Ideas & Helpful Tips for Advertising with Free Classifieds

[Admin]

Consumers frequently ask us "How do I sell products and services through classified ads online?", so we decided to setup this page of helpful tips as a guide. If you are buying, selling or advertising, our advertising network can help. If you are selling a product or service, we have specialized categories for you. We feel that our free classifieds, extensive Internet reach and helpful tips will make your next sale or purchase an easy one.

Selling Tips​

If you wish to advertise your products and services for sale on our free classifieds website, we have a number of tips you should put to practice in order to get a quick sale and maximum value out of your advertisement.

1. Short precise ads work better. We allow for longer ads, but that does not mean you need to place longer ads.

2. Your goal should only be to get the prospective customer to contact you or visit your website for more information.

3. Use action words (i.e. Now, Amazing, Attractive, Confidential, etc.). These words call the customer to do something.

4. Make your product appear unique to all other product available (if any).

5. DO NOT try to sell your customer on your product in your ad. Just lead them to you.

6. Spark an interest or curiosity in your advertisement.

7. Use your ad title to grab the interest, use the ad to spark curiosity. Remember, your ad title is crawled by search engines. Be very descriptive. Make your title text what you think people might be searching for. People don't search for "This is the Best!" or "For Sale."

8. More than likely, you will not achieve good results from a product that is saturated on the Internet, or a product that is so obscure that it has no perceived value.

9. Posting the same ad over and over and over in a row is called "SPAMMING." Spamming will get your ads banned from our website and will get your account terminated. In addition, our research has shown that customers who see the same ad many times in a row do not respond. No one likes a spammer.

10. Track and monitor your results. This is critical. If your ad does not attract results, change the ad with the next posting. Your frame of mind should be to learn through trial and error. Find the ads that work for your product.

12. DO NOT try to make your product appear too good to be true. Leave out the hype. The Internet has grown, and hype does not sell anymore. Just state the real facts.

Signs & Flyers

You should place a "For Sale Sign" on or around the items you would like to sell. You can buy these from a local store, or if you already have an ad listed with us, you can create a custom "For Sale" sign free of charge from within your account. Remember to place your items in a high traffic area (like near a shopping mall entrance) to get the most inquires.

You can also do the same to create a custom "For Sale Flyer" to display in local grocery stores, community & recreation centers, golf courses, churches, college campuses...anywhere you might find an announcement or bulletin board that allows advertising. Related "For Sale Signs & Flyers" are free to all sellers using our network.

Buyers who see your sign or flyer are directed to our free classifieds website and can visit your ad to view the details of your product day or night. Remember to place your signs and flyers in a high traffic area (like near a shopping mall entrance) to get the most inquires. Buyers can "tear off" you contact info.

Use A Photo

A good photo can improve response to your ad by 150% or more! Take a photo with a digital camera or cell phone or ask your local photo finishing shop to make a few jpeg's (from a hard copy) for you on a disk or cd. From within your account you can add photos plus descriptions anytime. Be sure to take a few different shots, it's also best to inform any potential buyer with close-up shots of any defects or damaged areas.

Set The Right Price

You know how much you want for your items, but do you know how realistic that price really is? Find out what your item is really worth using local pennysavers or newspaper classifieds. You can also search through our website for other similar items to yours to see what others are asking.

State in your description that the price is OBO (or best offer) - this might convince buyers to call or email you if the price is close to their budget. This will also give you the opportunity to justify the price and negotiate the sale.

Good Presentation

Perceived value goes a long way! Tidy up your items before you sell them. First impressions are everything! Wash the item and take your photos on a nice, sunny day.

Extended Advertising

Even though you want to sell your products and services online, another effective option is to use your classified Ad No. to market your product or service beyond our website. Buyers can be pulled to your online ad from other online classifieds, as well as from traditional advertising like in your local newspaper. Hold your description to a minimum while leading buyers to more descriptive online details and photos. You can measure your success by the number of page views your ad receives.

