A Long Personal Ad is Not Necessarily Better

It's tempting to assume that a longer ad is better than a shorter ad. I disagree. It's certainly true that a 200 word long ad will stand out from the shorter 50 word ads that surround it. It is also true that if you can't write a good 40-60 word ad that makes people want to know more about you and respond, you probably can't do it in an ad that is 100 words or even 500 words. A 1977 AMC Pacer that was considered an ugly car when it was new will become an antique car in time, but it will then be considered an ugly antique car. And written drivel is drivel, no matter how short or long.

If you take your time to write your personal ad and are creative, you should be able to say enough about yourself in 40 to 60 words. This is especially true if you have a voice mailbox and record a good voice message to go along with and compliment what you said in your written ad.

The idea in writing your ad is to strive for quality and not simply rely on quantity. Be brutally honest and ask yourself this simple question: "If I was reading this ad, would I want to take the time and spend my money to respond to it?" Better yet, if you aren't too embarrassed, have someone whose judgment you trust, preferably of the opposite sex, read your ad and critique it. Not just for style, but for accuracy. Ask them not only if they think that your ad will be interesting to people of the opposite sex, ask them if you are being honest. If you said in your ad that you were 5' 10" tall and a neat freak, but they laugh and say that you are 5' 7" and a slob, you'll save yourself a lot of time and money by listening to them and making some changes. That is why God invented editors.

This article is an excerpt from our manual called, "Effective Personal Ads - How to Write Personal Ads or Respond to Personal Ads." For more details on this manual please Click Here.