But if you’re paying $30 a month for these sites, you are probably missing out on one of the single best online dating sites around. And best of all, it’s free!

I am, of course, talking about Craig’s List.

Craig’s List was started by Craig Newmark in 1995 to better help people connect through events around San Francisco. Since that time, this simple site has exploded into a national community.

Craig’s List is, at it’s heart, a classified ad site. It allows people to find places to live, find work, buy and sell stuff, and even find dates – just like the classified ads in the back of your local newspaper.

Anyone who’s ever visited Craig’s List may be skeptical about fining quality women on such a “low rent” looking website. But if you’re judging a book by its cover, you’re really missing out.

Here are the advantages to using Craig’s List for dating purposes:

1. Large Userbase

Craig’s List gets literally millions of visits a day. This means that your chances of meeting a great woman on this site is greatly increased.

2. Local Targeting

Craig’s List is divided into sections for local areas. This means you can actually meet women who are local to your area quickly and easily.

3. It’s Free!

Most dating sites require a monthly subscription. But Craig’s List is a free site, which means that more women use it than your typical dating website. This means more chances for you to meet the right girl!

4. Dedicated Community

Craig’s List is more than a service site, it actually has people who visit the site daily, multiple times. It has message boards, and is updated constantly. They also have members who moderate the website. All this contributes to a vibrant community that you can become a part of – something most dating sites lack.

So now that you know why Craig’s List is a great site to meet women on, let’s talk about how you can go about using Craig’s List to find dates.

Step 1: Create a new email address

One thing you’re going to want to do before you start using Craig’s List to find love is create a “dummy” email address. This will help you keep from getting spammed from the site, since lots of disreputable people use Craig’s List to harvest email addresses, so it’s a good idea to have a “throw away” email address that you use just for Craig’s List.

Step 2: Create an account on Craig’s List

Creating an account is free. Just sign up using the email address you created. This will allow you to repost your ads very easily, something which will come in handy later.

Step 3: Write An Ad

Next, you’re going to want to craft an ad to post on Craig’s List, explaining the type of girl you’re looking for.

Step 4: Create Up To 5-10 Ad Variations

Craig’s List has strict guidelines on posting duplicate content. They don’t want their site spammed by ads, so you’ll want to re-write your ad at least 5-10 times, so you are able to post it often.

Step 5: Post Your Ads

Once you have all your ad variations ready to go, post your ad. You’re going to want to post your ad at least twice a day, once around noon, and once around 5 or 6 o’clock. This will increase the likelihood of your ad being seen.

Step 6: Repost Your Ads

Every 3 days, you’ll be allowed to repost the same ad you posted before. Just log into your account and look at all your posts, then select the ones you’d like to repost.

Step 7: Keep Reposting Your Ad

You will want to repost your ad often, since this is the key to success with having women on Craig’s List respond to you.

Step 8: Browse Ads From Women

In addition to posting your ad, you’ll also want to browse ads that girls have posted on Craig’s List.

Step 9: Email Women you’re Interested In

Once you find an ad you’re interested in, be sure to email her. Use the Craig’s List email address you created though, don’t use your personal email.

Now that you know the general process of meeting women on Craig’s List, let’s talk about two important factors – where to post, and how to craft a great ad.

First off, you have two choices of categories to post in on Craig’s List. The first is “Men Seeking Women,” and the next is “Causal Encounters.”

The “Men Seeking Women” section is where women browse looking for guys that seem interesting. This is a section for finding dates. The “Casual Encounters” section is for more physical interactions, such as casual sex, one night stands, etc.

Figure out which section is more for you, and post there. You can of course post in both sections if you like, but I’ve found it’s best to focus your efforts on one section only.

Now let’s talk about crafting a winning ad.

The first thing you want to do is create a great headline. Your headline is what’s going to get people to click on your ad. Usually, you want to have some type of benefit in the headline to entice women to check you out.

For instance, a headline like “Looking For A Great Girl I Can Wine, Dine, And Romance” showcases a big benefit to the girl. Every girl likes to be romanced, so why shouldn’t they check out your ad?

