So I have decided to post an ad on craigslist.

I have recieved four different people looking for cakes. The emails are seem to be "I want a dora themed cake. How much?" So I start by asking how many people does it needs to feed, and flavors. When I have that info I quote. But no one has emailed back.

Here are my questions:
A) Has anyone ever recieved good business from craigslist?
B)Is this par for the course? Are people just looking for deals on craigslist?
C) Do you have any places to advertise besides craigslist that work well?

I know people who have used Craigslist for other things with success. I've also heard too many bad stories too.

We post our cake photos on photobucket.com (it's free) and make sure that everyone we know has the link. We post it on our facebook pages too. And we make sure that anyone who gets a cake KNOWS that THEIR cake will be posted there too. Seems they always want to show off their cake to family and friends online. Then people go in and see our other cakes too. Mostly, it's all word of mouth.

One thing that has helped is that we tell anyone that with any referral, they will get a discount off their next cake equal to 10% of what their referral spends on their cake. So if they get a cake for $90, then they have a $9 credit toward their next cake. And make sure they realize that if they refer enough people they could get their next cake for free. We've gotten where our customers have referred us, then they have referred us and they have referred us; each in turn earning their discount. And some of our customers accept the discount, then give us a tip for the amount of the discount.

I used to post on Craigslist when a first became licensed so I could get my name out more. I had very few inquiries, and only one consultation (a bride to be who wanted 150 mini cakes for $1.50 each!) ... The bride who I had a consult with was a big PITA and ended up not booking with me anyway, thankfully.

So, I learned that people are looking for a bargain when they shop CL in my area. I haven't posted in a long time. I have bought and sold other things from CL, but not cake!

I know some businesses post on CL but they do not appear like serious and reputable companies around here. I wanted to present myself as offering a high quality product and didn't feel like a Craigslist ad did that.

Again, it really depends on your area, but around here, CL is certainly for bargain hunters. I know some have had good luck with it but not me, and the spam you'll get is annoying.

I agree... CL is people that are looking for cheap things... use decidio.com is nice and you can set the price range you are willing to accept....

I agree that CL shoppers are looking for less than cheap. To weed them out, if you are going to respond to inquiries like above, don't "be nice" .... be direct.

"A Dora themed cake to serve 25 is $75, plus a $25 delivery and set-up fee. We can do larger cakes, but 25 is the minimum we make. Please let me know what date you need this cake so we can check availability."

Giving them a minimum and a minimum price will weed out the cheap-o's. If you go back and forth asking them how many servings, what flavors, what color theme, etc., you'll just end up being frustrated over the wasted time you spent.

One thing that helps when you're using craigslist is to let people text you, assuming you've got a text plan on your cell. That keeps their messages short and is faster than playing email tag with them. Also put a minimum price in your ad or a per serving price and that will weed out the people looking for designer cakes below Walmart prices.

Thank you all for your advice, it always helps!

IndyDebi, your like a cake angel, looking out for all us new comers. Your replys are always spot on!