How To Stand Out in Online Dating

Believe it or not, most people are just like everyone else on the scene and the formula of what supposedly works best falls shorter than one is led to believe.

For example, having a kick ass header is not all it's cracked up to be. So often people try way to hard to sound cool or sexy. No one really wants to date a man who claims, "Romeo Searching For His Juliet." Yawn. Nor does a man want to date a woman who touts, “Carrie Searching For Her Mr. Big!” What people truly want to read is something that is understated yet unique. "Where Have All The Cowboy's Gone?" That works. It calls out to a type of man but it's not desperate sounding. It's clever. And it says that the writer is a fan of 1990's music which in turn, dates the person as older than 20-years-old. The right kind of man for this particular kind of woman will immediately hone in on this profile (and have Paula Cole’s tune in his had all day long as a polite reminder to answer the darn ad).

Another tip? Don't post photos of yourself on vacation. You might THINK it's attracting the opposite sex but all it does it make you look incredibly forced. How often do you REALLY walk along the beach, holding up a cosmopolitan drink with your girlfriends? Not often enough to claim the photo is an honest depiction of your self. It's best to have a photo taken as you do what you actually do on a daily basis. Perhaps a photo as you are training for a marathon, playing with a pet, or cooking over a stove? The best photo I've ever seen posted was one of a man watching television with his feet up. That caught my eye. That says to me that he likes to wind down with a mind numbing interest, after working a stressful job. More importantly, it says he has a sense of humor.

Third? Don't bring up an ex husband or wife. Your status will state whether or not you are single, divorced, widowed or married. Let the reader read between those lines. You are not dating to discuss an ex-partner. You are dating to meet the new partner. Leave the "ex"ess baggage where it belongs – in the past and not at the table in the restaurant.

And finally, don't lie about your age. Don't lie about being a driver. Don't lie about your height or your weight. Do not lie about anything. You never know when the right person will want to meet you and asks you to take a drive to his or her town where you will go ballroom dancing, head to head and neck to neck. The truth will be revealed in the worst way and no matter how charming you were with the photo taken forty pounds ago, next to your brother’s sports car, real life catches up in the end.

Most importantly, have a great time with your profile. Your enthusiasm will be infectious and all a potential suitor wishes for is a man or woman with whom they can smile.