Another great tip is to include a picture in your ad. Ads with pictures get clicked on more than ads without pictures. If you’re wary about putting your image on Craig’s List, just find a generic picture of a romantic restaurant or something like that to include in your ad. Any picture will do, just so Craig’s List can list your ad as having a picture in it in the results listing.

Use humor in your ad when you can. Showcasing a fun, funny attitude will make you stand out from the others and get you more responses. You always want to try and communicate your fun personality to girls, and this is especially true online.

Talk about yourself in the ad. Don’t just give details like hair color, body size, height, etc. Also include things you’re passionate about, things you like doing, and your idea of what a great date will be.

Then, talk about the type of girl you’re looking for. Be specific! The more specific you are, the more chance you have of getting a girl you like!

Always tell the girl that she must send you a picture, or at least a link to a MySpace or Facebook page so you can see what she looks like. Don’t just assume they’ll send a picture. Let them know you’re happy to share a picture of you in return. Most girls will respond well to this. If a girl emails you asking for a picture, give her one of you, but always ask for one in return.

Longer ads actually tend to do better than shorter ones. Long ads stand out, and girls will take time to read the ad if it’s interesting. So don’t worry if your ad seems long.

Use proper grammar, punctuation, spelling, and spacing. The nicer your ad looks, the easier it is to read, and the more responses it will get!

When you combine regular ad posting with emailing women directly on Craig’s List, you’ll start to see lots of women contacting you.

But just a few words of warning…

Warning 1: There are lots of “fake women” posting personals on Craig’s List. These are done by SPAMMERS looking to harvest email addresses. If you get a generic “hey, thanks for emailing me” ad, be wary, since it’s typically some spammer trying to get you to sign up for a porn site.

Warning 2: Women can be suspicious of guys online, so always be up-front and honest with them. Women have safety issues most guys don’t, don’t do what it takes to make a woman feel good about contacting you.

Warning 3: Don’t spend too much time emailing. Try and get the girl’s number so you can call or text her as soon as you can. Too much emailing might get you stuck as an “online fantasy.”

Warning 4: There are crazy women on Craig’s List, so if you’re going to meet them, always meet them at a neutral place, like a coffee shop, never have them come directly to your place. You want to screen them first to see if they’re stable before inviting them into your home.

Warning 5: Don’t give up! Too many guys post one ad on Craig’s List and then quit. If you want to be successful, you have to post regularly and often, and keep emailing women until you find a good one.

When you follow all these tips, you’ll get amazing success with meeting women on Craig’s List.

In fact, it’s not unusual for guys to spend anywhere from an hour to two hours a day working out!

From personal experience, when I work out, I’ll be at the gym five days a week, alternating between an hour of cardio and an hour of weight training.

And that time at the gym adds up!  Some people even go further by joining classes, getting a personal trainer, and hanging out at the local juice bar.  So it’s no surprise that because some of us spend so much time at the gym, we’d like to know how to meet women there!

After all, it’s not just the fact that some guys spend a lot of time working out at the gym, there’s also the fact that some very attractive women spend a lot of time there too!  (In an effort to remain as attractive as possible, of course.)

But as much as it makes sense to try and meet girls during your workout, it can seem like a very daunting task!  But if you know a few simple tricks for meeting women at the gym, you might be surprised to find that it’s actually easier to do than you think.

Let’s go through the tips now…

TIP #1:  Taking Advantage Of Cardio

Typically, people will do cardio workouts for anywhere from 20 minutes to an hour.  Let’s face it, that’s a LONG time to do nothing but run in place!

If you see an attractive girl you’d like to meet doing cardio, see if you can get on a machine next to her to do your cardio.  This will give you the opportunity to start up a conversation with her.

You’ll be amazed at how easy it is to talk to someone when they’re doing a cardio workout, and that’s because cardio is BORING.  The girl will typically be watching closed-caption TV, flipping through a magazine, or listening to music on an iPod.  But talking to someone can pass the time just as fast, and as long as your approach is smooth, she’ll be more than willing to chat with you!

TIP #2:  Find Out Her Playlist

One of the biggest obstacles guys face at the gym is competing with iPods.  People like to listen to music when they work out, and seeing a pair of ear-plugs can scare you off from starting a conversation.

