Online Dating Tips
Let Lavalife Set You Up!
First off, it takes a lot of guts to put yourself out there, online, to seek friends, dates and someone special. Putting your emotions, wants, desires, likes and dislikes onto an open profile is hard thing to do, even for the well-polished writers.
For most of us, it’s attempt after attempt and edit after edit to get our headline and profile just right.
Secondly, if your friends were so good at setting you up, why all the bad dates that have happened because of them? Maybe they just don’t know you that well, right?
So don’t worry about the criticisms that have been sent your way, you’re doing a good thing, a hard thing and with a little “internet luck” your dating fortunes will start looking better very soon!
Tip #1: Read your profile as someone that doesn’t know you would read it, this will help you write with clarity and direction.
Tip #2: Pictures should be of you, waist up or head and shoulders only, without anyone else in the picture and definitely not with you doing anything goofy, unless the goofiness is explained in your profile.
Tip#3: Don’t be afraid to write to someone first instead of waiting for them to see you first. This isn’t a high-school dance, right?
So, Ready! Set! Go! Get a date online!
Seven tips to help you succeed at online dating!
Very often I am asked by people how they can improve their results using online dating services.
Although the answers may vary slightly when looking for individual improvements, generally everyone can do better by following these simple, but sometimes overlooked, changes to their profile and how they approach online dating.
- Login regularly. Many services show the last time you logged in, so if you haven’t been there for a while odds are good that possible new friends will overlook your profile because it seems ‘stale’ or abandoned.
- Post a recent picture. Most online services offer the search option to “search only profiles with a picture”, so if you don’t have a picture uploaded with your profile you’re missing out on a substantial amount of possible visitors to your profile. And keep in mind to post a recently taken photo of yourself, with only you in the frame and an upper body or head and shoulders only shot.
- Don’t Annoy Others. Did you find the perfect match but he/she never replied to your messages? Maybe they didn’t feel that immediate spark that you did. Maybe they don’t login any more. No matter what you feel, sending more than a couple messages to someone is a sure way to be an annoyance, if not being branded an “online stalker’.
- Be positive. We all know that life has it’s ups and downs, but sharing bad or negative details in your profile is a sure way to not get any responses. Positive people bring out the best in others, do your part.
- Be proactive. Participate in all areas of the dating service you are a member of. Do they have a blog? Comment on it. Do they have a forum, polls, story submission? Your name is your “brand”, use it as much as possible (without contravening any of the above tips, of course) so that other members see your name and check out your profile. Activities other than just posting your profile can greatly enhance the visits to your profile page.
- Reply promptly. You don’t have to be logged in every moment, but try your best to log in every day about the same time and answer messages within one day. If someone is waiting for a reply from you and they don’t get it, they might just make plans with someone else.
- Update your profile regularly. Many dating services rotate to the top of the search results profiles that have been recently edited. You usually don’t have to make any major changes to your profile just a sentence or two and save it.
Have a great time online!
