On top of being the greatest garage sale on earth, it is also a great place to search for work.

Some of my best clients have come from inquiring to an ad they placed, or responding an ad I placed.

I have ritual of scanning the all the craigslist's in major and minor cities.  The best category for me is "Computer Gigs."  Sometimes I will even search the "Jobs" category for help needed in Joomla!

Here are my suggestions:

• Stick to the posts that are less than a week old.
• Keep your mind open to other work opportunities, such as help with Joomla!, or coaching in some web application.
• Be wary of the person wanting an awesome site for $100.
• When replying to an email, be professional and complete in your response.  Make sure you provide all the information they ask for.  (I actually use an email template with my logo.)
• Include your phone number.  Even if you only ever work by email or IM, a phone number builds credibility and trust.
• Use common sense, because Craigslist is a free service it is a hotbed for scams and other pitfalls.  Trust your gut.