Whether you’ll use the internet or traditional paper, you want an ad that grabs a woman’s attention, tells who you really are, isn’t clichéd and generates lots of attention. That’s easy enough, right?

You’ve probably studied what you “should" write and started crafting that perfect ad. But what about what you SHOULDN’T write? What you don’t include can be as important as what you do include. Let’s face it, if you’re looking to attract the woman of your dreams, there are far too many ways that you can turn her off before she’s even met you.

The top four things you should avoid are:

1) “Manly" habits and bragging about them. If your proudest accomplishment is being able to belch the alphabet, your personal ad is not the place to boast. Belching and other such habits may be fine in the locker room, but letting the world know about them in your personal ad is going to have most women skipping right past you. Do yourself a favor and wait to share that particular bit of information until you’ve actually found someone you want to get to know better.

2) Obsessions. If your place is full of mounted animal heads, or football team paraphernalia, or you must have the guys over for poker night every week, the personal ad might not be the best place to announce those facts. In all honesty, there may never be a good time to announce these types of obsessions, but your ad should be clear of them.

3) Lies or exaggerations. You may actually be a six foot tall menswear model with rock-hard abs. However, chances are that you’re not and most women know this. If your physical self-description is too flattering (or too good to be true) women will probably see it as wishful thinking and they will give your ad a pass. If you mention that you have a full head of hair, women will likely wonder why you feel it necessary to share that information and will figure you’re balding. While that may not be a turn off in and of itself, the fact that you’ve lied about it will again have women looking at any ad but yours.

4) Using obnoxious words. “Hot", “stacked" or any word you wouldn’t—or shouldn’t—say in front of a four-year-old does not belong in your personal ad.

There is no magic formula for writing a personal ad, though there are guaranteed ways to turn a woman off of your ad. If you’re serious about finding someone and having a relationship, then be sure to act accordingly, especially with the all-important first step—your personal ad.