Newspaper matrimonial ad bookings must follow a particular style. They must be written in a way that generates the most response. A newspaper matrimonial ad, say, in The Times of India matrimonial page – branded as Times Soulmate – is published with issue every Sunday. Here, sometimes over 50 ads are clumped together on a single page. This indicates that matrimonial classified ads are created with the help of some standardised or well-known abbreviations. To make them more visible or responsive, one can use images, logos, ticks, and bold letters. A look at some sample ads, and even a casual reading of the content of matrimonial ads gives a very good idea of how to make a newspaper matrimonial classified ad.

An archetypal matrimonial classified text ad (“Wanted Bride”) looks somewhat like this:
SM4 very b’ful Goan Christian girl 20.01.86, 5’2? msc biotech pursuing phd, wkng Mumbai. Mob 094512*****

Some mandatory details considered important in a marriage partner essential details include:

Religion/caste
Manglik (usually specified in case of brides)
Age and height
Educational qualifications
Current working status
Income (in case of men mainly)
Personal information about the prospective bride or groom: age, complexion, health, personality, background, family.
Horoscope (optional)
Contact number(must)
Any other miscellaneous details.

Also used are abbreviations prudently used because the cost of an ad is based on the number of words and lines it comprises. Popular standardised abbreviations found in most leading English dailies publishing matrimonial ads the following examples:

Years(s)- yr(s)
August- Aug
approximately- approx
available- avl
Bangalore- B’lore
established- estd
department- dept
BHP- Biodata/horoscope/photograph
LPA- lakh per annum
NRI- Non-Resident Indian
Working- wrkg
vegetarian- veg

The type of ad depends on one’s budget. However, there is a choice of only two formats for composing a matrimonial ad:

Classified Text Ads: Economical as they are calculated by the number of words used and consist of simple running text on line (ROL). They can be accentuated by a bold font, ticks or logos.

Classified Display (CD) Ads: These CD ads have an enhanced visibility because with some colour or bold font. But they cost more since the rate is calculated on the basis of area per square cm consumed.