We asked Brooke McCluskey, marketing manager of Hoosier Times (the group that publishes the Bloomington Herald-Times) for tips on writing a classified.
1. Browse easy. If your ad is so technical it reads like a textbook, no one will read it. Students are master scanners. Don’t make a potential buyer work.
2. Be honest. “Nobody likes to call about an item, job, or apartment and find out it’s totally different than described in the ad,” McCluskey says. Selling junk? Label it “poor cond” and price it low, she says. Most likely someone will still be interested.
3. Learn the magic words. “New,” “excellent,” “cheap,” and every student’s favorite word, “free,” will grab readers. If you’re placing a print ad, learn common abbreviations and save some cash.
4. Add spice. In a sea of similar ads, colorful language and details grab a reader’s attention. “Bright turquoise convertible” is a better way to start an ad than “2006 convertible.”
Some classified gems from the Herald-Times
1. 1988 Chevy Pickup. Good, solid truck, but ugly. $1200
2. Need a referral? Ask me who I worked for yesterday! Own your own barn within a year!
3. $500 REWARD for the safe return of Jack the Cockatoo who was mistakenly given away at the end of May.
4. Gorgeous sequin wedding gown size 8, dirt ring at bottom could be hemmed off, no zipper, small rips along sleeve easily repaired. $175
5. WANTED! Anyone who witnessed a female postal worker fall down at 110 N. Main on Feb. 11, 2003.
