Advertsing on Craigslist?

[Former_Member]

Does anyone use Craigslist to advertise/promote their Etsy store? And if so, what kind of results have you gotten?

Thanks!
Michele

[Former_Member]

That is a great question. I'd love to hear what others have to say.

I've never tried because I don't really live in an area that has a large population, but if I ever moved to an urban/suburban area, I think I'd try it!

[Former_Member]

yeah I think it might be a good idea to try to reach a larger audience. So far the people looking at my Etsy page seem to be mostly artists/friends,which is cool,but they probably aren't going to be my biggest buyers. :)

[Former_Member]

I thought about this too... Think I'm going to try it

[Former_Member]

i think i might too. It's strange that you don't hear more people talking about using it, especially since it's free to advertise.

[CuteJewels]

I did, and gave up fairly quickly. I received only 1 sale, and the rest was tons and tons of spam. I also had a bit of scams, like folks "arranging payment" for $1200 for an item which cost $20, and then telling me to send the $1180 back to them via western union.

If you do decide to advertise on Craigslist, I recommend using a different email address than you normally do, otherwise the spam will not stop.

[Former_Member]

Oooh, see this is exactly what I was afraid of. I definitely do not want spam/scammers. Thank you for that advice.

Just out of curiosity, when you did use Craigslist, did you advertise just one item or your whole shop? And did you link back to your shop so people could buy that way or just use email?

[CuteJewels]

I did both, I listed some pics of particular items, some listings I just promoted my Etsy shop with links.

Some responses I received asked for more pictures for example, which I thought would be serious buyers. My responding was really just a confirmation for the spammers that my address was valid, which I learned after the fact.

If you have google analytics set up, you'll be able to see how many hits you are generating from CL.

[Former_Member]

I have also and thanks goodness I have recieved a lot of spam but I think you can advertise in bigger cities. I make headbands although mine are unique its a pretty popular item to make and sell.

[BostonSeaglass]

I had people who wanted to drop by my home and see my stuff. Yikes!

[ShannonClarkPhotoArt]

i just started doing this a few weeks ago! and according to google analytics, it seems like people in the larger US cities that i posted on are looking (unless its just coincidence but i'd like to think it is craigslist lol).
the only downer is you can only post a link to your shop once. however you can post many links to individual items in your shop which can really help you market to your demographic. i do photography and my style ranges so i put some of my more funky, trendy pics in well-known trendy cities and some of the more classic pieces in a little more conservative, suburban places.
it doesnt hurt to offer a code code in your ad either :)
good luck!

[ShannonClarkPhotoArt]

ps - ive actually had 2 bloggers reach out to me who saw my work on there and wanted to feature me so it can open a lot of doors
and its free and easy, whats to lose? ;)

[BackyardBrand]

tried once. nothin' doin for my stuff.

[Former_Member]

wow, lots of good advice here. Thank you everyone! I think I may give it a shot, but definitely use a different email, and I forgot that I could target other cities besides my own area. Duh!

One more question... where do you put your listing? Is it under the arts and crafts section? There seems to be a lot of stuff in there, I don't want my listing to get too lost...

[FyreflyHollow]

I did that a few months back when I tried artfire. Seemed that I had gotten a lot of hits, but no sales. =( I suppose that it is a different venue if you have the time...it is worth a shot! =)

[ShannonClarkPhotoArt]

i put my listings under arts and crafts :)

[StitchKnit]

I have ads running continually on CL, for my local business. (sewing, knitting, etc.....and teaching classes) Each time I post for a class, or to advertise my business, I include a signature type line at the end.......If you'd like to see some of my work, please visit my Etsy store......and the link.
I guess I don't care about the spam, I just delete it and answer the valid inquiries from potential clients.
I have not put listings in arts & crafts, nor have I listed in any other cities. Will need to try that!

[ShannonClarkPhotoArt]

yea definitely post in NYC, LA, chicago,SF, all the big cities !
i got my population info here
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_United_States_cities_by_population
it really does seem to bring a lot of traffic to my pg, not sure if it results in sales but exposure is key to get there :)

[ShannonClarkPhotoArt]

ps - just checked my google analytics page for yesterday (feb 18) and i got 36 visits to my pg from CL - def worth doing :)

[Former_Member]

Well I agree, it's worth a try. I just found another thread in the forums asking this same question, and there were so many negative responses but a few positive ones too. But the way I figure it, it can't hurt to give it a shot, A least for a while. I have to do something to try to reach a larger audience right now I'm pretty invisible. :)

[Former_Member]

Advertising on CL works! At the time I was hitting CL hard and faithfully, my google analytics was not set up, but I could tell it worked by the location of my buyers.

[Former_Member]

Wonderful to hear, thank you. And congrats on your sales! :)

[AndreaFuentesDesigns]

Great advice! I might have to give it a shot :)

[WanderingJeweler]

I'm going to give it a shot too.

[TheMillersHouse]

You can post on CL in any country. I've gotten a lot of my international sales this way.