But I’ve found that actually asking the woman about the music she listens to when working out is a great way to not only get her to listen to you instead of music, but a good way to quickly bond with her over mutual interests.

The way I do it, is I’ll try and get the girl’s attention, either by waving at her or tapping her on her shoulder.  This will get her to pause her music and look at me.  Then I’ll say…

“Sorry to bother you, do you mind if I ask what music you’re listening to?”

When she give you her answer, you can respond:

“I’m getting kind of bored with my music, so I’m looking for some new stuff to listen to during my workout.  What kind of music do you think is the best to workout to?”

From there, I can start talking about favorite bands, concerts I’ve been to, etc.  It’s a great way to get her attention away from her iPod and focused on you!

TIP #3:  Offer Advice

Often times, you’ll see girls working out throughout the gym on various machines or weights.  A great way to start up conversations with them is to offer them advice or feedback on their form.

Just make sure that it’s “friendly” suggestions, and that you’re not telling them they’re doing things wrong.

People at the gym who work out without personal trainers usually have mistakes in how they are using machines or performing a certain exercise.  So if you can offer them some tips on how to make their workout more effective, they’ll actually really appreciate it!

And once you offer them your advice, you can start asking them about their training goals, and carry on the conversation from there.

This is a very effective way of meeting girls who are weight training.

TIP #4:  Join A Class

Most gyms offer a variety of classes you can sign up for.  These range from yoga, to spinning, to dancing, etc.

Here’s a tip – most of these classes are filled by a majority of WOMEN.  So taking a class can give you a tremendous opportunity to meet girls!

Not only that, but many classes can become social functions, and give you excuses to talk and chit-chat with girls.  I can’t tell you how many girls I’ve dated because I was the only guy in their class at the gym.

You’ll also notice a lot of the girls in your classes also work out at the gym, so you have a great way of meeting them if you see them in the general training area.  Just approach them and say “Hey, aren’t you in my spinning (or whatever) class?”

Seriously, it does not get much easier than that!

TIP #5:  Take Advantage Of The Juice Bar

Most gyms nowadays have some type of juice bar, or place where you can sit down and drink a protein shake or smoothy.  Take advantage of this when you’re trying to meet women at the gym!

There are two ways you can utilize a juice bar…

The first is to invite women you meet while working out to join you for a drink.  This is a great way to do an “instant date” after meeting a girl.  Instead of letting the girl just leave after she’s done working out, ask her if she’d be interested in grabbing a drink with you at the smoothy bar.

Then, sit down and chit-chat with her.  It’s just like getting coffee together, but much quicker and easier.

The second way to use the juice bar area is to actually see if there are any women you’d like to meet there already, and ask to join them while you drink your beverage.  Most women won’t refuse you, and you can start chit-chatting with them after you sit down.

Ultimately, there are lots of great ways to meet women during your workout.  Just keep trying different methods until you find one that works for you.

Meeting a woman who’s older than you can actually be quite a good way to meet a fantastic partner.  Usually, older women are much more experienced, not only in relationships, but also in the bedroom.

So meeting older women can actually teach you a ting or two – not only about relationships, but also about what you’re really looking for in a partner.

So the real question is:

Are you interested in dating a woman who’s older than you are?

Do you find older women more attractive than their younger counterparts?

Well, my friend, you are not alone!

Older women are much more “mature” and experienced in the ways of love. They’ve usually had a lot of practice dealing with men, and know their way around the bedroom.

They can also be MUCH easier to deal with than younger women, who can tend to be a little “high maintenance.”

If you’re a man in your mid-to-late 20s who’s mostly been with women in their late teens and early 20s, dating a woman in her 40s can be a real treat for you!

They tend to be more mature and less selfish – sexually, and in just about every other way – than the women you’re used to dating. And if you’re not looking for anything serious, the chances are higher that they’re not either, if they’re just past child-bearing age.

In that way, they’re kind of like a lot of women in their mid-20s and younger, who don’t feel compelled to start a family in the way that single women who’ve hit 28 or 29 do. By the time a single woman reaches that age range, she’s more likely to feel that now’s the time to act if she’s ever going to have children.

That’s because she’s not getting any younger, and she feels less attractive than she was when she was in her early 20s. In her mind, it’s only going to get harder to find a great man she can settle down with.

