REALLY need help with Craigslist flagging and blocking...Input please?
Hi all,
So I know craigslist has likely been beaten to death here in many posts, but I am really frustrated and hoping to get some input from anyone who has dealt with the issues I'm currently having and hopefully figured out what works...
While i am an investor, I focus primarily on brokering lease-option transactions as a licensed agent. I'm not a spammer and not looking to bombard craigslist with ads. I just want to have a reasonable presence with generic ads that direct buyer prospects to my landing page which will give them a free list of available lease-option or owner financed properties. I also occasionally email landlords and FSBOs with a simple non-spammy email to see if they might consider a lease option ...thats it...nothing special.
I have studied the CL marketing methods used by a lot of "educators" and people who sell/provide training or courses and have experimented with many ways to both post ads and email/text people who have ads already posted.
If any other members like Keith & Shannon French, Joe McCall, John Jackson, Will Velazquez etc... read this, I would really appreciate your ideas or input!
Here is what I'm doing specifically:
- I use a software program to mask my IP address and I change my IP address every time I log into craigslist to either post my own ads or to email potential FRBO/FSBO prospects.
-When I post an ad, I use no HTML code and try to not include anything obvious in the headline or the body that would violate the craigslist terms of use on posting.
-I have about 5 different craigslist accounts, each with a separate email and each is always logged into from a changed IP address when I place ads or send email through craigslist servers.
-When I email prospects through craigslist email servers, I change my IP address, use different gmail accounts and never send more than about 10 emails from any one account.
I'm finding that almost all of my recent ads are being flagged and deleted within 45 minutes of being submitted, this means they are being flagged by Craigslist before they ever go live, and not some local competitor. I've compared my ads to other ads that are already posted and can see little to no difference or obvious reason why mine should be flagged for removal. Its also really frustrating to see some posters who are just throwing up garbage ads that are literally one step above spam, yet somehow manage to get their super cheesy ads posted multiple times per day without ever being flagged or removed...how are the very worst offenders who post spam ads for credit card services able to get away with this, while a local agent like myself is getting there legit ads flagged?
I'm also fairly certain that my emails are not getting through to the intended recipients. I know because I always include an email to one of my own ads in every mailing to see if it goes through and hits my email account.
So my question is: Does anyone have experience with any of these issues. Has anyone figured out how to successfully market on craigslist, and if so, what specifically are you doing that works?
Any input or advice would be greatly appreciated...