Note: I originally started writing this post awhile ago, possibly a couple of years. It’s been in my drafts list for a really long time. I’ve updated the post a bit.
Note #2: I am NOT, repeat NOT, posting an online personal ad for dating. I’ve posted online ads for friends, but not dating. I do not plan on doing that.
Why I’m Writing This
Before I met Ness, but after Gaby and I broke up, I was seriously contemplating putting up an online personal ad. I half attempted such and I’m sure I have a couple of profiles around somewhere. Then I saw a note on Chawlk, at the time it was 9rules Notes, about personal ads. It was a joke, of course, and if I could find it then I am sure you would see the humor in it as well.
Lately I’ve been cruising around Craigslist, not looking for a date, but looking for friends. It’s hard for me to meet friends in a social setting (read: bar) and so I try to meet friends online first. It just makes that whole awkward first encounter that much easier.
I’ve come across a lot of horrible postings on Craigslist. I read a lot of them and think that only the most boring, conceited people post on there. I’m sure my post would be a part of that category as well. After all, I am boring and conceited so it would have to carry over into a personal ad.
I’m going to go through and tell you why you’re probably only meeting psychos on Craigslist. I’ve met a few psychos myself so I feel your pain. Out of the ten people that responded to my friend ad, only four were not psychotic, and only one ever made it past the e-mail stage.
Your Headline
Headlines are always important. Newspapers, both online and print, blogging, and personal ads. Headlines grab peoples attention and it makes them click on the link to read your ad. I see a lot of horrible headlines, mine included. I’m horrible at coming up with headlines. I’ve never been much of an advertiser/seller, and let’s face it, most people aren’t.
I just took this screenshot today. The first thing that pops out are the horribly grammatical errors. I’m not saying I have the world’s most perfect grammar, just read this post, but some of these make me cringe. “is there any good ones left” probably makes me cringe the most. First, it should, at the very least, be “are there any good ones left”. Second, what the hell are you talking about? Yes, I’m sure there are good ones left, but what exactly are you talking about? Vegetables? Apples? Potted flowers? If you’re talking about men, please just say so. Your headline should read “Are there any good men left”. Third, this is obviously a question, so use the correct punctuation.
Aside from the obvious grammatical errors, this isn’t a very good headline anyway. It says absolutely nothing about the poster. Yes, there may very well be a few good men left but why would they want to click on this headline when it says nothing about you?
The last two in this group are a bit better. At least I know what you are looking for and they also tell me a bit about you. I can read through headlines all day. It takes me two seconds to read a single headline and if it doesn’t grab my attention, I keep going.
Your ad
The headline is what grabs someone’s attention, your ad is what makes them contact you. When you are writing your ad, be specific. This is not specific:
However, this is. And if I were in NYC right now, I’d grab a beer with her.
In Conclusion
Please, for my sake, take my advice. I love meeting new people and if your ad is boring, I won’t contact you. I’m sure there are a lot of interesting, intelligent, and fun people who post ads on Craigslist. I just can’t tell because of how boring the posts are.
