Free ads for launch

[ABS]

I plan on starting out with free listings for my launch and for a number of months after launch. I have a few questions I would appreciate help with:

1. How do I set up free classified
2. Can it be set up so that when it renews, they will be prompted for a payment
3. What were your experiences when you lannched your site

Any input is appreciated

[Mike-N-Tosh]

Yes, you can set up free ads and then set the renew to a paid price. One of the features is that you can set the list price AND the price. If there is a list price set, it will show that with a strikethrough like it's a sale, so when you go back afterwards and don't offer it for free anymore it's expected.

[Lhotch]

Originally Posted by ABS

I plan on starting out with free listings for my launch and for a number of months after launch. I have a few questions I would appreciate help with:

1. How do I set up free classified
2. Can it be set up so that when it renews, they will be prompted for a payment
3. What were your experiences when you launched your site

Any input is appreciated

Keep in mind when you are creating a package that if you start out and have free packages that cost to renew, someone may just not renew the ad and instead place a new free ad.

Also keep in mind if you edit or delete an ad package after an ad has been placed with that package any editing the user does after ad placement will follow the new package rules.

For example if you initial free ad allows for 1 image and runs for 60 days then 30 days later you edit the package and give it a price and up the images to 6. The person who placed an ad using that package goes in and edits it 45 days after placing it will be able to upload more pics.

[seymourjames]

Good points. The main thing is to be consistent and think what your strategy for the future is going to be. One of the problems of free ads is that it is difficult to then get people to pay later. A much better idea in my experience is to find a few selected sellers - give them a free coupon (100% discount). THen find another group and ask them to pay 50% and finaly find your market and ask them to pay full price. It also means you do not need to keep changing your site every 5 minutes.

[Lhotch]

Originally Posted by seymourjames

Good points. The main thing is to be consistent and think what your strategy for the future is going to be.

Far too often people contact me and ask me to make mods without having any knowledge about how 68C actually functions. Often times what they want is in direct contradiction to the way 68C was designed to work making their modifications difficult, time consuming and a major pain when it comes time to upgrade.

I spend a lot of time explaining how 68C works, how things tie together and why it works the way it does in the hopes that many of these people will find a happy compromise between what they want and what 68C does or can be easily modded to do.

68C like any program has a logical flow to its inner workings. You dont need to be a coder to figure that out but you do need to spend some times using the software, creating packages, coupons, placing test ads and creating extra fields etc. This logical flow or framework is the foundation of 68C and trying to work with the foundational code instead of recreating the wheel is always the best way to go.

I can not stress enough how important it is for anyone looking to have a successful site to spend time playing with the software to learn how things tie together. It makes planning and rollout a lot easier in the long run and makes for a smoother flowing more usable site.

[seymourjames]

I agree with Larry. People need to carry out more investigation.

I personally come at classifieds advertising from a marketing point of view. I think the challenge in reality with classified sites is that it is 10% technical and 90% marketing. Marketing strategy is the difference between success and failure. It is in truth a partnership between these two things but so many get carried away with functionality as opposed to getting the marketing basics right.

[Mike-N-Tosh]

I completely agree with both seymourjames and lhotch on these statements. I hear way too often, "I want it to work just like "craigslist" and I usually will make a statement along the lines of, "What do you think the reaction from the visitors will be when they click on their location and there is nothing there?" Also those who think that they need a category hierarchy as tall as the Empire State building which then results in frustration on every level from simply trying to choose a category to a full list of viewable categories that are empty.

Often times I will tell my clients, "This doesn't work like 'Field of Dreams', because the reality is NOT 'If you build it, they will come.'" Regardless of how well a site is built and/or how pretty it may be, if you don't have a market and/or you don't market it correctly with a good business strategy it is all in vein.

[ABS]

Originally Posted by seymourjames

Good points. The main thing is to be consistent and think what your strategy for the future is going to be. One of the problems of free ads is that it is difficult to then get people to pay later. A much better idea in my experience is to find a few selected sellers - give them a free coupon (100% discount). THen find another group and ask them to pay 50% and finaly find your market and ask them to pay full price. It also means you do not need to keep changing your site every 5 minutes.

I appreciate your input on this. If I give someone a 100% coupon code, I presume they don't have to input their credit card information until renewal, correct me if I am wrong.

[bowers01]

Originally Posted by ABS

I appreciate your input on this. If I give someone a 100% coupon code, I presume they don't have to input their credit card information until renewal, correct me if I am wrong.

Correct

Nick