Newspaper Example:
YOUR AD TITLE GOES HERE
$10k/obo. Call 555-5555 or
OurWebsite.us # 55555

When logged in to our free classifieds website, use our metrics to see the number of times someone has replied to your ad, the number of times someone has viewed your ad and the number of times someone "Told a friend" about your ad.

Maximizing Inquiries

As mentioned above, when you view your ad detail page, or log into your account, we show you the number of ad views your ad has received since posted. This information can be used by you to decide what changes might be useful. For example, if the ad views show that a lot of people have been looking at your ad, but you're not getting enough inquiries, maybe you need to add a photo or the current photo needs to be replaced with a better one, or maybe you need to adjust the asking price slightly - check the selling price in your area. If the ad views are low you may need to change your headline to attract more clickthroughs.

Showing Your Items

When trying to sell your items online, you may still need to show it face-to-face. Meet in an agreed upon public area and try to take someone with you. Safety in numbers. Be honest with potential buyers about any serious problems or repairs. Dress respectably. If you don't appear to take good care of yourself, your buyer may feel that is how you treated your items as well!

Closing The Sale

Write a receipt for your items between you and your buyer with signatures on both copies. Include a statement that the item is being bought "as is."

Include all pertinent info on the receipt so the terms of the deal cannot be misinterpreted. Keep the receipt for your records. It will establish the date of sale and help protect you from any future liability.

Buying Tips​

Do Some Research

You know how much you have or want to spend, but do you know how realistic that "deal" you found really is? Find out what similar items are selling for in local newspapers and other ads on this website.

Closing The Sale

Make sure the seller writes a receipt for both of you with signatures on both copies. The seller will likely include a statement that the item is being bought "as is" so make sure you are comfortable with this. Ask to have all the pertinent information on the receipt so the terms of the deal cannot be misinterpreted. Keep the receipt for your records.

Avoiding Scams

All types of buyers & sellers have flocked to the Internet in recent years to search for killer deals on "pre-owned" products.

Here are some of the most common scams directed toward buyers & sellers online:

Certified Check Scams - This scam is often perpetrated on sellers of items over the Internet thorough classified ads and auctions. A buyer indicates that he wants to buy the item and pay with a cashier's check. At the last minute, the buyer creates a reason why he needs to write the check for more money and have the seller wire him the difference. The check turns out to be a fake, but it is often discovered long after the seller has wired the money. In addition, the seller is responsible for covering the money for the fake check. To avoid check scams, call the issuing bank before you accept the check and wait for the check to clear before you transfer anything to the seller.

Bogus Escrow Services - Online sellers often use escrow services, which collect and verify payment from a buyer. The money is held by the service until all parties are satisfied with the sale. There have been some instances of phony escrow services operating on the Internet.

The best way to avoid most scams is to make sure you never transfer anything to a buyer until you have the cash in your hand. That means, you either get cash from the buyer or wait for the cashier's check to clear. Avoid buyers who will never meet you or never wish to see your items in person (overseas). Avoid taking personal checks and allowing buyers to pay your items off over time.

If buying, always verify the seller actually has/owns the item for sale and meet them face-to-face to view the items. If you follow these few precautions, your buying and selling experience should go smoothly.

 

[Admin]

More Classified Ad Posting & Website Browsing Tips

In this section, we cover some great tips on how to place and improve your classified ads. We talk about topics such as how to write a great classified ad title, what the best ad duration is, how to make your listing as captivating as possible and more. If you have any questions about these tips or if you need further assistance with anything regarding our website, please feel free to contact us. We're here to help.

This is a very important section. It may, in fact, be the most important page on our entire website. The reason for this is because it might make or break the ads you place with us.

We're going to offer some very important tips in the space below. You can read them and then place your ads or you can place your ads, read the tips and then edit your ads (if you agree with the tips). The choice is yours, but we suggest you at least give this page a once over so you can see what's good and what might need some attention.

