The issue of free classifieds puzzles publishers

By Peter M. Zollman

The issue of free classifieds wonít go away any time soon.
Itís a tremendous challenge for publishers, because theyíre used to getting paid for the ads they run.

But Google, Microsoft and many other companies ñ including Craigslist, the site thatís not really a business ñ donít plan to get paid for the classified ads they carry. At least not directly. And that makes every traditional classified advertising publisher crazy. Publishers have to adapt to the new business rules while still keeping the old business going and growing.

Itís not easy. Not at all.

Here are a few questions:
- Should you offer free classifieds?
- If so, what / how / why?
- Should you allow your ads to be aggregated into Google Base / Indeed.com / Oodle.com / Vast.com / etc.?

Unfortunately, thereís no single answer to any of those questions. For each newspaper / market / category, the answer is different. We work with our clients to answer those questions specifically for them.

But since Iíve raised the questions, I should at least give you my ìgenericî answers with a very short synopsis of why I and my colleagues at Classified Intelligence believe as we do.

- Should you offer free classifieds? Yes. Sometimes. Are there marketplaces youíve lost? Like ìmerchandise under $500î or personals or ìused cars under $3,000î? If so, thatís a good place to start. But make sure you build in revenue streams, such as section sponsorships or options for advertisers who want to sell to the audience youíre reaching (low-end used-car dealers, for example, adjacent to ìused cars under $3,000î). And upsells into print. And upsells online. Best: All of the above.

ìWhyî offer free classifieds? To recapture categories youíve lost, and / or to hold on to your ìendangered species.î Make sure you use those free classifieds to promote your newspaper, to build ìcommunityî on your Web site (and in print, if possible), and to increase traffic on your Web site. All of those generate revenue through local ad sales.

When you offer free classifieds, make sure youíre not substantially increasing costs. Use them to drive ad placement online. And make sure you include upsell WYSIWYG (ìwhat you see is what you getî) capabilities on your site, so customers who are tempted to spend $5, $10, or $15 for increased visibility online or a print upsell have great reason to do so. Readily, easily and by credit card.

- Should you allow aggregator / indexer sites like Google Base and Oodle to include your listings in their databases? This is another tricky question, and I could easily make the argument either way. But in general, our answer is yes. With more caveats and ìifs / maybesî than just a straight yes.

The bottom line, in my opinion: No one calls your newspaper because they want to ìplace an ad.î They want results. They want to sell that car / rent that apartment / sell that house / find that new employee ñ quickly, easily, effectively and as inexpensively as possible.

If youíre the place they call to place the ad, good for you. If youíre the place consumers turn to, youíre doing your job. Youíre serving as the marketplace.

As long as the advertiser pays you for the results, youíre the winner. As for all the free sites, sure, advertisers could post ads on their own ñ but theyíd have to deal with the complicated and time-consuming task of knowing which sites to visit, actually placing, managing and expiring the listings, and so forth.

But if your brand is the ìone-stop advertising sourceî for finding a job / home / car / etc. in your market, youíll do well.

Again: This is not a blanket endorsement. For more pros and cons, invite one of us from Classified Intelligence to speak at your association meeting; have us work with your company on the specifics of your market, and your objectives, or just call me with specific questions. Iíll be happy to try to answer them. No charge. Because these are important issues and publishers should consider them carefully. Before they lose the marketplace.


Peter M. Zollman is founding principal of Classified Intelligence LLC and the AIM Group, consulting groups that work with media companies to help develop profitable interactive media services. Zollman can be reached at pzollman@aimgroup.com, (407) 788-2780.