There is no one-size-fits-all answer for when to post your classifieds on Craigslist. The answer to this question varies depending on your geographic market area, your target tenant, and your inventory.
Are you in an urban, rural or suburban area? Are you targeting students, young professionals or seniors? Do you offer social housing or conventional housing? Do you have lofts, condos, efficiencies, 3 bedroom apartments or houses for rent? How competitive is your market?
The best method to determine when to post classifieds on Craigslist is to track and analyze. Take the time and create a spreadsheet to record and track when you get your Craigslist leads, what rental unit they’re interested in, and where they work.
Review and analyze the results to determine what time of day you get the most Craigslist leads. If you know how to use pivot tables in MS Excel, you can compare when your prospects have arrived, for each unit and for each job category.
Another factor to consider is the competitiveness of your Craigslist geographic area. How long does it take for your ad to disappear from the first page of search results?
If your Craigslist ad disappears within minutes or doesn’t disappear at all, it doesn’t matter what time you post. What is more important is the content of your ad and the consistency with which you post.
While there is no universal standard for when to post on Craigslist, there are some general posting conventions:
* After midnight you will have early risers
* Before noon you will have lunch time navigators
* Late night is after work crowd
* Early morning on weekends are apartment buyers