There's a number of things you need to realize to make an effective ad. The first being that what you are about to write is just that, an advertisement. Your parents would like you to think that all that's important is exchanging information in what's commonly referred to as a 'bio'. If all you write in your ad is a bio, you might as well not even bother. Let's use an analogy. Let's say Microsoft was making an advertisement for their word processor (Microsoft Word), and all they wrote was a software 'bio' of the application: MICROSOFT WORD. 15 Million lines of code. COM/DCOM Compatible. Supports RTF, TXT, DOC, HTML, PDF, and PS. Etc... Would this entice you to investigate? Or Ford giving a technical breakdown of a car. It's useful information, and it's worth knowing, but it DOESN'T SELL! This sells: Introducing a car that pops, rocks and stops 'em cold. Sleek and stylin', ZX2 is a sweet ride yet still offers the durability and dependability people come to expect from Ford. You can keep cool, look hot and drive away smiling when you ZX2 in Y2K. The above Ford ad tells you nothing factual about the car. They need to do this to make a distinction that even if you find a car with similar factual information, it won't match their car because it goes beyond cylinders, horsepower, leather, and other physical attributes. Anyone who sells anything will focus their ads on the experience. Coke doesn't advertise the caffeine and sugar levels in their drink. They try to push the experience of the drink. Don't get me wrong, I'm not trying to compare humans to cars, computers, and soft drinks! I'm trying to relate effective advertising to something you are already familiar with. A bio is just your demographical information. Which is definately important and useful. But if everyone wrote "Hi I'm [age] years old, live in [location], I'm [height], and have a [education level] in [speciality]. I work as a [occupation]..." what would be the differentiation? Whether you're Hyderabadi or not, whether you have 'wheatish' complexion or not, and whether you are a doctor or not are not things that are going to sell you. If you are deceived into thinking that information like that alone is going to give you a lot of points on the potential scale then you're just making it a whole lot easier for someone who's going to write a very effective ad and steal your spotlight. Contrary to cultural belief, statistical demographical information is no indication to compatibility. Because what will determine the compatibility between two people is the chemistry, and psychographical synergy. If all you write in your ad is demographical information, then all a viewer has to go on are those stats. With everyone doing such a thing, you give yourself no advantage, and nothing to stand out about you. Why would someone remember you, just because of your age and where you live? People will bookmark your page because they thought you were DIFFERENT from the general crowd. So what makes you different? Stuff that is unique about you:
The list goes on forever. Talking about the things that make up your world help to describe you as a person. Not just a technical data sheet of 'bio-data'. Talk about what matters to you in a relationship. Describe the person you could see yourself spending the rest of your life with. What are they like, what would you like them to do for you? What would you like to do for them? What makes you happy, what do you think you can do to bring happiness to someone else? So if factual information is not enough to differentiate yourself, do you need to write a complete autobiography? No, absolutely not. In fact, if you did this you would lose points on the effectiveness scale. Go back and think about ads that you found effective, in general. Have you ever seen a print ad that has a 6000 word essay on why their product was superior? Or a 2 hour car commercial? The purpose of an ad is not to educate, or even convince that the product is better. There's only one purpose of an ad, and that is to entice and promote. Advertisers try to make an ad so that the next time you're in the mall and thinking about getting that type of product, you'll remember their offering. The ad that wins is the one that sticks in the persons mind. Ads also are rarely targeted to everyone. A particular ad will be created for a certain target audience. Volvo will make an ad that specifically targets middle aged people, and they'll also have a separate ad targeting the younger generation as well. Likewise for you, you don't have to worry about attracting EVERYONE. Because not everyone is a suitable match for you. You want to create an ad that is going to appeal to the people you are generally compatible with. So you're thinking that you have to have a degree in marketing, well trust me you can relax. The solution to all of this is very simple, just reveal yourself. By exposing a little part of you, the part that makes you human and unique, you create enough mystery that the reader wants to find out more. View other people's ads, from both the same and opposite gender. Take note of the ones that catch your eye, what is it about it that you found interesting. Finding that special someone not only requires learning about who you are looking, but also learning about yourself. What are the things that you care about. If you find you aren't getting the responses you hoped for, tweak your ad. Every now and then get some feedback from friends (preferably of the opposite gender) and make it better. Just be persistent, and it will be off. There are some things NOT to do. You need to know the target audience of who you are trying to attract. For example if you're a male and you're trying to attract girls who have grown up in a modern country like Canada, United States, England, or Singapore then you have to write on a modern level. Modern girls will not be attracted to someone who thinks old school. So if you are a guy and looking for a girl from the above mentioned countries do not think of:
