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This information is designed to provide accurate and authoritative information with regard to the

subject matter covered. It is offered with the understanding that the presenters are not

engaged in rendering legal, accounting, or other professional services. If legal advice or other

expert advice is required, the services of a competent professional should be sought.

How To Find Deals On CraigsList Part 1: Posting Ads

James Orr

How To Find Deals On CraigsList

• Part 1: Posting Ads – July 10, 2012

• Part 2: Replying To FSBO Ads – August 14, 2012

• Part 3: Replying To “For Rent” Ads – September 11, 2012

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Presented In Two Formats

• This presentation is made in two formats: – Audio version

– Video version with Power Point slides

• Most of the information and presentation is designed for audio so you can listen conveniently

• Or, if you prefer to see slides, you can access the video version

Objectives

• Learn CraigsList basics

• Show how to post real estate investor ads on CraigsList to find deals

• Learn how to write ads and improve ads to maximize response

CraigsList Basics

• Classified Ads (posts)

• Largely replaced newspaper classifieds

• Most sections are free to post in and free to view

– There are a small number of paid categories

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Alexa Traffic Rank

1. Craigslist.com

2. Backpage.com

3. eBayClassifieds

Warning: Logarithmic Scale!

Alexa Pageviews

1. Craigslist.com

2. Backpage.com

3. eBayClassifieds

Register For New Account

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Register For New Account

Register For New Account

Register For New Account

• Phone verified account – Do not buy one

• Use your account when you post to CraigsList

• Keeps track of your posts and allows you to edit/delete/repost them

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Account: Active Postings

• Edit

• Delete

• Renew

– Top posting

• Repost

Account: Color Coded • Green (not shown) = active

– Can delete

• Blue = deleted by you – Can repost

• Orange = flagged – Can’t do anything with

• Purple = expired (naturally) – Can repost

When You Post

• After about 15 minutes delay

• You’re post will usually appear at the top of the page

• The top gets the most traffic so this is a really good thing

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When You Post

• The next person that posts moves your post down the page one

When You Post

• When two other people have posts in that category, you’re in third position

When You Post

• When the next one posts you move down again

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When You Post

• The more people that post the faster you move down

• Usually this also means the more people are looking in the section – But not always true

When You Post

• When people come to CraigsList and browse a category they are much more likely to look at the top few postings that look interesting

When You Post

• Which leads people to want to often remove their post and post it again so they can get to the top again

• This is called “Top Posting”

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When You Post

• CraigsList does not like “Top Posting”

• Terms of Use say you can post each post only once every 3 days

When You Post

• Some categories move so slow (because few people are posting there) that you’ll still be near the top even 3 days later

When You Post

• Other categories are so popular and so many people are posting that in a matter of hours your post has been pushed down

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When You Post

• People click on your post title to see the full posting

When You Post

• They need to return back to this page to see the next post

• In other words posts are not accessible directly from other posts

– They are accessible for the results page only

When You Post

• Eventually, your posting gets to the bottom of the first page

• When the next person posts…

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When You Post • Your post rolls off the first

page and onto the second page

• Second page typically gets less traffic than the first

• Unless people are “searching” for terms in your post you’re not likely to get many inquiries once your post has aged

Gone!

Flagging

• What is flagging?

• Done by other people when you post something inappropriate – Wrong category

– Socially unacceptable post

Flagging

• Can also be flagged by your competition

• Does not usually happen

• Takes more than one person to flag

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Flagging

• Keep a copy of your post somewhere else (other than in your CraigsList account)

• If it is flagged, you won’t be able to “renew” or “repost” it from your account

How Do You Know: Flagged • Your post will no longer

appear in the results page • You’ll notice it is marked as

“flagged/removed” (orange) in your account management page

• You may be emailed or otherwise notified – Check your account often – Write code that will check it for

you

Ghosting ≠

Flagging

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What Is Ghosting?

