Working the Classified Ads 

by Neil Shearing

I have to admit, I think that placing ads in the classifieds, on the 'big two' (America Online and Compuserve) or on the Web takes a lot of time and generates few leads compared to Search Engine Submissions or Reciprocal Links. The only real reason to post to the classifieds is to test your headlines and ad copy. The more responses you receive, the better your headline or ad copy was. When you get an optimized ad for your particular product, you can 'roll it out' and use it on all your other advertising media, safe in the knowledge that it has been thoroughly tested. 

When it comes to online marketing there are really only three categories of classifieds to post to. AOL as an Internet Service Provider gives all of its customers proprietary access to the AOL classifieds board. To post, you simply move from the AOL main menu to the 'Marketplace' and on to the 'Classifieds and Advertising'. You then choose whether to post a paid ad or a free ad at the 'bulletin board' section. Ads are rapidly removed from AOL so you need to post frequently. The same is true for Compuserve, which only posts paid ads. A few other good tips are:

Post to the most relevant group, you will reach more prospective targets and generate more positive responses.

Post from an address you don't mind receiving unsolicited email (spam) from. You may want to sign up for a free email account at Bigfoot and set the account to 'autoresponse' with a simple message saying that you get a lot of junk email at your Bigfoot address and if people want to ask questions your real email address is ...... or your website address is..... Why should you go to these lengths? Well, there are software programs which 'harvest' email addresses from bulletin boards and you will almost certainly receive a large amount of unsolicited emails as a result of posting a classified ad.

Make a note of when boards fill up and are refreshed. If you can post when the board is refreshed you will have a good chance of taking a high place at the top of the board and receiving more responses. Apart from the service providers, for which you will need an account with them (roughly $10 per month), there are also a million places where you can post classified ads on the Internet. Yahoo! has a great classified ads section which is free to post to, other recommended sites are: 

- Free Classifieds 
- Dollar Ads 
- EPages Free Classifieds 
- Free Net Classifieds

Post to these sites in the same way you would AOL or Compuserve. Use the same tips outlined above, and don't forget your autoresponder, you don't want to drown in a sea of spam!

---

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

This article was written by Neil Shearing, webmaster at the The Scam Free Zone and entrepreneurial mastermind behind the top-paying Internet Success nAssociate Program, which features an impressive line-up of marketing resources, including Internet Success Interviews and the popular Super-Affiliate Spider. 

This page just one of hundreds from Neil's first publication, Internet Success Blueprint, a world-class educational package containing tons of hints, tips and information to get your business off to a flying start, no matter what budget you have!

And, as an extra added bonus you will receive a free gift of software (ebook, CDs or utility) valued at no less than $25.00 with each issue. To start you off, as a token of our "Thanks" just for subscribing you'll get:

Income For Life: The 9 Simple (Yet Powerful) Steps You Can Use Right Now To Get Rid Of Your Money Worries For Good by Joshua ("Mr. NPOD") Shafran

Guaranteed Success Thinking by Jim Edwards

How To Create Profit Producing Sales Letters By Getting Inside Your Customer's Head! by Bryan Kumar

How To Give Your Business And Edge Over Your Competitors by Michael Ross

Hey, it won't cost you a thing and you can opt out as easily as you opt in so... what have you got to lose?

First Name:
Last Name:
Email Address:

Don’t worry, I hate spam just as much as you and your email won’t be rented, traded or sold to any third parties.