(By the way, a lot of women at this stage make a mistake that a lot of men make their entire lives: they get desperate. Some women actually repel men because of their desire to get into a serious relationship sooner than the man is comfortable with. And a lot of women at this stage will settle for a man who they’re not compatible with, but who will end up fulfilling their need to have a family.)

So how can you start meeting older women?

You’re not so likely to find them at trendy nightclubs, but you can find them just about everywhere else you can find attractive women: while you’re out shopping, at coffee houses, local bars, or in bookstores. You can also meet them through school, volunteer activities or through friends.

But bar none, the BEST place to meet older women is online dating sites.

Sites like Match.com and E-Harmony have a bevy of older women just looking for some guy to come along and sweep them off their feet.

Some of them have kids, most of them are divorced, but one thing they all have in common is that they’re probably looking to have a good time!

Also, more and more over 30 women are heading towards social networking sites like MySpace as a way to meet new people. Just by doing a quick search for your target age range in your local area on MySpace will yield a number of potential older women you can meet.

But there are problems with dating older women. You may not be as mature as she is, which can be a problem for both of you. And the age difference can become rather awkward should you decide to get married: If there’s a 15-year age difference between you, then she’ll be 50 when you’re 35!

But that’s not to say that you shouldn’t meet and date an older woman. It can be a great experience for you, if you’re aware of the potential issues that can arise in the relationship.

Honestly, the art of meeting and dating older women could fill a book, and unfortunately, I just don’t have the time to go as much into detail with this as I would like.

So if you’re interested in learning more about how to meet and date older women (or just women in general), then I would highly recommend you sign up for my free How To Meet Women crash course.

No where else on the internet will you find such a detailed and comprehensive resource – for free, no less – on how to meet and date the women of your dreams.

I will show you all the secrets you need to know on how to overcome your anxiety of approaching women, and how to not get rejected – EVER – so you can actually have FUN meeting and dating women instead of feeling like its a chore.

Just click this link to sign up for it now:

Click Here For Your Free How To Meet Women Crash Course!

It just takes a few seconds to sign up, and you’ll get instant access to it once you do.

But hurry, I don’t know how much longer I’ll be making this resource available for free.

Wishing you success,

Joseph Matthews
Author of The Art Of Approaching Women

Hi Mr. Matthews,

Thanks so much for your advice so far, I’ve tried a few of your techniques, some are great for ‘pulling’, but I’m in a weird situation at the moment. From the beginning: I’m a university student, 18 years old, 5′11, use the gym alot and am told I’m fairly good looking by my female friends (hope that doesn’t sound big headed though), there is one problem however, that is I’ve never had a girlfriend and I am looking for a relationship.

Everyone says “Your at uni!  You’ll find someone easy!” Truth is I haven’t. I go clubbing, etc, and am average at dancing. Some of my female friends with boyfriends even said I’d be a good excuse to leave their boyfriends, but I think that’s because they know me well (plus I’m not only after ‘one thing’).

I’ve gotten close to a girl before, but a ‘mate’ came between us which resulted in her getting back with her ex.  Anyways the only thing I’m aware of doing wrong is going up to women and
talking.

Its just weird because I’ve always had low self esteem, especially
when I WAS overweight.  Also, most girls I like nearly all have boyfriends.

At uni, its hard to find anywhere to approach a girl and just get her to like me.  Whenever I’m with my uni mates I feel like the inferior one because they all have had a fair bit of experience with women. I’m this serious about giving up (which I hopefully won’t).  I’ll even send a photo of me just to proove I’m not some weirdo who has obvious reasons for struggling with women. I feel like I might have left out some details but don’t know what…

Thank you if you can help my crisis, I’m positive you can.

Wow – you’ve touched on a whole lotta things all at once here.

Where to begin…

First of all, I’d like to say this:  it is a MYTH that meeting women at college is “easy.”

Actually, let me qualify that — Meeting women in college IS easy, but only if you know HOW to do it.

I didn’t realize until I got out into the “real world” just how good I had it in college.  Women are EVERYWHERE.  You sit next to them in class, they hang out in the student union, they walk around campus, they go tot he dining halls, etc., etc.

