Make your headline relevant to your personal ad
When posting an ad to CL, or writing a profile on another site, you often have the opportunity to include a headline, which should be a quick snapshot of who you are and what you're looking for. Ideally, it'll be catchy enough to garner interest on its own, but at the very least, it should reflect what you'll expound upon in the longer context of the ad or profile.
For my money, relevance is more important than being catchy. Because there's nothing like clicking through a catchy headline that's right up my alley only to find the content disappointing:
Looking for a sexy, smart girl to take out for drinks tonight!Hi, I'm looking for a sexy girl to take out tonight for some drinks at one of our great lounges downtown (I have a great one in mind). A liitle about me: I'm 31, 5'9, dark/dark, athletic build (work-out often), yes attractive, self employed, [good college] graduate. So why am I posting here, same reason you're looking! Will send pic upon request. I have two businesses that keep me pretty busy and need some relaxing fun! Wanna join me?
Good headline! But the ad? Boooring! And also, what does it have to do with the headline? He doesn't sell me on either why he wants a sexy, smart girl, nor on why one would want him.
Think of your headline as a hint to catch the attention of your audience. It should appeal to the same types of people that your ad will interest, so you're wasting your time and theirs if the headline grabs all comers without appropriate followup in the actual profile. Better to have fewer click-throughs but from actual prospects, and that's where a good headline comes in.
