Online dating is becoming more and more popular – but is every dating site as good as it says? Of course not! Here’s what to keep in mind for success.

Popularity

My favorite paid dating site is Match.com. The reason why I like it is, first of all, it’s the biggest paid site on the Internet—period. If you’re going to go fishing, do you want to fish in a small pond or in a big pond with a lot of fish? If you’re going fishing, obviously you want to fish in a big pond that has a lot of fish. That’s what you’re doing when you join a site like Match.com. They have millions and millions of members all over the world.

Credibility

As far as credibility goes, a website that can stay in business for decades without losing its mass appeal and popularity is sound. A rule of thumb I live by is to join the biggest ones and avoid the smaller ones.

With smaller websites, there may be a lot of fake profiles there that only serve to keep you trudging on blindly with the hope that you’ll get these “fake” women to email you back. And, they probably will, when you’ve reached the end of your membership and they want you to upgrade.

Then, of course, if you renew, the emails will stop and you’ll get no response from the women who previously emailed you. This has probably happened to you. I know it’s happened to me. You’re not getting any messages on the sites and then you have like a week left and then all of the sudden as soon as your membership expires and you don’t renew it because you’re not getting any messages and that’s when you start getting a lot of messages from these women.

You kind of have an idea that something sketchy is going on there. What I’ve read online is that these sites will hire employees to pose as females and e-mail male members who have cancelled their subscriptions to try to get them to come back. That’s a trick that some of these lesser known sites use.

Number of Female Members

The worst thing that could happen to you online is paying for an expensive membership on a site that doesn’t have a lot of female members. That’s a situation that happens with guys all the time. Some sites will say that they have a lot of women and they’ll show you a lot of women but the women aren’t active on the site.

Sometimes they don’t let you see the exact number, or if they do let you see that, the numbers might not be accurate. That’s what they do to fool you as a consumer, as a guide to sign up. You see a lot of hot chicks and you think, “I’ll be able to e-mail all these girls,” when it’s just a bunch of BS. Stick with a popular site that you KNOW women are actually visiting.

Features For Men

Look for features that are set up for guys, such as searching using your mobile, and the really nice ones: the “who’s online” and the “who has viewed me” features. Some of the coolest features around are those that allow you to check on your results. You can see who checked out you and you can e-mail them.

What About “Winks?”

On Match.com, they call it a wink. Other sites have different names for this, such as flirts, teases, pokes or hellos. Whatever they’re called, they don’t work! A lot of guys try to do this and they wonder why they’re not getting any results. The reason why they’re giving them to you for free is because they have a proven low-response rate.

They know these things really don’t work but they’re going to appease you because you’re getting something for free. If they worked, believe me, they would charge you for it. So don’t send out the winks.

Online dating can be fruitful if you have a plan that actually will garner you success. Here’s what you’ve been doing wrong – and how to do it RIGHT!

Create A Swipe File Of Emails To Test

I can’t stress enough how important this exercise is. First, come up with your own emails, each one different from the others. Aside from the e-mails you wrote yourself, go back to the “girl” profile you set up and see what your competition is doing. When you get to the dating site, you can test every email to find out which emails get the best response.

This way, you won’t spend too much time writing hundreds of different kinds of e-mails when you’re there. You can tweak and re-tweak the e-mails for sending to different girls, or to the same girl (using different accounts).

Soon, you will start noticing patterns; not only in the way your emails get received by the girls you send them to, but also in the personality type of girls who reply in a certain way. After this, you will know exactly how to handle an email correspondence based on your tests and personal experience with the women you met.

Why Testing Is Important

Just like when people who own a website test ad spots and promotions to see what works best, you need to test your email correspondences in the same way. Testing allows you to completely weed out what doesn’t work and keep and use what DOES work.

This is a must have plan if you really want to succeed. If you simply continue to send out emails that you don’t know are successful or not, it’s going to be hit or miss. By testing and eliminating the emails that don’t work, you’re going to be hitting a lot more often.

Choose A Dating Site That Attracts The Women You Want To Meet

Every online dating site has a certain “ambiance,” not unlike a new bar you’re visiting. Some dating sites have communities or chat rooms that give off a different vibe from the rest. What you need to remember is that not all dating sites will fit your goal.

If you’re after a quick hook up and you read on the site that they’re in the business of making sure only serious-minded individuals (those who want to get hitched legally ASAP), consider yourself warned. On the other hand, if you’re looking for something deeper than a one night stand, feel out the site for a few days (or during the trial period) and observe how the women there build their profiles.

If you have an idea how to play the dating game on a matchmaking website, you will have a clearer vision of how you can tweak your testing plan.

So, are you ready? If you are, grab your fishing rod and sign up for a dating site now!

Online dating seems simple enough. You put a profile up, a few guys check it out and then you set up a meeting. As much as you would like to think that online dating is easy, there are several things that can turn a guy off very quickly. A lot of women do not realize that their pictures, profile text and usernames are so out of whack that no self-respecting guy would go near their profile.

If you are wondering why you haven’t received any emails over the last couple of weeks, you could be in the majority that has their profile set up incorrectly. Here are some fatal online dating mistakes that can cost you a date.

The Wrong Pictures

Sure, it’s great to have different pictures on your online dating profile that shows you have a ton of friends. The problem that most women have is that they put up pictures of them in nightclubs or pictures of them hanging all over other guys. Men are naturally jealous.

