This was originally a reply post but decided to make it a new one...

From personal experience in 3 major cities; Miami Beach, NYC and San Diego.

If your on a budget but need to flood your local area with your service....

First off, Craigslist has given us an enourmous amount of business(even though we dont use them anymore, because we don't have to) in the past few years, like adwords, you have to learn how to use it.. And yeah it's free. Most poeple think "free advertising" is not worth it. most of the time it's not. But think of it this way- Craigslist.com is ranked in the top 30 in Alexa.. That's HUGE HUGE HUGE traffic. And that's one of the foundations of advertising- traffic. So in this case free is good... However, you still have to have a well written ad & title for it to be effective. Also branding... You can't put up an ad once or twice in the same locale and expect it to give you sales. You need to brand your company or service to all those poeple who use Craigslist, because most poeple who use it always comes back. For example- placing a full page ad in a major newspaper once will still hardly get you noticed... It needs to be branded- repitition. In a study, most consumers do not fully notice or react to an ad until there 3rd or 4th time seeing it in the same general location or genre. Meaning if your placing an ad, make sure its recurring. Other wise it's pointless. So if placing a reccuring ad, don't change it around everytime the new ad goes out. Let it slowly stick in your consumers minds.

Craigslist also lets you post a few pictures on your ad, take advantage by adding a picture of your product or store etc... Think of it this way... When your searching for a car on autotrader.com or browsing through MySpace or dating websites, do you ever click on a profile with no photo? 99% of the time you will click the profile with a photo.. If you do place an ad on craiglist- there is a small logo that says you have photos available... Bang- traffic.
You can also try backpage.com


So whats better Business Cards or Flyers?

Business Cards are significantly cheaper and lighter than flyers and postcards... And beleive it or not much more effective. We've been printing / desiging and marketing with flyers and biz cards for years for our company and other companies as well...

The amount of information that can be placed on a biz card compared to a flyer is much less- granted. But in effect that's why it's more effective. Although people are more likely to be initially attracted by a large colorful flyer, chances of them actually taking it home is null. And after looking at the flyer for less then 6 seconds, it's thrown away - and about 5 to 20 minutes later, they forget what they even read. Waste.
Business Cards however- have a much greater chance of being used for it's purpose... It can easily fit any pocket, a good wallet filler and more professional.

If your in a major or populous city, your in luck for some great marketing. To make a long story short- You can hire someone you trust (or do it yourself) to distribute 1000, 5000, 10000 etc business cards on car windsheild wipers, apartments, stores, etc.... The typical rate is $10 an hour or $10 per 1000.

Remember these are budget ways to advertise locally. However the distribution of business cards is pertinent for any local business. I was going to write more... But it's dinner

Hope that helps you guys out some what..

With Craigslists - yes it is traffic but you have to ask yourself what kind of traffic? How much does it cost you? Most people immediately will think of money when this question is asked but there are a few others, one is time.

If you post how many leads / sales do you get from that posts? Most people that are on there are looking for a deal. I used to post on there actually and I would get a few phone calls. Most never looked at the site and just wasted my time. I think in the nine months - I might have made one or two sales.

For most people - it is not worth it. The social networking sites - some of them have something but a lot of them well people are there to socialize not to do business.

Well put... Really what it comes down to is what your selling on CL.

People use Craigslist to do business, all day everyday - 10 million strong and growing per month. They come there to find products and services to buy, some tangible others intangible. Still it is transaction oriented. However, what gets peoples attention is not some flashy, image crazed ad. They want to connect with a real seller, someone who cares in their community. CL is about networking to find a great deal from real people.

If you only got a few calls maybe it's because you were trying too hard to sell them, instead just be a local resource and let them sell themselves.

Can't help but point out that as someone who has a financial interest in people using craigslist (seen in your signature) your "independant" position instantly loses credibility.

I would not recommend this. In many cases, it's illegal. In most cases, it's annoying, meaning more harm than good to your reputation.

I've only used CL to post a car I was selling. I got a few responses but eventually ended up selling it through autotrader.com. My biggest gripe against CL is the design, but apparently that doesn't stop people from using it.