If you market affiliate products and services (or your own products and services) on free classified ads sites like Craigslist, Backpage, Kijiji, etc., you may find that sometimes that your ads are not showing up.
Sometimes it can be due to over posting or marketing something that’s against that particular site’s guidelines, or even a technical glitch. Other times though, it can be more sinister. As in, a competitor may be ghosting your ads.
Following are six things you can do to combat this.
Note: I use the site backpage a lot, so most of these tips I’ve applied to this site. But, they will work for almost any free classified site you use to market on.
6 Tips for Dealing with Ad Flagging/Ad Ghosting on Craigslist, Backpage, Kijiji, Et Al
i) Use more than one free classified ad sites. Craigslist is by far the most popular of these types of sites. But, there are tons of others. If you posted just 10 or 20 ads on five or six others, you’d still be able to make money online marketing your products and services.
ii) Use more than one form of marketing: I started using the free classified ad site Backpage in January 2009 to market one affiliate product. Since then, I’ve sold tens of thousands of dollars worth of e-products (no exaggeration). I was so successful using the site that I started marketing my own e-products there.
But, I also use other online marketing methods, ie, article marketing. It’s why I’m able to make money online – consistently – without worrying about if I placed ads on any given day.
Why It Pays to Market On More than One Free Classified Ads Site — Especially If You Do No Other Marketing
I understand how you can get addicted to one marketing method if it’s successful. But, don’t. It’s a recipe for disaster. For example, what if your favorite free classified ad site was down fro a couple of days, or it changed how you can market on there, or it was bought out by another company? Your income could suddenly come to a standstill.
That’s why your online marketing efforts should always be a mixed bag.
iii) Piggyback your ads. What is meant by this? If your ads are being sabotaged by a competitor, especially, promote another product/service, then stick a link to the other (main) product you want to promote in that ad.
iv) Report the culprit. Making money online can be tough – and some people are unscrupulous; although the vast majority are honest and hardworking. If you feel that someone is ghosting your ads, report them to Backpage, Craigslist, Kijiji or the free classified ads site you’re using.
v) Promote another product: At any given time, I’m promoting 4-6 products on Backpage (my own and affiliate products). Again, it keeps my online earnings steady because if demand dips for one, then I still have others that sell well online.
vi) Out the culprit: If you know who’s ghosting your ads on Backpage (Craigslist, Kijiji, etc.), then out the person on your website/blog (if you have one), on your social media accounts, in forums, etc.
At the very least, it gives them something else to focus on, for they’ll have to respond to your actions.
Sometimes this will stop them altogether, and it may cause others who may be promoting the same product to take action as well (eg, contacting the guilty party’s host company, domain name registration provider, sites they’re advertising on, etc.).
Be careful going this route though. Some people are unbalanced.
There is a lot of money (and I do mean a lot) to be made marketing on free classified ad sites like Craigslist and Backpage. I can attest to this personally – and I only do affiliate marketing part time (my full-time job is freelance writing). One day, I made $900 in affiliate sales just by placing free classified ads on backpage. Yes, in one day.
So if your ads are being ghosted on Craigslist, Backpage or another free classified ads site, don’t let it discourage you. Figure out a solution and keep going.
Learn exactly how to make money online by marketing on Backpage, a highly popular free classified ads site.
