Information You Should and Shouldn’t Include in Your Online Dating Profile

If you’ve ever written a dating profile you know how difficult it can be. You’re just describing yourself, how hard can it be, right? You know who you are, you know what you like and you know what makes you fantastic and that’s just what you’re going to put in your dating profile. Wrong. If you were to write everything about you, it would take a lifetime. Even couples who have been together for decades still learn new things about each other every day. So what information should you put in to attract that suitable mate and what information should you leave out in order to not make perfectly great people move onto the next profile?

With all of the dating sites and dating profiles out in the internet universe, no one wants to sit there and read the thousands of words that you’ve written about yourself. There’s more profiles to see besides yours. Chances are the person usually takes less than a minute to decide if they are going to contact you or not. If the profile is too long, they’ll probably move on and/or just consider you long winded. If it’s too short, they’ll assume you don’t have much to say and that you’re boring. Keep your profile around 250 to 300 words. It’s long enough to give relevant information, but short enough to keep someone’s interest. Just remember that it’s best to leave something to the imagination.

Think about what characteristics in a mate are the most important to you. Include the basic requirements. If you’re 25 and not willing to date a sixty year old, you should put an age range. If you’re a man seeking a female, that’s obviously important as well. Religion, whether it matters to you if the person drinks or smokes, and location are also important tidbits of information to throw in.

Don’t dictate what you want and don’t want. State what characteristics you are and aren’t looking for, but do it in a way that doesn’t come off harsh, demanding and high maintenance. For example, don’t make a giant list of what you do and don’t like in a mate. It’s going to come across that if the person doesn’t match your exact description, they should take a walk off a cliff before even considering contacting you.

Show some humor, but avoid the stupid and corny jokes or sounding too hard on yourself. For example, a statement such as “I make a mean cheesecake. I learned to perfect it after I burned the first few I tried to make.” This statement is an example of something you’re good at, it shows that you have determination, that you don’t think you’re perfect and that you have a sense of humor. Not bad for two simple sentences.