Finding Jobs on Craigslist

One of the most well known uses of Craigslist is to find a job. These jobs can be permanent full time jobs, temporary jobs, contract positions and even telecommute positions. Those who are interested in finding a new and exciting career opportunity can browse through Craigslist and search for potential matches in a number of different categories and locations. In addition to browsing through the different categories included on Craigslist, job seekers can also use the search function to search through all of the categories for jobs which may have been placed in categories the job seeker did not consider browsing.

Community members can also find potential jobs by posting their resume through Craigslist. There is a section dedicated to resumes in Craigslist and those who are interested in posting their resume can do so for any desired location. One secret to posting a resume that will gain attention is to include a descriptive headline for your resume. For example an administrative assistant looking for work in the medical field might consider posting a headline that reads, “Administrative Assistant in Medical Field” as opposed to “My Resume”. This is helpful because those who are browsing the resumes in search of an administrative assistant are more likely to click on the first resume than the second because the aforementioned headline is more descriptive.

Meeting Friends on Craigslist

Craigslist can also provide a great opportunity for networking. Whether individuals are looking to meet a platonic friend or a romantic partner or simply looking for a roommate, there is a place on Craigslist for them to post an appropriate advertisement or view existing advertisements. Advertisements for roommates can be placed in the housing section of Craigslist while advertisements seeking friends or romantic partner may be placed in the appropriate category of the personals section. As with any posting on Craigslist, care should be taken to follow all guidelines and restrictions when posting in the personals section of the community.

Buying or Selling Items on Craigslist

Those who are looking to buy or sell items may also turn to Craigslist for assistance. Craigslist has a for sale section which is divided into sections such as bikes, furniture, musical instruments, computers, clothes, household items and even motorcycles and boats. There is even a section for those who are offering items free of charge and those who are seeking the opportunity to barter with others. There is also a wanted section for those who are seeking a specific item they cannot find offered for sale elsewhere on Craigslist. Care should be taken when purchasing any item online to ensure the item is in the condition reported in the advertisement. Craigslist offers a page dealing with scams to provide users with useful information which can help to ensure their transactions operate smoothly.

Discuss the Issues on Craigslist

Members of the Craigslist community can also discuss important local and national issues with other community members. There is a discussion forum with a number of different categories for users to exchange information or debate important issues. When participating in these forums it is wise to follow the guidelines set forth by Craigslist.

Additionally, there is a category in the personals sections called rants and raves for community members to sound off about issues which they feel are wrong. This section is restricted to community members over the age of 18 and all other visitors are cautioned that this section may contain offensive or otherwise objectionable material and should not be visited by those who are easily offended.

Reaching Your Target Audience on Craigslist

Promoting a business on Craigslist doesn’t have to be a difficult process. However, it is not necessarily automatically easier than promoting offline either. Promoting your business through Craigslist does have some similarities to the process of promoting your business offline. The main similarity is that the business promoter musts do their research to find out who is included in their target audience.

Even the most well thought out and innovative marketing campaign will falter if it is not reaching the intended audience. This is why it is so important for those who are trying to promote their business on Craigslist to be sure they categorize their advertisement correctly to ensure their intended audience will receive the intended message. The majority of posts on Craigslist are available free of charge with the exception of job listings in New York City, Los Angeles and the San Francisco Bay area as well as brokered housing listings in New York City. Therefore small business owners can take advantage of the free posting on Craigslist to reach their target audience in a number of different locations.

Consider an example of a company offering moving services in Portland, Oregon. A small moving company that is relatively new might want to take advantage of the free advertising available on Craigslist. To have the best opportunity to reach the target audience the company should place a services offered posting under the labor and moving category for the counties in which the services are offered. Placing the post this way makes it far more likely to reach an audience of those who are planning a move in the desired county than it would if the same exact advertisement was placed as a job advertisement under the category of government jobs in a county in New Hampshire.

Besides being free for most postings, Craigslist offers additional benefits. The most significant benefit is a large audience. Craigslist receives over 4 billion page views per month. With such a large audience it makes it possible for those who post on Craigslist to reach a large audience. However, as previously mentioned, care should be taken when placing the post to categorize the advertisement correctly to ensure the advertisement is reaching the target audience.

Effectively Marketing on Craigslist

Marketing effectively on Craigslist is not very different from marketing effectively in other forms of print media. One of the most important elements of an effective marketing campaign on Craigslist is professionally written copy that appeals directly to the target audience. Hiring a freelance writer skilled in writing sales copy is an excellent idea in this situation. The business owner might be quite knowledgeable about their business but they do not likely have the skills necessary to convey the purpose of the business while also effectively convincing those who read the posting to perform a specific action. The specific action may include visiting a website and making a purchase, requesting additional information about the products or services or performing some other desired action such as visiting a traditional store or place of business.

