How to write Online Dating Profile

'Single white female, 25, loves dogs, red wine, and walking on the beach.'

You may believe this says a lot about you, but when you are one of hundreds or thousands of possible candidates in the expansive world of online dating, a profile such as this will not draw much attention.

It is bland, uninteresting and outdated. Those who do happen to read this profile might think its creator too is bland, uninteresting and outdated and they will more than likely move on without ever looking back.

If you want other daters to take notice of you, the online dating profile you create needs to be unique, captivating, positive, honest, and even a bit humorous. Your photo will draw some amount of attention, but what others actually want to know about is the person behind the image. The one and only way they can do so is by reading what you have written about who you are.

When you create your online dating profile, it is not necessarily how much you write but what you write that matters. When people are scanning through hundreds of profiles, less and to the point is often much better. Imagine your profile as a marketing tool and you are the product being offered.

To start, your profile needs to catch the reader's attention. The best way to achieve this is by writing a catchy opening. Make it interesting and intriguing because the object here is to make the reader want to carry on past the introduction. Try to keep your sentences reasonably short as they have been proven to work best.

You then need to go on to listing your benefits, which in an online dating profile are your likes and dislikes, attributes, and your goals in life. Listing your vital statistics such as height, weight, build and perhaps your occupation helps the reader create a mental picture of you.

After that, go on to describe your personality. This involves mentioning the things you like doing in your spare time, your goals and aspirations, where you have lived, the things that make you smile, and what you are looking for in a companion. Always sound positive because mentioning all the bad things that have happened to you is a real turn off.

If this all sounds like a lot to write, then it probably is especially when writing is not one of your strengths. However most of the online dating sites offer help with dating profile creation. Some use a fill in the blanks type form where you can select various answers from ready made lists or just answer yes or no to set questions. Another useful approach is to read other peoples profiles that capture your attention. Look at how they are written, the words being used and the message being conveyed. You can utilise these as models for your own profile.

It is usually a good idea to create a rough outline of your online dating profile in a word processor where misspellings and grammar errors can be found and corrected. When you have finished, put your profile to one side for a day or so, then reread it to make sure it conveys the right image. When you are happy with what you have written, move it to your online profile. Revisit the online dating profile from time to time and make changes as needed.