Every day, millions of singles crawl dating sites and apps, flipping through photos and profiles of potential matches. Finding a date, let alone love, just isn’t easy—even though there are plenty of apps for that. But there are some online dating success stories. Just recently, hip-hop veteran, MC Lyte, at age 46, found her beau, which is now her husband on the Match.com dating site. So it’s never too late. You just have to know the tips and tools to allow the right person to come along.
Here are a few our favorites:
Avoid The “Same-old” clichés
The key to writing a good online dating profile is to be specific about who you are. Nobody likes a profile that sounds as if the writer is tailoring his or her personality to what other people want to hear. Those sorts of generic, essentially meaningless profiles are exactly what don’t catch someone’s eye online. If you want to stand out from the crowd, reveal your personality in a unique way.
Something like this may work: “When I’m not out with my friends on a Friday night, I love curling up under the covers and watching a scary movie (any suggestions?).” This is now a statement that has personality, flirts with the reader, provides bait and discusses the type of movies that I am specifically into.
Use Confident Language
Many men and women unintentionally use language that displays a lack of confidence. For example, writing that “I really hope to meet a man who is smart, fun and handsome,” doesn’t sound terrible, but the word “hope” implies that you are the one chasing and “hoping” things will turn out OK. It subconsciously creates the image of a woman who has not had the best of luck with men in the past.
By changing this statement to, “the perfect man for me is smart, fun and handsome,” the perception completely changes. This subtle change portrays the image of a woman who is confident, in control and knows what she wants. Stick to language that shows high levels of confidence whenever possible.
Leave Negativity At The Door
It is a huge mistake to create a massive list of turnoffs, deal-breakers and qualities that you are not looking for in a partner. For example: “I don’t like _____.” Or, “I can’t stand it when ______.” Or even worse, “Stay away from me if you are _______.” While you may think this is a productive way to ward off unwanted suitors, all it does is make men think that you are a negative person and possibly jaded by one too many bad dates.
The unwanted suitors are going to arrive at your inbox no matter what you do. The key to your profile is to attract the ones you do want by appearing to be a happy, fun-loving person. At the end of the day, quality men are attracted to positivity, not women who come across as disgruntled, overly picky and jaded.
Now, once you’ve connected with someone, talked on the phone and mutually want to meet face to face, what do you do?
1. No Coffee Dates!
If you’re a male or female, this is a bold choice, but it’s needed to weed out unwanted mates in this “hookup” culture.
Face the facts, you’re a quality catch and if you truly are looking for something serious to come of your online dating effort, then you’ve got to be…