Making Money on Craigslist – A Step By Step Guide

Money with classifieds ads

According to Wikipedia.com Craigslist.org is a centralized network of online communities used to post free online classified ads like, jobs, services, goods, resumes, gigs and more.

Steps to create an account with Craigslist

Step 1

Go to Craigslist and click on “my account” my account

Step 2

On the “my account” page click on the link that says “Don’t have an account click here to sign up.” Then you fill out a form with your e-mail address and a confirmation e-mail will be sent to you.

Step 3

You will receive a confirmation e-mail. Click on the link within the e-mail then you are prompted to create a password. Once the password has been created you agree to the terms and services and then you are ready to start posting on Craigslist.

Posting your listing on Craigslist

Step 1

Go to Craigslist.org and click on the login link. Login to your account, now you have to drill down to the specific location you want to post the ad. For example: Utah – Provo/Orem.

Step 2

Click on Post to Classifieds. A page comes up with several different categories to choose from. If you are going to list something for sale then you would click on the “for sale” link.

Step 3

Another list of categories come up, choose the best category that fits what you are trying to sale.

Step 4

Posting Title, Price, Specific Location. There are three things to consider when creating the Posting Title.

1) Make sure to use common keyword phrases. Make sure you are using words people are going to look for.
2) Create urgency with the listing. Make sure you post something in the listing that gets the customer to act fast.
3) Use symbols before and after the posting title. The reason for this is because ads on Craigslist are very bland and putting something to make your ad stick out more is going to give you a competitive advantage.

Price is what you want to sell the item for. If you are going to ship the item a helpful hint is to include the shipping in the price and explain that that you offer free shipping in the description.

Specific Location. Put in your specific location if you are going to have the item be pickup only.

Step 5

Posting Description and e-mail address. A major rule of thumb when writing the description for the product is to make sure and provide enough of a description so that someone doesn’t have to ask you more information on the item. If a person has to ask you more information on the item, they are not go take the effort to get a hold of you, they will just go somewhere else.

If the item is a pickup only item make sure to state that in your description. If the item is shipped state that it is free shipping and include the shipping cost in the price of the item.

With the e-mail address it is encrypted so people will not be able to tell the true e-mail address for you.

Step 6

Add/Edit Images. Click on the button that says “Add/Edit images” and a list of four red X’s will appear. The red X’s represent that no images have been upload yet. Click on the “Browse” button below the red X. This opens a window to your computer where you can select an image you want to upload to your listing. Select the image, click open and upload, the red X now becomes a green circle telling you the image has been uploaded. Click on the “Continue” button to preview the ad, if you are happy with the ad click the “Continue” button again to confirm the listing and post it to Craigslist.