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craigslist: To Post or Not to Post...That is the Debate.

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Services for Real Estate Pros

I have read many posts about whether or not it is a good idea to post your listings on craigslist...some people have called craigslist the "slums of real estate."  Sure...you can find someone in the personals for a "quickie" or someone that is looking for a "generou$$$ man or woman", but when you post your listing you aren't posting in the category "personals" so you aren't associated with this "slum area".  Is Chicago a great city?  In my opinion it is the best city in the world...are there slums in the city...yes.  Is Atlanta a great city?  It is up and coming and a great place to live...are there slums in the city...yes.  Is craigslist a great site that gets crawled by search engines and pages indexed...yes...are there slums...yes.

When I moved to Atlanta back in March of this year (2007) from Chicago I came with my Jeep and the biggest U-Hual trailer possible...that still didn't allow for me to bring much stuff!  I've used craigslist in the past to find things such as;  car, furniture, fish tank, even my two dogs (Maddux - the Golden Retreiver and Pierre - my gay...will only hump male dogs, but very cute French...won't touch beer, but don't leave wine unattended, Papillon) When I moved from Chicago I used craigslist to buy items I need to fill my house...I just moved to a new city...I didn't have the money to buy all new stuff so craigslist was great!

MadduxPierre

Pierre

Regarding putting your listing on craigslist.  Will people really shop for listings on craigslist?  Maybe if they are browsing and thinking that they could find a great deal on a house.  We have received some leads from craigslist, even some sales, so I think it is worth posting on this FREE site. 

The bigger upside that people tend not to realize is this:  People might not buy a house directly off craigslist, but craigslist will help drive your site and listings up on search engine rankings.  I challenge you to post an article on AR or craigslist and then also post it on your website, type in the headline into a search engine and see where you find the article first, repeat this for several days...see how long it takes for your personal website to be crawled and have the post indexed so that it will show up on search engines.  I strongly urge you to post on craigslist if you aren't doing so already (use Postlets as a FREE way to post professional looking listing flyers), disregard what the extremists say.

For additional tips on search engine optimization read my blog about it by clicking here.

Mark Pilatowski
myClosingSPACE - Manhattan, NY
Excellent point. Honestly, I see no reason NOT to post there. It is free and even if it does not lead to a direct sale it increases your exposure and could provide good leads and sales in the future.
Oct 12, 2007 03:06 AM
Joyce Heffner-Williams
Keller Williams Clients' Choice Realty - Monument, CO
Owner/Broker/EcoBroker - Monument Real Estate
Of course you post!!!
Oct 12, 2007 03:09 AM
New Jersey Real Estate James Boyer Morris, Essex & Union County NJ Realtor
RE/MAX Properties Unlimited, Real Estate - Morristown, NJ
Give it a shot, what does it cost you 15 minutes to setup your ad in postlets and you are done.
Oct 12, 2007 03:10 AM
Frances C. Rokicki
Fran Rokicki Realty, LLC - Bolton, CT
Broker-Mentor,CRS

Carl, Good post! I agree, get those free sites working for you and your clients!  Cute dogs! Welcome to the east coast!

It's a Good Life!

Fran Rokicki, Clubnet~Mentor

Oh, By the Way...I am never too busy for your CT referrals!

 

Oct 12, 2007 03:11 AM
Danny Thornton
R & D Art - Knoxville, TN
WordPress Guru
Carl, Craig's List is good for some things and not so good for others. What I have found most with these types of adds is that you have to repost them daily for anything to get done with them.
Oct 12, 2007 03:13 AM
Dan Gobis
Re/Max Newport Realty Corp. - Racine, WI

I posted a house on Craig's List, received an inquiry by email 3 days later, called her back, set the appointment, wrote an acceptable offer that day, closed a cash deal 3 weeks later. Luck? You bet! The harder I work the luckier I get. I post a lot of my listings on Craig's List, I have had 2 more sales as a result of posting on CL. Thank you Mr. Newsome.

Oct 12, 2007 03:16 AM
Maria Couto
RE/MAX Premier - Berkeley Heights, NJ
Realtor with "Results That "MOVE" You'
I post all my listings on Craigs List. As of yet I've never gotten a call off the site. However I see that search engines pick info up. Good Post
Oct 12, 2007 03:16 AM
Carl Martens
Geneva, IL
Dan...those are some excellent results...good for you!  We are all envious.
Oct 12, 2007 03:25 AM
Bill Gillhespy
16 Sunview Blvd - Fort Myers Beach, FL
Fort Myers Beach Realtor, Fort Myers Beach Agent - Homes & Condos
More and more sites like this will start to play a role in how we agents conduct our business.  Problem is... where to get all the time needed to submit and re-submit.
Oct 12, 2007 03:28 AM
Anonymous
Jerri McCombs, Broker
I have used Craig's List in the past, with no results as far as calls or sales. But free is free. My clients love seeing their homes posted all over the internet, and you never know if one day a call will come. So I keep posting. I have yet to see anything bad coming from a post there. And I have not heard any negative comments that it is a slum post. I don't agree with that at all.
Oct 12, 2007 03:34 AM
#10
Carl Martens
Geneva, IL

Bill...goog point...there are so many sites out there to post to and often times it is hard to choose which ones to post to.  There are also sites out there that will automatically post to classified sites such as this, our site RKiHomes is powered by Point2 and it does just this...we however manually submit to a few sites in addition to what Point2 syndicates to.

Oct 12, 2007 03:38 AM
Jennifer Esposito
JenRan Realty, LLC - Woodstock, CT

FREE advertising only 'costs' a few minutes of your time, if it gets your name/company out to the public you can't go wrong.

(I doubt your dog is gay)

Oct 12, 2007 04:04 AM
Stephen Katz
Katz Mortgage Team, a branch of VanDyk Mortgage Corporation - Atlanta, GA
Branch Manager, CMPS
Great Post! It's free advertising, you have nothing to lose. 
Oct 12, 2007 08:44 AM
Carrie Ann Higgs
Branson House Realty - Branson, MO
Your Key To The Ozarks
I agree there's lots of "junk" on craig's list. I would not go there directly to look for a home-but it is free. We have it linked with our #1 Expert site it's easy to do from there, just an extra thing to do. Cute doggies!      
Oct 12, 2007 10:13 AM