Advice for Men: How to Create a Compelling Dating Profile

I’ve been doing online dating for well over a year and, while I can’t call myself an expert, I’ve made many observations. But wait. Maybe I am an expert, because, let’s face it, anyone who has tried nine different dating sites, interacted with close to two hundred men, and looked at more than five hundred profiles, is an expert, isn’t she? So I am an expert, and I have what I hope is helpful advice for all you men out there who are swimming in the turbulent waters of online dating. Some of this stuff should be common sense but…well, clearly it isn’t. So here goes.

Guys, take a decent picture of yourself! And that means not sitting in your car, in the bathroom mirror with the toilet in the background, or with other people in the picture (it’s bad form to post someone else’s photo on a dating site, plus no one should have to wonder which one is you, or who the woman is that’s next to you in the photo). Your profile photo is how you first grab someone’s attention, so make it count! If your main profile photo is turned on its side, taken from far away, too close, too blurry, or you look like you haven’t showered in three weeks, your prospective dates will move on to the next guy. Trust me on this.

And I see so many profile pics of men who aren’t even cracking a smile. Seriously, some of them look as if they’ve just lost their best friend. Smiles and eye contact are how humans make connections with other humans. And making a connection with another human is what you’re trying to do, aren’t you? I hope so, or why bother? A genuine smile can transform your face, make you look approachable and friendly, maybe even make you look younger and more handsome. Genuine smiles grab people’s attention. So take a deep breath and SMILE. Practice in the mirror if you have to, but get it down.

Once you have the smile mastered, put on a nice shirt in a flattering color, comb your hair, stand up straight (Yes, stand. Please don’t take a selfie while sitting in your recliner or lying on the couch.), focus on your head and shoulders (i.e., your face), look right in the camera, smile, and snap that picture. Keep on snapping until you get a good one. Try different angles. Try different smiles. Keep on snapping. Ideally, you should have ten or even twenty photos to choose from. If you can’t decide which one is best, show your photos to a trusted friend and get their opinion.

And you know that fancy phone you pay top dollar for each month? Guess what? It has a selfie function. It also has a timer. So you can either take a photo of yourself with the selfie function, or—if you want a full body shot—you can prop up the phone to point at you (books work well), press the timer, get in position, and snap your picture. This means that it is completely unnecessary to take your photo in the bathroom mirror. Yep, it is absolutely, positively, completely unnecessary to take your photo in the bathroom mirror. Please don’t do it.

If you really want to get serious about getting a good full body shot, buy yourself an Echo Look, available from Amazon. This nifty little machine will take a full body selfie in the blink of an eye—no books or bathroom mirrors required. Yes, for real. I have one so I know.

And this next part should go without saying, but clearly not everyone got the memo. No dick pics. No guns, knives or other weapons. No photos of you in your Spider-Man costume. No pics of nothing but your torso. No memes. No pictures of inanimate objects. Any of these will have very limited appeal, and some of them will get you kicked off the dating site in short order (I’m a moderator on one of the sites, so trust me on this one). Any dating site requires that your main profile picture be of you, which means your face. If it’s not, someone will report you and you will be removed. Period.

Once you have a good photo of yourself, upload it. If it appears tilted on its side, FIX IT! No one can see you properly when your picture is sideways, and this looks silly and amateurish. Why is this important? Because you want them to see YOU. So please don’t post a sideways pic. If you crop the photo on top and bottom, sideways pics won’t happen. So crop the photo and upload it again. Keep cropping until the picture displays right side up.

Once you have a good photo of yourself, move on to the written part of your profile. You don’t have to write a novel, but you do have to say more than, “I’m a simple guy looking for a simple girl.” You think I’m joking, but sadly I am not. I know it’s not the most romantic idea, but think of the written profile sort of like a job interview. How are you going to stand out among all the other candidates? You’re going to stand out by crafting an engaging and insightful written profile. Think about who you are. What’s important to you? How would you describe your personality? What qualities are you looking for in a partner? What qualities will you offer a partner? What do you enjoy doing in your spare time? What do you value? Write about that. Aim for two paragraphs— or even three—all about you. Be honest, but not too honest. At this point in the game, no one needs to know that you have six fingers or that you still live with your mother. If you make a love connection with someone, there will be plenty of time to share all your quirks and imperfections.

And lastly, please take care with spelling and grammar in your profile—errors can be a real turn off.

Read through what you’ve written, and then read it again. Better yet, show it to a friend and have them critique it. Tinker with it until it’s perfect.

You now should have all the elements of an effective dating profile, and you’re well on your way to finding someone fabulous. Do let me know how it goes for you.

NEXT TIME: Writing that all-important first message.