How to Start a Romance Through E-mail

E-mail can be a powerful romantic tool if used well and sensibly. Be honest, playful and patient in your electronic love letters.

Difficulty: Moderate

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Electronic Greeting Cards
• Internet Service Providers
• E-mail Accounts
• Computers

1. Set up an e-mail account with an online service, an Internet service provider or a free e-mail source such as Yahoo or Hotmail.

2. Exchange e-mail addresses with appealing people you meet online.

3. Use e-mail to augment chat sessions.

4. Be playful and positive at first, but not too personal.

5. Display your real sense of humor and always be honest.

6. Be more open after a few weeks; share your dreams, goals and beliefs.

7. Discuss your family and your past, and ask about your partner's background.

8. Write clearly and often, but not obsessively.

9. Save all the e-mail you receive from your partner for later review.

10. Plan your first face-to-face meeting, but only after trust and a bond of friendship have been established.

Tips & Warnings

• Give the relationship plenty of time to develop.
• Take advantage of men's tendency to disclose more about themselves via e-mail than in person or in chat sessions.
• Use a post office box if you exchange regular mail; don't give out your real address.
• Beware of "instant intimacy." E-mail breeds a sense of closeness quickly. Try not to use the word "love" until the two of you actually meet.
• If your partner will not reveal any personal information after several weeks of communicating, move on.

on 11/22/2005 E-mail is a great way to get to know that "special" person, but never ask a woman out through e-mail or instant message. They will think that you are too shy to really express your feelings.

on 11/22/2005 Read "On the Fringes of the Physical World" by Meghan Daum. It tells about how a woman met a man online, met him, and did not "click". The story is easy to read, and easy to identify with, if you have any experience with meeting people online.

on 11/22/2005 If possible, exchange pictures via e-mail with the other person. And if you decide to meet the other person, always do so in a public place, and only when you feel completely comfortable doing so.

on 11/22/2005 Remember to steel yourself for
disappointment at the first meeting.
No one ever looks like you imagine
them. If you're not attracted at first, give
it time, a person's personality
can make them even more attractive.

on 11/22/2005 Be yourself! If you try to pretend to be something that you're not, you will 1)attract someone who's not interested in the "real" you and 2)find it impossible to continue the charade forever!