What makes a good profile? Well, consider something: You are selling yourself.
Although we don't typically like to think of ourselves as 'products', when it
comes to online dating, that's exactly what we are. You can't expect people to
be clicking on your profile and sending you email just because you want them
to. You have to give them a reason. What is it about you that makes you
different from everyone else? Why would someone want to date you? Why should
someone go through the trouble of writing up an email and sending it to you?
Why should someone pay for this site just so they can send you an email (more
on costs later)? You are going to have to answer all of these questions, and
you can only answer them with your profile. The good news is making a good
profile is easy. Most people are just so lazy they don't bother taking any time
with it. Use their laziness to your advantage by creating the best profile.
The easy part of creating a profile consists of selecting from the many pre-defined
questions that a site will have. Like your hair color, your height, favorite
activities, etc. Answering these questions is fairly academic and should only
take a minute or so. There is definitely no excuse not to fill this stuff out!
The hard part of creating a profile? Yes, you have to actually type. Every dating site
will have a 'describe
yourself' section. This is where you will say stuff about yourself, along with
what you are looking for. You can say whatever you want in here, but the trick
is to keep it short and sweet. Remember, you are selling yourself. 2 paragraphs
should be enough to convince someone that you are worth talking to. Talking
about ones self is pretty hard for most people. Just relax and let it flow. Why
are you here? What are some interesting things that you like to do? What do you
find attractive about a guy/girl? If you just answer those questions you should
have at least a paragraph, maybe two. That will suffice. The first time is
usually the hardest. After you join a few sites doing your profile will become
pretty easy.
Remember that people won't be able to read your mind. Men and women see things
differently. When you write something, understand that whoever is reading it
might be taking something you say differently than you meant it. For example,
as a man, if you mention something about sex in your profile, a woman might
just think that that's all you are really looking for, or that's all you care
about. Or as a woman, if you say things like "I want someone who is honest, and
will treat me with respect", a man is thinking "emotional baggage." Remember,
people that read your profile don't know you. They don't know your sense of
humor, or your writing style. There are a lot of subtle things people read into
from looking at what someone writes. Just pretend you are someone else reading
your profile. What does it seem like you are saying?
Make sure you spell everything correctly, and check your grammar. Bad spelling
and/or grammar will make you look like an idiot to most people, and rightfully
so. You are certain to have a program on your computer that does spell-check.
Use it. Some really good sites, like this one for example, have spell-check
built in for your convenience. We review thousands and thousands of profiles on
DateHookup.com. We are amazed at how many people can't even seem to form
coherent sentences, let alone spell words correctly. Don't these people realize
that no one is going to respond to their profile? It sounds harsh, but the
reality is bad spelling and grammar make you look dumb. Lack of intelligence is
a big time turn off, especially for women. It doesn't matter if you
accidentally spelled something wrong, or were in a hurry and accidentally
created some sentences that didn't make any sense. No one knows it was an
accident, all they know is what they see. So take 20 minutes and do it right.
You only have to do it once, what's the big deal? The personality section is
the second most important part of a profile. If you want to have people
contacting you, and you want people to respond to your messages, make sure you
do this part right.
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