How to Target Your Ads on Craigslist

With so many readers browsing the classifieds, targeting your ads on Craigslist may seem impossible. But with a bit of preparation, you can create ads that will attract the right audience. Follow these steps to better target your Craigslist ads.

Instructions

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Things You’ll Need:

• Computer with Internet access

1. Identify the common characteristics of the people who are most likely to be looking for what you are selling. These common factors can be almost anything: education, income level or age group.
2. Know the strengths of what you're selling and how they relate to the characteristics of your potential customers.
3. Decide on a few keywords and phrases that you think will appeal to your target buyers. Your keywords should relate to the strengths of the product and your knowledge of your target customers.
4. Go to the Craigslist site and select the proper category for your item. You may need to request a new category if there isn't an appropriate one.
5. Once you get to the posting page, create a title. You are limited to 70 characters including spaces. Use the best keyword or phrase in the posting title. This is the first thing your prospective buyers will see. It's the hook that will get your customers to read the rest of your ad.
6. Write the item description using the rest of your keywords and phrases. Try to limit your description to about 50 words. Buyers want to quickly scan the ads and long descriptions could cost you a sale.
7. Add pictures to your posting whenever possible. Ads with pictures are much more appealing to customers than ads with text only.

Tips & Warnings

• Proofread your ad. Ads that exhibit good grammar and are free from mistakes have the greatest appeal.
• Your ad will be posted for 45 days. After that, you may delete the ad and re-post it if necessary.
• Do not post pornography or offensive material.