Step #5 - Marketing Yourself in a Dating Profile

MATCHinform’s Guide to Informed Dating, Step #5 - Market your strengths effectively. Whether it is meeting someone online or in person, initial contact is the first, and maybe only, opportunity to make a good impression.

When initiating contact online, the profile equates to a resume, and the first email is a cover letter. Those who give the same attention to looking for a date as a job are the most successful. Remember that grammar, spelling and punctuation do count.

I have already mentioned this in a previous post, but I will say it again. The picture is the first thing most people will examine. Remember the famous proverb; a picture is worth a thousand words. Post pictures of that market strengths. Pictures should not advertise potential baggage or create questions. For example,

A picture with a child – First responses from a potential date may include: Whose kid is that? Is that their child? Do they have custody? What is their relationship like with their ex? The cute picture with the baby has all of a sudden provoked images of an extended family getting in the way of a date and / or an ex.

A picture with a person of the opposite sex - First responses from a potential date may include: Is that their ex? Do they still have a relationship with them? If not, then how old is that picture? Is that their best friend? Would I get along with them? The picture with the guy / girl that was inserted to prove commitment or “friendships” with attractive people, flaunts a prior relationship and a grip to the past.

The most effective pictures are solo shots where the person appears to be having a good time. Leave out pictures from weddings, group shots, family shots, and pictures with pets. When approaching a stranger, from the moment communication begins, so does the interview, and online, that begins with the picture.