How to Write an Online Dating Profile in 10 Easy Steps!

Creating a compelling profile is one of the most important components of online dating. If your profile does not grab the attention of other members within seconds, your online dating venture will fizzle out before you have had a chance to start.

Consider this your small sales page – out there in the vastness of cyberspace. Its job is to grab people’s attention while competing with the profiles of thousands of other hopefuls. It will follow you as you peruse the dating site sending winks, kisses, and emails to potential dates. It is the first thing people will see after you have convinced them that you are worth checking out.

Obviously, the quality of the online dating profile varies tremendously. Anyone can quickly scribble down random sentences about themselves. However, creating an effective sales page is something else entirely.

Take the time to create something above average. Those few extra minutes you spend could be the difference between meeting that special someone, or not.

Here are 10 steps to creating an outstanding online dating profile:

1. Always, always, always include your picture. This is undoubtedly the most important part of the profile. If you fail to include a photo, no one is going to bother with the rest of your story – no matter how beautifully worded it is. If you’re camera shy, use creative lighting and distance to your advantage. As long as people get an idea of what you look like, you don’t need a full frontal, well lit, close-up. Just remember, any picture beats no picture at all.

2. Double check for spelling errors and bad grammar. This will kill your chances in seconds because it says that you don’t care enough to make sure your profile is decent. Not only that, but potential dates could assume certain things about your personality, education, social status, and financial status.

3. Your description should be as lively as possible. Don’t write paragraphs of stuffy facts about yourself – keep it short, interesting, and to the point. After all, we are talking about the internet here, and people are getting more impatient every day. Remember: You are competing with thousands of other profiles – make yours stand out!

4. Don’t give away too much information. You want to sell yourself, but you also want to create a little mystery and make them want to contact you to learn more.

5. Be positive. There is no place for negativity in the dating site profile. If you’re not feeling all that positive, postpone writing until you are. Negativity sends out bad vibes – even in words.

6. Be honest. Yes, it’s a good idea to present yourself in the most favourable light; however, you need to keep it real. Writing a lively, compelling, interesting, and fun profile is one thing; outright lying is something else entirely. Besides, you will eventually get found out. The longer you keep lying, the deeper the hole you’ll dig for yourself.

7. Let them know what you want. You will save a lot of time for yourself and others. Be specific in your description of what you are looking for. However, don’t be too strict. You need to leave a little leeway; otherwise no one will bother to contact you.

8. Don’t include any personal information in your profile – even your email address. Not only will this be against the site rules, but you could be putting yourself in real danger.

9. Make sure to start your ad with a catchy title. Put a little thought into this and it could reward you many times over. You want it to stand out and grab people’s attention. Try different titles – experiment a little.

10. Test, Tweak, and test again. Few of us can create the perfect profile the first time out. Don’t worry if you don’t get a ton of people sending messages to you. Though it’s hard not to take it personally, chances are it’s more to do with your profile’s composition than you personally. Rewrite, add photos, whatever it takes.