Creating a Great Online Dating Profile

There are a few basic do’s and don’ts when creating a profile and there are a few simple ways to make sure you stand out from the crowd, so look through our list and then have a go at getting your profile just right:

1.    Don’t include your full name on your profile – just your first name should be enough to give people information when reading your profile and deciding if they want to get to know you more.

2.    Don’t include your usual e-mail address – set up a special dating e-mail using a service like yahoo or hotmail; something which can’t be traced based on the ip address.

3.    Attract attention – give enough information about yourself to interest the reader, but not so much that there’s nothing left for them to find out about you after reading it.  Think about what you’d like to know about someone when you’re reading their portrait and then use this when writing your own profile.  Alternatively, read a few profiles and see what catches your eye, what you like and don’t like about the way they’re written, rather than what is said, and use that as a guide to help.

4.    Be creative – when writing your profile try not to write a boring list of interests and so on that says nothing about your personality; think about who you are and what you most want people to know about you and try writing a little section on yourself and what you want in life.  You need to stand out from the crowd to be sure that your perfect date gets the opportunity to read your profile and is then interested enough to want to know more.

5.    Keep it simple – you don’t need to get over-complicated here.  Potential dates will be scanning through matches to find someone that catches their eye, so keep it short, simple, yet interesting.  An old English teacher of mine once said that a story should be like a girl’s miniskirt – long enough to cover the subject, but short enough to keep it interesting.  I think this is also a good philosophy for writing your profile (forgive me if you find this a little sexist).

6.    For goodness sake, don’t lie – please don’t be tempted to exaggerate the truth or lie about yourself; it’s just not a good philosophy in the long run and not a good basis for a relationship.

Good luck with getting that winning profile so that your potential dates see the real you shining through.