Craigslist Featured Images. Increase Your Scrap Removal Call Rate

As of recently, Craigslist introduced a new feature for your postings.

This new feature is still highly unused (possibly largely unnoticed), but VERY effective in getting more phone calls and emails on your ads from the same amount of viewers.

The Craigslist Featured Image!

When you post ads on Craigslist in the services section offering your various metal recycling/removal services (as is our case as metal recyclers) you're actually allowed to upload several images with your ad.

Usually people would use this for before/after photos, portfolios, etc. How about a big fat CALL TO ACTION graphic scrap removal headline instead!

Anyway, the FIRST image you upload is used as what Craigslist calls your featured image. See below:

http://www.scrapmetalforum.com/image...mage-first.png

The featured image is displayed (in high quality I might add) front and center automatically at the top of your posting.

You can put anything you want here, in fact it could be the entire focus of your ad. I've recently been using some ads with custom recycling oriented graphics I created as the main focus of my postings and including only very simple text in the post description itself. "We offer such'n'such service. Call us 555-5555 or reply to this ad. Fully insured." etc, simple.

Clearly effective, more calls and it's EASY. All you have to do is upload an image to your service offered postings, which will be used as a featured image to get better results/calls/emails from the ads you post for offering to pick-up or buy scrap.

Here's an example (for a scrap metal removal ad):

http://www.scrapmetalforum.com/image...t-smr-demo.png


Looks 100% better using a nice featured image than your standard Craigslist ad right?

Here's another example (for e-scrap buyers):

http://www.scrapmetalforum.com/image...t-esr-demo.png

So that's the secret sauce tip for increasing the call/email rate on your Craigslist postings. Take advantage of it by
creating a featured image of your own, use a logo, picture of yourself and/or your trucks, etc.

FYI - I am uploading these templates from in the examples above (plus a few more) to the downloads section of the Scrap Room for Scrap Room members to download and use for their own Craigslist ads. The graphics are customizable with instructions provided for changing the text/images to whatever suits your needs. ;)

**Clarification - Watermarks are of coarse removable when editing them after downloading from the Scrap Room.

Click here to join!

Admin,

Thank you. These tips are awesome. Anything to increase business is greatly appreciated. Think I'm going to have break down and get that scrap room membership.

Mark

Quote:

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Originally Posted by mthomasdev

Admin,

Thank you. These tips are awesome. Anything to increase business is greatly appreciated. Think I'm going to have break down and get that scrap room membership.

Mark

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You might be right...

*Checks bank account*

Forgot a semi-important piece of information.

For those who are graphics savvy and can create promotional graphics from scratch on their own, the exact dimensions of the featured image area on Craigslist is 600px wide by 450px tall.

It's important to make sure your graphic is 600x450 prior to uploading, as Craigslist will automatically resize (stretch) your image to fit and the featured image will look horrible as a result.

I looked at it but the templates have the scrapmetalforum.com watermark.........I don't want to offer to buy ewaste then direct potential customers to a site where they may be able to get a little more for their material.........Am I doing something wrong or do they all have the watermark

You can remove the watermark from the graphics, just uncheck the 'watermark' box when you edit them.

The watermark only shows in this thread to prevent hijacking :)

They probably won't take 100 a ton since there getting 155 currently I plan on matching and getting them with I do the labor of picking them up.

This is going to sound a little Romper Room but for scrappers like me that only do this occasionally,would we get into any kind of trouble if we post an ad like this and we are not an actual business? Just someone like many of us just ready to haul off your metal for free?

Quote:

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Originally Posted by LargeFilipino

This is going to sound a little Romper Room but for scrappers like me that only do this occasionally,would we get into any kind of trouble if we post an ad like this and we are not an actual business? Just someone like many of us just ready to haul off your metal for free?

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You are not impersonating a business by using professional grade graphics, you're just making yourself look good.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by LargeFilipino

This is going to sound a little Romper Room but for scrappers like me that only do this occasionally,would we get into any kind of trouble if we post an ad like this and we are not an actual business? Just someone like many of us just ready to haul off your metal for free?

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Actually that depends on where you live. The state of FL aggressively prosecutes unlicensed activity and they regularly check places like Craigslist. That said, I don't think there is a license category for picking up scrap and selling it. Just don't get caught tearing something down at someone's home...

Out here, no business license is needed unless you actually "name" your business.

Just call it something like "Bob's Metal Recycling", and your good to go out here! Of course, this is Wyoming...

I'm in Colorado and Craigslist ads for scrappers are everywhere.
And many don't list them as a business.
I've never really had to post an ad btw.
Just Facebook alone has local friends telling me to stop by and pick up an old swamp cooler/washer and dryer/old bicycle parts/fill in the blanks.

great info..