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De-Classifying Craigslist: How Newmark Took the Site to the Top
Article Overview: “I’ve never wanted to believe we’re ‘bigtime’ and don’t focus on that,” says Newmark. “At times I kinda realized something was really going on, like hitting one million page views per month, end of ’97, hitting a billion, August ’04, and recently, we were a clue on Jeopardy.”
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Free Download - Craig Newmark Quotes By Craig Newmark |
De-Classifying Craigslist: How Newmark Took the Site to the Top
"I've never wanted to believe we're ‘bigtime' and don't focus on that," says Newmark. "At times I kinda realized something was really going on, like hitting one million page views per month, end of '97, hitting a billion, August '04, and recently, we were a clue on Jeopardy."
He may not know he is ‘bigtime' but as founder of one of the top ten most popular sites on the Internet, Craig Newmark has made an indelible impact in the world of classifieds, both online and off. How did he do it?
Feedback: "I had one simple idea about telling friends about arts and technology events," says Newmark of the idea behind Craigslist. "People in the community suggested everything else to us, and that's our theme." From the beginning, Newmark has capitalized on the comments and suggestions from Craigslist users, leading to the development of a site that people trust and have a say in.
Honesty: "As a manager, I'm not very good," admits Newmark. "I don't have the skills or the temperament." It was in being honest with himself that Newmark was able to bring on board a CEO who would help Craigslist reach its full potential. He knew when it was time get his hands dirty, and when he had to step out of the way and let others take the reigns.
Innovation: Innovation works at the speed of light. Because Craigslist is updated in real time and by millions of real people, the site has led the charge when it comes to innovation in the field of classifieds. And, because of his willingness to ride the tides, Newmark has been able to quickly capitalize on user trends.
Service: Newmark's best advice to someone who says that their goal is to be successful? "Follow through with basic values, and remember to provide good customer service." Newmark himself works almost full-time on Craigslist-related customer service issues, and employees three others to help him. As he puts it, he uses his "keyboard of justice" to foil the "evildoers," and his appreciative community of users returns the rewards.
Selflessness: "We are neither a nonprofit nor a conventional for-profit commercial company," says Newmark. "On paper, we're a for-profit, but we just don't run like that." Newmark is something of an unconventional businessman in that profits are not his measure of success. After all, he "knows some people who own more than a billion dollars and they're not any happier." At this point, Newmark's goals in life are much simpler. "Really, the only thing I'm missing in terms of quality of life is a permanent parking space!"
Many have said that Newmark epitomizes the new ‘geek chic'. Newmark, however, declines the title. "Screw it, I'm a nerd," he says. "A recovering nerd." And, with more than 570 Craigslist sites in 50 countries and a total of 20 billion page views per month, how does this recovering nerd rate his Craigslist success so far? "I don't," he says. "There's always more to do."
Creating the World’s Most Popular List: Craigslist is Born
Lesson #2: “Getting out of the way is really important”
Lesson #3: When we see something that could be done better, we do it
Lesson #1: “There’s no genius behind it. It’s persistence and listening to people.”
Lesson #5: “Get yourself a comfortable living, then do a little something to change the world”
Related Forum Posts
Re: New Famous Entrepreneur - Craig Newmark
- Craigslist has got both positive and negative feedbacks although I admit I've used Craigslist as also one of my good references for finding listings, jobs, etc that'll benefit my business. Well, Craig has done a great job setting up this website and it was the people around who makes the bad impressions.
I hope that won't hurt the whole Craigslist reputation though.
Re: Craigslist/Kijiji Sales
- From my understanding, Craigslist is known as more of a place to buy/sell and find deals on products, rather than services.
Personally, I would never buy a service from a seller on Craigslist (eg. a tutor, tennis instructor, etc) because there's nothing to measure credibility.
Re: Using Craigslist SEO to Promote Your Website
- Hi Trent,
I did do some of my own research and a lot of what I found was quite similar to what you said. They do have the no follow on links and flagging has become a problem.
Since you've written a book on the subject, have you found an alternative to Craigslist in terms of using it as a tool for promotion? I know Craigslist is hard to top with its SEO-friendliness and traffic, but as entrepreneurs when a door closes we must open another!
Craigslist/Kijiji Sales
- Would like to know who on this forum is having any success with generating business through Craigslist or Kijiji by posting ads there?
What kind of business do you run and what do your ads state?
I've been using the sites to generate leads for Foreclosure properties and I've been having some success.
One of my Business Coaching client is a software developer and he's been having a lot of success with Craigslist - almost $7000/month.
what's your view on it ?
I think Craigslist is better than Ebay
- As a relative novice to selling online, I found that Craigslist is a very effective tool. In less than a month, I've sold over $800 worth of my excess tennis gear (which I was planning on getting rid of) and I haven't really lost much from my original purchase price. The postings on Craigslist are very search engine friendly on Google and I feel it's an easier site to use than Ebay (as a seller).
Unlike Ebay there's no seller/posting fees on Craigslist and you're not even limited to selling to "local" consumers. I've had international buyers contact me and pay for the shipping costs. These buyers will pay me first via PayPal, and then I'll simply ship out their product and provide a tracking code (and the parcels are automatically insured for up to $100).
Do any of you have any selling experience on either platform you'd like to share?
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