Meeting Women Online -
An Internet Dating Guide

If you're a single man or woman - and you'd like to meet some attractive women or men for dating, then one of your best dating strategies is to advertise yourself using powerfully written Online Personal Ads. I've been using the Online Personals for more than ten years to meet women for dating on the Internet - and have heard from more than two thousand women worldwide. Online Dating has been an adventure in romance, world travel, and many exciting relationships. Let me show you how it's done and how YOU can succeed with online dating too!

Dating services also have their place of course, and in future articles I'll show you how to maximize your success with these services as well. But whether you use a paid dating service or not, the secret to your success with online dating is having well-written Online Personal Ads - and a very well-written Online Dating Profile. The guys with the best profiles meet the most interesting women - and the same thing goes for women meeting men. With effectively written ads, and a great Online Dating Profile, you'll have the best variety of women (or men) to choose from!

Today I'd like to start this article series by giving you some tips and advice on How to Succeed with Online Dating ads.

So let's get started!

If you'd like to learn how to meet beautiful women on the Internet (or handsome men) then it all starts with the personal contact you'll establish with your Online Personal Ads. Your ads should be alluring, provocative, and follow the fundamental rules of advertising. In other words, to meet attractive women on the Internet, your personal ads should:

1. Target your audience right in the headline

2. Convey reader benefits

3. Describe your best features, and

4. Include a "call to action."

Let's analyze each part of the winning formula, shall we?

Targeting Your Audience: By this I mean that exactly the type of woman (or man) you are looking for should "select themselves" by reading your personal ad. In other words, you want to not only attract the right respondents- but you also want to filter out the wrong ones!

Reader Benefits: What's in it for the reader? In other words, why should the reader answer your ad - what's the benefit of communicating with you and getting to know you better?

Describe your best features: By "best features" I mean your best qualities or winning characteristics. The difference between "Benefits" and "Features" can be summarized by the famous advertising slogan, "Sell the sizzle, not the steak!" The sizzle is the Benefit - and the eight-ounce slab of meat is the Feature.

Include a Call to Action: Every effective advertisement includes a "call to action" which means a request that the reader answer your ad! For example, "Write today and begin living the life you've been dreaming about!"

Here's an example of an effectively written Online Personal Ad. Can you identify the four marketing principles I've outlined above?

Local Man with a Soft Touch Searching for a Cultured, Sensitive Woman

I'm a tender-hearted man with the soul of a poet, wanting to connect, in a romantic sort of way, with an educated Santa Barbara woman. If you've made peace with the past... if you're settled into the present... and if you look forward to a comfortable future with a loving companion, I'd really enjoy hearing from you today.

I've got a twinkle in my eye, a warm soothing voice, and a very soft touch. And I haven't forgotten how to love... and hope you remember too!

Sex and romance are important to me... but of course (and to put your mind at rest) not on our first date. I'm more the subtle type, preferring a warm passionate kiss and a tender embrace to something you might see on very late night TV. Although there's a time and place for that too...

If an imaginative man with depth is more your cup of tea, then why not drop me a line and see where that leads us. And who knows - maybe you'll be pleasantly surprised at what develops...

Here are my requests: You're 40+ years old. Financially solid (and not needing me to support you) and you're emotionally stable with pleasant family ties either here or out-of-town. You're generally in good health, a non-smoker, enjoying perhaps a glass of wine from time to time - if that. You dress well, and can relax in jeans too. I'm not a marathon runner, but I'd love to join you for a beach walk from time to time - for sun and some fresh air. No mountain climbing or river rafting down the rapids; I'm more the PBS type, enjoying a relaxing conversation for its own sake rather than a frenetic lifestyle which would almost certainly wear me out. You're an avid reader, and don't rely upon gossip for the latest news. Please don't send me a lengthy questionnaire - can we discuss your dreams over coffee instead? You needn't be skinny, but please don't be heavier than me (and I'm 175 - that's my weight, not my I.Q. :). I'm not the competitive type either - just thought I'd throw that one in for good measure. I'm not much for sports and politics, but if you'd like to rant, I'll be happy to listen. Talk to me about psychology and self-improvement though, and I'll match you word-for-word any day of the week.

To drop me a line and say hello, just click on the link at the top of this page.

Hope to hear from you soon!

Best wishes from...

A local gentleman in search of some gentle companionship and romance... someone to enjoy the sunset with at the end of the day...

***

The first thing you should notice is the Headline. Can you see how the headline effectively targets my ideal audience of cultured, sensitive women and conveys two benefits too? (I'm both "a local man" and I have "a soft touch.") The purpose of the headline is to also draw the reader into the ad.

In the first paragraph in the ad, can you see the "hooks" I've used to get the reader emotionally involved?

And then, in the following paragraphs, both Features and Benefits are described throughout. Notice too how I've continually qualified my audience to preselect the right women, while filtering out the wrong ones. In my "Requests" paragraph toward the end, I continually add the filters I've chosen for this ad (and they can vary from ad-to-ad of course) while at the same time adding more benefits, more features - and more emotional language leading to "the close" near the bottom.

In my Call to Action I tell the reader both how to respond to my ad, and I request a response too!

This is an example of advertising which uses the standard formula I've outlined above. The ad doesn't come across as "a formula" which makes it even more effective.

By following the tried and proven rules of advertising, Online Personal Ads can help you meet hundreds - if not thousands - of women or men you might otherwise never hear from. Keep in mind the marketing principles I've described above when you sit down to write your own ad. And have some fun with it too - your results may surprise you!