Online dating, hate it or love, it’s here to stay. And guess what… It can be a great way to get dates IF you use it properly. There’s so many right now. You have Bumble, Tinder, Hinge, The League, and Inner Circle. There’s probably more, but these are all the ones I’ve used and gotten dates from. They all have one major thing in common. Your profile has to be top notch.
The important thing in all of these is getting right swipes and getting the girl interested in you. So this makes your profile the single most important aspect to your online dating success. From the 200-300 dates I’ve had over the last 3 years, I’ve learned a lot of what works and what doesn’t. What’s attractive and what isn’t. And most importantly what gets the most matches.
Here are some tips for setting up a profile that will guarantee the highest number of matches for you:
Profile
Tip 1: Picture is worth a thousand words
When choosing your pictures make sure that your whole profile conveys a story. What does that mean? Each picture has to say something about you. A short story that you want to show your best self in.
It’s not about taking a bunch of selfies where you look your best or putting shirtless gym selfies (please never do that). Make sure your pictures are clear. There’s nothing worse than an unclear or blurry picture. Also, don’t think that having professional pictures up is the way to go. Many women complain about guys that seem to have only “modeling” pictures up, they say “he seems like a try hard”. Having one professional picture up is ok, but all the others should be as natural as possible.
Tip 2: Clear picture of who you are
Your first picture should be a clear picture of you where you look your best and you show what type of guy you are. Don’t have a group picture as your first picture. Let’s say you’re a guy that always wears a suit (basically, you think you’re Barney from How I Met Your Mother) then your first picture should be a good full shot of you in a suit. To really make it great have it be a picture that looks like it was taken spontaneously. Looking slightly away from the camera is a great one.
Tip 3: Complete the story
Make sure your first three pictures are the best ones, since most girls swipe based on those first couple. Here is a sample outline of the type of pictures you want to put up:
1: Main: Where you look your best. Get a few girl friends to give you their opinion on which picture they think you look most attractive. It’ll probably be a different picture than you think.
2: Hobby/Passion: Something that you like doing, like guitar or tennis. It’s something that you’re passionate about and can potentially show her how to do. Also an easy conversation starter and a potential date you guys can do.
3: Personality: If you’re a very adventurous guy it could be something like a hang-gliding picture. Or if you like traveling, maybe one in Thailand. It can also be you doing something that you’d like in the type of girls you want to date. If you want an adventurous girl then definitely put an adventurous picture. If you want a girl that loves live music then put something with you at a concert. You get the point.
4: Fun social: A picture that shows you’re not some weirdo that doesn’t have any friends and that you like to have fun. It shows your fun and social side. It doesn’t have to be a picture of all you guys at a bar. It can also be a picture with your friends at an art show, the theater, paintballing, or whatever you’re into. You don’t want to put pictures that aren’t actually things you enjoy doing, you’ll attract the wrong type of girls for you.
5: Cute: One with like a brother or sister, or maybe one with your pet like a puppy. This is more your cute picture that shows you’re not a sociopath and you actually are capable of love.
Ask yourself: what is this picture saying about me? If you can’t find a good answer, then perhaps that isn’t the right picture to put up
Not only is this great to get more matches, it will also make your conversations easier and more natural. If you have more pictures that are conversation worthy, it’ll be easier for the girl to ask about it. You want to make it as easy as possible in the beginning to get the conversation going, which these types of pictures do.
The majority of your pictures are also to show girls who you are so that it kind of screens them too. There’s no point in going on dates with girls that have zero similar interests to you, even if they’re beautiful. Trust me on that one, no matter how hot they are if they have nothing in common with you it sucks.
Tip 4: Intriguing bio
A lot of guys skip this or make it ultra boring. The bio is very important. Many girls I’ve talked to have said they will swipe no if a guy’s bio sounds douchey or if he sounds really boring.
If you don’t put anything that’s better than putting something bad, but even better is putting something that makes them more interested in you. Something that intrigues them.
Especially if they’re not sure about your pictures then this is what could get you more matches. If they see you have a good personality they’ll think “hmm I at least have to see what this guy has to say, he sounds fun/interesting”. Then you can blow her away with your texting and personality.
Having a great bio is another way to make sure they’re interested in starting a conversation. If yours is funny or interesting, it gives them a lot of potential talking points. It’s much easier for them to say something more interesting than “hey” or “how are you” which just starts a very stiff and boring conversation that you have to get out of. If it can start fun and flirty you’re golden.
You want to showcase your personality in the bio. And not the just be yourself bullshit. No, the fun, flirty, and playful side of your personality. Everyone has it even if they don’t use it often or don’t think they have one. The best thing to do is to show your type of humor. If you like outrageous humor, then put something more like that. If you’re more sarcastic or witty put that. This is another way of screening girls and getting the type of matches you’ll actually like and actually like talking with.
Sample Bio
Let’s take a look at mine and analyze it:
“From Belgium originally, but moved to LA to become the next Magic Mike but sadly had to give that up. Looking for someone witty, adventurous, smart, and kind-hearted. Sometimes I’m some of those things too. Those are my little sisters that I’m shamelessly using for right swipes. I also like to pretend to know what I’m doing when I do yoga. @myinstagram”
I put where I’m from originally which makes it slightly more interesting than the average person if you’re from a different country. Even if you’re just from another state or city, put that. You never know if a girl from the same place is living in the same city and swipes right because they have something in common. If you’re from the same place you’re living then that’s a great place to put some humor, for example, if you’re from LA and live in LA: “I’m like a unicorn and from LA, exotic I know.”
Then I put something silly like: “came to LA to become the next Magic Mike.” I like that one because it also gives them an image of stripping which makes them think of me in a more sexual way or at the very least a humorful way since it’s obviously a joke.
Then I put some characteristics of what I find important in someone by saying what I’m looking for. I’m showing that I have standards and know what I want, which not only is attractive but you should do so you don’t get a ton of matches that you don’t like personality wise at all.
Then I point to the fact that I put my little sister in my photo to obviously look cute, but I’m owning that in a fun way. You could do the exact same thing with anything else cute. For example: “That’s my puppy I’m shamelessly using for right swipes, he approved”.
I also put my Instagram since it’s an even larger story and shows more of me. If your Instagram sucks or isn’t attractive don’t put it obviously, but start making your Instagram more attractive. Instagram is basically an online dating resume in a lot of ways now. Everyone stalks everyone on there before dates. Make it tell the story you want it to tell.
These are just some of the pointers that can make your online dating more successful and will ultimately make it more fun. You’ll be able to get more dates this way, which will make it a much higher chance of meeting a great girl you like. Give these tips a try and let me know your results. Comment below with any question about your dating profile or any other online dating questions. I answer all of them and love to get feedback.
Originally published on Apollo-Social.com and republished with permission.
Photo: Getty Images
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