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Zen and the Art of Writing Personal Ads


The following was taken off:

Personal Ads 101
http://www.geocities.com/Paris/Rue/9726/index.htm



Ok, so you want to write an ad. You've read a zillion ads placed on
the net and now you're ready to join the crazed hordes by tossing your
ad into the tempest. But what do you write? Where do you begin? How do
you make yours stand out? Read on, grasshopper... 



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1) Hey you! Over here!
- or - 
What's the sound of one bad ad being posted? 

The toughest part about placing a personal ad is the fear that no one
will notice it. Ask yourself: how many ads have you skipped because
they didn't catch your eye? Now ask yourself why they didn't catch
your eye. More than likely the reason is a lackluster title/headline. 

If a personal ad site lets you write your own headline, you must
approach this as your golden opportunity to grab the attention of the
type of person you're looking for. If you're looking for a certain
type, then describe that person. Many titles screw this up by just
stating something like: "SWM 23 yrs old looking for love." Does this
say anything about what the person is looking for? No, it just states
the obvious. A slightly better title would be: "SWM 23 seeks
intelligent & witty woman 20-25yrs." Here you're being more specific
about what exactly you're looking for and even what age range you'd
like to hear from. Not the greatest, but better than the first. 

Even better are titles that grab the reader by their sense of
curiosity and drag them into the ad. These titles can be sexy, funny,
provocative, off-the-wall, or even plain gimicky. The key is that the
title makes you want to read more. Examples: 

"Read this sexy woman's ad or die trying!"
"The love of your life is just a click away." 
"Two-headed alien from Zyclone 9, new in town, seeks same."
"I love you -- you just don't know it yet." 

Again the key is just to get them to read the ad. Once you have their
attention then you can really pummel them with your charm and wit. 



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2) Oh,...hi!


Ok, so now you have their attention. Now what? 

Simple. Now you put your best foot forward. Now you describe not only
yourself but the person you're looking for. You give a little insight
into your personality and you highlight the things that seperate you
from the other cows in the herd. Figure out what makes you unique and
use that angle to the hilt. In other words: be shameless! 

Things to Avoid Like the Plague


1) Misspelled words - Take the time to proofread your ad. If you don't
care enough about it to make it as perfect as possible, do you think
anyone else is going to care about your ad? 

2) Listing extremely common interests - "Snuggling on the couch" and
"renting movies" are not good things to list as interests or hobbies.
Thousands of other ads already say those things and they do nothing to
make you sound unique or interesting. Same thing goes for "like to go
out," "like music," and "like meeting new people." These pretty much
describe 90% of the people placing ads. Take a chance and list
interests you have that are somewhat unique. Who knows -- you might
find someone who likes that, too. 

3) Sounding desperate - No one wants to read a whining ad. If you
haven't had a date since ... ever, keep it to yourself. If you have no
social life, keep it to youself. Don't make youself sound like a
loser. Highlight the positive things and downplay the negative things
that really don't matter in the long run. That said... 

4) Lying - Absolutely do not put anything in your ad that is not
truthful (unless you're obviously joking - re: Two-headed aliens).
Lies kill relationships and they're not what you want to try building
a new one on. Plus you're scum if you get your jollies this way. 



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3) Zen and the Art of Ad Writing: Be the ad


This might sound tough to do, but when writing your ad, try and let it
reflect who you are as a person. In other words, if you describe
yourself as funny, then your ad should be as well. If you describe
yourself as intelligent -- don't write an ad that would make an
elementary teacher have a stroke. If you're generally not the romantic
type, then don't reach for a book of poetry and begin inserting random
lines about roses. 

In other words: Be yourself. Don't try to come off as someone you're
not. 

Another good way to help in this area is to include a picture of
yourself if at all possible. Or if you have a homepage that you've put
up that has pictures of your cat, then by all means put that in the
ad. People are naturally nosey and will check out these things to try
and figure out more about you. 



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4) Before you go, you personal ad posting demon!


Here are a few final tips before you go nuts on the net: 

 Give some idea of what information you want from people who will
respond to your ad. But make sure you've told them those same things
about you in your ad. 

 Don't write another "Sleepless in [who cares]" ad. Those have been
beaten to death. Same thing goes for ads where you compare yourself to
a car: "In good condition, low mileage, nice tires, seeking new owner,
etc etc." Both of those ads lost their flavor years ago. Please try
and come up with something new. 

 Don't be disappointed if you're not flooded with responses
(especially if you're a guy). Personal ads require both patience and
persistence. Wait a week or two and then post again. Or post on
another site. Just don't give up. 


More information on the ins and outs of Internet personal ads can be
found at:

Personal Ads 101:
http://www.geocities.com/Paris/Rue/9726/index.htm



alex
http://alex.mauldin.com


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