How to attract penpals with a paper ad: Part 4.

Another way to attract attention is to place your penpals personal before others. The way you do it depends on the principle of publication the paper uses. Some publish according to the ad's number. In this case, the earlier you submit your personal, the smaller the number will be, the more chances it has to be published first. You could also submit a personal for the nearest issue and order it to be repeated, for example, in ten weeks. Chances are that it would be published first when repeated.

However, most publications place their ads in so-called "computer alphabet" order. In this case the ad beginning with the word "attractive" would be closer to the beginning of the section than one starting with "pretty". A personal that starts with a number (e.g. 25/170/54) would be placed even earlier.

Before you publish your personal, ask a knowledgeable person to check it for spelling. A misspelled ad can make a really bad impression.

You would get an average of 20-30 penpals responding to your personal, 4-5 of the replies being from marriage agencies. Only beginner agencies use this method of attracting clients. If you can spare a photo and the postage rate, you can use their services if they are free. The letters from men would be all different. The majority would not have a photo, and the letter would be written in obscure writing. Many would not include such important info as profession or education. As a rule, the less financially secure men answer paper ads.

It is recommended to order the publication of your personal to be repeated one or twice in two week's time. The responses come during two-three months since your ad was published, sometimes even more. A paper ad could be a good idea if you are not young or if you are aimed at a certain country. There are ladies who found a husband abroad using this very means.