Cracking the Craigslist Code – Ad Maker Tool Review
As a Tech Savvy Agent you probably already have a decent website or blog. You may also have a decent CRM system for handling all your leads. But do you have an effective way to get traffic/leads to your website?
Some of the strategies to get traffic include social media engagement, Facebook ads, Google ads, lead generation services, and SEO experts, all of which take time and/or money, but I am starting to believe the best ROI by far is the use of FREE online classified sites (ie. Craigslist, Oodle & Backpage).
Craigslist is the 9th most visited website in the US with millions of visitors a month. It’s still FREE to post a real estate ad, but it requires significant effort to create and keep your ads up on the top of the list.
Last week I met with a couple of Craigslist posting experts to review the most effective way to get buyer leads from Craigslist. They became experts through months of testing thousands of ads for a real estate agent who wanted a cheaper and easier way to get more traffic to his website. If they would not have impressed me during our 2 hour pow wow then you guys would never even be reading this!
Here is what they have found to be the keys to a highly responsive Craigslist ad…
- Compelling Headline
- Use Geo-Targeted Keywords
- Short Descriptive Bullet Points
- Contact Information
- Call to Action
- Link to the Property Information
- 2nd Link for List Building
- Tracking Code so you can determine your ROI
Once they discovered the keys to a responsive ad, they created a system to automate the effort as much as possible. They call it Ad Maker Tool and I’ve arranged a special FREE 14-day trial for you. (See details below but I was adamant about no credit card needed, no contract if you keep it, if it works it works right?)
One of the key features of their system is that it creates multiple unique ads for each property which can be posted on a regular basis without deleting older ads. The more ads you have active in Craigslist, the wider your “net” and the more traffic you’ll get.
Let’s take a closer look at this tool and how it works.
When you first log into your account you will see a dashboard of your up to the minute stats. The ads created by Ad Maker Tool automatically track your ad views and click thrus to your website and are presented in real time. If you are doing any type of online marketing and not using analytics like these stop now and cash in. How will you ever now if your time is well spent without TRACKING.
You will also see your stats broken out by each property you are advertising. This gives you an idea of which type of properties and areas are most popular for buyers.
You can even drill down to the ads posted for each property to share with your seller and show them the activity they are receiving. Helpful if you need to convince them of a price reduction when they are getting traffic but no interest. Also helpful at a listing presentation when you can show them the additional exposure their home will receive.
When you are ready to post an ad, the system creates a unique version of your ad in an HTML format with built in tracking code. In less than a minute, you simply copy and paste into your Craigslist account and post it.
Above is what the Craigslist ad looks like when posted. Each ad is branded with your agent information. This can make you the “expert” in different areas. For example if you deal with “short sales” or “foreclosure” listings you can brand yourself appropriately.
Less is more.
You’ll notice the ad is not “pretty” and that’s on purpose. Their testing showed a substantially higher CTR (Click-Thru Rate) than a “pretty” flyer type ad with pictures and all the property details. Check out the Google Analytics screen shot below for proof in the pudding that the “sexier” ads did indeed generate LESS traffic than the plain text ads that Ad Maker Tool created. I was also concerned about the quality of the traffic but at 3.44 page views per visitor I can assure you that is better than most agents are getting currently(I asked a bunch on our Facebook Page and the average was below 3).
Not to leave anything out, they figured out how to have the image tag show up on the high level list of ads so they get more views. They don’t recommend having pictures in the ads themselves which goes against conventional wisdom but when your approach is Hub and Spokes and your site is the hub the pictures of course will be there…it makes them click thru to your site to see the pictures plain and simple.
So that’s it, simple yet powerful. I was very impressed and more so when they shared some of their customers’ website stats with me (see below). Each of these agents has agreed to be contacted as they are that passionate about the success they have seen with the Ad Maker Tool. In this “World of Mouth” environment we are in I know it helps me feel better spending money when I have gotten a referral from a colleague.
