Forums » RP Discussion » Best way to write an Ad

Hey everyone!

I am genuinely curious on your opinions about RP Ads. I think I have finally reached that point where I'm like eff it. I haven't had much luck when I reply to ads. We're in the planning stages and then they just drop off. As a person who has a full time job that can be very mentally draining, I understand when things come up. My work just wrapped up spring school so I like to try to get something off the ground.

So! Here are my questions. First, currently I have three characters I have been dying to use. Two are in a fantasy setting and one is sci-fi. Would it be better to do a catch all general idea there the outlines the things I'm looking for for each and list all the setting information. Or would it be nicer to do individual ones so I can have a more specific header. Basically, what makes you click on an ad? This is the first time I'm summoning the courage to make an ad and I've seem both great formated and not so great ones.

Advice would be great!

Making this up as I go along, but three characters with general outlines isn't a lot, I'd say put it all in one ad for the sake of appeal/convenience. (I'm currently drafting an ad for ~three separate plots for a single character; same thing.) A one-stop shop makes searchers less likely to miss something they might like if it were all spread out over a bunch of different posts, and gives you some privacy/plausible deniability if ever you feel the need to bump it.

I click on an ad when I want to see what's on the other side, which sounds ominous, for actual partner finding I guess just make sure the title has some keywords that matter to you (and should matter to them). Goooood luck.

So you don't think it would be too much if I did a large general post with my characters? If I did do separate ads I wouldn't have posted one after the other. I was toying with the idea of posting the one I wanted most to do first and see how that went. Then maybe a week or two later post another one. I'm just curious how much traffic a large general ad gets versus a specific idea or character.

People make huge LFRP posts all the time, but if you have one idea you like much more than others you indeed should have it alone, in not just RP but any creative thing people somehow always pick the pitch that interests you the least. It's a law of physics.

I think it largely depends on your own preferences. I've done both-- if there's one character or plot in particular I'm dying to write, I'll make a stand-alone thread for it. But if I have a lot of ideas I'd like to do, I'll put them all together just because it's easier for me to keep track of one thread. However, you might find it easier to stay organized if you split them up by character or genre-- just depends on how your brain works.

As for how others will respond to these ads... I can't speak for everyone, but I know that I don't particularly mind longer posts with multiple characters/plot ideas-- provided that they are well organized, with neat lists and collapse tags. For example, if you did decide to do one thread for all your ideas, you could give each character their own collapse tag to keep them separate and organized. Or you could do it by genre, have one section for your sci-fi characters and another for your fantasy.

On the other hand, a long post that isn't well organized, i.e. it doesn't use separate sections for characters, lists, collapse tags, or anything like that and it's just walls of text... I honestly probably won't even read it. It's very difficult for me to focus on something like that for long with my adhd. If that's how you tend to style your ads, you'd probably be better off doing separate threads for different characters.

Tl;dr-- Either way can work, just make sure to keep your post well-organized if you decide to put them all in one ad!

All in one or one for all...
Either way works if you put relevant information in the body of the ad without getting too wordy. Cover those things that usually get asked early in the OOC PMs, and make sure you use the 26 spaces allowed in the title to hook potential interest.

As someone who has responded to more ads than I have made, I would say what draws my attention most is the following:

1. Proper grammar/spelling. - I get that when we are working on the actual story, sometimes our minds are going faster than our fingers and stuff gets missed. But this is a post designed to attract attention. I have literally changed my mind mid-ad because the person couldn't be bothered to do a proof read. Stand out from the others. Take the time to read it to yourself before posting to make sure you like how it sounds.

2. If specific characters are being advertised, well made or at least semi-complete profiles. - For me, part of this is I am a very visual person. But if I see an ad for a character and then go to the user's profile just to see a couple paragraphs and the default grey image on their characters; that is an excellent way for me to throw up my hands and move right on. If someone isn't going to put thought and work into their characters, they're not going to put it into a story.

3. Overly restrictive ads. - This one makes me into a tiny bit of a hypocrite, as I have several clear visions of what I am looking for. I am trying to be better though. The ads where they are only accepting a single character with very specific limitations for a very specific story they have already worked out makes me feel like I have little say in the matter and no control over the story. Which for me personally is a large part of the fun.


As far as posting them goes, I agree with what is previously said. If you have one you are more excited about then post it first and give it a little time for some nibbles. Meanwhile, refine the others you have and then either once you have gone through your responses on the first, or if enough time has passed, move on to the second. As an added bonus, you could use anything that has changed through refining the second character to upgrade your previous post with new information in order to entice further interest.

That's just my opinion from what I have seen so far It of course, may not work for everyone.


Best of luck!

XOXO
Cassie


P.S. I'd be happy to hear all your ideas out if you want to send me a message. Can't promise they'll end up matching my own interests, but I am trying to be more flexible and open minded. Plus I love hearing about stories people are passionate about. I would also be happy to look over your ad before you post it and tell you how it looks to me as a newcomer, in case that feedback would be useful.

Thank you all so much! This was really helpful. I like the point Werepunk made with formatting. Sometimes if I see just a wall of text, my eyes zone out. I plan on staying home this weekend and prep an ad to post. Again, thank you all for your insight.

Haha, thank you. I might take you up on that. My wheel house is fantasy and sci-fi. Sometimes I venture out from my comfort zone and do other things as well. My plan is to post something this weekend.

Sorry for dragging this topic up, but since I have some off-time from life I’ve been mucking about on the site as it has become my go-to place for relaxation from the daily grind. A couple things I have tasked myself to do is to get roleplaying info up for some characters and to try my hand at an RP ad. A lot of good ideas here I will likely use.

A couple specific questions I would like to ask and hope I get some opinions and feedback on are these:

To get attention and highlight what type of RP you want…
1. What is the best info to put in the limited ‘Title’ field?
2. What is the best use of the first part of an ad that will appear on the summary on the ‘Community’ page and the ‘Find Rp’ page?

Thank you in advance for any replies to this.

Edit: I found this thread that has a lot of helpful information in it on how to write LFRP ads.