The other component to marketing effectively, as previously mentioned, is placing the advertisement in the correct section of Craigslist. Categorizing the advertisement correctly is important but it is also important to place the advertisement in the right physical location. Products and services which are only offered in a limited area such as a particular city or county should be advertised in these exact locations. However, those who offer products via a website might consider placing their advertisement in all of the location to which they are willing to ship their products.

Using Craigslist to Organize Offline Networking Opportunities

Organizing offline networking opportunities is just one of the many ways in which individuals can use Craigslist for networking purposes. One example of when this type of opportunity may be worthwhile is for a situation where a businessperson is in the line of direct sales. Often these direct sales opportunities involve the individual hosting parties where others can sample and learn more about the products offered. These types of parties can be very lucrative for a skilled salesperson that has a passion for the products they are selling.

Examples of the types of businesses which benefit from sales parties include direct sales opportunities including cosmetics, toys, pet products, romance items, nutritional supplements and other products. Whether the products are so wonderful they literally sell themselves or they require a skilled salesperson to convince the audience of their worth, the most important part of direct sales is networking. This is where Craigslist can really help. Those who are interested in organizing sales parties can take advantage of the large number of community members reached by Craigslist to find new potential clients. Placing an advertisement in an appropriate section on Craigslist gives the salesperson the ability to reach a large target audience.

The one major caveat to using Craigslist to organize offline networking opportunities is care should be taken to ensure the safety of all of those involved. When setting up offline meetings, sales parties or other networking opportunities it is wise to arrange for these meetings to take place in a busy public place. This will help to deter the possibility of a potentially dangerous situation. It will also help to put potential clients more at ease and make them more likely to participate in your networking opportunity.

Using Craigslist to Organize Online Networking Opportunities

Craigslist can also be used to organize online networking opportunities. Examples of the ways in which Craigslist can be used to organize online network include the following:

* Directing traffic to a website
* Directing traffic to a message board
* Soliciting participation in an e-newsletter

Those who sell a product or service through an ecommerce website may be interested in using Craigslist to advertise their web address. An advertisement which is placed in an appropriate location on Craigslist can have the effect of reaching a very large audience. The appropriateness of the location on the advertisement depends on a number of factors. In general an appropriate location is anywhere on Craigslist where the advertisement is likely to be viewed by a large amount of members of the target audience.

Those who are interested in organizing online networking opportunities for likeminded individuals to share ideas can also use Craigslist to accomplish their goal. Placing an advertisement on Craigslist which directs traffic to a message board can help to create a thriving community. Again it is important to place this advertisement in a location where the target audience will be reached.

Finally, those who publish a regular e-newsletter can also use Craigslist to increase their number of subscribers. Whether the e-newsletter is published daily, weekly, monthly or according to some other schedule Craigslist can be used to solicit email addresses from those who might be interested in receiving these newsletters.

Using Craigslist to Find Networking Opportunities

Craigslist is not only useful in situations where individuals are seeking to organize networking opportunities. It can also be helpful for individuals who are looking to join pre-existing networking opportunities. These individuals would benefit from following links pointing to websites or message boards placed in advertisements throughout the community.

Trust the Security Craigslist Offers

One of the major benefits of searching for a new job through Craigslist is the ability to contact potential employers through a secure environment. Most individuals who post a job listing through Craigslist supply an anonymous email address for job candidates to respond to with pertinent information. This email address is supplied through Craigslist which gives job seekers the security of knowing their response will go through the secure Craigslist email system. The downside to this system is employers may not know the name of the employer before they make their initial contact. This can be troublesome especially for potential employees who are concerned about their present employer finding out they are seeking a new job.

Craigslist also offers security to job seekers by carefully reviewing job advertisements for content. Craigslist even urges members of the community to report questionable job advertisements. Users are able to flag these advertisements for further review by Craigslist staff. Craigslist then reviews the advertisement carefully to determine whether or not the advertisement may remain or should be deleted. Examples of advertisements which may be deleted are those which appear to be scams. Such advertisements often promise users a great deal of money for very little work in a short period of time. Although there is still the potential for misleading or false advertisements to appear on Craigslist the precautions they take help to minimize the number of these advertisements circulating within the community.

Find the Right Job in the Right Location

Another advantage to searching for a new job through Craigslist is the ability to narrow down a search to a specific region. Craigslist not only allows users to search for available positions by state but allows users to further refine this search by selecting major cities within the state to include in the search. This is significant because users who live in a particular area may only be interested in jobs within a certain radius. Even job seekers who are considering relocating to a particular state may only be willing to relocate to certain parts of the state.