• You post and it just never shows up on the results page

• Anti-spam feature of CraigsList

– Not an error

Ghosting

• Check each time you post for ghosting

• Check the search results/category stream after 15 minutes

– It is normal for it not to show up right away

• If after 15 minutes it… – Is showing up in results,

it is not ghosted

– Is not showing up in results, it is ghosted

Ghosting • Checking your account

page gives you absolutely no information about whether it is ghosted or not – It will appear in your

account as normal (green) even if it is ghosted

– You can even click on it and it looks normal

• Fun fact: if your ad is flagged, it tells you the ad was not ghosted – Ads must show up in

results so people can see them to be able to flag them for removal

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How I Check For Ghosting • For my own account (and I have

just one) I leave the email from CraigsList in my inbox until it is at least 15 minutes old and then check to make sure the post is visible in the results section – It must be visible on the results

page – If you click directly on the post

itself from the email or your account, it will appear normal

• Once I check, I archive the email

• Custom program • Automated system for checking

ghosting that I use when I hire people

• My posts are very rarely ghosted!

What Causes Ghosting? • CraigsList does not reveal their

“secret” algorithm for ghosting postings

• Speculative factors that increase the odds of your post being ghosted… – Posts in cities that do not match the

geographical location of your computer’s IP address

• Making i t hard for international VA’s to

post for you here in the United States

– Posts that have known characteristics of spam

• Certa in domain names

• Certa in phrases

– The age of your account on CraigsList

• People with new accounts that post

questionable stuff are more l ikely to be ghosted

– Posting from an account that has a bad reputation for posting stuff that gets flagged

– Unreasonable quantity of ads posted from an account or IP address

Reposting

• Don’t blast them out rapid fire!

• Follow CraigsList guidelines – 3 days between

reposting the same post

• Take down the old posts – It will reduce flagging

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To Include A Phone Number Or Not To Include A Phone Number…

• If you prefer to take phone calls… yes

• Having a phone can slightly reduce flagging but inappropriate posts will likely still be flagged

• I have no data to suggest it affects ghosting either way

Include Your Website Address? • Especially helpful if you’re

outsourcing your posting so the replies are not going to the email address of the person posting

• Certain website addresses are believed to contribute to increased ghosting

Posting Your Email • Use anonymous version from CraigsList

– This i s what I prefer for most of my posts that I do personally

• I do not use any email when I hire others – I use a website address and tell them NOT to include any email address at all

– Unfortunately many s till “accidentally” do include their email

– That suppresses response to my website

• Can write code to check that if you’re automating this process

• Using your email without the anonymous feature will increase spam to your email account, so don’t do it

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Increase Response • Increasing the number of

ways someone can reply • Make an offer that

requires immediate action and ask for the order

• Include testimonials and other proof

• Salesmanship applies

Photo Versus Text Posts • Look at what others are using in your

category – If it looks different or especially if it

looks l ike spam, you’re more likely to be flagged and removed

• The overwhelming majority of the posts I’ve done have been text only

• A small percentage have been primarily text with an additional photo or image

• Very, very few have been image only – and those mostly for testing purposes

only

CraigsList Buy Ad Checklist™

• Under “Real Estate Investor Marketing To Buy Checklist™”

• Basically:

– Check to see if the ad is still up and in good position

– Following posting guidelines, repost it

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Can’t You Just Give Me Ads To Run? • For CraigsList only: cannot and should not run the

same ads as everyone else – Duplicate posts – Flagging and Ghosting

• Can borrow from what has worked • So, let’s talk about:

– Creating Headlines – Writing Body Copy

Headlines

• Will give some proven headlines on next page, but encourage you to customize and create your own for CraigsList

• Or, do a search for “headline bank” to get some generic headline ideas

• Modify them for your own business

Proven Real Estate Investor Headlines • We Buy Houses • We Buy Houses Cash • We Buy Homes • We Buy Homes Cash • Cash For Your House • Cash For Houses • Sell Now For Cash • Cash Now For Your House • Sell Your House In 9 Days • How To Sell Your House “As Is” For A

