You may think that getting the attention of a guy should be easy. This isn’t always the case, especially when it comes to texting. Guys can be distracted easily, and they don’t necessarily want to participate in a full-blown text conversation at any given time. So, here are 10 things you can text to him that will get his attention.

1. Memes. What a great invention! Memes can make things casual. You won’t come off too eager by texting a meme, and you won’t have to admit that you were thinking about him. Just text a funny meme to him, or one that reminded you of him.
2. Ask a relevant question. This always worked for me Did you get the last question in that meeting today?” This segues you into a longer conversation without making him feel like you’re trying to get his attention or flirting with him.
3. “Hey, sexy!” If you and the guy have a romantic history, this will certainly perk up his…ears.
4. “I’m going out to eat. Want to come along?” What guy could say “no” to food? The last-minute nature of this request requires a quick reply. If you know what his favorite restaurant is, add that to the text to really grab his attention.
5. Something you have in common. If you follow the same sports team or watch the same show, text him about it. He probably will enjoy chatting about that overtime win or the intense cliffhanger scene. This also gives you something to continue bonding over as time passes.
6. “I’m still smiling about our last date.” Whether it’s been several days since that last date, or if it was just last night, this is an honest and smooth way to pique his attention. He’ll appreciate it.
7. Compliment him. Say he looked great in that gray shirt last night or in his last Instagram post A compliment will boost his ego. He may not have felt sure about how interested you were in him, and he didn’t want to reach out first. A little compliment gives him an opening.
8. Revisit a past topic. Be careful not to beat a dead horse or stir up a conversation that died a slow and painful death. Bring up something that you’ve successfully discussed before. For example, if he told you about a band he likes, tell him you’ve heard their tour is stopping in your town. If you play this right, you might even get a date out of it.
9. Send a selfie. Not a nude, mind you—just a cute flirty smile, maybe show a little cleavage. Remember to keep it mysterious and tasteful. Show him your outfit and ask if he likes it. Rock your new hairstyle and ask what he thinks of it. Or just tell him you’re having a good day, and wanted to share it with him. Everybody loves a confidence boost.
10. Ask for advice. I’m always intrigued by texts asking for my advice or opinion. If he cares, he’ll be intrigued, too. Ask him which team to bet on, or which Netflix series to binge on next.

On the flip side, here are 10 things you should never text a guy to try to get his attention. Some of these just won’t work. Others might get you the kind of attention you don’t want. There’s no such thing as bad press, bad attention is definitely a thing. It’s better for you to fall off of his radar screen than to be on it for the wrong reason.

1. Nudes. Sending naked photos is a straight-up no-no. Just don’t ever do it. No matter how tempting it may be to you, it’s far riskier than you could imagine.
2. Lies. Don’t make things up to get his attention. Lying isn’t worth it. If you need to lie in order to get his attention, then his attention is something you don’t want. And if lying works, you’ll certainly get caught in your lie later on.
3. “Hey, what’s up?” This is dull. How’d you like to get it? There’s no creativity, uniqueness, or intrigue…nothing to make him want to reply.
4. Emojis. They can be fun, but trying to get a guy’s attention with a unicorn, a frowny face, and a pizza is flat-out juvenile.
5. Duplicate texts. You can blame it on a phone glitch all you want, but the truth is, you’re just trying to check if he got your text, and check if he forgot to respond. He didn’t. And even if he did, sending him another text will likely deter him.
6. A long block of words. If you’re already engaged in a deep conversation, feel free to text him that long reply. But if you’re just trying to initiate a conversation, a long message isn’t the way to go. He’ll pick up his phone, see the essay waiting for him, and put his phone right back down again.
7. Drunk texts. These are never a good idea. They’re always regretted the next morning. Even worse is texting sober but claiming you were drunk so you have a built-in excuse for the embarrassing things you said.
8. False “fake texts.” I was guilty of doing this often…in high school. I’d text something to my crush that was certainly intended for somebody else, so I could text a second time to say, “Oh, so sorry, that wasn’t really for you.” This isn’t cute. It doesn’t work, and it’s embarrassing.
9. Gossip. Gossiping about celebrities is okay, but trying to get a guy’s attention by making something up or by gossiping is not a good move.
10. Asking why he didn’t respond. As much as you want a reply, you may not get one. Maybe he was working or sleeping and is genuinely sorry, but you should just wait it out and not know.