Find Flexibility through Craigslist

Another advantage Craigslist offers to the job seeking community is flexibility in employment options. There are an increasing number of employees who are seeking more flexible employment options. Options such as telecommuting and contract employment appeal to many potential employees. Most job search websites do not include options for telecommute positions, contract employment or other flexibility options. However, on Craigslist these are prominent parts of the search feature. Both employers and employees realize Craigslist is the place to go when you are either an employer looking for employees capable of working offsite or you are an employee looking for telecommute, contract or other flex options.

Who is using Craigslist Everyone

One final advantage to searching for a new job through Craigslist is an impressive amount of available positions. More and more employers are beginning to realize how widely Craigslist is being used and are also beginning to realize they cannot afford not to place their available positions on Craigslist. Available jobs positions appear on Craigslist communities from small Mom and Pop companies to multi billion dollar corporations. Companies of all sizes realize they cannot afford to miss out on the wealth of potential employees who are flocking to Craigslist in search of exciting new job opportunities.

Craigslist has approximately four billion page views per month and approximately ten million visitors each month. The majority of these visitors likely have no harmful intentions but there is a small percentage, as on any online community, who may be seeking to harm others either physically or financially. There are, however, a number of very worthwhile reasons to use the Craigslist community for finding more information on career possibilities, meeting platonic friends or romantic partners or purchasing products or services. This article will take a look at why Craigslist is so useful but will also offer sage advice on how to protect yourself while using Craigslist.

Why Choose Craigslist for Online Searches

Many might wonder why Craigslist is so appealing. While there are other websites which focus exclusively on job searches, product purchases or meeting potential platonic friends or partners, Craigslist is unique in that it provides one convenient location for all of these types of searches and more. Craigslist might have started as a small operation focusing exclusively on the events going on in the San Francisco Bay Area but has since mushroomed into a much larger community with websites specific to different geographic regions.

The different websites focusing on specific geographic regions makes Craigslist an excellent resource because the users can communicate with those in their area directly instead of having to search through a larger database to find information on people, products and events in their area.

How to Protect Yourself on Craigslist

Craigslist is not anymore dangerous than other online communities. As with an Internet gathering place, the biggest problem is the ease in which individuals can disguise themselves and trick others into believing they are trustworthy when they are not. This applies both to individuals who seek to physically harm others as well as those who have intentions to scam others out of money or tangible items.

One of the best ways to protect yourself on Craigslist, or any online community, is to safeguard your personal information. This means information such as credit card numbers, bank account numbers, social security numbers and other similar numbers should not be given out unless the individual is positive who will be receiving the information and that it is being transmitted over a secure server. This is important because this information can be used for identity theft or other fraudulent purposes.

Care should also be taken to avoid giving out personal information such as full name, address and phone number. This is especially important because such information could be used by someone with malicious intent to locate an individual. While name, address and phone number are obvious pieces of information which should be safeguarded, it is important to note other pieces of information could be used to find a person. For example a person can be identified and located by supplying seemingly harmless information such as a first name, where high school was attended and year of graduation. Determined criminals can use this information to deduce the last name of the person which could lead to finding their address and using this information to harm or harass the individual.

Reaching Potential Customers on Craigslist

Another reason why posting advertisements for products or services on Craigslist is so worthwhile is the likelihood of reaching a large audience of potential customers. A review of the Craigslist fact sheet reveals pertinent information regarding the amount of traffic the website receives. According to this information Craigslist receives approximately four billion page views each month with ten million people using Craigslist each month. From these statistics it is clear that advertisements placed on Craiglist are likely to receive at least some attention from potential clients.

With so many visitors using Craigslist each month the advertising possibilities are limitless, however, there are no guarantee any of these visitors will be interested in your products or services. Like any marketing campaign, your advertisements on Craigslist must be intriguing, informative and in a location where you will reach your target audience.

Finding Your Target Audience on Craigslist

We’ve already discussed the number of visitors using Craigslist each month but the key to taking advantage of these numbers is to target your advertising in a way aimed at reaching your target audience as opposed to a wide audience of individuals who have no specific interest in your products or services. It is much more worthwhile to reach a small audience of those with a keen interest in your products or services than to reach a much larger audience of those who are not interested. Those who have an interest in your products or services are your target audience.