Again think of the target audience, and that requires almost thinking like the opposite gender. I strongly urge reading the book "Men are From Mars, Women are from Venus." It's a quick read, and let's you understand rapidly how the opposite sex thinks. That's ingrained genetic behaviour regardless of religion and culture. Women are sensitive and emotionally based and they relate on a communicational level. That's why they're good at instantly joining a group of girls they don't know and talking like they're best friends. Women want to know your emotional psyche and character profile. Where as guys evolved to relate on a special level, they relate on a physical level. Which is why girls navigate based on road names, where as guys navigate on recognition of land marks and surroundings. The differences between men and women is a different subject, but the point is just be aware of these differences and cater your ad to this. I highly recommend using a picture. Search analysis shows that ads with pictures get up to 800% more page views then ads that don't. This is a key that you can take advantage of. Girls typically don't like using their picture, because they don't want to be evaluated primarily on a picture. But remember the psychology between the genders. From a girls perspective, you can use words alone to make an effective ad. Which is why for a guy the ad has to be very verbal, because that is what a girl can relate to. Guys operate on a visual level, something/someone doesn't totally exist until they can see the visual reality. This is why guy ads tend to be very low on descriptive content and have a higher rate of photos. So for both sexes they have to override the natural tendency to create an ad that would appeal to the other gender. Be honest! If you think there's something about you that you think is a drawback, there's no point in hiding it. It will come out regardless. So why would you want to waste your time, getting your hopes up with someone you're interested in but the problem being is that the person is interested in this false character you have developed. And eventually when they see the reality, it's different than the person they had created in their mind, and all comes crashing down. If you're honest, then the responses you get you know for sure the person is cool with your shortcomings, which allows you to start moving forward with confidence. Be positive! People are not drawn to negativity. It repels in fact. Never go the sympathy/feel-sorry-for-me/desperate route. It's natural to depressed some times, and it's natural to be happy some times. Focus your ad on the things that make you happy, and what happy things you would like to share with your partner. But never be "my life is useless without a partner." For your own mental health, as well as finding a mate, follow the philosphy of "I think, therefore I am." You know what this means? It means you are who you think you are. If you think you're worthless, it will be self fulfilling, and you will be someone who is worthless. If you think, and believe that you have value then your life must have meaning. And that is a very attractive quality, because people want to be a part of your life and be part of what gives you value. Life is great, and if you find your perfect mate, then life is even better. Believe it, because it's true regardless of your situation (both good and bad). Be specific! You want to identify the things that make you unique. If you think you're romantic, don't just write that. Write about the romantic things you have in mind. If you like travelling, write about the places you've been to, and where you want to visit. If you're funny, don't write "I have a sense of humor." USE humor in your ad. Writing something like "I enjoy movies, music, and going out" is too vague, it describes everyone else too. What types of movies do you like, what are your favorites. What's your favorite types of music, what moods are you in when you're listening to certain types, what groups inspire you, etc... If you like going out, where do you like go out? Describing all this makes you REAL. An identifiable person. If you can only live and work within certain geographic boundaries, write that. You want to be specific enough so that you're not wasting anyones time by being so vague that you're both investing a lot of time only to find out there's some show stopping issues. As with everything, it requires a bit of luck. So make your best attempt. Make sure to run it through a spell checker. Have friends review it, and put it up there. Make modifications now and then, change your approach and note how it effects the rate of your responses. Remember it's a long process finding that special someone, so be patient. This is something that won't happen overnight. So be persistent, do your prayers, and go to sleep feeling content knowing that you're doing everything within your power to find your soul mate. Good luck! |