Then, of course, you have the college parties!

But it takes a certain type of mentality to realize that meeting women while in school isn’t a difficult task.

See, especially for guys who are virgins – or have little experience with girls – they just don’t know HOW to get girls while at school.

You seem to have a lot of things going for you.  You say you’re good looking, you say you work out a lot, and you have female friends.  yet, you still have trouble.

You, the good lucking, muscled guy with lots of girls in his social circle, is on the same playing field as the geeky guy with glasses and the pocket protector.

See, by 18, MOST guys haven’t had all that much experience with women.  And the guys who have, usually can claim carnal knowledge of maybe 1 or 2 girls (if they’re lucky).  It’s the rare bird who has scored into the double-digits by the time they hit college.

So understand:  YOU ARE NOT ALONE.

Lots of guys are going through what you are, especially their first year in school.  I’m willing to bet most guys out there went through high school without ever having a girlfriend saying to themselves “It’ll be different in college,” thinking every college movie they ever saw is some accurate representation of how easy it is to get laid in school – only to be disappointed when they do enter school and find out it’s NOT as easy as they though.

Understand:  Waiting for it to just “happen” is WRONG.

It won’t “just happen.”  You need to MAKE it happen.

So here’s how you make it happen:

1.  First of all, realize there is NOTHING wrong or “inferior” about you being 18, a virgin, and not having a girlfriend.  No one taught you how to be anything other than you are, and you probably picked up a lot of “bad habbits” concerning women and dating.

So forget about how experienced your friends are.  They don’t matter.  YOU DO.  Don’t focus on being a virgin.  Don’t even focus on getting laid.  Focus on meeting as many women as you can and having FUN with them.

2.  Be social.  College is a little social biosphere.  People are open to meeting other people, that’s what college is all about!  So use what you learn in the Art Of Approaching and talk to as many women as you can – even if it’s about stupid stuff and it goes no where, at least you tried!

No one will fault you for being social.  And chances are, more often than not, girls will respond very positively just to you being friendly.  And in addition to that, being social gets you invited to ALL sorts of parties, where it’s easy to meet women.

3.  utilize your social circles.  You say you have some female friends?  Well – USE THEM!  Let them know you’re looking for a good girl.  They will set you up!  Most people meet their girlfriends through mutual acquaintences.  There’s a REASON for that!

4.  Ignore the boyfriends!  I know this is a tough one, because the truth is, most girls worth while in college will already be “taken.”  But do not let that stop you!  Girls WILL cheat!  Especially in college!  They will jump from boyfriend to boyfriend, no problem.  Just don’t fall into the trap of pursuing a girl who isn’t into you!  Always go after MULTIPLE women, so you’re not spending all your time on just one chick who may or may not be into you.  Also, having lots of women in your life makes you attractive to other women.  (It’s some type of social proof thing.  Don’t ask me why it is, it just is.)

5.  Focus on what you have going for you.  You said you have low self esteem.  Well, guess what – EVERYONE DOES!  I’m convinced only sociopaths don’t have low self esteem.  But the reason you have low self-esteem is because you focus on your shortcomings, and the stuff you don’t like about yourself.  NO!  You must start focusing on the stuff you like about yourself, and bring that to the forefront of every interaction.

Look, I’m not a male-model looking guy.  I personally think I’m hideous looking.  And when I dwell on what I hate about my looks, I never get any chicks!  But when I focus on the positives I find in myself, it happens.  I’ve had girls compliment my on how beautiful my eyes are, my laugh, and even how straight my teeth are!  (I kid you not).  So what do I do?  I make lots of eye contact, smile a lot, and laugh easily.  I showcase the things most girls have complimented me on.

Focusing on your shortcomings is a sure-fire way to FAIL with women.  You have to stay positive about who you are, because you attract more women with positivity than you do with brooding and bitterness.  (And the women you attract when your brooding and bitter will only make you MORE miserable.  Trust me.)

The truth is this:  You never know what most women will find attractive, so don’t try to guess.  Just be a fun a guy, and have a good time with whomever you find yourself with.  Fun is the sexiest thing a guy can be with a woman.

I hope that helps.  Good luck at school!

(And don’t flunk out because you’re getting so much tail! =)