The key to reaching your target audience on Craigslist is placing your advertisement in the most appropriate locations. Craigslist has a specific section for businesses to advertise their services. This section is broken down into a number of categories. Those who are in the business of computer repair would be wise to place their advertisement in the computer section as opposed to the automotive section because individuals looking for computer help will naturally migrate to the computer section. It may sometimes be appropriate to place an advertisement in more than one section. This is acceptable as long as it does not cross the line to spamming the section.

If there is not a specific section for the products or services offered by your business there are a couple of options. Business owners can place an advertisement in the section for small business advertisements where it might be found by those doing a search in this section. Alternately the business owner can contact Craigslist to suggest the addition of a new category. They might be willing to oblige if they believe this category warrants an addition.

The Difference between Advertising and Spamming

Advertising on Craigslist is one thing but spamming is quite another. Placing an advertisement in an appropriate section of Craigslist is acceptable; however, placing the same advertisement in nearly every section of Craigslist websites for a number of different geographical regions is considered spam. Spam is ineffective for a number of reasons. First of all potential customers who see a particular advertisement in a number of different locations are likely to recognize the spamming techniques and be less inclined to patronize this business. Also, if Craigslist detects the practice of spamming they may delete all of the postings and could potentially ban advertisements from the individual in the future.

In general there are two ways to make a living with Craigslist. This may include offering services as an independent contractor on a contract basis or offering products or services as a small business owner. Alternately, individuals can utilize Craigslist to secure a permanent full time job through the job posting section on Craigslist. However, for the purposes of this article we will discuss the possibilities open to independent contractors and small business owners on Craigslist.

Craigslist for Independent Contractors

Those who offer their services as independent contractors on a contract basis are finding Craigslist to be an excellent location to offer their services or respond to advertisements from those seeking services. An increase in the amount of work being outsourced by both small businesses and large corporations has prompted many savvy individuals to realize there is a market for them to take advantage of these outsourcing opportunities. They can use Craigslist in their effort to do this by placing advertisements for services offered as well as by responding to advertisements seeking contract employees.

There is a section on Craigslist specifically for services offered. Under the topic of services offered there are a number of different categories. The contractor can place a posting under the most appropriate category to reach their target audience. There is also a category for small business advertisements which may be used if there are no appropriate categories for the type of services offered. However, it might be more difficult to reach a target audience by placing an advertisement in such a general category.

Independent contractors can also gain business opportunities by responding to advertisements seeking contract employees. In searching for a job on Craigslist individuals can begin with a location and then browse through different types of job by category. The easiest way to find a contract position is to use the search feature and check the contract box to include this term as a part of the search criteria. This will ensure the search results returned include only contract positions.

Craigslist for Small Business Owners

Small business owners can utilize Craigslist to reach a larger audience and grow their business. Those who have a small business have a couple of opportunities to use Craigslist to their advantage. The most obvious way to promote a business on Craigslist is by posting an advertisement in the appropriate category under the for sale or services sections of the community. This can be very effective because Craigslist receives more than four billion page views per month meaning there is a large potential audience using Craigslist.

Small business owners can also use the discussion forums portion of the Craigslist community to generate greater profit for their business. However, small business owners should use a great deal of caution to ensure their promotional postings are not viewed as spam. There is a distinct difference between posting information related to your business in a way that is informative to the reader and spamming the boards with useless posts intended solely to promote your business. Spamming is not only likely to be overlooked by readers but also runs the risk that the Craigslist moderators will delete your posts or take more severe actions against you.

Find the Target Audience in Discussion Forums

The discussion forums featured on Craigslist provide an excellent opportunity for users to find their target audience. This is important because misdirected advertising that does not reach the target audience is useless. Advertising on Craigslist is free but this does not mean business owners have nothing to lose by advertising on Craigslist without doing market research first. Time, energy and other resources can all be wasted when care is not taken to reach the target audience.

Visiting the discussion forums allows an Internet marketer to reach the target audience by providing insight into the members of the community and what they are looking for in products and services. Through visiting these forums, advertisers can simply lurk and take careful note of the ensuing conversations. This can provide a great deal of insight into the thoughts of the target audience including information on how to win over this audience. Advertisers who actively participate in these forums can further capitalize by engaging members of the community in conversation and soliciting feedback from them. All of this information can be used to target advertising specifically to the members of the target audience.

Hiring search engine optimization (SEO) specialist to assist in creating advertisements is a worthwhile investment. This is because an SEO specialist can provide useful information on how the advertisement should be structured. Additionally, they may have an SEO writer on staff that is capable of writing advertising that is not only engaging but also optimized for search engines.

