In order to get a good response from your personal ad your need several things all working in concert. First, you must have a good knowledge of who you are and what you want. Secondly, you must have a good headline. Thirdly, you must have a good personal ad that conveys who you are and what you want and expect from the other person.
Guidelines
Capture the reader's attention with a teaser. This should highlight some aspect of your personality. Don't state generalities about yourself, but do give specific details Ä favorite bands, or favorite movies, or favorite TV shows, etc. Spark interest in the other person by telling some thing about yourself. Remember, people want to know about you, so try and include as much about yourself as you can. Use humor. People like it when you use humor.
Tell others what you are looking for. Be specific and give age range, interests, hobbies, education level, religious preferences, if children are OK, type of relationship. Always place the most important information first in the ad. This goes for both who you are and who you are looking for sections of your ad. Don't use overly long words.
Don't leave out important facts that you are not happy with (i.e.. being short, fat or bald). Include these fact in your ad. After all you are looking for people who will accept you as you are! If writing an ad for use in foreign publications or in publications that are international in scope, state the language or languages that you can read or respond in. If you are worried about strange people looking you up, just use your first name or your middle name or a nickname instead of your full name in the ad. Never say that you will answer all replies, when you won't.
When you have it all put together, read it, and ask yourself would I respond to this ad if you were the opposite sex? If the answer is yes, then you probably have a good ad. If no, try again. Writing an ad takes work. It is not something to be taken lightly or to be done in one shot. The best ads have been rewritten and perfected over time after seeing who responded to an ad. If your first ad doesn't produce the results you were hoping for, try creating some new ads from the feedback you have gotten from replies. Vary your ad, try changing the head line or the wording of your ad.
