How to Make a Profile Introduction for a Personal Ad
Your profile introduction is one of the most important aspects of your online personal ad and at the same time, for most people, one of the hardest to craft well. People have a difficult time describing themselves in writing. That's why most profile introductions either all sound alike or are so outrageously different that they scare others off. The best profile introduction reflects what you would share the first time you meet another person. The components of a solid profile introduction are a headline, a description of yourself and a description of the person and type of relationship you're looking for.
Other People Are Reading
Instructions
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Read others people's profiles. Explore how they describe themselves and what they're looking for. Make note of what you like and don't like about others' profiles to give you inspiration for your profile and clues on what to avoid.
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Compose a catchy headline, one that is short, attention-grabbing, original and memorable. Pick one significant aspect to highlight and design your headline around that, rather than try to sum up your entire self and relationship search in a dozen words or less.
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Describe yourself, starting with what you do for work. Write a brief bit about your education and career aspirations. Move on from there to what you do for recreation. Describe activities you enjoy, your friends and family and how you spend your time away from work. Include anything else that you believe makes you unique.
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Describe what you're looking for in a person and a relationship. Help the people reading your profile to know whether they're even a potential candidate for you or not. Don't be restrictive about limitations that aren't essential to you, but do note criteria that you consider absolutes. Follow that up with what you're looking for in a relationship; if you're looking for a potential mate, let those who are only seeking casual acquaintances know, so they can look elsewhere.
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Proofread your writing. Check over your profile introduction for spelling and typographical errors before you submit it. Posting a sloppily written profile can turn many people off, so take a few minutes to read over what you've written and make sure it is clear and free of errors.
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Tips & Warnings
Write your profile introduction like you speak. A conversational tone is best in a dating profile. Don't try to be literary or poetic, just be yourself.
Revisit and revise as often as necessary. A personal ad profile introduction is not a static entity that, once you write it, is finished and behind you. People change and your profile should reflect any significant changes about you. It's also wise to analyze how well (or poorly) your introduction is doing at eliciting replies and adjust it as necessary.
Avoid oversharing. Think about whether you'd tell each detail in your profile introduction to someone you're meeting in person for the first time, and if you wouldn't, cross it out.
Avoid clichés and subjective descriptions that could apply to anyone. Everyone thinks they're honest, spontaneous and have a good sense of humor.
Avoid sexual innuendo. Everyone has a sexual appetite, but when you're first meeting someone isn't the time to bring it up. Assume everyone else on a dating site also likes sex and leave the rest of that discussion for later, once you get to know someone better.
Avoid negatives. Don't talk about past failed relationships or what you don't like about yourself. That's just giving people a good reason to skip over you.
Don't lie. It will only make your first encounters worse when your date discovers you tricked them into meeting you. And by the way, exaggerations are lies, too.
References
Resources
- Photo Credit dating couple image by Mat Hayward from Fotolia.com
