Classifieds FAQ

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Disclaimer

  • This tip-sheet is not necessarily endorsed by Linden Lab, its employees, or any other people, avatars or goldfish, be they living, dead, online, offline, or MIA after crossing a sim border.
  • It is intended to be useful, but your mileage may vary, even if fuel prices stay constant.
  • It is not intended to be used as a replacement for thinking, benchmarking, experimentation or any other good business practices. It is meant as a helpful basic tip sheet only.
  • Constructive feedback (including criticism) via IM / talk page is welcome. :)
  • The original version of this FAQ was written by Angel Fluffy, but has probably been edited/changed since then. If you edit this page a lot, please remove the "Angel Fluffy's" from the title, to make it clear the page is a community effort.

Angel Fluffy's Classifieds' FAQ

Tips for all classifieds posts...

  1. Keep it as short, simple and clear as possible. If a picture would explain it better, then include one, using a URL or the the Additional Options->Manage Attachments section of the page you use to post.
  2. Spellcheck your text before posting it.
  3. If you need to use more than one paragraph, use the first paragraph as a short, sharp overview covering all the main points, then go into detail in later paragraphs.
  4. Search the forum for other, similar ads, and learn from their techniques.
  5. Post in the right forum. If you're not sure which is the right one, find out before posting!
  6. Don't "bump" your posts to keep them at the top. People can see it and they aren't impressed. Either re-post it at intervals, or encourage people to reply so their replies bump it.
  7. After you have got the result you want from the ad, consider going back and editing/removing the ad to avoid getting further IMs.
  8. Give some indication of how much you charge or are willing to pay. Make sure you state if the price is in USD or L$.
  9. If unsure about your ad, make it a little vague, and ask the people who contact you what they thought of it. You can get valuable feedback this way. For example, if you're not sure of your pricing, then give a estimate with some leeway.
  10. Don't forget to advertise in-world too, using the in-world classified ad system. Far more people see the classified ads in-world than see the ones on these forums.

Tips for offering a new product/service...

  1. State exactly what your product or service is, emphasising the features which are in demand and/or unique.
  2. Offer examples of ways your offering can save your customers time, money, or effort.
  3. If advertising yourself as for hire, then give evidence that you can do the job well, such as examples of your past work, or testimonials. State how long you've been doing the job, because people value experience.
  4. Don't promise things you can't deliver. When people find out (and they will), your reputation will go south faster than a duck in winter.

Tips for requesting something be made or done for you...

  1. State clearly exactly what it is you want made or done, and how flexible you are about the details of how it is made/done.
  2. State clearly when you want (or need) the work done by.
  3. State clearly what permissions you want on the resulting object (if it is an object). Be aware that objects (especially scripted objects) with full-permissions may cost extra.
  4. Give some indication of how long the work will take to complete. For example, if you're hiring staff for a club, state how many hours a week they will have to be at the club.