Back in December, AR member George Tallabas wrote an article title "CraigsList Real Estate Ads with a Twist.

The article was about how he writes his Craig's List ads in a different way in order to drive traffic to his website.  The idea was simple.  

He would start with a catchy title, no pictures, enough wording to describe the property he was selling, and then he would direct his reading audience to his website via a link in the ad.  On my ads, I place one picture as a teaser to get them to see more photos.

This way, people who are interested in a property will be looking at YOUR website, rather than ad on Craig's List.  If they like your website, potential clients are more likely to continue going to your site for the information they need. 

Now you are probably thinking to yourself, "I've typed in my website address on my ads, but it doesn't link.  How did you do that?"  Simple HTML code is all you need.  If you are not a technical guru, don't worry.  Anyone can do this.

Here is a sample of the code that I generated for my Craig's List Ad:

<a href="http://www.GreetingFromPalmSprings.com">Greetings From Palm Springs</a>

I place this code anywhere I want to create a link to my website.  All you need to do with this code is to place your web address in the first part, and then title of your website in the second part.  This will create your link to your website.

To see one of my Craig's List ads, click here. 

Now to the good part of this story:

I have been following this techniques since I read the article, and last week I got a call from a potential client inquiring about purchasing a home in Palm Springs.  They were interested in a Country Club property and found it on my website.  This property was not one of my listings.  We talked for a few minutes and we set up a viewing appointment to see the condo when they got into Palm Springs from Seattle.

Before I finished the conversation, I asked the client how he came across my website.   He said he found my Craig's List ad and followed the link to my website.   He had been using my Palm Springs MLS IDX search for about 2 weeks before he called me.  He and his wife came down, I showed them the condo, they made an offer,  and we are closing escrow at the end of next week.

The moral of the story:  Use the information that is available to you here at AR.  If it weren't for Active Rain and members like George Tallabas dispensing their knowledge & wisdom, I wouldn't be learning all of these great techniques that bring me business.  Thanks George!!