More on why not to post the same thing every day, and a private note
Today was an excellent mail day, and I have lots of interesting things to ponder and then post for your reading pleasure. For now, I'd like to start with a question one reader asked:
What's wrong with reposting? Writing a good post can take anywhere from an hour, if you're inspired, to half a day. Why not get the most out of it?
First off, if you're writing posts that are getting you a good response rate, you don't need my advice. In fact, if you're a man writing ads that are steadily getting you more than a couple of replies each time to post it, I'd love to hear about it, because you're in a vanishingly small minority. Everything I write here is from the point of view of a woman who loves Craig's List for all its potential; I've never tried posting as a man, much less tried posting enough times to get any useful collection of data on this point. I have the bright idea of banding together my male readership to put together a slightly broader range of information on this point, maybe after the new year rolls in, but for now, I'm just writing what I know, which is a woman's perspective.
That said, the reasons I recommend against reposting are:
1) If you're reposting daily, you look desperate. Desperation, as we all know, is never attractive.
2) Women who browse CL frequently will recognize your post from prior days. If your ad is one that she might have been inclined to answer, she will be less inclined to answer if it's posted often.
3) If you're posting frequently and not getting the responses you'd like, posting more frequently is unlikely to help.
I'm not saying you can't post every day. I'm saying that if you do, you should mix it up a bit. It's a rare post that can't use a bit of spiffing up, and sometimes taking a different tack will help you to appeal to a different audience.
Also, reposting the same thing every week or two is significantly less desperate-seeming than posting on a daily basis. Try having a few ads that reflect what you want and who you are, and alternate posting them, so you're not "that one guy" to the women who are paying attention. Variety is, after all, the spice of life!
[Private to errand boy: try volunteering some information and see what the lady says.]
