Personal Advertising
We decided to write a few words about Free Personal Ads, since we are getting many messages with a question related to that topic. Also, we covered that topic earlier in various ways. This time, we will go more in-depth and add more helpful information.
A long time ago, people started using classifieds to find romance and marriage partners. That was hundred years ago. After one century of printed media domination, many people could get sex partners using classifieds, mostly Cragslist and Backapage. Some strange thing happened then, so Backpage is closed, and the Craigslist section "personals" is closed too, not the whole Cl, just personal ads. Backpage has only personal ads so complete site is removed by authorities.
Why does that happen? In the past 20-maybe even 30 years, some people started to use personal ads for illegal activities, in this case, prostitution, sex trafficking, and so on. It worked for decades until finally, the US government decided to stop this, due probably to a large number of complaints. And that is good, at least that is our opinion because any action which makes this world a better or safer place is welcome. (if you are interested in deeper info about this, look at SESTA)
So, why do we talk about this? We are talking about this to try to answer Your questions about what to use for Your personal ads, to find partners, since those two sites don't work anymore.
(interest in Personal ads in various ways from 1900-2019)
Understanding the concept of 'personal ads' can be significant. You can find a sex partner for free, but also, You can fail into the trap of people who, let's say, don't have good intentions. For example, imagine You find an ad where the pretty girl (or guy) asks for a sex partner. You contact them, and You make some conversation and make the decision to meet is there. It is great. Suppose it is just like described. But imagine if girls or guys are not what You are talking about. Imagine that those ads are posted by some people who force other people into prostitution. They post ads, they talk with You, they trick You into that You are talking with someone who is interested in some kind of connection, but that is not the case. Also, this often happens in this scenario (for both genders): You find someone who looks very good, and they are interested in You. It is obvious that they are out of Your ligue, but You felt in love or just want to be intimate with such person. A person on the other side texts with You using email or SMS for days, sometimes weeks, or even months. Then You decide to meet, but a person doesn't have money to travel, or has some personal or family problem and needs a few thousand or few hundred and ask You to borrow that money, and they will give You back when You meet. Some males and females lost a fortune in this way. That is called "Nigerian scam" since it started 20 years ago in Nigeria, where both males and females used this technique to attract males and females from Europe and North American countries to take their money. Also, there is more danger if You are not careful with personal ads, but those two described have been dominant in the past 20 years, and actually, the number of victims of such scams is increasing yearly, so be careful! Of course, this is also useful for all other types of meeting new people online, but also in a real-life, keep that in mind.
As we said, the most popular two personal ads sites are closed. What are alternatives, or what sites can you use for meeting people for romance, dating, or sex?
Personal ads today are more comprehensive than ever. Think about this: what is a profile on a dating app or dating site? You write what You are looking for and details about yourself and read what others said in the same manner - what they ask and offer. So can we say that classic "personals" are dead? The answer is Yes and No.
We already wrote about tips both for males and females in making a good profile, personal presentation, personal ad, call it whatever you want, now we will give some more details.
In classic, let's say printed ads, it was a simple principle, few short sentences, and you wait weekly or monthly period when an ad is published. Then, 20-30 years ago, personal classifieds moved toInternet. It was the same as in printed editions, but with one crucial difference: ads were published and were visible to the whole world immediately, and that was a big step. Theoretically, You could post an ad in the morning, get a few or more messages until noon, and arrange a date for the same evening. That was a significant improvement in meeting new people, and we all liked it.
The next step is: dating sites and apps. They are even better; you have some permanent add, which you can change, improve, remove, etc. For example, you are in some phase where you are interested in young partners, so you write that on your dating site or dating app profile. Next year when you have had a few or more encounters with such partners, you may be interested in older partners, for example. The idea is that You understand that your profile on such (verified) sites is a permanent addition, and other people's profiles are also some permanent ads, which are improved or changed the time to time.
On the other side, classical personal ads / classifieds sites are not dead, but they are dying slowly. After the vanishing of the two most popular, there is a certain number of smaller local individual classified sites or general classified sites with personas section. But they have a small problem: almost nobody uses them, nor posting ads not reading them. Why? We just exp[lained: the dominance of dating sites and apps took over the place of classic personal ads. That is not tragic. Actually, new methods are just easier to use, more intuitive, and even more intelligent. For example, on specific dating sites and/or apps, you have various helpful functionality. For example, to avoid listing everyday new "ads" (profiles), You can use filters that will notify you when someone who meets your criteria shows up. Also, other people are doing that in their "profiles" (ads), so if you meet their criteria, they will see you. That dramatically increases the chances of finding a partner for dating, sex, hookup, or friendship. We already talked about that, that nowadays, dating or hookup games are very often so-called numbers games.
For example, 30 years ago, you would buy a few local classifieds that were printed on a weekly base, read, and contact persons who seemed interested to you. Sometimes it was very time-consuming. Week by week, few or more messages are sent, with small or no response at all. Or some reply but not "closing a deal" (1st date). Today, thanks to sites and apps, this is dramatically better in terms of time You spend seeking for some kind of arrangement. Literally You can for few days contact all persons on the same dating site or app, and that are hundreds and thousands of people who meet your criteria, and in the time of personal classified ads, you need for a such number of try years. Literally.
What people also ask very often is: what is with Facebook/Instagram? That is a good question. If we can rank after dating sites and apps, Facebook and Instagram are the following prominent places where You can find a lot of people online who are near you. Bit networks can be used for making a new contact; well, they are made for that purpose :) But on Facebook and Instagram especially is a bit hard to post something like an ad. You can do that on dating and hookup sites and apps because they are made for that, but it is not very comfortable to write on social networks in Your bio something like "Looking for 25-35 y/o divorced female for romance and sex", right? A lot of people know You, and that can be a bit embarrassing. Of course, You can always use the private messaging option, and that can give some results, but knowing people over social networks have another component, actually social, as the name says. People are there to post things about their interests, photos of their lifestyle, and so on, and there You can find a person for romance much more accessible than for sex. People don't feel comfortable seeing that part of their life (sexual orientation, desires, etc.) on their public profiles on Instagram, Facebook, or other social networks. Keep that in mind. It is ok to contact someone using DM on the social network, be decent and talk about general topics, but maybe those are not the best places for finding sex. That is because people simply open their separate profiles on dating or hookup sites and apps since they accept to find sex partners there, not on Facebook where amount their friends are their neighbors, professors, family, and aunt Saly; think about that :)
The conclusion is that personal ads, as we have known them for the past 20 years, are not so popular anymore. The best thing You can do if you want to meet someone is open a free or paid account on a few sites or apps; it is best combined with 2-3 locations, and Tinder is the most popular hookup/dating app, but due to something we wrote earlier about Tinder, much better chances are on sites to meet new people for sex, romance, marriage, or just friendship.
If You are unsure how to do that, look at our guides about creating profiles, suggested sites and apps for hookups and dating, and some general things on how stuff works when it comes to casual encounters if You are inexperienced with them.
Whole One Night Stand #1 is dedicated to this topic: helping You to find partners in real life and online near You. If You have any questions or suggestions, feel free to contact us, we always like to see what You think and what topics You would like to see covered in the future.
Updated: November / 2024
People Also Ask:
- 10 best alternatives to craigslist personal
As we said, You may want to try those sites or apps.
- What are Free classifieds personals
- Free way to post Your personal ad(vert).
- What happened to Craigslist dating?
They are closed due to SESTA (law).
- What should be included in a personal ad?
You should try to understand and use some of our best tips for Your personal ad.
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