Posts Tagged ‘ profile headline ’

In my years as an owner and operator of online dating websites, I have seen just about every kind of online dating profile you can imagine. From the obscenely vulgar to the sublime, from the deficient to the overwhelming, I’ve seen just about all of them. Where your online dating profile is concerned, close enough is by no means good enough.

To me, the worst profile is the one that lacks a photo or does not have an essay. I have seen so many profiles that say, “I’ll fill this out later,” or sometimes just “later.” When you write things like this in you online dating profile essay, you are telling every potential mate that looks at your profile that you really aren’t serious and don’t care whether you meet someone or not.

That brings me to the subject of this article, that is, the anatomy of the online dating profile.

The online dating profile generally consists of five parts:

• A headline (Many sites don’t include this part)
• A profile photo or photos
• Miscellaneous questions
• An essay
• Photo albums (some sites don’t include this part)

Let’s explore each of these important parts of the online dating profile one at a time.

The Online Dating Profile Headline

Your profile headline (if provided) is one of the first things that a potential mate will see when he or she visits your online dating profile. It is essential that you write a good headline that will grab attention. You may actually want to consider trying your online dating profile out on a different dating website, one which you have little interest in utilizing, prior to publishing what might be a terrible profile on your site of preference.

Your Profile Photo(s)

The importance of the online dating profile photo can not be overstated. I’m going to be very blunt: If you don’t post a photo on your online dating profile, you might as well just delete your profile and forget about online dating. You’re wasting your time.

Miscellaneous Questions

Most dating sites are going to include some miscellaneous questions that will help to add to your profile and tell other online daters what you are like. You should take the time to answer at least some of these questions. They’re usually in the form of check boxes or radio buttons and are easy to go through and answer.

The Online Dating Profile Essay

Although it is accurate that the photos on your online dating profile are worth a thousand words or open up a lot of possibilities, it’s the profile essay that will help you find the best match. The way you represent yourself with this essay will indicate to possible matches exactly how interesting a person you are.

Photo Albums

Some sites offer you the possibility of uploading several photos either in the form of additional profile photos or in photo albums. Either way, you should take advantage of that opportunity. Try to find good photos that show you involved in fun activities or with attractive friends. Avoid photos that show you using alcohol and partying.

You should view your online dating profile as a small book about you. If you were going to write a book about yourself, wouldn’t you want it to be an interesting read? Sure you would, so near enough is not good enough when it comes to your online dating profile.

Your online dating profile will be the very first peek into your appearance and personality that a potential date gets. It is the first, and it could be the last if you write a boring and typical headline like 99% of people out there. That is why you must make yourself stand out in the huge crowd of prospective mates on most dating sites.

The first thing to consider when building your online dating profile is the headline. Some sites do not have headlines and some do. If you post a profile on a dating site that does have headlines, you need to write something that will catch the eye of any prospective mate. Wouldn’t it be a shame if someone wonderful passed you by because of a boring headline?

Begin with an appealing or engaging headline. The very first item any person who views your profile will see, along with your image  (which I’ll comment on soon),  is your online dating profile headline.

One thing you can do in your search for the ideal headline is to create a few different headlines and try them on different online dating websites . Monitor the responses you receive and replace ones that don’t work with those that do.

Stay away from corny headlines like “I may be the one you are searching for. Quite a few online dating profiles contain catch phrases such as this, yet you might be regarded as being no different from everybody else and for that reason you won’t be prominent.

You should never have a suggestive headline. As an alternative, you might try something similar to, “Starting fresh and prepared for brand new experiences.” This isn’t suggestive and will not give people the wrong sense of you.

It’s a good idea to ask a friend to look over your online dating profile, and pay attention to what that friend has to say about your headline. It’s always helpful to get a second or even a third opinion. It can be difficult to view your headline objectively. A friend who knows you well can be objective and help you to write a good headline.

That couple of seconds someone spends reading your headline will very much influence whether they read the rest of your profile or click away. Don’t try to come off strange or odd unless you’re looking for someone who is strange or odd. The very last thing you want to do is sound desperate.

In my next article I discuss the importance of your online dating profile photo.