No matter how much confidence they have, there is still a tiny bit of insecurity embedded to resent a girl that has pictures of herself hanging all over guys. Replace the pictures of you with other guys so you have some that include you with family or enjoying your hobbies.

Being Generic

The profile is extremely important. Usually, women will just put up a few vague sentences and hope for the best. When you are dating online you want to give as much information as possible about your hobbies, what you’re looking for in a guy and what separates you from other girls on the site. If you look at other girl’s profiles you will see several common statements.

“I can enjoy a night on the couch watching a movie just as much as going out,” is one of the most frequently used statements online. Be specific about what you like to do in your free time. This insight will give you an edge over the competition.

The Wrong Username

Usernames are another pitfall that many women get into. The username that you choose is tricky. The username should not be anything that expresses weirdness or selfishness. Having a username like “princess102” is unacceptable.

You might think that you’re a princess, but guys are not going to be interested in a girl that thinks she is the center of the world. Most online dating websites will allow you to change your username for free, however, some will make you pay a small fee to change the username. Using variations on your name or a hobby as your username is a great way to avoid this mistake.

Relying Too Much On Pictures

Yes, most attraction begins on a physical level and there are guys out there that will simply email you because you’re hot. But you don’t want to rely on your pictures to get dates. Physical attraction is not enough to sustain a relationship. Establishing common interests and relationship needs is essential from the start.

You cannot establish this connection if you are simply relying on your pictures to get dates. If you are relying on your pictures you will probably not get the caliber of men that you really want. Guys that only look at the pictures posted by a girl are usually shallow and arrogant so keep this in mind when you’re creating your profile.

Responding To Every Single Message

Don’t respond to guys that you aren’t interested in just because they are emailing you. Online dating is not about finding the perfect guy, but it’s also not about taking sub-par dates. Just because a guy has expressed interest in you doesn’t mean that you’re obligated to go out with him. You’re not even obligated to respond to him. If you’re not interested in a guy, delete the message and forget about it. Never take a date from somebody whom you have nothing in common with.

Taking Too Long To Respond

When a guy emails you on an online dating site, you want to respond in a timely manner. If you’re interested in him then you can be sure that other girls are also interested. If he sends you a message, try to respond within 24 hours. If you do not respond quickly enough he could take it as a sign that you are not interested or that you are a flake.

The amount of time that you take in responding to a guy might indicate how you will be in a relationship. If you do not respond in a timely manner he could correlate this into how you will respond to phone calls or text messages. Make it a habit to log into your account once or twice a day to respond to emails.

Online dating is beginning to be the biggest way of meeting single women. If you have been considering it, but just haven’t taken the plunge, it might be time to do so. It gives you a very cheap, and sometimes free, way of meeting a lot of women very quickly. Over the last couple of years, online dating has moved into the mainstream. Meeting women on the internet is no longer for social misfits and tons of “normal” people use online dating services.

1. Approach Anxiety

Online dating is the perfect solution for men who have approach anxiety. Approach anxiety can get the best of men. Walking up to a woman in a bar or nightclub can be nerve-racking. It gives men a way to avoid approach anxiety by simply sending a message through the service. It’s much easier to send a message through a service and take the rejection of never hearing from the girl than getting a fake number or being told point blank that they’re not interested. If you have approach anxiety with women, you should definitely consider online dating.

2. It’s Similar To Facebook

It’s kind of weird that we think online dating is for losers but we are addicted to Facebook. There are tons of people who have meet significant others through Facebook, so what’s the difference? On both platforms you upload pictures and basically outline your life. If you are an avid Facebook-er then why would you feel uncomfortable with online dating? Most people who have online dating profiles use their Facebook profile pictures on the dating site. Facebook also allows people to put their relationship status on the site. If you have a “Not In Relationship” status on your Facebook account then you kind of already have an online dating profile.

3. One Month Could Equal A Year

How many dates did you go on the last year? 2 or 3? By paying a small fee you could easily go on 10 dates in one month. Depending on your work schedule and how busy you are, you can arrange to go out with multiple women in the same week. This isn’t being a player; it’s just testing the waters. Sign up for a site and see how many women you can go out on a first date with in the first month. This will save you money on the next month’s subscription and will get you on the fast track of finding somebody that you really connect with.

4. Transparency

Have you ever met a girl, gone out on a few dates with her and then found out that she didn’t want the same things as you? It’s fairly safe to say that everybody has been through this. Whether you don’t want to date a smoker, want kids some day or never want to get married, online dating gives you the solution of transparency. Obviously you will need to vet the girls and get rid of any crazies, but getting a snapshot what your potential partner wants out of life can be an asset in finding somebody that you click with well. Using the filters provided by your online dating site can easily give you a list of matches in just a few seconds. This isn’t the case with dating in the real world and can save you a lot of time and money in the long run. You will no longer be spending money on women that will not work out in a long term relationship.

5. It’s Free To Try

All online dating sites allow you to sign up for free. Most online dating sites will allow you to see a small counter of how many people have looked at your profile. Sign up for different dating sites with the same kind of profile. Watch the counter to see how many women are looking at your profile. If you don’t want to spend money on multiple sites, subscribe with the site where you’re getting the most profile views. This will save you money and put you in touch with women that are interested in meeting you.

Online dating is becoming very popular with young professionals, parents and seniors. If you have been thinking about an online dating site, sign up for free and test it out. Remember that you aren’t a creep for using it and it doesn’t make you desperate. Nobody wants to spend their life alone and online dating could be the avenue that you’ve been waiting for.