From current Ad Maker Tool customer Mike Cribbin’s website…
“I have been trying to find something like this for over a year. WOW!!! It does more than what you say it will do. I tested it with 10 listings and have couldn’t be happier…I was getting AdViews in just minutes and then ClickThrus and then more and more…– IN 3 WEEKS TIME I HAVE HAD 6381 Adviews and 2101 Click Thrus to my website. I have gained 4 listings and 5 buyers so far from this tool…I am set to close my 1st and 2nd deals next week from calls I received because of all the exposure on Craigslist…Please, if anyone has any questions just have them call me.” Mike Cribbin – www.CribbinRealty.com – 636-294-6061
From current Ad Maker Tool customer Scott Cearley’s website…
“I wanted traffic to my website and that’s exactly what I got with Ad Maker Tool. As a Realtor, I knew that I had to master internet marketing for new clients and now I have a pipeline of leads generated directly from using the Ad Maker Tool. In the last week, I made appointments with 4 new clients – Thank you!!!” Scott Cearley Mid America Property Partners www.stcharlesforeclosureguy.com 314-583-5202
And some additional comments from some of their other customers…
“…my Craigslist results are phenomenal. This is the best product I have used to bring traffic to my website. In less than 1 week I have surpassed the traffic on my site for the past 3 months and that includes my initial site launch. In less than a week I have received 680 AdViews and 128 ClickThrus, with 2 leads. Amazing, Amazing! Now my site is actually a tool… I am going to cancel some other advertising that I was spending over $200/month and have received virtually no hits and no leads…I am a believer in the Ad Maker Tool. It really works!” Antonio Worsham Coldwell Banker United, Realtors® www.aworsham.com 704-821-5828
“…all around it’s been huge impact on my business. It gives me real numbers to present to my listing clients on their property activity and we were able to take my brand new site to over 5,083 visitors a month.” Don Johnson – RE/MAX www.stlhomelink.com 636-293-1172
“…Just wanted to let you know that we’ve had the Ad Maker Tool for less than two weeks and we have our first client, (sale and purchase). I’ve tried to place craigslist ads before and just got frustrated with being kicked out because my ad was similar to one previously placed. This is the answer to my problem and it efficient.” Carol Becker – JerryBecker & Associates
As I mentioned before I’m very impressed with what I saw from the AdMakerTool team but I wanted something special for our community at Tech Savvy Agent so they have agreed to a special 14-day FREE trial for you to try it yourself. No credit card needed, just get it and give it a shot. If you keep it you pay month to month, no term commitment.
FYI – After the initial launch of the Ad Maker Tool, the team decided that too many agents from the same geographic area posting ads with their system would cause the overall response rates of their customers to suffer. Therefore, they have limited the number of users by Craigslist area. You will be able to see instantly if your area is still available when you register for the free 14 day trial.
Click Here for your FREE 14-day trial of the Ad Maker Tool and PLEASE keep me posted on your successes.
If you have any questions for their team or me please feel free to leave those in the comments below.
There are 36 responses to this post! Join in...
Love the idea of really being able to see what is working versus what is not working on CL. CL AdTracker really has helped me understand what gets the clicks and what does not.
I clicked on the link to go to the website but clicked back off when I saw the price of $47 per month. I’ll stick with Listings to Leads for now.
How much is L-2-L’s John?
Will this create general buyer’s agent or niche specific ads as well rather than property-specific ads???
Just signed up for our team… will let you know how well it performs for us.
Thanks Wendy you know I value your feedback. Robin they will be answering your question shortly.
I must admit, I received an email about this service the other day and just DELETED IT! Now that Chris has given his blessing and got the free trial, I am all over it. The power of aligning yourself with someone credible!
3rd part validation is HUGE. As Mari Smith says “Word of Mouse”
Hey Robin, I am a buyers agent and I know its working for me. I’m using other agents property listings in my office and it is helping me generate a buyers’ list
Hi Robin – the initial templates we created are designed for property specific ads – however, we do have creative users that have used those for general buyer’s agent ads or niche specific (by putting in general info in the fields)
We will continue to add new templates as we evolve.
OK, I’m going to try it. I’ll keep you posted.
I will pass this on to brokers/agents I am very interested in know of similar system that is designed for business and product ads.
Chris, I am signed up through my brokerage, so I only pay $25.00 per month for unlimited listings. If you go to Listings to Leads to sign up as an individual, (Taken from their website) it’s $20/mo for 1-10 listings, $50/mo for 11-50 listings and $110/mo for $51-100 listings. Obviously, if my broker stopped support for the program, I would have to take a much closer look at each product. I do love the Craigslist Ad Tracker that you discussed in another post.
