I would first like to talk about what you should and shouldn’t do with your online dating profile. I hope that these tips will help you in finding that special someone. All of the advice that I am about to provide can be used on any dating site.

What you should do in your dating profile:

- Talk about specific things that interest you.
- Provide an explanation about why you like or don’t like things and the goals you have.
- Encourage users to disagree or agree with you – it becomes a good conversation starter.
- Maintain positivity in your profile and avoid negativity.
- Make your profile yours and have fun with it.
- Post positive photos: pictures of you doing something interesting and fun.
- See who has been viewing your profile and send them a message.
- Try to use colorful adjectives to create a positive perception of you.

Here are the things you shouldn’t do in your profile.

- Avoid leaving portions of your profile blank. Make sure to fill out everything.
- Don’t list all the things you want in someone else — you never know who you’ll click with.
- Don’t mention sadness or depression — stay positive!
- Don’t use vulgar language to describe the opposite sex.
- Don’t make your profile too long, or too short. Try and keep your entire profile less than 600 words.
- Lastly, don’t just list your favorite activities or interests – talk about them. Describe what happened one day when you did something and even post pictures to show everyone.

Let’s move on to messaging. Sending a message to the person you like for the first time is very important. You don’t want to seem too pushy or put too much pressure on the person to reply, that only makes you seem desperate. Stay positive when you’re sending messages. Read over their profile and find things that are interesting to you and talk about them in the message. When you send your messages, try ending it in a question or some extra information that makes them want to reply. This keeps the conversation going.

There are a few things to avoid when messaging the opposite sex (or same sex) when using an online dating site. Don’t keep messaging the person if they seem uninterested. Someone who is uninterested usually gives one line replies, doesn’t message you back at all or declines to meet with you. Avoid talking off-topic, meaning if they’re not talking about it and it’s not in their profile – don’t bring it up. Lastly, I just wanted to say again that if they don’t respond the first time – go ahead and move on.