Using Craigslist to Promote Your Church or Non-Profit Organization

Craigslist.org is a virtual garage sale, community portal, job database (and more) that was started by a man named Craig Newmark in 1995. Craigslist offers free listings for cities in all 50 states and in over 50 countries. It is stocked full of free advertising and marketing opportunities.

One thing that has amazed me lately is how many pastors and non-profit leaders that I meet who have never heard of Craigslist. As with any non-profit organization, usually the main way people find out about you is through a friend or family member. Sometimes as church or ministry leaders we become lazy and just wait for the people to miraculously come trough the door. There are however many free advertising opportunities that will help your organization to gain more recognition and Craigslist is one of the best. Listed below are a few things that you can do to raise awareness of your non-profit organization through Craigslist.

First you should find the Craigslist for your city or town. If your city is not listed then find the one closest to you. After you have located the closest Craigslist in your area, set up an account. This simply requires an email address and your choice of a password. After you have set up the account you can tweak your personal options to your liking.

After your account is set up and you are logged-in, go to the community section. In this section there are categories like activities, local news, and general. Chances are you have some event going on that you can post in this section weekly. In the general category you can post a generic blurb about your organization. Who you are, when you meet, where you are located, etc. You can also upload pictures to go along with your ad.

There is also a section called gigs. This is a great place to post your need for musicians, computer assistance, crews to help with special events and more. In the job section you can post any new positions that open up in your church or organization and browse for jobs for people in your church that you know are unemployed.