How to use Postlets to Improve Your Craigslist Posts

There are quite a few features that Postlets offers, some fee-based and some free.  In this post I’m going to focus on the free features and show you how you can take your CraigsLists posts from this:

To This:

Postlets Tutorial for Craigslist

In this tutorial postlets.com does most of the work for you.  However, in relation to my previous post, I’ll also show you how you can create the illusion of an embeded YouTube property video.  The procedure is as follows:

Step 1:

Go to www.postlets.com and sign-up for an account

Step 2:

Once you have your postlets account active, proceed through pages one through five, completing the pertinent information regarding your property.

Step 3:

Page 6 of the postlets process is where you can decide, how you want your postlet to appear, and grab the HTML markup for the post.

If you don’t have YouTube video footage, you can stop here and paste the HTML from postlets into CraigsList.

Also, if you choose, you may syndicate your post to various other sites automatically via postlets.  Postlets grants the option to post to:

Google Base
Oodle
HotPads
Trulia
DotHomes
Zillow
Backpage
Vast
Enormo

Step 4:

If you would like to take things a step further and incorporate your YouTube video into your CraigsList postlets post, first review the preceding blog-post for instructions on how to gather your YouTube screen-shot and etcetera.

Step 5:

You may use an HTML editor to insert the HTML from the previous tutorial into the postlets HTML.  There are a plethora of WYSIWYG HTML editors available.  In this example, I’ll utilize a free web-based editor which exists at: http://htmledit.squarefree.com/

Step 6:

Insert the HTML below, into the CraigsList (postlet-generated) HTML.  If you’re familiar with HTML, you can customize this  so that things appear just the way you like it.  For those unfamiliar with HTML, I’ll make some decisions for you and tell you exactly what to do. Copy the HTML from below and insert your specifics shown in the red text.

<tr align=”center” valign=”middle”>
<td height=”53″ valign=”top”>
<div align=”left”>
<p style=”font-weight: bold;”>
<span style=”font-weight: bold;”>
<font size=”2″>PROPERTY VIDEO</font>
</span>
</p>
<hr size=”1″ noshade style=”border-top: 1px solid #ABB2C5;”>
<span style=”font-weight: bold;”><font size=”2″>
</font>
</span>
</div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr align=”center” valign=”middle”>
<td valign=”top”>
<a href=”http://www.YourYoutubeLink.com” rel=”nofollow”>
<img border=”0″ src=”http://www.YourImageLink.jpg” width=”480″ height=”295″>
</a>
</td>
</tr>
</table>
</td>
</tr>
</table>
</td>
</tr>

Step 7:

Using the website http://htmledit.squarefree.com you will first paste-in your CraigsList (postlets-generated) HTML in the upper area shaded in blue.  You’ll notice how you can see the page output the HTML produces in a split-screen fashion.

You will then need to find were the beginning of the “Additional Photos” table begins.  You will do this by using CTRL+F, to bring up the “Find” box and type in “Additional Photos”.   You will see all of the areas in the HTML and on the page that contain the phrase.  What you want to pay attention to is the last mention of the phrase in the HTML.

Preceding the phrase “Additional Photos” in the HTML you will see :
<table width=”100%” border=”0″ cellspacing=”0″ cellpadding=”3″>
insert your cursor directly following it and paste in the HTML from Step 6 (including you custom links).

Step 8:

You can now, select all the text (CTRL+A) and copy (CTRL+C) your new HTML while at http://htmledit.squarefree.com.  Then go to CraigsList and paste it in the “Posting Description” area.

Your end product will look something like:

Article Author: Justin McClelland

Justin has written 15 articles for us.
Visit Justin's Website: http://www.JustinMcClelland.com

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Tagged as: advertising, craigslist, HTML editor, marketing, postlets, Real Estate Marketing, youtube