How To Write a Great Classified Ad Title

The title of a classified ad is very important. It's the part of the ad that says, "Hey, check me out!" It's what tells people, in 70 characters or fewer, what the ad is all about. So, with this in mind, you know you need to spend some time on it.

First, I am going to write a poor title. This title would solicit very few clicks, if any at all. Also, this title wouldn't be very appealing to search engines as they crawl our website deciding which pages to show in their index.

"For Sale"

Okay, let's add another one.

"This is Really Great!"

Let me ask you a question - if those two titles above are supposed to describe what the ad is about, can you figure out what the member is trying to promote? Neither can I.

So, what does a good classified ad title consist of? Well, it's less than you think and it's really easy to write one. I'm going to give you an example of a good title:

"For Sale: 2009 Harley Davidson Chopper That Will Make Your Head Spin"

Now that's going to get some clicks. The title above has two parts, an "action" and a "statement." The action for the above title is the "For Sale" part. It says to the buyer, "Come on over and buy me." The statement above is the "2009 Harley Davidson Chopper That Will Make Your Head Spin." This states what the item is and what the owner of it thinks about it. It's a pretty great title. Also, the "That Will Make Your Head Spin" adds a bit of excitement and uniqueness to it as well. If you do a search in Google for that exact title, I'm pretty certain that you won't find anything. If you were to search for "2009 Harley Davidson Chopper" by itself, you'd find a whole bunch. If you just wrote "For Sale," forget about it. You'll never see the ad in search results.

So, what I'm trying to say here is that if you spend some time to craft a well written classified ad title, you not only increase the chances of someone clicking on your ad while browsing our website, you also increase the visibility of it in the search engines. And that's important.

How To Write a Captivating Classified Ad Description

Now, this is a bit different than writing a great ad title. The title is meant to grab a visitor and pull them into your ad, but the description is meant to really sell them on your ideas.

Like I did above, I'm going to offer you a poorly written classified ad description:

"2009, hardly ridden, must sell - wife had baby."

If you were to read this description without seeing the title, would you know what the ad is about? Can this description stand by itself? I didn't think so. What is it even about? Is it a horse? Who knows.

Let me show you what a good description for a 2009 Harley Davidson might look like:

"For sale is my 2009 Harley Davidson Chopper. It's glittery black, shiny and only has 2,000 miles on it's original engine. If you like immaculate condition, look no further because this baby has never seen a drop of rain. No one other than myself has ridden this motorcycle, so you can be sure it's pristine.

I am selling the bike for only $20,000, so be sure to call 123-456-7891 today before it's gone!"

If you notice, I covered four bases in this ad description. They were Attention, Interest, Desire and Action. If you read the description again, I'm pretty sure you can match the bases up to what I wrote in the description.

But wait, that's not all - and this is what separates me from many other classified ad posters out there. Many people like to keep things short and sweet. They would leave the description just like it is above. And that may have worked years ago, but the internet has changed. There is so much commonality and duplication out there now, whatever you do, you need to be different. That's why I suggest that after you write your captivating introduction, keep doing. Here's what I mean:

"Okay, here's the back story to why I'm selling my bike. Ever since I was a kid, I treasured and valued nice things. I only purchased quality and gave everything else a pass. Even my first matchbox car was the best money can buy. It's no wonder I went with a Harley...

...and then we decided to start a family and that's why this motorcycle that quickly became the love of my life, must be replaced by another."

You see, by continuing on with your description (only after you gave all the valuable information up front), you can really build trust and sell what you're selling. People who read classified ads don't just scan them - they study them. Think about how you act when you're online looking to purchase something. Do you just scan something quickly and pull out your wallet. No way! If you're anything like me, you browse through way too many things and then make a choice - days later. If you spend good time writing your ad, someone who is interested may even bookmark the page to come back to later. It's really important, so don't skimp on this one.

Should I Add Photos & Videos To my Ad?

