Brand new 20 online dating tips guide - sneak preview

MSE_Jenny

Hi guys,

We've written a new 20 online dating tips guide, including the top free sites, winning profiles, special offers and more.

If you've dated online in the past, we'd love to hear your feedback or any pointers you think we should add.

Huge thanks for your help
MSE Jenny

sax11

I'm not sure about point 4 'honesty is the best policy'

I don't think my ad of 'Skint - so don't expext meals/holidays/nights out ' will work

Good idea though as a lot of people can't get out and socialise due to finances or feel uneasy about socialising. Another tip is that online dating shouldn't cost. There are plenty of free ones and anything where you have to pay (Match.com for example) are a waste of money.

Scarab

Point 05 - You could always compose a standard introduction, and adapt parts to make it specific to each person, eg, "I love the fact that you're into hand-gliding".

Quite right Jenny, don't waste your time with cheesy cliches, get straight to the point! :beer:

Ozzuk

I tried both PoF and Match, I signed up for Match for 6 months and really I should have just done a month so good advice. In reality I was only on each site for 2-3 weeks or so (off an on over 6 months). Met a lot of really nice people and dating someone now that I met on match. I found PoF less 'serious' than Match and would disagree that its a waste of money. Pof seemed to be full of people sending short 'Hi' messages which is annoying.

I made my profile quite funny and honest, I had a lot of compliments for it which broke the ice in a lot of cases. I'm a guy, had a pretty good email/response rate.

One tip I find good - you mention recent photo's (a must!) but also try and avoid silly selfies and instead have ones that show you having fun, like socialising or doing a hobby - more natural. I did get frustrated after a few months, felt like I was repeating a cycle, but keep the faith, you never know what is around the corner!

Robinette

Tip 17 (Restaurant vouchers can show you're good with cash) made me chuckle. I met somebody for lunch once; at least I though we were meeting for lunch, but when the barman asked if we'd like to see the menu my date declined!

Somehow the conversation moved on to using vouchers, which I do all the time, and my date said "I couldn't do that; they would think that I'm poor." I pointed out that they were more likely to think that he was savvy, but he wasn't having any of it.

Amazingly he thought I was one of the nicest ladies he had met, but for some reason I declined his request to meet up again!

wayme

I was on a C4 program called "How to Find Love Online" last year and it's one of the best things i've ever done!

After a really bad experience with an ex, I saw a Tweet from Dawn Porter looking for people who have never tried online dating to take part in a program about...online dating! I'm not one of these who is desperate to be on TV, never even tried before then, but I thought "f**k it" and went for it.

They told me to sign up to Guardian Soulmates (this one you have to pay for; quite expensive if I remember rightly) and it was absolutely terrible. Hardly anyone in my area, hardly anyone within 100 miles! So I told them I was going to try POF. POF has LOADS of users so it's not hard to start getting messages etc from people.

I messaged a few people generally my first message would be me trying to talk about something in common that I found on their profile. Some people replied, some didn't, but it's not soul crushing or anything. I didn't respond to loads of messages and i'm sure they all survived!

I started messaging someone and then this progressed into texting. I lived in Leeds and this person Lived in Greater Manchester. I didn't want to seem desperate so said we should meet when I am around Manc in about a months time. I think this was a really big bonus. That month spent messaging meant we got to know each other quite well before we met which meant that when we actually came round to meeting in real life there wasn't so much pressure.

Anyway, skip from May 2013 to now and we are still together and about to move in together!

It does work this online dating malarky! I was a skeptic but it worked for me. My partner was the first and only person I met from online after only a few weeks of being on POF. Win, win!