How to Write a Profile About Yourself for an Online Dating Websites Ad

It's easy to get a date by posting ads at online dating websites. But finding Mr. Right or Ms. Right is trickier. The first step is getting the right person to respond to your online dating websites ad. Do this by targeting your ad specifically for the kind of person you're looking for. Read on for information on how to write a profile about yourself that you can use as an ad in online singles websites.

Difficulty: Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• pen
• paper
• computer
• internet access
• accounts at online dating websites

1. Keep it short. Many people wax eloquent in their profiles. But when you write a profile of yourself for an online dating websites ad, you're not writing a full biography. You're summarizing. You're making it easy for your ideal mate to tell that you're a perfect match.

2. Write a list of all the traits you want Mr. Right or Ms. Right to have, starting with the most important and working your way down.
   
   For example, not in debt, owns his own house, has dark hair, likes listening to James Taylor, keeps his kitchen clean...

3. Look at each one of the traits you just wrote down. Think about how important they are. If they are not 100% necessities, cross them off the list.
   
   For example, you may notice that you wrote "Lives within ten miles of me." But would you be willing to date someone who lives 12 miles from you? 20? 100? If the answer is yes, cross off that requirement.

4. 
   Write an online singles ad that's short and sweet and tells them who you are.

   Pick the top five traits from the list you created to include in your online dating websites ad. Leave off the rest. Shorten the traits into keywords or keyword phrases for use in your online dating websites ad.
   
   For example, you might end up with "successful" "never married" "cool hair" "adventure-loving" "wants kids."

5. Make a list describing your own personality traits. Start with the most unchangeable traits, like "I'm a morning person," and work down to the ones that might change, like "My hair is brown, short and curly."

6. From this list, pick the top 3-5 traits that you think Mr. Right or Ms. Right would most care about. Eliminate all the other traits that aren't as important to your potential mate. Come up with keywords for these, too. For example, "Loves to laugh" "career-oriented" "pretty" "a travel nut."

7. Reconsider every one of your words. Mr. Right or Ms. Right is going to look carefully at the words you use in your personals ad.
   
   Did you say anything that could spark a misunderstanding and discourage your true love from answering the personals ad? "Successful," for example. Maybe your perfect mate is somebody who hasn't "made it" yet but is on their way. If you want to keep that kind of person in the running, change successful to "ambitious" or "wants a secure future."

8. Write the headline to your profile. Take the three most important traits you're looking for and the three most important traits your mate would be looking for in you.
   
   For example, "Pretty, Career-oriented Woman who Loves to Laugh Seeking Ambitious, Adventure-Loving Man who Wants Kids."

9. Write the body of the personals ad in the style that comes naturally to you using the words from Step 4 and Step 6. Read it to your friends aloud to see if they think it sounds like you. Or, put it down for a few days and come back to it and see what you think.

10. List your ad on online dating websites and see if you get the responses you're looking for. If not, reword it to attract the right sort of responses using the same principles as outlined here. Relist the ad.

11. Now wait for Mr. Right or Ms. Right to contact you. Good luck!

Tips & Warnings

• Spend a lot of time on the wording to get the ad just right.
• The process of weeding out others to find Mr. Right or Ms. Right takes time.
• Rewriting the ad every few weeks helps you figure out better what it is you're really looking for.
• Don't measure your success by how many responses you get. After all, you're not out to end up with a hundred people.
• Always use care in meeting people over the Internet. Make sure to verify their identity and never meet them in private for the first meetings.

[tundranut]

on 2/16/2009 That was a very excellent article with clear, easy to understand directions for those of us who have NO idea how to do this. Thanks!