This question is such a no-brainer it's difficult to write about. I can't tell you how many times I have been looking to purchase items online and skipped right over the listings with no photos as if they were not even there. If you want to do real business on our websites, please, please, please upload photos. Nothing is worse for an ad than having no photos to look at. We currently allow 12 photos to be uploaded. It's my personal preference to use all the slots. It's not a lot of extra money and the benefit can really outweigh the cost. Remember though, you do get one free photo with each ad.

Now, let's talk about videos. You can easily embed a Youtube video in your posting. There are no length limits on the video, so if you can include your entire message in only one video, the more power to you. If you have multiple messages, it might be a good idea to include more videos.

But, let's be clear here - videos can add a tremendous amount of information to your ad. If there's a video available, I can tell you right now that the chances of someone watching it are great.

Do Not Ship

Always meet face to face to buy or sell. Did you know there might be a rule or regulation that prohibits you from shipping what you'd like to ship? Do you know every rule there is to know? If not, please heed our advice and simply meet face to face to buy and sell. There is much less chance for fraud and by meeting locally in a safe location, shipping will be unnecessary.

Protect Yourself From Scams

Please read this section very carefully. It is your responsibility to remain safe on the internet. If you suspect that someone is trying to scam you, please report them to us. While we make every effort to stop fraud in its tracks, it's up to you to deal with caution.

1. We do not guarantee the validity of businesses or individuals that choose to use our websites. We do not offer a Payment Protection Service or any other type of buyer or seller protection. If you contact a seller and they send you some sort of a buyer protection agreement with our name all over it, you can be sure it's fraudulent. We did not authorize this and it's definitely a fake.

2. If it looks too good to be true, it probably is. A shiny new item costs what you would expect a shiny new item to cost. Don't think you are going to get a "great deal" by paying less than half of what it's worth. A low price is one of the tactics scammers use.

3. Try to make all purchases and sales in person. If you absolutely must have something shipped, use a reputable escrow company such as Escrow.com. If the seller accepts credit cards, use one. Never use cash or cash equivalents with any online transactions. Beware of fake escrow services that have been set up to take your money. If the seller recommends "their" escrow service, consider it a scam.

4. Don't buy or sell something when the buyer or seller is from overseas. Chances are, you'll never see your money again. Many internet scams come from overseas. Scammers like to say they are on a "trip" or have "recently moved" overseas and must conduct business from there.

5. Never pay with Western Union, Moneygram or other anonymous payment services. Scammers love to use these services because there is no way to trace your money. There is also no way to recover it once payment is made. Once the money is gone, it's gone.

6. Don't fall for the classic cashier's check or money order scam. Here's how it works - The scammer offers to pay by check (cashier's check/money order) for more than the item is worth, then they will ask you to send them back the difference (usually by Western Union). A couple weeks later you find out the check was fake and the bank will take it out of your account. This scam can be set up several ways. Some scammers have even gone as far as setting up their own websites.

Here are some helpful tips:

- Obtain legitimate contact information. Get phone numbers. Get addresses. Ask for references with phone numbers. Legitimate buyers and sellers will offer these things.

- Ask for a photo of the seller holding the item. Ask for a photo of the seller holding a piece of paper with your name written on it.

- Remember, there is no rush. Take precautions and pay with a method that offers protection.

These are only tips. They don't guarantee a good transaction. That is up to you.

Place The Right Kind Of Ads

If you are unable to log in to your account, even when you are sure you entered your information correctly, your account may have been suspended or removed for one or more of the following reasons:

- Spamming (placing the same or similar ads over and over in the same category or across categories)

- Miscategorized ads (repeatedly placing ads in incorrect categories)

- Fraudulent ads (this speaks for itself)

We strive for an enjoyable environment for our website visitors. If the ads you place get in the way of that enjoyment, we may suspend or remove your account without warning.

Looking for more help with placing ads? If so, please check out the rest of this thread. It's chock full of great information and it may be just what you're looking for.