Looks interesting. May try it to compare to my own results.
Which days and times are best for publishing ads?
My first 24 hours with the product has generated 406 ad views, 60 clickthroughs, no telephone calls and no user website registrations (yet).
I’m optimistic and excited about the possibilities. We’ll see how it goes in the next few days as I keep the ads active.
Thanks for sharing Terence. I have to say to generate potentially 1800 visitors to your website that are targeted monthly is worth WAY more than $47/month. Good to hear it’s working. If you don’t mind me asking what kind of traffic do you generate on aveage daily and monthly?
My website is still pretty new in the grand scheme of things as I launched it in July and made several improvements to it over the summer. I’m averaging about 10-15 unique visitors a day from all traffic sources depending on the day. I’m still trying to SEO my site and I’ve got a lot of work to do with back links still but it’s coming along well and this Craigslist tool is going to be one I keep i think.
The tool is showing that the last 24 hours has produced 629 views and 90 clickthroughs. That’s ~2700 a month potentially which would be a significant boost to my traffic.
Eric…we have found that the best policy is to just get ads up when you can.
That being said the best DAYS are:
Sunday/Monday
then Friday
(Sunday, Monday, Friday are the best days by far)
then Saturday
Tuesday,Wednesday,Thursday (all 3 are about the same)
The TIMES of the day are we people take breaks:
around morning break, lunch time, then after supper.
It took 201 clickthroughs but I’ve generated my first phone call and it’s a good lead.
As of this morning, since signing up, I’m at 1427 ad views, 275 clickthroughs, 1 phone call.
Awesome Terence thanks for giving feedback. If that converts it pays itself off for years!!
Thanks for the helpful advice! I appreciate the work you did to secure the 14 day free trial. I signed up this evening and will start testing tomorrow.
http://www.VeenstraTeam.com
[...] Some of the strategies to get traffic include social media engagement, Facebook ads, Google ads, lead generation services, and SEO experts, all of which take time and/or money, but I am starting to believe the best ROI by far is the use of FREE online classified sites (ie. Craigslist, Oodle & Backpage). Read On… [...]
Does Craigslist have any issue about posting the same listing ad without deleting the old one?
The AdMakerTool generates different ads each time. You will need to review the term of use for the online classified site(s) to decide if the you think that is OK since the ads are different.
If you decide to delete the previous ads – the best part about the tool is that is will generate new ads that might catch someone attention in a different way.
All buyers are looking for a “hot” button to them, so by having many different ads you will have a greater chance of syncing up the buyer to their “hot” button to attract that person.
I think this is a great tool for lead generation, and you can save a lot of money doing this.
check out mycraigslistadmaker.com. they have real estate templates that are fresh!!!!!!
sorry, ment to ask if this was a good lay out?
I have been looking for something just like this. I’ve signed up and posting all listings first thing in the morning. I just started reading your blog and am loving it. Keep up the great posts.
Jared
I have been using some of the strategies learned here and they have worked amazingly well!
I wanted to get your thoughts on including Price, # BR and Specific Location?
In your testing, has including or excluding these things worked better?
Have you seen CraigslistAdTracker.com? Check it out and sign up for FREE. Seamless ad tracking, Image Hosting & Tracking, Lead contact forms, landing pages, and more features to come.
I was super excited about the tool, but signed up for the trial and my ads were “ghosted” (not showing up) after my first post. Very disappointing. I sent them a message, so hopefully there is a work around. This is a known issue, but I didn’t expect it to happen so quickly.
***** UPDATE *****
Tech support has been great and the changed my account to a “ghosting mode.” I didn’t want to reset my IP address and open a new CL account since both accounts I currently have were ghosted. I did try posting in the new mode and received a registered user on my IDX for a neighborhood search after only 15 minutes!
[...] ad maker program I use, which was reviewed by, Tech Saavy Agent, is called Ad Maker Tool. It’s really easy to use. All I have to do is enter some information [...]
are we able to this with a home based business????
Yes You Can Use this for a home bases business we sell instant app wizard that way.