Do you have a hook? Use it when responding to personal ads!
Lots of guys want an easy "in" when responding to a woman's ad on Craig's List. Some of you actually have what I call a hook -- that is, a feature that makes you interesting through no real credit to your personality. What are some common hooks? Firefighters, cops, and the like.
A hook isn't something that will guarantee you a response every time, but it's something that can increase your response rate, and paired with a good approach, it's pretty damn golden. In fact, even paired with a pretty lame approach, it will improve your odds.
I have a friend who's fucking an employee of one of her local sports teams. She reports to me that his initial email wasn't remarkable at all, other than the fact that he works for the team, but that little tidbit was enough to get her to respond to an email that normally would have gone into the trash bin. She's not even into sports.
Don't be afraid to use your hooks to snag interest. Not everyone has a good hook, but if you do, by all means, make use of it!
Think about things about you that might be hooks: what do you do for work? You're a computer guy? Probably no joy there, but those of you with more offbeat or romanticized jobs might as well make use of them! What do you like to do for fun? If you just go to the bar with your buddies, that's not very interesting, but if you're into BASE jumping, that might grab someone's attention. Did you grow up somewhere exotic? Be sure to mention your childhood in Timbuktu! Do you have an unusual skill? By all means, include a picture of your impressive tongue origami with your email.
Don't make shit up, of course, but if there's something nifty about you, put it to work!
