We are only now learning how to sell audience based on what we know or surmise about our audience. But we moved beyond even that on Saturday, focusing on the messages businesses want to communicate to prospective customers, most of which should be...Build a better CraigsList
The current crisis in newspaper revenue is result of the loss of the classified franchise to national aggregators and CraigsList.
This seems difficult to believe if you think that classifieds are little more than people selling stuff to each other. But the classified franchise is much more than that. It includes automotive, recruitment and real estate (cars, jobs and homes), as well as the more familiar private-party advertising. All together these categories used to provide 25-50 percent of all newspaper revenue. Now much of that money is gone, and what little is left is going away.
Most newspaper execs believe they can’t compete with CraigsList because it’s free. But CraigsList has an even bigger advantage — it’s easier to use than any newspaper’s classified site — as are most of the national aggregators such as cars.com, autotrader.com, realtor.com, monster.com, et. al.
Ironically, CraigsList isn’t particularly well-designed or easy to use. It’s merely easier than the alternatives that newspapers have offered.
And therein lies the opportunity: if newspapers hosted classifieds sites that were both free and easier to use than CraigsList, they could reclaim the classified franchise. Why do newspaper classified sites look like this, when they could look like this?
Check out the classifieds at KSL.com, which owns the classified franchise in its market because it’s easier to use than either Craigslist or the local newspaper.
So yes, we can build a better CraigsList — and keep it free — but we must also incorporate a sustainable revenue model, like this example from a group of weekly newspapers outside Hartford, Connecticut.
Note how classifieds (on the left) are married up with display ads (on the right). Granted, it would be better to see the display ads, rather than requiring a click to see them, but this basic model could work: free classified ads adjacent to paid display ads, as long as both free and paid ads were in the same category.
And we must include a social networking component — that’s the glue that keeps CraigsList together. Even eBay has a way to rate sellers as a means of protecting buyers. So we need a way to make buyers feel safer.
Here’s how to build a better Craigslist:
1. Make it easier to use
2. Make it free for the general public
3. Serve up context-sensitive, paid ads along with free classified ads
4. Provide a forum for feedback on sellers to keep ‘em honest.
5. Aggregate from CraigsList and other sources of classified ads, to create the biggest and best marketplace.
14. March 2009 at 7:40 pm :
Newspapers can definitely compete and build a better CraigsList. Glad you’re taking this on.
Another way to make it better: make it safer. Have some sort of registration and tracking method (for buyer and sellers). When someone wants to buy a used TV, they don’t fear getting mugged or possibly killed. A newspaper or news org can make it more legit.
16. March 2009 at 12:42 pm :
Building on Martin’s comment, a problem especially relevant to classifieds is that of trust. You have a partial solution with buyer/seller ratings (eg. eBay, Amazon, etc.), but there’s got to be a better way. Given that newspapers are tied to a specific geographic area you’re at least 1 tiny step closer to physical realty. But I wonder if there’s a way to apply Facebook/LinkedIn-type networks to make classifieds more trustworthy and hence more valuable. I know of at least 2 megachurches (one suburb, one in Manhattan) that runs its own free internal listings as a public service for their churchgoers. We’re also more inclined to trust the flyers coworkers post on company bulletin boards since we (assume) we know where these people work. Is there a way to segment/organize an aggregate listing into niche groups of like-minded folks?
18. March 2009 at 1:10 pm :
Personally, I think one could certainly build a better Craigslist. Two points of feedback, however. First, most newspapers should focus on improving their websites before attempting to invent the next Craigslist. Most (actually all) have vast opportunities for both improving their UX and how they sell advertising. Second, the web 2.0 rule still applies here: figure out how to make your tool useful so that people love it before you try and monetize it.
18. March 2009 at 5:15 pm :
A response, and one idea for building a better Craigslist: http://is.gd/nVQp
28. May 2009 at 10:59 am :
The strategy you’ve suggested is what we’ve implemented here in Atlanta with ajcexchange.com. Our previous site, ajcclassifieds.com had been losing revenue, audience and listings steadily since the arrival of craigslist. Rather than wait until it all dried up, we made the decision to cut the cord and go all free. That coupled with social networking features, better search engine optimization and a better overall user experience has been a winning formula for us. We’ve managed to win back the audience in a relatively short term. The success we’ve been able to achieve at the AJC was a direct result of having an internal development team who could focus on delivering a product fast and then improving it as you receive feedback from users.
I would actually add a sixth item to your list that’s related to #5. While aggregating FROM other sites is good, distribution TO other sites is better. If, as a seller, I can come to one place and know that my listing will be sent out to multiple sites, that’s a better experience; one which will almost certainly command my loyalty the next time I need to sell something.
26. August 2009 at 1:42 pm :
I have never found a newspaper classified that was easy to use. I assume somehow they are an offshoot of the print media and that is why they are crippled. I encourage every newspaper person to try and use their own website - use it for at least an hour - then see how it compares to drudgereport and craigslist.
So far the only use I have for a newspaper is the comics and the Sunday advertisments. Everything else is either too biased to be true or intellectual bubble gum.