Profiles with pictures key to finding a match
It’s more enticing to put little factoids about yourself instead of generic statements in your online profile, experts suggest.
For a long time, I have kept to dating offline, preferring to meet men through friends or at parties. The thought of spending my time e-communicating with someone I thought I could really like, only to find out he used a picture of his son as his own and lied about himself was enough to keep me away from the online scene for some time. Yet, as I’ve ventured deeper in, I’m beginning to realize online dating is a rite of passage that every singleton must experience. You either come out the other end with a little carpal tunnel or having found the right person to venture with offline.
“There are certainly advantages and disadvantages of online dating,” says Kim Hughes, editor of Lavalife.com’s new online magazine, which just launched this month. “You can give lots of information (and lay out your likes and dislikes) in an online profile, but you don’t get that physical interaction that you do when you meet someone at a party.”
For me, one of the hardest parts of online dating is navigating the online profile — and I’m not alone. Hughes says one of the most popular regular features in the magazine, which is targeted towards 18- to 45-year-olds, is the Profile Doctor — a critique of submitted online profiles — and other articles that offer online dating advice.
Lisa Daily, author of Stop Getting Dumped and a regular contributor to Lavalife’s magazine, agrees it’s important to pay attention to your profile and that starts with choosing the right photo. “For a lot of people, if they don’t have a good picture, they’ll wait. But I say you should always post your picture even if you look like Quasimodo in it.” The reason is simple: “Most people don’t want to date what’s behind Door No. 3.”
There are enough risks to online dating; no pictures isn’t one most people are willing to take.
Daily adds when you do get around to taking a nice picture of yourself for your profile, avoid wearing black. Sure it’s slimming, but it won’t help you stand out in a sea of other profiles. “Wear red or have it in the background,” suggests Daily. “Red mimics the feelings of attraction and is a stand-out colour.” Translation: It will increase the number of hits on your profile.
But once you’ve enticed them with the photo, then comes the actual profile. “You want a funny headline, funny thing or two about yourself and then get out. Give them just enough information to pique their interest.”
Daily adds it’s more enticing to put little factoids about you instead of generic statements. “Don’t say, ‘I like to travel.’ Everyone writes that. Instead, write about something you ate in Paris or which side of the Notre Dame you enjoyed. The same thing that makes novels interesting makes profiles interesting.”
Just like anything else you write, don’t forget the spell check. “The technology is there, so make it work for you,” says Daily.
After all, how good your profile looks is really up to you.