Fair Price On The Date Of Your Choice • How To Sell Your House “As Is” For A

Fair Price In 9 Days • Discover How To Sell Your House

Quickly • Sold In 9 Days • We Buy Houses, We Take Over

Payments • Stop Foreclosure • Avoid Foreclosure • Facing Foreclosure • We Buy Houses Any Condition or

Situation • We Buy Houses Any Price or Location

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Creating Your Own Headlines • How to …

• Inside Secrets of … (Discover The)

• Do you …

• 100% Guaranteed! …

• Little Known Secrets …

• Closely Guarded Secrets …

• Advice to ..

• At Last …

• Special Offer …

• Limited-Time Offer …

• Act Now to Get This …

• Money Saving …

• No-Risk …

• Zero-Risk …

• Must See …

• Must Attend …

• The Shocking Truth About …

• Do YOU …

• What You Should Know About …

• Complete Details, FREE …

• Free Report ..

• Call Now For …

• Limited Time To The First …

• Limited-Time Opportunity …

• How You Can …

• You Get …

• You Have …

• Facts You …

• Save Time …

• Save Money …

• If You’re Serious About …

• The Truth About …

• Free Bonuses …

• The Single Most-Important …

• Let Me Show You …

• Learn To …

• Secrets Of The Pro’s (or other persons with

credibility)

• Don’t Spend Another …

• Key Secrets To …

• Urgent Information …

• Surprising New Discovery

• 12 New Ways To …

• Do You Feel …

• Do You Have …

• Yours Free …

• Discover How To …

• The 7 (or 3) Secrets That Can …

• Yes You Can …

• What Would You Do …

• Are You …

• If You Have …

• If You Are …

• No More …

• When It Comes To …

• Here, At Last …

http://bodywisdomschool.wordpress.com/2009/03/29/163-awesome-headline-word-combos-and-action-phrases/

Creating Your Own Headlines 2 • For Preferred Customers Only …

• Take Advantage Of …

• Make The Most Of …

• Reserve Your …

• Are You Ready …

• Nothing Else Compares To …

• For Busy People ….

• If You’re Worried About …

• Top 10 Reasons To …

• You’re Invited To …

• Prepare For …

• The Ultimate In …

• Makes Life …

• Looking For …

• The Perfect …

• The Quickest Way To …

• Individually Designed …

• There’s Nothing Quite Like …

• One-Of-A-Kind …

• Personalized Service

• The Intelligent Way To …

• No-Nonsense Advise

• 100% Pure

• Designed To

• A Breakthrough System For

• A Breakthrough Formula For

• It’s So Easy, The Only Thing You …

• Take One Moment

• Time-Tested ..

• Proven To

• Everything You’ve Always Wanted

• From ..

• It Works

• You’ll Never Have To Worry …

• Again …

• Simple But Powerful

• A Safe, Easy, Way to

• A Safe Way to

• Worry Free

• Pamper Yourself With …

• Isn’t It Time

• A Simple Solution To

• Results In Just …

• Last Chance For

• Last Chance To

• Absolutely Free

• For Less Than

• Get Ready To

• Join (Hundreds, Thousands, Millions of Others Who …

• Used By

• Recommended By

• Take Advantage Of …

• Your Chance To ..

• The Choice of …

• Knocks Your Socks Off …

http://bodywisdomschool.wordpress.com/2009/03/29/163-awesome-headline-word-combos-and-action-phrases/

Creating Your Own Headlines 3 • Information-Packed …

• Yours Free If You Act Now

• Here’s How

• Now Available …

• Treat Yourself …

• Astounding New …

• Secrets …

• 7 Reasons To …

• Best-Kept Secret

• 12 Proven Steps To …

• Reveals Powerful Secrets

• Now You Can

• Proven Steps To

• Are You Still

• Say Goodbye To

• Closely-Guarded Secrets

• A Breakthrough In

• In Test After Test

• Surprisingly Simple

• As Easy As

• Easy To

• Makes ____________ Easier (Faster etc.)

