Online Dating Profiles: Seven Common Mistakes
The first time I tried online dating I was terrified. The second time I was frustrated. The third time was better because I got the attention I wanted. This happened because I took the time to experiment with my profile, ask my friends what they were doing and read-up on the topic.
Do yourself a favor and don't make the same mistakes I made.
Mistake Number One: Ignoring the Competition Weeks went by before I looked at another woman's profile. It didn't occur to me to compare myself to others and one-up my competition. If of women in my zip code have a picture of themselves at a baseball game, then shouldn't I make myself stand out by posting a picture of myself playing the game?
Mistake Number Two: Never Change Your Photo I used the same picture the first two times I was on Match.com. Before I signed up the third time I browsed men between the ages of 26 and 35 in my zip code and ran across a guy I'd seen on my first-go-round. I looked at his profile and quickly changed my mind about writing him because his profile was exactly the same. I thought this meant he wasn't into impressing anyone. This motivated me to pick a new photo for myself and change my profile a bit every couple of weeks.
Mistake Number Three: Uploading the Wrong Photo We've all been in relationships before. It's also safe to assume we all have friends of the opposite sex who like to hang or hug on us. Avoid photos where someone is obviously cut out or way too friendly.
Pictures of you with babies and puppies are cheap. Nice try.
The photos of you in your bathing suit should, of course, be avoided. You're hot and want to tell someone, which is great, but keep it classy.
Mistake Number Four: Novel Writing To let him or her know you're interested it's ok to write a novel in your second, third or fourth e-mail, but the written portions of your e-mail should never be too long. The 580 words describing your ideal date is too much for our attention spans.
Mistake Number Five: Putting on a Broken Record An important aspect of your online profile is to make yourself sound unique-even if it is difficult to do. Phrases like "My friends say that I'm" or "I'm laid back" are clich. Instead, focus on your distinctive attributes like the fact that your eyes change from hazel to green depending on what you wear.
Mistake Number Six: Wear Your Heart on Your Sleeve No one cares that you just broke up, or that you've been hurt before. Let me take that back, everyone looking at your profile cares, but not in a good way. Don't say things like, "I just got out of a relationship and am just looking to have fun" or "I've had bad luck finding a good man, and now I'm here to find Mr. Right." It's ok that you're heart-broken; just keep it to yourself or you risk scaring a lot of great suitors away.
Mistake Number Seven: Forget to Get a Second Opinion Let's be honest, it's hard to write about yourself. The best thing you can do is ask a good friend to help you write your profile, or at least review it for you. If that's not an option, there are many profile writing services around to help you out for a small fee.
Online dating is not hard, and shouldn't be scary. If you have the right attitude and keep your expectation realistic-as you should do in all types of dating-the outcome will only be positive.
About the Author: Sara Musfeldt has a website with dating stories and dating profile tips for everyone. Sara has also produced an online dating advice to help singles everywhere find a date.
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