Guide to getting started – part two

Your photographs shouldn’t be the only honest aspect of your profile. If you genuinely want someone to like you for you, there is no point pretending to be someone else.

With that in mind, I’d actually suggest not investing too much time in your profile.

In reality, most people will simply skim them before contacting you, and the majority of their decision to contact you will be based on physical attraction, and perhaps a few key denominators. Height, weight, job role. Also, by writing your profile relatively quickly, you’re more likely to be honest, and not over-think what you’re saying too much.

Don’t tell your entire life story. Touch on the things which interest you and provide enough information for conversational triggers, but don’t give so much away that you’re an open book. Leave some of the stories for the first date.

Remember – this isn’t about finding the ‘One’, it’s about having fun.

What would you like to see in someone else’s profile that might attract you to them? Now apply the same logic to your own profile. And then stop!

First Contact

Whilst it might not seem like it, you need to treat online dating as much like the real world as possible. So if you notice someone you like the look of, strike up a normal conversation.

How would you start a conversation with someone in a bar? You would introduce yourself, and ask a question or two. So just do the same thing … over the internet.

I would avoid going into too much depth at first or spending too much time formulating an email which suggests you’ve memorised the other person’s profile by heart. Remember, in the real world you wouldn’t know all those things about someone from the start anyway!

Just be polite, introduce yourself, and then perhaps pick one thing as a conversation starter. Realistically, if a girl finds your profile attractive, she will reply back, even if all you send is a simple ‘Hello’. That conversation initiator is enough to tell her you’re interested.

The Key Rule of Online Dating

Just go for it! Remember to substitute the idea of the ‘One’ for the more relaxed fun idea, and if you like someone, don’t wait for him or her to make the first move. If you get a reply, great. If you don’t, move on and find someone else.

The great thing about internet dating is that the initial rejection is passive – you simply don’t get a reply back.

So as long as you don’t invest too much in any potential matches too early on, you can take the lack of a reply on the chin and just move onwards and upwards!