How to Write Personals Ad Headlines
Personals ads have carried a stigma for quite some time now, mainly that they are only for the desperate, unattractive or downright creepy section of the population. But with the rise of online dating websites and general ad sites such as craigslist.org, a new generation of personals ad users is on the rise. But the market is crowded, so in order to get a great result from your ad, you have to say just the right thing to attract a compatible user. Read on for the (headline) rules of attraction.
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Instructions
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Know thyself. Before you even begin to write your headline, you should know what you want. Are you looking to just have casual fun, or a long-term relationship, or someone who attends the same university that you do, or even someone who enjoys your hobbies? Organize your thoughts by making a list of what's most important. This can help you decide if you would like to attract someone who is very good-looking and well-dressed, or if it's more important that he loves to roller-skate as much as you, or that she volunteers her time with the less fortunate the way you do.
On the flip side, what are your deal-breakers? Are you very particular about body type, or ethnicity, or level of education? Knowing this information about yourself will also help as you write the headline.
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Find a venue. Where you place your personals ad can affect the results greatly. A newspaper such as "The Village Voice" in New York is a smaller publication with a niche audience of people who are very demographically similar, while an ad in the local daily newspaper of your town, like the "Miami Herald," will be seen by a huge, diverse portion of the population. Online personals are also a great option because they are free to post. Online dating websites are also an option, although you would not be placing an ad, but building a profile and possibly paying for the dating services. Think of these sites, such as eHarmony.com, as more of a virtual matchmaker than a personals ad.
Also think about placing more than one ad, which will almost guarantee that you will be exposed to the full spectrum of people using personals ads to find mates. Tailor each ad for that venue, or use the same ad for each.
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Learn the lingo. Personal ads use few words and many acronyms. LTR, SWF and FWB are just a few that you might hear thrown around. To make the most out of your space, you should use these letters too. LTR stands for long-term relationship, FWB is friends with benefits and S is for single, M is for married and D is for Divorced. Ethnicities are denoted with the first letter, like W for white and B for black. Gender is either F or M. Sexuality is normally spelled out (straight or gay), but "bi" is often substituted for bisexual.
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Write the headline. Now that you have all of your background information, you can write an attention-grabbing headline. The first rule is to keep it short. No one wants to read everything about you in the headline, and many newspapers even have character limits on how long your headline can be. Limit the words to need-to-know adjectives.
While the actual ad will be more about you, the headline is about your potential new suitor. An effective headline will include little about yourself (something short, like 25 y/o SWF ) and a lot about what you seek. For example, if you're a young single woman looking for a graduate student who loves camping and Italian food, then your ad might read: SF seeks Pasta-Lovin Outdoorsy Grad. It doesn't tell exactly what you're looking for, but it will keep guys who can't take a mosquito bite away.
Tone is also important in your headline. Do you want to come across as a funny person? Or serious, or easy-going, or romantic? All of these things can be accomplished with smart wording. Posing a question is a great way to set a scene and attract people to your ad. A guy who wants a woman to wine and dine might write: "Up for candlelit dinners and old-school romance?"
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Tips & Warnings
Whatever you decide to write, be as honest as you can. And while you want to strike a balance between informative and getting attention, never go for shock value; it will lure people to your ad, but will not bring quality respondents.
