Writing Online Profiles For the Un-Geniuses Among Us

Writing online profiles is the heart of online dating. Unfortunately, most people treat it like the small intestine, or maybe the gall bladder.

In other words, our dating profiles are aimed at the wrong thing. So no one reads them. And if anyone did, they would run away screaming. It doesn't take a genius to figure this out. If your only response in the last month is from a Russian computer program pretending to be a person, it's time for a change.

Nothing is wrong with that. It's a common problem. Judging from the average dating profile, it seems like it takes a genius to write one. Most profiles sound the same. They don't give you much information (other than the picture). In fact, they make dating harder for everyone online.

Fortunately for the un-geniuses among us, writing online profiles isn't that hard-- if you know how to do it.

The key is to flip your viewpoint. Stop thinking about how hard it is. Stop wondering what people will think of your profile. Stop worrying that your boss and your mom will find it and then gang up on you and make fun of you in front of 743 people.

Stop worrying about whether you're any good at writing online profiles.

In fact, stop thinking about you at all.

The true key to writing great profiles is the same as writing great ads: focus on the reader.

Figure out who they are and what they're looking for. Then write directly at them. Answers their questions before they even think to ask them, and you'll stand out in their mind and memory. They'll be ten times more likely to read your profile to the end. And they'll be ten times more likely to respond if you email them.

When I did this, I saw an immediate change in my results. And I started to have fun writing my profile. Suddenly, it wasn't like a resume for a job I did not want all that much - it was like an interaction with the real people I was going to meet. Not the same as flirting in person, I'll admit. But it is a fast-track way to get to flirt in person.