Online Dating Advice

I’ve studied nearly 100,000 Personal Ads on the Internet.

That’s quite an education, isn’t it?

Most people write their Personal Ads so they sound just like … ads. They have a 1990′s ring to them – like something you might have seen in a mail order catalog back in the early days of Spencer Gifts. Describing yourself in your Personal Ads can be a daunting task, and I know this because I frequently hear about it from both women and men who contact me for help in writing their Personal Ads so they’ll attract the right kind of people.

So what’s the best way to write your Personal Ads?

One of the features of my own Personal Ads is that they never actually sound like an advertisement. Have you ever seen a full-page ad in a magazine or on a website which appears to be written like an editorial? Such ads are written like news stories. The big benefit to writing Personal Ads this way is how disarming this style of Personal Ads can be. Essentially, your Personal Ads are telling a story and entertaining your readers too. They’re a combination of humor, news, information, and sales – all wrapped up into one – like a beautiful work of art. This is the way to charm your readers while they’re browsing through the Personal Ads online, and the most successful syndicated news columnists know this from long experience.

If you have enough room to do this in your Personal Ads, write the longest ad you can – even if it ends up being close to 500 words! I know this is quite a departure from the 30-word Personal Ads you might be accustomed to. But longer is better in Online Dating – and this is particularly true when you’re creating really successful Personal Ads. (And I’m telling you this from experience!)

If you’ve been single for awhile, you already know that both women and men will want to know a lot about you before they’ll agree to be intimate – and maybe before they’ll even agree to meet you in the first place. So start the “warm up” process within your Personal Ads, and your first meeting won’t feel like you’re starting from square one. And warming someone up takes time (hence the higher word count I’ve recommended).

When you sit down to write your Personal Ads, create a theme that you can expand upon while you’re writing. Think about writing your Personal Ads like you’re writing a short story. The same elements apply. Create the star of your story (that’s got to be you!) and make your Personal Ads sound like an adventure. Get the readers of your Personal Ads involved in the plot. Use humor, suspense, and leave your readers hanging at the end – wanting to know more. To find out more, the readers of your Personal Ads will have to respond and introduce themselves to you! That’s the first part of your successful “sales process” – you’ll receive a reply letter from a new prospect – who in fact may soon become your next boyfriend, girlfriend, or spouse!

But don’t stop there – once you’ve “made the sale” (in other words, when your Personal Ads have generated a letter – even a short one – from a reader who wants to know more) then keep “selling” yourself with honest, positive, and optimistic comments. Your goal, naturally, is to create the atmosphere for a first date.

Warm regards,

Jay Reiss, M.S.W.
The Online Dating Coach

P.S. To get some personal assistance writing Personal Ads that work, please contact me here – or visit my website at: www.online-dating-coach.com