Opinions on Craigslist (worth it? Safety?)

My wife thinks that we should advertise on Craigslist for portraits. I have read another thread on here that plenty of people said that they thought Craigslist was a waste of time. My wife says that we should put our ad in the Seattle Craigslist (we live 80 miles/1.5 hours away from Seattle).

I am thinking that we are only going to get certain customers who are looking for the cheapest thing possible and probably not be worth our time. I am also concerned about safety. Seattle is one area I don't really like and have never felt safe there. I am worried that someone may try to set up a session and then try to rip us off and steal our camera equipment.

What do you guys think?
Is Craigslist worth doing for someone starting out?
Is it safe to try and get clients in a city like Seattle through Craigslist?

Thank you!

It is safe if you do it safely.

It's lots of crap for a little payoff.

But if you live 80 miles from the closest Craigslist listings that's NEVER going to pay off. Hell I live in a Craigslist area and it's barely worth it.

I personally would never look for or use a photographer from Craigslist.

the flying moose wrote in post #16277306
I personally would never look for or use a photographer from Craigslist.

Then where do you recommend to advertise that wont cost you an arm and a leg.

As far as transactions in general on Craigslist, I've had good luck on there and met some very nice people. Some traveled over an hour to buy things from me and were quite happy with the purchase. My .02.

I do live in an area that has it's own craigslist section. But my wife was suggesting that we try to do Seattle. My first concern was safety, and the fact that my target customers are not those that are 80 miles away. So I am thinking I need to find other/better ways to advertise locally. I am probably going to get in touch with some local hair salons and see if I can make some sort of a deal with them .

I sold a car in less than 24 hours on craigslist. Never got a photo gig on there. Received tons of spam/attempted scams on both.

Ratjack wrote in post #16277481
I do live in an area that has it's own craigslist section. But my wife was suggesting that we try to do Seattle. My first concern was safety, and the fact that my target customers are not those that are 80 miles away. So I am thinking I need to find other/better ways to advertise locally. I am probably going to get in touch with some local hair salons and see if I can make some sort of a deal with them .

Why is your wife so bent on Seattle?

Do you belong to any organizations? Like at your kids' school, church, or anything like that? Even workplace. I think there are enough portrait photographers out there that people will rather choose someone they know from somewhere (or get referrals from others) as opposed to a total stranger. "Hey, did you know so and so's dad is a photographer...?" "I hear Jim in accounting does portraits on weekends..." type of thing. Also that way you are part of a group where both you seeking a new client & the client seeking a photographer feels more safe if that's an issue (you are probably not a weirdo or someone dangerous if they see you at church every week). Then you can probably run an affordable ad in their newsletter, maybe for free if you are a member.... see where this is going right?

syclarac wrote in post #16277501
Do you belong to any organizations? Like at your kids' school, church, or anything like that? Even workplace. I think there are enough portrait photographers out there that people will rather choose someone they know from somewhere (or get referrals from others) as opposed to a total stranger. "Hey, did you know so and so's dad is a photographer...?" "I hear Jim in accounting does portraits on weekends..." type of thing. Also that way you are part of a group where both you seeking a new client & the client seeking a photographer feels more safe if that's an issue (you are probably not a weirdo or someone dangerous if they see you at church every week). Then you can probably run an affordable ad in their newsletter, maybe for free if you are a member.... see where this is going right?

I'd rather struggle to get strangers than book friends easily. Friends (and family) tend to expect the shoot to be free when you "don't need the money because you already have a day job." That, and you're a friend: what are friends for?!?

Oh and by the way, even if they're just work colleagues, they'll not hesitate to call you a friend when they think it'll get them free photos. They may only see you in passing once a week at work but they're your buddy when they think they can squeeze you. Any kind of "connection" they can think of, they'll work it.

If they actually pay, it'll be a pittance and life will be miserable. If you do it for free, do it on your terms and tell them it's ONLY for portfolio.

Total strangers and friends of clients? Never a problem. They already know there are going to be costs.

Yeah, it's a Catch-22. Need work for referrals, need referrals for work. Gotta start somewhere, etc. But trust me - you don't want to work for friends or family or co-workers.

cdifoto wrote in post #16277496
Why is your wife so bent on Seattle?

She thinks that we might have more luck with Seattle. I on the other hand think we will have the same luck as we do locally but the only difference being, we would have to driver 1.5 hrs to get there.

syclarac wrote in post #16277501
Do you belong to any organizations? Like at your kids' school, church, or anything like that? Even workplace. I think there are enough portrait photographers out there that people will rather choose someone they know from somewhere (or get referrals from others) as opposed to a total stranger. "Hey, did you know so and so's dad is a photographer...?" "I hear Jim in accounting does portraits on weekends..." type of thing. Also that way you are part of a group where both you seeking a new client & the client seeking a photographer feels more safe if that's an issue (you are probably not a weirdo or someone dangerous if they see you at church every week). Then you can probably run an affordable ad in their newsletter, maybe for free if you are a member.... see where this is going right?

I am actually in a couple of groups I could see about. I am a volunteer for a local Boys and Girls Club and I am a volunteer coordinator for another organization. I will see about talking to some people there. Thanks for the input!

Ratjack wrote in post #16277528
She thinks that we might have more luck with Seattle. I on the other hand think we will have the same luck as we do locally but the only difference being, we would have to driver 1.5 hrs to get there.

Yeah I'm thinking she's got the wrong idea about it. Craigslist is craigslist no matter where you are. In general, it tends to draw the same types of people, and those people can vary depending on the category. There's not a high ratio of return for all the attempted scams you'll have to delete from your inbox.

I got lucky with the car. They already had that kind of car before and wanted another, and it was priced right. It was not a late model Lexus.

rsmith6621ab wrote in post #16277338
Then where do you recommend to advertise that wont cost you an arm and a leg.

No idea but I have never had a transaction work out or not be scammed on Craigslist. I gave up on using there for anything long ago.

Put up flyers in coffee shops and the like, places where the people to whom you are interested in selling frequent. The number of tabs removed is an indicator of interest. Include a QR code for the technically savvy, but include a request variable in the URL for tracking where the request originated. Pick up a couple of books in the Guerilla Marketing series as those have low budget marketing ideas.

In my business, the ads that I spend the least on get the worst return. There's a reason its cheap.