Online dating profile tips

August 20th, 2009

Struggling to come up with stuff to write in your dating profile? Here are 5 useful tips to help get you started. For more tips and advice, you can check out my book, Everyone’s Guide to Online Dating or see my services for information about my profile writing services.

1. Check out the competition

You may well be a heterosexual man or woman, but it won’t hurt to run a same sex search on the dating site you’re considering using (you might need to open a fake account under a different gender on some of them) and see what other people are putting in their profiles. It’s a great way to easily spot cliches so you can avoid them and make your own profile different. On the other hand, if there’s something you like about someone else’s profile, maybe you can learn from it when you are writing yours. I don’t mean rip off bits word for word, but if the structure of the profile looks good or someone is talking about an aspect of their lives you think you can talk about to, then it won’t hurt to be inspired by someone else.

2. What would you ask a person you were considering dating? Answer those questions in your profile

Keep it positive, of course. Talk about things that are important to you, things that make you happy, what you do for fun, what would you like to do if you were in a relationship, etc.

3. Think about what makes you stand out from the crowd and concentrate most of your writing on that

There is always something – what are your unique selling points? It could be a hobby, your job, character traits that make you fun to be around, etc.

4. Write for the person you want to meet, not the people you don’t want to meet

This means talking about things you’re ideal man or woman would find interesting and exciting, rather than saying things like “cheaters need not apply”, which are sadly all too common.

5. Leave some space to talk about what sort of person you’re looking for

Give people a chance to find out if they fit your requirements and show that you’ve taken the time to think about who you’re looking for. Some sites give you a separate section for that, so make sure you use it or risk making your profile seem a bit self-centered. Avoid overly specific physical descriptions though as they can be a bit off-putting.

Related posts:

1. Online dating profile advice – good or bad?
2. Online dating profile cliches
3. Online Dating Safety Tips
4. Online dating profile: don’t assume prior knowledge
5. Choosing a photo for your online dating profile

Entry Filed under: Online Dating Tips