Use the Search Feature to Find the Target Audience

The search feature on Craigslist can also provide valuable insight which can help advertisers to locate their target audience. Advertisers can start this process by entering keywords related to their products or services to search in various sections of Craigslist. During this time, take note of competitors’ advertisements which are returned during these searches and the sections in which these advertisements are placed. If competitors’ advertisements appear in sections which appear logical, it might be worthwhile to consider placing your own advertisements in these sections to ensure target audience members find your advertisement when searching these sections.

Next carefully examine all advertisements by competitors. Pay particular attention to the keywords used in the advertisements. This is important because savvy Internet marketers recognize the need to optimize their advertisements for the same keywords being used by competitors. Failure to do so may result in potential customers only viewing the competitors’ advertisements when searching for these particular keywords.

Hiring a SEO firm might be useful in this situation. They can not only provide you with a set of new keywords but can also help you to optimize your advertisement for both sets of keywords. The copy for advertisements should be optimized for the keywords but should also be informative and enticing. An SEO firm with an on staff SEO copywriter can be especially helpful in this capacity.

The History of Craigslist

Craigslist begin in 1995, essentially as an email list run by Craig Newmark for the purpose of keeping his friends informed of interesting events occurring in the San Francisco Bay Area. This system spread through word of mouth and the list grew. After sometime others began using the list to respond to the entire list with information about other events or as a way to make requests or exchange information. Those who began responding on Craigslist began posting items such as jobs, for sale items, apartment openings and other pieces of information. Newmark wrote software to enable participants to post this information onto the website which became known as Craigslist.org. Although Newmark was approached in 1997 about the possibility of running banner advertisements on his website, he declined this opportunity.

Finding Items for Sale on Craigslist

The for sale section of Craigslist is the place to find items which are for sale. This section is divided into a variety of different categories. Users can browse through appropriate categories to find other users offering items for sale which may be of interest to them. Those who cannot find an item they are seeking can take advantage of the wanted section to post an advertisement seeking a particular item as well as the price they are willing to pay for this item. When purchasing an item on Craigslist there is always the potential for receiving an item that is not in the condition described in the advertisement. Asking many questions is the best way to avoid this type of problem when making a purchase.

Finding Jobs on Craigslist

One of the most popular sections of Craigslist is the jobs section. Job seekers prefer Craigslist over other websites designed specifically for finding jobs because Craigslist offers those posting the job the opportunity to include information such as whether telecommuting is an option or the position is a contract position in addition to whether it is full time or part time. This is significant because many other websites do not include this information and job seekers who rely on the Internet are likely to be more interested in these options that offer greater flexibility.

Browsing through Craigslist for potential jobs is surprisingly easy. Job seekers simply enter the Craigslist website for the desired geographical region and select a category from the jobs section that describes their desired field of employment. Alternately job seekers can use the search feature to find their dream job.

Answering Personals Advertisements

The personals section of Craigslist can be a great place for individuals to meet platonic friends or potential romantic partners. However, it can also be a location for predators to prey on unsuspecting victims who do not realize the threat of danger which may exist with meeting online partners in person.

One of the simplest ways to avoid potentially harmful situations is to never agreeing to meet someone in a desolate location. Initial meetings should take place in busy, public locations to minimize the potential for danger. Predators are much less likely to attempt to harm you in a public location. Additionally, it is wise to not travel to a secluded location with someone you don’t know until you are positive they do not intend to do you any harm.

Precautions should also be taken to avoid giving out personal information such as your address to those you meet online. The Internet affords a certain degree of anonymousness and some unscrupulous individuals can take advantage of this to mask their true identity.

Answering Housing Advertisements

The housing advertisements on Craigslist offer opportunities for those who are seeking housing situations such as rental of a housing location, roommate opportunities, sublets or house swaps. Care should be taken in all of these opportunities to ensure the person you are working with does not have any ill intentions towards you. This can be done by carefully screening all potential roommates or others who might be using your house or apartment.

When selecting a potential roommate it is important to verify the individual is trustworthy and able to pay the rent. It is also important to seek out an individual with living habits similar to your own to avoid the potential for conflict.

Answering Job Advertisements

Craigslist is an excellent location for finding exciting new career opportunities. There are many different job advertisements in a variety of different categories. These job opportunities include full time, part time, telecommute and contract positions. The downside to answering job advertisements on Craigslist is the advertisements are often placed anonymously. Those who place the advertisements are given the opportunity to either use their own email address for candidates to respond or to have candidates respond through an email address generated by Craigslist. Therefore, candidates do not always know who has placed the advertisements. For this reason care should be taken when responding to these advertisements to avoid supplying specific contact information. Candidates are instead urged to supply only an email address when responding to advertisements.