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Backpage - Back What? Back Who?

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Real Estate Agent with HomeSmart

What a great tool - I guess I was one of those agents who knew about it but didn't know about it - Thanks Mark I will start using this tool for my next listing I have coming up

Original content by Mark Taylor Mortgages 207897nmls# DOC#207897

Backpage - Back What? Back Who?

How to use Backpage to promote your business.

 


Every business should be using online classified ads to promote their business and website. Especially Realtors®. Ads can be used to talk about specific products or services and drive traffic and interested buyers to your site. Any agent not employing these tactics and especially not embedding a custom IDX link into them is missing out on some serious buyer and seller traffic.

  1. Want more out of state clients?
  2. Want more international business?
  3. Want to do more advertising on multiple topics and multiple locales?

Then read on....

What is Backpage

Backpage, like CraigsList, is an online classified ad website. First-time visitors are prompted to select a metro area from the United States or Canada, as well as the UK, Australia, Mexico or South Africa. Once you select a metro area, you'll see all of the various categories and subcategories in which ads can be placed and viewed. If you select a subcategory, you'll see a list of ad titles, by date, posted to that subcategory. You can search as well as select a different metro area from the subcategory screen. .

Why use Backpage

While CraigsList may be the most popular online classified ad website today, it is not without it's drawbacks and limitations. Most importantly is the restriction placed on businesses who wish to place multiple ads. If you provide a product or service that could be used by anyone in the country, you cannot limit yourself to placing one ad a day in Phoenix. No one from other cities and regions would see your ad.

Also, Craigslist requires that you phone verify your account, and then limits you to just a few ads per day, and each ad must be different. Backpage has no such limitation. As long as you adhere to Backpage's terms of use and refrain from using software tools or placing ads for anything illegal, you should be able to place however many ads you need to.

How to Start

To get started, go to Backpage and scroll down to the bottom where it says Account Login and click there. On the next screen, click on Sign Up For Account. Complete the form and click on Create Account, and follow any other instructions Backpage provides. Once you have an account you can begin posting your first ad.

Go to the metro area you want to post an ad in. Click the "Post an ad" button near the Backpage logo. Choose a section for your ad, then choose a category. We always select Services and then Computer as the most logical place to post our ads for professional website design services. Next, choose the metro area. You'll see the area you were in as well as other areas within the same state. You can then proceed through the ad creation process.

Step One is to write the ad. I recommend using Evernote or a similar program like Notes on a Mac (this blog as written in Notes) for actually drafting your ads. You can draft multiple versions of your ads and copy and paste them when needed. Ads that you draft can be in plain text or can use HTML for more advanced formatting.

Once you've written your ad and completed any other fields needed, (don't forget your IDX link at the very least google analytics link) you can proceed to the next step. Once you've gotten the hang of writing and placing ads, I recommend taking advantage of some of Backpage's advanced features like re posting or posting in multiple cities at once.

Now Click Place Ad and you're finished. Backpage will send you an email with a link to edit your ad which you should keep in case you find you have a correction to make, or may have to remove the ad later for any reason.

Repeat for each metro area in which you wish to post an ad.

Ads remain live for 30 days. After 30 days, you will receive an email with a link to easily renew the ad for another 30 days. Once you've been posting ads for a month, you could potentially just wait for the renewal emails to come in each day and keep renewing your ads.

How to be a "Rainmaker"

  • Be sure to use a tool like Evernote to manage your ads. Take the time to write good, compelling ads, and save them for future use.
  • Or use a single property syndication tool like epropertysites
  • Make sure that all of your ads include complete contact information.
  • Make sure you have a Call to Action, an offering a Search the MLS like I do IDX link
  • If you're comfortable creating graphics and using HTML, posting an image as your ad can be extremely effective. 
  • Schedule your ads so that you know where you have ads posted. Remember that every category displays the newest ads first, so it is important to re-post ads in areas that receive a lot of traffic.
  • Be creative and informative.
  • Make sure that you choose an appropriate Section and Category, but don't be afraid to try others as long as it's not a clear misuse or mis-categorization.
  • It appears that evenings and weekends will not be the best times. Use your website analytics to gauge traffic, but you will likely find that weekday mornings are the most effective time to post.
  • Keep your ad text brief and to the point. Explain what you have to offer and if possible, focus on specific issues you're prepared to solve for your clients.
I hope this helps you utilize another avenue of property marketing and fishing for buyers and sellers.  I have found it very effective in my loan business and hope that you will adopt and enjoy the benefits that I have.  Thanks for stopping "buy" and reading my blog: 

Backpage - Back What? Back Who?

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