Wonder how you can get leads from Craigslist for your home business?
Most people shun the idea of posting ads on free advertising sites like Craigslist, but I have found it to be very effective for generating leads for my business and products.
However, with any strategy, you need to have some things in place to make the process simple. My main goal is to turn these cold leads into hot prospects. To do that, I want to get these prospects on the phone to have a conversation.
How I Get Home Business Leads From Craigslist
Here is my process…
#1 – Create your Ad (if you don’t have one already). I usually test a few to see which one converts the best. I like to keep my posts short, sweet and to the point. I’m not trying to get them to sign up at this point…I’m more interested in getting them on the phone.
Therefore, my Ads are designed to give just enough information so they can decide if they want to ‘Reply’. I share the industry I’m in, what I’m looking for (briefly describe what they will be doing), minimum hours of commitment each week, any requirements (access to internet, laptop, mobile, etc.) and how to request more information.
My close – “Reply for a phone interview”.
Again, I want to talk to people to get a feel if they would be a good fit for my team.
I post my Ads to Craigslist about 3x a week, in roughly 3-5 different cities. Some get great response, others don’t. Track your results so you know where to continue posting.
#2 – Responding to prospects – On average, I get up to 15-20 leads per day, so I don’t want to spend a lot of time responding to emails. To save time, I created a canned response in Gmail so I can quickly reply with the same message to each prospect.
(image below – email leads from Craigslist)
(image below – canned response message sent to prospects)
This is how I pre-screen people. Those who take the next step by clicking the link in this email, get sent to my opt-in page. That page includes a video, and provides more information about my company.
When people opt-in, they know they are requesting a phone call and are immediately added to my lead funnel. It is exclusive for these leads, who have met my pre-qualification for the next step.
#3 – Automated email follow up –Â Once they submit their name, email & phone number they get a thank you message with instructions to check their email with the next step. This email instructs them to view my presentation page so they are prepared before our call.
I want to be clear, I do NOT reach out to or call everyone who requests a phone interview. I seek to work with a certain caliber of person. If people cannot follow simple instructions, we won’t be a good fit. At this point…the ball is in there court.
So, how do I know who gets a call and who doesn’t?
I now use ActiveCampaign as my primary email service because it offers more advanced subscriber based features over other services.
Therefore, I’ve been able to set up specific notifications, for when a prospect performs certain activities within my follow emails. ActiveCampaign emails me to let me know when a prospect opens, and clicks a specific link in the email.
My time is valuable. I don’t call prospects who have not viewed my overview because that is a time waster. I need to be able to talk to someone who needs questions answered, not me presenting an entire presentation over the phone.
#4 Keep it simple – For me, this process is easy and it works. If you don’t have an email service or  customer relationship manager to keep track of your leads…develop a system that works for you and will help you be consistent with your follow up.
In a home based business, most business is lost for lack of adequate follow up. Leads are the lifeline of any business, and Craigslist proves to be a good source…try it!
“Helping passionate women entrepreneurs build their business
online so they can spend more time living, and less time working!”
Tamyka Washington
Excellent info. Thank you
You’re very welcome, Cynthia!
To get those 15 – 20 leads per day, I’d guess you are using a paid ad?
Whenever you run your ad, have you tested leaving your capture page in the ad vs have them email? Just wondering which pulls better.
Thank you.
Al, no paid Ads. I have tried both…capture page & email. Email converts better and, it opens up room to create a connection.
Great info Tamyka. True, give value and connect and your prospects will eventually join or buy from you.