The promise of finding the partner of your dreams or a date feels distinctily like a lie with every boring profile and dead response you get.
When you don't have the time nor the energy, to start going through all the versions of "Hi" and "How are you" with someone new every other day, here's a guide on how to stand out for the best matches anywhere.
Seeing good profiles starts with you!
1. Curate your pictures
Use your photos to tell a full story to the person viewing your profile. Highlight your interests, passions and hobbies, whatever they are, in a series of pictures. If you a sports person, use a picture of you in gear. Your pictures ground you, for the other person, in the activities you say you are all about.
2. Forego selfies
Use photos that portray your entire image and leave the face, cleavage, abs selfies out or to a minimum.
Use a maximum of five photos that reflect your current appearance.
Selfies have a bad reputation of filters and are notorious for capturing unwanted items in backgrounds.
So beware of what might be lurking in the background of your selfies. Things like toilets from bathroom pictures, unkempt rooms, among others. If you want to show your environment, make sure it is impecable.
3. Be ultra-specific
Whatever you are doing or are interested in, there's thousands of people on dating apps doing the same. Instead, explain why you enjoy or love those things. Connect them to your life and personality because that's what makes them and you, unique.
So you love to travel, why is travel important to you? Why ziplining in Europe and not Uganda? Why breakfast at night?
"Share specifics so you can attract the right people to your profile who genuinely appreciate you and your interests," says Adelle Kelleher, a dating coach.
4. Positivity
You may focus on the frustration from not finding a match by including what you DON'T want in a partner. But that gives people a negative impression. Plus, what do you gain from connecting with someone over negative experiences? More negativity to complain about.
Let your positivity shine through by highlighting what you like and appreciate in a partner. People who identify with those qualities will likely start off on a great foot than the ones who might be offended by the negative.
5. Use very little humor or none at all
Use humor in the amounts you use chilli on a small piece of meat. What you consider humor might come across in a different tone and negative way to people viewing your profile. Dark humor, sarcasm, political jokes, are better left out.
6. Spark curiosity
"I will never forget the day I saw a guy’s dating profile that said even though he worked in business, he really wanted to be a ninja. That caught my attention immediately and had me so curious that I had to reach out to him. That guy is now my husband," Kelleher says.
Stay true to your self, after all that is what you are looking for in return. Honest, interesting and fun will stop anyone in their tracks to check you out.