How to Post Ads to Openlist.Ca: 16 Steps

How to Post Ads to Openlist.Ca: 16 Steps

Openlist is a Canadian online community which allows individuals to post classified advertisements or requests for goods or services on sub-sites which serve specific metropolitan areas in Canadian cities. It also provides an API which allows its authorized users to automatically post ads to the system. This is how to post an ad on Openlist.

Steps

1. Choose a product, service to advertise.

2. Choose a city/town(e.g. Vancouver) to post in.

3. Go to [1] http://www.openlist.ca and choose the city you want to post in.

4. Click "Post" to post to classifieds.

5. Choose a category to post in: jobs, gigs, housing, for sale/wanted, services offered, personal/romance community event.

6. Choose a final specification (for example, in Services Offered, you can choose from: automotive services, computer services, creative services, event services, financial services, household services, labor & moving, legal services, lessons & tutoring, real estate services, skilled trade services, small biz ads, therapeutic services (non-erotic), erotic services).

7. Choose a neighborhood at this point, if your area is large enough to offer these, and choose the appropriate area to post in.

8. Fill out the Ad posting screen.

• "Posting Title" is the first Field that you type in. This Field is the one that will be seen most often and is used to get people to click on your ad. Make sure that you have a catchy title.
• "Specific Location" is the location that you are posting from. Many posters use this field for phone numbers and websites. Be sure to include http://www so that it is a live link.
• "Posting Description" is where you describe your product/service/etc to the buyer/customer. The body is what will cause the customer to call you, email you or click through to your website.

9. To put a picture in an ad, you may upload one from your desktop after you receive the confirmation link from openlist via email. Alternatively, you can also have the picture online somewhere (you may use a free site like myspace.com or flickr.com to upload a photo). Then "Right Click" on the photo and in Internet Explorer you click "Properties"; a window will pop up. The Address (URL) is what you are looking for. Highlight the URL and Copy (Crtl+C). Then go back to the Ad Body. TYPE in <img src= and then add the URL of the Picture (i.e. <img src="http://www.mysite.com/logo.gif"> finally you must add the closing mark.

10. Add a "Click Through" by adding a few codes to the image we just made.First, add <a href=" to the Body of the CL ad. Then type in the exact URL of the website that you want to send people to, such as http://www.openlist.ca, then place that in "Quotes" after <a href="http://www.openlist.ca and add the close to it > then insert the picture from above and add </a>.

• The Email Address – This is your email address or any email address that you want to post to. Click the option for anonymizing your address if you want to retain privacy. But understand, that if someone writes to you, they WILL get your address if you reply back to them.

11. Decide on giving permission for people to spam you – you'll usually want to say no, which is the default listing.

12. Continue to the code page. Here is where you must enter a 5 letter code in order to post the ad to your email.

13. Accept the Terms of use. You have not yet posted your ad, however.

14. Check the email you posted the ad to, you will get an email from Openlist.ca asking you to confirm that you requested the ad and to post photos.

15. Click the link, and it will take you to a page asking you to edit or publish your ad. Choose to publish, unless you want to make any changes.

16. Click on the link to see how your ad will appear to your customers.

Tips

• Be sure to host your photos on DigAfile.com for free. They offer the most free storage and highest free bandwidth allowance.
• Use images and hot links.
• You may wish to set up a separate email address for your Openlist account. Even if you use the anonymizer option, your customers will get your email address when you respond to them after they have written to you through the anonymizer function.
• Keep your posting message handy. You will need it in order to check back in and cancel your ad after you have sold your product or service. The most considerate thing to do once your ad has run its course is to cancel it so that people across your region will not take time to respond for something you are no longer in a position to offer to them.

Warnings

• Don't post more than 30 ads in 1 hour or your IP will be blocked.
• Do not repost the same product or service within a 24 hour period.