As a freelancer, I use craigslist quite a lot. Heck, there have been entire months where I’m pretty much making my living through that site alone. After all, why not? It’s free to use, and there aren’t many limits in terms of how many ads you can post (you can’t do too many in a day, but unless you’re spamming, that’s usually not a problem). In the time I’ve spent using craigslist, I’ve learned a few things about the best ways to maximize what you get out of the site in terms of finding ways to make money.
Let me say right off the bat that I live in a medium-sized city, not a major metropolitan area nor a small town. The craigslist for my city is fairly well-trafficked, but not packed with so many posts you can’t easily read a day’s worth of listings in any section in one sitting.
What this means is that the “gigs” section doesn’t have a whole heck of a lot of stuff in it – usually just an average of one or two posts a day. (For those of you just joining us, the “gigs” section is a place where people post ads for short temporary jobs and work that they need done – everything from lawns to be mowed to events to be staffed to gift baskets that need to be assembled.)
Now, this is problematic because the most common advice you’ll see about making money on craigslist is to use the listings in this section. While I have found a decent amount of work through this section, I definitely don’t find most of my stuff there. In fact, I often find more temporary work in the plain ol’ “jobs” section, due to the fact that many people posting temporary jobs don’t know that the “gigs” section exists, or what its for. The advantage of finding temp work here is that there are fewer people looking for it in this location, so there’s less competition.
But the best way I’ve found to earn my keep on craigslist is through posting ads for my own services. This is especially useful for me, because I have a rather silly number of skills and things that I’m willing to get paid to do. I have, through craigslist, posted ads for and worked as a nude model, children’s art teacher, website copy writer, resume and cover letter writer, trombone teacher, piano teacher, painter, contract office assistant, transcriptionist, babysitter, event promoter, and theater props designer.
So if you need a little extra money, be creative: think of the things you can do, and think of how they can be turned into services. The great advantages of finding work this way is that not only can you set your own price and terms, the competition for your services is practically nil.
Good luck!
