Effective Craigslist Ads to drive traffic

If you are a Landlord or a Property Manager, sales or generating interest for your listings is critical.

Its 2016 and we are still talking about Craigslist for ads. But let's face it - Craigslist is still the most effective medium to generate traffic for your rental listings.

I tested this by posting anonymously on reddit on /r/SFBayHousing - the tech-capital of the world. Prospects still use and trust Craigslist. 

But in order to make your ads stand out, you have to apply the second level thinking principles. In this case you have to understand what Craigslist stands for and what there core values and mission is.

Here is a blurb from their own website: "(It) symbolizes the relatively non-commercial nature, public service mission, and non-corporate culture of craigslist"

Only programmers, customer service reps, and accounting staff work at craigslist. There is no business development, no human resources, no sales. To act like a property manager is the best way to lower yourself in relevance ranking for your posts on Craigslist.

With respect to apartment listings, Craigslist (CL) is both a blessing and a curse.

• CL does not have geo search capabilities and hence our subject & text has to make up for that deficiency.
• It is too crowded and difficult to stand out
• Scheduling of posts becomes critical to generate impressions (refer b above)

Here is a starter list of DO's and DONT's:

DO's

a) Start with a catchy title and keep the body text short and sweet; 3-4 sentences - keep it conversational.

WRONG: $2500 Affordable Apartment in the Bay Area

PREFERRED: Come visit a luxury apt in North San Jose close to Cisco, Cadence and SanDisk HQs. $XXXX special! Wont last long.

-- something like that, but better wordsmithing.

The key is to include a geographic location in the title itself because that takes precedence in relevance ranking.

b) Post a ton of professionally taken pictures (8 atleast) - preferably with a personal touch (meaning, furnished interiors, common area pics like gym in some state of use... e.g. couple of weights on the floor, TV on )

c) When posting pics order of upload matters - the first pic should ideally be that of a good quality "furnished" interior shot. The first pic appears in thumbnail or gallery when you search. Don't make the mistake of posting the black & white floorplan architectural image first.

Last pic is also of significance and should be a stellar image.

d) To compensate for lack of geolocation capabilities in CL search do include - nearby landmarks, companies, colleges, rail station, cross streets, street quadrilateral, highways etc. even if the landmarks are a bit distant to you than your competition.

e.g.  "Along with our close proximity to Levi's Stadium, residents are steps away from restaurants, entertainment, and two gorgeous parks. Highways 237, 101, 880 and the Tasman VTA Light Rail Station are also easily accessible."

e) Include - office hours, contact # (preferably with a first name (only))

f) Physical Address is a must (in addition to CL map) - hyperlinked in a format that can be opened in google or apple maps on a mobile device

g) Post frequently (preferably everyday) - but don't post exactly identical ads. Have a bank of templates to choose from

h) Post directly to CL (meaning not through weblisters or such syndication tools which can get IP blacklisted, enmasse)

i) Post close to peak traffic hours - weekend, lunch time. (refer to g above) so that our posts bubble up to the top in searches

j) Make sure CL provided amenities checkboxes are checked when posting - e.g. W/D, garage, cats, dogs as applicable. This will take precedence in search results.

k) Make the post conversational and easy for people to understand. In other words, don't use terms that as a professional you may know but are not understood by your customer.

"White shaker cabinets with brushed chrome handles" - may not be well understood by all demographic

DONT'S

a) Don't sound like a property manager or a landlord. Sound like someone next door making a living by exchanging a service or a product. 

b) Don't copy and paste text from a website and don't include HTML. If you have to copy and paste make sure you copy into Notepad (as plain text) first before you paste to CL. This will prevent HTML from being copied in inadvertently. Presence of HTML generally markup will lower your relevance ranking.

c) Don't itemize amenities or anything; avoid bullets or numbering. This can push your listing down in relevance ranking 

i.e. don't post like this..

• swimming pool
• barbeque area
• tennis courts

instead, try this: We also have a swimming pool and a barbeque area (cleaned daily) within close proximity to all units.  

d) Don't list all amenities verbatim unless something is truly unique. People have come to expect swimming pools and business centers & tennis courts as standard in luxury apartments. But if you have a value product and you do have a swimming pool then by all means say so.

e) Don't post pics of empty units. Semi furnish it before taking pictures, if you can. 

f) Don't post any stock pics that are used in ads or mailers

g) Don't include pictures of residents

h) Don't post the exact same ads everyday (refer to g above)