Write A Dating Profile For Yourself
Your written profile is gold mine of opportunity. A lot of guys overlook it. Here's why you shouldn't, plus 25 easy ways to take advantage of it.
Q: 'Why should I spend a lot of time writing my profile? It seems girls only care about messages.'
You’re right: good first messages (that start conversations) are absolutely critical in online dating.
The worst thing you can do in a traditional profile is to write the same kind of profile that you would for a discovery dating app. A good profile is going to be at least 150 words long. However, if it goes over 300 words, fewer people are going to be willing to read it. Writing a dating profile is about one thing (or at least it should be about one thing) – effectiveness. It doesn’t matter if you write a dating profile that could be the next great American novel or it’s written at a second grade levelall that matters is that your dating profile attracts the type of people that you want it to. With these tips for ‘describing yourself’ online, you’ll be prepared with a profile that is equally expressive and magnetic. Here’s how you can take on examples of writing a profile for online dating, and use it to your advantage. These are helpful dating profile examples, to aid you in figuring out a way to make it inviting. Show, don’t tell. When you are writing about who you are and how your live your life, be sure to show the reader what that looks like in action. You are trying to attract the right people to you, and to do that you need to be specific. For example, many people say in their profiles they like to travel.
Except when girls get a great message, it doesn’t mean we immediately hit Reply. First, we look at your profile.
Your great first message tells girls to give your profile a shot. What you write about yourself is the final word on whether we reply.
'So my written profile actually seals the deal?'
Yes! Your profile tells girls you’re a fit for us in personality, lifestyle, and sense of humor. Basically, that we’ll like hanging out (and making out) with you.
When we see you have a great profile, we get extra psyched that you wrote us that great message. Now we want to immediately reply to your message before another girl snaps you up!
'What should I write to make her want to reply?'
This article has specific profile tips for your long-game.
In short, the trick is using lots of detailed self-description, and avoiding general descriptions (like “fun-loving” and “active”). Using examples from your life is the best way to do this.
Instead of listing general characteristics (like “active”), ask yourself Why? What? or How? to get to the specific details:
Why would you describe yourself that way?
How doyou back that statement up in your everyday life?
What it is that you do?
Why do you do it?
You’ll stand out from other “active” guys when you answer those questions with something specific, like:
“I run a couple miles every day after work. It really clears my head. Zombies, Run! is the best.”
When you use that extra detail, you create common ground and conversation-starters.
For example, that statement above could hook girls who also run to clear their minds, or use the app, or have heard about the app but want to know what you think…or girls who have no idea what zombies you’re talking about and now want to ask you about it!
'What else should I write about to stand out to girls?'
Here are prompts to create conversation-starter specifics in your profile:
1. What do you live to do on the weekend?
2. Describe your ideal Sunday morning.
3. What was the last concert you went to? What did you think of it?
4. What are your short-term goals for yourself this year?
5. What personal qualities make you especially good at your job?
6. What do you like best about your family?
7. What’s your favorite thing to do with your best friend?
8. What aspects of yourself are you most proud of?
9. What activity or moment makes you happy to be alive?
10. What have you worked hardest to achieve in your life?
11. Outside of work, what do you spend the most time doing?
12. What do you wish you did more often?
Remember: also answering Why? What? or How? to these questions gets you those deeper details that girls love.
13. Look at that list of the six things you couldn’t live without. Explain why you couldn’t live without them. It doesn't have to be long and elaborate...
This guy does a nice job of quickly adding some extra personality:
14. What’s one long-term goal you have for the next five years?
15. What characteristics do all your friends have in common?
16. What are you most thankful for this year?
17. What life experiences have shaped you the most?
18. What’s the best movie you’ve seen recently? The worst?
This guy follows that up by answering What? and creates a bunch of conversation-starters:
19. Describe how you’ve been shaped by a person who is important to you: a professor, your nephew, a boss, your grandfather, etc.
20. What are you looking forward to most next month? (If your profile remains active past that event, then revise it to describe the experience you just had – and pick something new you're looking forward to.)
21. What games do you like to play with your friends? (Cards Against Humanity, Catan, HORSE, WOW, DDR – whatever. It’s all good.)
22. What’s your favorite thing you know how to cook?
23. What do your friends ask you to handle at parties? (Beer selection, the music, loosening up guests when they first arrive, etc.)
