Posting free ads on Craigslist can be a great way to add to your affiliate income. But won’t the Craigslist community hate you for doing it?
Well… Maybe… Just remember these two guidelines:
Everyone hates a spammer.
Just because Craigslist users see your post doesn’t mean they care.
Craigslist promotions can supplement your existing affiliate marketing efforts. But don’t pitch to the Craigslist community as an anonymous outsider. Join the community and share great information with other community members.
The Craigslist classifieds exist within the community context.
Promoting through Craigslist is not similar to promoting your business in other classifieds. There is a major difference that demands you change your strategy: the Craigslist community. Craigslist users are very protective of the site and will quickly flag any posting perceived not to add value to the site.
So the question becomes, Are you giving to the Craigslist community, or are your postings lowering the quality of the site?
Choose transparency in the Craigslist community.
No one likes a liar. And most people don’t enjoy being duped into clicking a link that takes them to a site that they wouldn’t otherwise choose to go to.
Many people who post affiliate links in Craigslist are just outright careless, lazy, or unfortunately slow thinkers who don’t grasp the concept of subtly. If you are going to post affiliate links on Craigslist, please be more creative than “I just found this cool site… they have a great deal… etc.”
Try providing some sort of content. Link your post to a good niche resource, like your Squidoo product comparison list. This is a decent way for affiliate marketers to add value to the Craigslist community.
At this point, most affiliate marketers have heard of Squidoo. Craigslist is a great way to drive traffic to your Squidoo affiliate pages, as long as those Squidoo pages provide useful content for your Craigslist visitors. But wherever your link to from Craigslist, use that link to add value to the community and not just for yourself.
