post…
I had been tossing around the idea for a while, considering the downside of losing my stellar pagerank – this blog is currently not ranked . I read up on the topic and decided to join the growing community of ‘dofollowers.’ There are quite a few reasons, many of which are Read more…
With so many ways to create titles on Craigslist, it’s sometimes a hit or miss getting people to read your ad. Keeping this in mind, we ran many different titles using an assortment of fonts, wording and symbols. Then, we used tools like Google Analytics and GetClicky to gather information by measuring clicks, bounce rates , new users and time at site.
GetClicky.com and Google Analytics both allow you to track what people are doing at your site. They tell you how long people stay, what actions are they taking, bounce rates, clicks, and their physical location - all of which is very useful information for trying to obtain more visits to your site. Both are really simple tools Read more…
There’s just so much good stuff in this book, I might have to turn this into a multi-part series. Chapter 4, “Direct Response Marketing” (from Guerrilla Marketing on the Internet by Jay Conrad Levinson) really got me thinking about how many sites I’ve come across that don’t do anything for the business. In very few cases, having the simplest of ‘brochure websites’ (strictly informational and usually for credibility purposes) may be appropriate, but there are so many opportunities to get your web site to do more for your business.
The easiest thing any website can do is collect your visitor’s contact information. This can be used as a targeted list for your marketing offers (as long as you have their permission of course). There are many things you can offer your visitors in exchange for their contact info (specifically, e-mail address):
I’ve recently been browsing Jay Conrad Levinson’s latest book: Guerrilla Marketing on the Internet, and have come across quite a few gems that got me thinking. This article is a brain dump for a few of my thoughts while reading the book.
For those unfamiliar with the term ‘Guerrilla Marketing,’ Wikipedia explains, “is an unconventional system of promotions that relies on time, energy and imagination rather than a big marketing budget.” These aren’t just strategies, they’re principles to live by.
1. Embrace Web 2.0 and Social Media
There is the old Internet and the new Internet. The old Internet was a one-way flow of information where a company, entity, or individual would put their content on a website. Visitors would view the content, and go on their merry way. The new Internet takes a collaborative, visitor-centric approach where the community creates the content and everyone benefits. Here are a few examples: Read more…
People are inherently lazy. Especially internet users. They’d much rather put off until tomorrow (or next decade) what they could easily do today. Your website’s job is to motivate them to overcome their lazy programming and actually DO SOMETHING today.
Creating an effective call to action is necessary to get your visitors to take the next step – contacting you, signing up for your newsletter, buying your product, etc. There are a few main techniques to achieve this, and I will detail them below:
Make your offer timely.
By putting a time limit on your offer, it encourages your audience to take action or they could miss out. By saying ‘This Weekend Only!’ or another relevant time constraint, you’ll receive a much better Read more…
Having a website for your business is not an option – it is a necessity.Everyone knows that having a sharp website is good for business, but most people don’t really know why. In this article I’ll offer several reasons why they are vital to reaching your potential.
1) Credibility. Today, everything is online, and to even keep up in your industry, you need a website. When a customer types your name into their favorite search engine, they expect your professional website to come up. If that’s not the case, they second guess doing business with you. Read more…
Promoting your business during tough times is easier than you think. In my last post, I addressed a few case studies and principles of businesses that came out of tough times ahead of their competition by continuing and even increasing their advertising exposure. Today, I’m going to give you some specific examples of how you can apply this to your own business.
A recession is a perfect time to consolidate, refocus and become more efficient across all aspects of your business. Running leaner is a necessity for survival, but that doesn’t specifically mean budget cuts, it means finding out what’s working and what isn’t, dropping what isn’t working and pursuing what is.
1. Survey your customers.
Find out how your customers Read more…