'I want more ideas!'
24) Be really random:
Being a little random and irreverent can be good. You don’t have to take every question seriously. Let your sense of humor come out! As long as you don’t make a joke out of every question, girls will eat that shit up.
25) Make a list.
You Are Dating Yourself
Freestyle it for a little bit, listing anything you can think of that you enjoy. You’ll stumble upon some unique facts about yourself! Plus, girls who love the same things will instantly feel the sense of connection.
Write A Dating Profile For Yourself Questions
When I read a list this good, I want to marry it and have its babies:
Basically, as Amelie taught us, there’s something so delightful about an obscure list of things you enjoy:
','url':'http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sppkUL6fqDI','width':854,'height':480,'providerName':'YouTube','thumbnailUrl':'http://i1.ytimg.com/vi/sppkUL6fqDI/hqdefault.jpg','resolvedBy':'youtube'}'>'How do I know when to stop?!'
A couple of these prompts (for each section on your profile) are more than enough to let your true personality shine through.
Just pick a few that show your sense of humor, some deep thoughts, and what gets you psyched.
Anytime you explain what makes you tick, you’re assuring the right girl that she really wants to reply to your awesome first message.
Don’t be surprised when your inbox blows up.
Writing your online dating profile is one of those terrible necessities in life, on par with writing a cover letter, writing a staff bio, or putting into writing in any capacity all the good things about yourself. Everyone on the planet totally hates listing the reasons why anyone should give them the time of day, but it can be especially hard if writing isn’t exactly your thing. But fear not! You don’t have to resort to copying & pasting your resume and hoping someone is turned on by your ability to delegate tasks to enhance productivity. Here are cheats on how to write a dating profile that will give fellow online daters an idea of who you are—no agony required.
Use Listicles
Making a list of some of your favorite things is a concise and easy way to communicate what you’re into, and it’s easy for someone browsing your profile to get an idea of whether or not you have anything in common. Huge music buff? Name your all-time, top five favorite songs, à la John Cusack in High Fidelity. Huge movie buff? List your desert island essentials. It can be anything—countries you’ve visited, restaurants in your city, or artists. Just make the list one you feel pretty passionate about so you’ll be able to speak on the subject when someone brings it up.
Example:
My Top 5 Jonas Brothers, Best to Worst
1. Joe 2. Kevin 3. Taylor Hanson 4. Joe 5. Nick
Add Your Favorite Corny Joke
Admittedly, this is what some would call click-bait, but keeping your profile short and simple by posing a riddle or starting a joke, but leaving out the punch line, is a) intriguing; b) proves you have a sense of humor; and c) forces people to either talk to you, or to think about the beginning of that dumb joke all day.
Example: Why does Snoop Dogg use an umbrella?
See? You want to talk to me now, don’t you?
Use Quotes
This can easily wander into a territory that is comically trite or boring, so it’s best to steer clear of the typical quotes and go for something a little more unique. Pick something from an author or personality that means something to you and choose a quote that speaks to your lifestyle, core philosophy, or aspirations. In other words, let professional writers and/or speakers do the work for you.
Example: “If you can’t handle me at my worst, you don’t deserve me at my best.” – Marilyn Monroe, while eating chicken wings, probably.
Make Your Friend Do It For You
It’s way easier for someone who already loves you to articulate what makes you special, and more often than not, they see awesome things in you that you don’t even see in yourself. So if you’re wondering how to write a dating profile let your close friend show you how it’s done. Or, better yet, since there aren’t any rules against having a guest author in your dating profile, pose the question to your bestie, “If you were going to set me up with someone, what would you tell them about me?” You’ll get authentic energy and enthusiasm, probably a little humor, and most importantly, sincerity. And as an added bonus, it’s a great ego boost:
Example:
You should date Colleen because your mom would love her. She’s witty and hilarious and will forgive you for making stupid mistakes, because you’ll obviously make stupid mistakes. Colleen gives great relationship advice; so if you’re ever wondering how your relationship with her is doing, just ask her. Nothing is ever too serious, which is good because life is so hard already. – Arra Jane, Best Friend
Write A Dating Profile For Yourself Interview
And there you have it; four easy ideas to alleviate the quiet agony of how to write a dating profile. One, or any combination of these are great ways to get started, so Google the answer to that Snoop Dogg joke, ask all your friends to shower you with compliments, and get to it.
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