The Craigslist Middleman
How to Protect Yourself as a Craigslist Middleman
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Craigslist is one of the largest websites for classified ads. Think of the website as the ads section of the online newspaper. There are millions of ads present there, each about a different category. You will find ads for literally everything. Whether it is selling property, daily usage items or services, there will be an advertisement for it.
• One of the most useful sections of Craigslist is the services section. It is that place where you will find plenty of sellers offering various services. People don't understand that the Craigslist services section is a goldmine for entrepreneurs. The shrewd businessmen have gotten used to leveraging the services section and indulge in many ways to earn good money. If you have taken the Craigslist Middleman Guide course, you will understand how you can pose as a good seller of services. The course guides you to present yourself as the seller of website and logo design services. The clients contact you and place their orders. You end up outsourcing those services to a freelance platform called Fiverr, through which you spend a significantly lesser amount to get the job done. Basically, you become a middleman and outsource the services at a lower rate, thus earning a lot of commission for your services.
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• The Dangers of Being a Middleman on Craigslist •
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In this section, you learn to close deals with high-ticket design clients. You learn tips for closing deals through texts or calls. The clients get convinced and then pay you through PayPal.
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The Craigslist Middleman Course has four parts. You are highly encouraged to take the course and reap its many benefits. There are mainly four steps which let you be an effective middleman and earn handsome profits. Those four steps are given below.
Posting an Ad on Craigslist Services Section
You outsource the project on Fiverr. The website and logo design services are the easiest to find. You will easily find much more feasible rates for these services on Fiverr. The key is to hire freelancers at a lower price, get the job done and then deliver it to your high-paying clients.
The guide teaches you to post an ad on the Craigslist service section. You learn to create an optimal listing. The Craigslist Middleman Guide teaches you to create ads for website and logo design. These services are the easiest to outsource.
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Outsourcing the Project
Creating an Attractive Ad Set
You learn to create an attractive ad set that allows you to attract high-ticket clients who are willing to play several hundred to several thousand dollars for the services. Usually, their range starts from 500 dollars and extends to 3500 dollars or even beyond. The purpose of creating the ad set is to attract high-paying clients.
Closing Deals
In comparison, if the client paid you 3550 dollars for website design, and you got the job done for less than 100 dollars, then there is a major client dissatisfaction coming your way.
• There is a chance that you will be found as a buyer yourself. When that happens, your buyers will want to connect with other sellers, and it will bode ill for your reputation.
• Many modern end-to-end transactions are emerging and dominating the marketplace. Buyers realize the worth of contacting the sellers directly, and that means many will turn to marketplaces such as Fiverr themselves and be in direct contact with the freelancers. The popularity of platforms like Fiverr has resulted in many buyers purchasing services from the platforms themselves, especially the website and logo design.
While the Craigslist Middleman Guide teaches you the effective strategy, it is worth mentioning that problems can and will occur. Though the steps seem to be simple and straightforward, there are plenty of issues that you can face on Craigslist. They are given below.
• The middlemen may not find appropriate services for the rates. Usually, this happens when the sellers find very cheap rates on Fiverr and hire freelancers at 0.1% or similar rates. You get what you paid for.
• There are a lot of scams on Craigslist. Several buyers and sellers are wary of such scams, and they respond negatively to any communication error. A slight error or miscommunicated sentence can lead them to question your authenticity.
• Craigslist has a lot of buyer and seller scams. As a middleman, you face the risk of falling for some of these scams and may end up facing a severe loss. It can cause potential harm to your revenue streams and may end up halting your business.
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• The Craigslist Middleman Guide provides you with a list of designers. However, it is far better to actually research the market and search for professionals. You will also want to research the Craigslist market for more potential opportunities. It is always the recommended idea to never place all your eggs in one basket. Therefore, the best that you can do is to leverage multiple market trends and keep a seamless flow of revenues for yourself.
How Should a Craigslist Middleman Protect Oneself
• Research the Market
• One of the major advantages of the Craigslist Middleman Guide is that it saves you from many biases regarding a middleman. Your impression is that of a seller, and you secure handsome funding from clients. When you outsource those funds, you will get a decent sum for yourself. However, if you are not careful, then you will end up losing precious resources.
Maintain Flawless Communication
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• You will need to be extra careful while outsourcing your work. The main issue is created when the middlemen find cheap freelancers to handle important work that is worth more than a few thousand dollars. The major issue with Fiverr is that you get what you pay for. If you hire a freelancer to design a website for 1000 dollars, the result will be very different from the one where you hire a freelancer to do the same task but for 100 dollars. Usually, don't try to make too much profit and provide just the right experience to the clients.
Providing the Right Services
• Your communication is going to be the backbone of your business. How well you close your deals with the clients and manage to convince them to hire your services is how well you sell on Craigslist. You will want to expand beyond the course material of the Craigslist Middleman Course and ensure that your clients are getting the best experience they can get. Furthermore, you will also want to ensure that all the communication is flawless and doesn't halt at abrupt notes. Take a few lectures on client communication if you need to.
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Leverage Other Platforms
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• The Craigslist Middleman Guide is an excellent strategy. Currently, it is the source of many people's six-figure income. However, it pays to be aware of other trends and profitable sources. There are many professional sellers who are leveraging the Fiverr marketplace for outsourcing their projects. Perhaps setting up a professional website and presenting yourself as a seller can attract high-paying clients. It is all about how far you can score with your numbers.
Provide Value to Customers
• This one is quite obvious. No matter what sort of relationship you develop with your customers, never reveal yourself to be the middleman in the marketplace. You are presenting yourself as a shrewd seller on the Craigslist platform. Revealing your status as a middleman is highly damaging to the relationship with your clients. The market is currently evolving, and the need for a middleman is getting eliminated. Many sellers are becoming middlemen themselves. This trend has resulted in a decline in the need for middlemen. You should be careful not to get caught in that trend.
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• Don't Reveal Your Status
• Study the Platforms
• There is always a value in going beyond the basic coursework and expanding your horizons. The more creative and practical you get with your services, the better you can increase your profits. Studying the Craigslist marketplace and becoming aware of its trends can come in handy. Similarly, you will want to keep paying visits to Fiverr and keep taking notes of the trends and hot-selling services. The more knowledgeable you are, the better you can leverage various trends and increase revenues. There is a golden saying. Identify the need, and deliver the value. Studying the market will let you study those loopholes and identify the market's needs. You can tailor your services and then deliver value. You can also suggest helpful hints to the customers and present them with your knowledge of the marketplaces. It will help you secure your position as a savvy seller.
If your customers are comfortable with you, they will not go anywhere. Make a habit of providing them discounts and special offers. If a holiday comes, it will do you good to present a special offer. You are already earning profits. Now you can also ensure a quality experience for all your clients. It will help you earn long-term clients.