• You’ll Wonder Why

• One Call Away

• One Time Only

• ____________ Without The …

• Everything You Need For

• Professional Results With

• Helps You

• The Next Best Thing To

• Perfect For Any

• Never Before Seen

• Satisfaction Guaranteed

• At Last …

• Advise To …

• Guaranteed To

• Unconditionally Guaranteed

• Money-Back Guarantee

• No Questions Asked Guarantee

• Guarantees You

• Discover The Magic Of

• Get More

• If You’re Looking For ..

• Learn To …

• Beyond Your Wildest Dreams (Fantasies, Expectations)

• Live Like ..

• Enjoy The Ultimate

• Experience The Thrill

• You’ve Never Seen …

• For That Special

• What Better Way To …

• Tired Of The Same Old

• Instant Results

http://bodywisdomschool.wordpress.com/2009/03/29/163-awesome-headline-word-combos-and-action-phrases/

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Market To Message Match

• We Buy Cash ≠ We Take Over Payments

• Different messages attract different sellers

• Run multiple ads that make a specific offer that matches your message for that ad and the target market for that ad

Writing Body Copy • This is sales

– Talk benefits – Be compelling

• Make an offer • Get them to take action:

– Call you – Email you – Fax you – Fill out a web form

• Great books and websites about writing sales copy to study

Posting Agents • CraigsList prohibits the use

of posting agents – Aside: I find this odd because

they have entire categories for “posting agents”

• Structure your business to be in compliance – Find bird dogs

– Find wholesalers

– Find team leaders

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Split Testing • Run two ads to see which you get a better response with • Can run a few major types of tests

– Test which headline gets the higher number of views of your ad • Measure the number of times someone views it with two different images (they can be

of the same image but with different names) on your web server

– Test which ad gets the most clicks to your website • Measuring activity that tends to lead to an overall better response

– Test which ad gets the most responses • This is ideal, but may need to do others since this may be a very small, erratic number • Responses can be calls, emails, form submissions, etc • Usually not practical with the relatively small response you’ll get from an ad on CraigsList

for “We Buy Houses”

Split Testing Warning

• Be careful: “more ad views” might not be an overall better response

– Your headline may get lots of looks, but the body and call to action may not match what your ad says

– “$10,000 FREE” might get a lot of views, but very few responses once you describe what you mean in the body

Different Ad Types To Run • Free reports • Free home valuation • Buy for cash • Take over payments • Avoid foreclosure • Avoid short sale • Short term loans

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“How To Earn Six Figures A Year From CraigsList”

• For Platinum Members and above, I do have a presentation I did explaining the basics of CraigsList and talking specifically about the business model I used to earn six figures a year from CraigsList

• Available as a MP3 with PDFs of the slides • http://jamesorr.com/how-to-earn-six-figures-a-

year-from-craigslist/

Google Analytics • Use Google Analytics on your

website (if you’re having people go to a website to respond) so you can track visitors and actions they’ve taken on your website

• You can then look up which came from a specific CraigsList ad

• Use the “repost” button on CraigsList to keep the same CraigsList URL instead of deleting and reposting

Save Your Ads And Analytics • Recommend you use Evernote • Capture the ad in a Notebook

– Especially important if they are flagged!

• Capture the analytics from Google Analytics (or whatever you’re using) to the same Notebook

• Tag ads into groups or different test types

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http://JamesOrr.com/gift

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Contact James Orr If you would like additional information, please contact me directly.

James Orr (970) 225-6989

James Orr

1001-A E Harmony Road #512 Fort Collins, Colorado 80525

http://JamesOrr.com