One of the most important things about selling something on Craigslist, whether it is a car or clothes is to have a compelling for sale ad. The text that you use, including the title, can mean the difference between an ad that gets attention and one that sits there on the site for the full 45 days without a single nibble.
In my previous posts, I covered the importance of pricing and pictures in your Craigslist ad. Now let us cover the text.
You’ll need to do a few things to have a successful Craigslst ad. You will need to give a good, easy to read description of what it is you are selling, you will need to include accurate search terms so buyers can find your item, and you will need to write text that will convince shoppers to inquire about your item.
Before you get started, take a look at some of the existing ads on Craigslist. Which ones would you respond to if you were in the market for a purchase? What type of headline catches your eye? Which ads do you trust most? You can learn a lot from what is already out there.
Use bullet points in your ad to make it easier to read. Listing features of your item gives users an easy way to scan the text and appreciate all that your item has to offer. Include those keywords that will show up when someone searches for your item. Avoid abbreviations unless they are widely used. A shopper may search for Honda not Hnd, for example.
Include the reason why you are selling the item. This will help make buyers more comfortable with buying something that has been previously owned.
For the title, make it one that will stand out. There are any number of tricks. Some people put their ads in all caps. This can be annoying, but it does catch the eye. So does including special characters such as hearts or stars, or indenting the title of the ad to the right, so it looks different from all of the others.
Related Articles:
How to Write a Great For Sale Ad on Craigslist: Pricing
How to Write a Great For Sale Ad on Craigslist: Pictures