Online Dating is getting more popular as time goes on. People are becoming fed up of meeting people on a night out, only to find they can hardly each other due to the loud music, or one or both have had a few too many sherbets and can hardly string a sentence together!
But with Online Dating it’s different. Here, you can get to know somebody first, before you make the decision to meet them in person. It’s a good way of finding out if there’s any chemistry; if you’re interested in similar things, and it can also help you to pick up on any of their weak points. If you’re thinking about venturing into the world of Online Dating, or if you’re already signed up, make sure you follow these tips.
1. SMILE IN YOUR PHOTOS!
This one seems obvious, right? You’ll be surprised! It’s amazing how so many people take the time and effort to create a profile, complete all the necessary fields and then bang – upload one or more photos of them looking as miserable as sin! Don’t do it. Make sure you’re looking cheerful and happy in your pictures. A nice smile goes a long way. It says, “This person looks like a nice happy-go-lucky person”. Not “Crikey, I wouldn’t like to be in the same room as him/her on a bad day!
2. HAVE MORE THAN ONE PHOTO
So now you have a photo of yourself with a smile on your face. But just one won’t cut it. You need at least 3-4 on there. Just having one photo says, “I hate having my photo taken, but I’ve found this one which makes me look thinner/better looking than I really am”. Be honest, and upload 5-6 photos of you from different angles and in different surroundings. Also, make sure they aren’t just headshots – this suggests you’re hiding your body because you’re overweight.
3. CORRECT SPELLING AND GRAMMAR
Now some people may not be all that bothered about this, and of course, there are people who may have dyslexia, but we’re sorry to say – a profile with bad spelling and/or grammar looks like you rushed the profile and couldn’t be bothered to proofread it. If you aren’t great at spelling, load up Microsoft Word, or use an online tool to get it checked. Then, ask one of your friends to read through it as a double check. It makes you look like you’re serious about this and not just treating it like you aren’t bothered either way.
4. NO SELFIES
We covered earlier about having a few photos uploaded and making sure you’re smiling, but selfies is a no-no. You may be surprised to read that this actually signals, “I have no friends, so I even have to take my own pictures!” – yep, it’s true. Some people see you as being a bit of a loner. Just have photos of you with friends, family or even your pet dog. It’s been shown that having a cute animal in your photo can make yourself look more appealing.
5. DON’T TELL YOUR LIFE STORY
The trick with Online Dating is that you want people to be interested, but at the same time, not know everything about you. If you have too much about you on your profile, when it comes to chatting with your match, there will be little for them to ask you. Being brief can be good.
6. ASK QUESTIONS!
Ok, so we’re past the point of actually creating your profile. Now, this is regarding communicating with your matches. Make sure you ask questions! If someone asks you what you like doing in your spare time, answer them and fire a question back. Perhaps ask them what their favorite comedians are or the last film they went to see at the cinema – reading their profile should create questions to ask.
But replying with an answer and not asking a question back says 1 of (at least) 3 things: You’re not interested (even though you might be), you don’t have any social skills or even worse, you’re just plain rude. Regardless of which one it is – it’ll put them off, big time. They’ll feel like they might as well be talking to a tree.