Once you have decided to take the plunge and to start Internet dating, there are some important basics that you need to know.
Many people set themselves up with the expectation that love is just around the corner and will drop into their laps in an instant, metaphorically speaking but just because there are many more opportunities to date via the Internet, it doesn’t mean you will meet the love of your life in an instant.
You also need to consider that online dating can be quite hard work. If you don’t work at it, you will struggle to make a good connection. This doesn’t mean making it your complete focus each and every day but you do need to dedicate some free time to the pursuit of finding love.
Try many services
Before you sign up to some costly monthly dating services, take a good look at what there is to offer and try to check out some free options. You can join several different dating sites, because if you wish to find that special someone, it’s unlikely that everyone joins the same site.
It’s good to meet lots of different people and providing you are honest in that you want to go out and meet people and extend your social circle, you are not hurting anyone. Meeting your date for the first time can be a nerve-wracking experience anyway, so the more you practice, the greater your skill-set.
Don’t skimp on your dating profile
This is a really important aspect of Internet dating. Think of it as your sales page and invest in some time to getting it right. Allow your personality to shine through, it can be difficult to really strip away the layers of your personality just in words but you have to try so that others can really get to know the real you.
Even if you feel betrayed, hurt or bitter following a past relationship , refrain from ranting on your profile, it will only make you seem less appealing to anyone new coming into your life and it’s really not an attractive quality.
Always include a recent photo
The chances are that you will do just that anyway but those profiles without photos are less likely to receive contacts. You also need to make your profile and heading stand out.
It’s really difficult to think of some sparkling one-liners but try to avoid the mundane such as ‘woman wants man’ and make it a bit more personalised.
Double-check your profile
It’s a good idea to get someone else to double-check your profile before you get it published to the dating site. Have you managed to get your personality across? Do you sound as interesting and appealing as you really are?
Once your profile is online, you can just sit back and view all of the single people that are out there and enjoy watching those emails just dropping into your inbox.
Patrick Banks is a passionate writer, acute human observationalist and experienced
dating advisor. You can check out his advice at Wingman Magazine.