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Composing your personal ad - Hints and tips on writing your online dating profile

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Honesty is essential - but remember to exercise constraint in your online dating profile!

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Example dating headlines - Real life examples to make you laugh, cry or inspire you!

Funny or foolish? - Real life example dating usernames for you to consider.

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Getting your dating photo right - Your dating photo is key to your success so get it right

Do you need a photo in your dating profile? The answer is undoubtedly yes! Read why

Dating an older man - Can be a daunting experience so read more about what to expect

Emailing for attention - You've seen a profile you like; now how do you get their attention?

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Single mums dating diary - June - Has she finally found love?

Single mums dating diary - May - A new start, new tactics and finally a new date

Single mums dating diary - April - Diappointment, more dates and more disappointment

Single mums dating diary - March - A holiday and a possible romance?

Single mums dating diary - February - First dates and some lessons learnt

Single mums dating diary - January - The decision is made, online dating here we come

COMPOSING YOUR PERSONAL AD

Creating a unique and original online dating personal ad can be a daunting prospect and does deserve some thought. Here are some simple hints and tips to get you started! Be Honest Remember that this is your opportunity to find a partner who could be with you for the rest of your life, if that is what you are looking for! At the very least you want to attract someone you actually enjoy spending time with.

So tell the truth, you want someone who is attracted to the real you, don’t you? What could be worse then anxiously getting ready for your first date knowing that the other person is expecting a tall dark haired lawyer who likes football when you are really a 5’4 blond journalist who hates sport? Don’t put yourself through it - and think how you’d feel if you found out the person you’d been talking to had lied….

Spend some time preparing
This is Important! It’s worth spending some time thinking about yourself, who you are, what makes you happy and what you want. Even if you don’t find a lifelong partner from this exercise you will probably end up knowing yourself better than you currently do – surely a good thing?

Remember the 5 P’s… Proper Preparation Prevents Poor Performance! Spending time on your profile now will prevent you kissing frogs later.

Remember this is written language not the spoken word
The way people interpret the written word can vary from the way they hear things. When you are face to face with someone you have all sorts of other indicators such as someone’s face and body language. Be careful to express yourself clearly and don’t leave it all open to interpretation. This can be especially important with things like self-depreciating humour which can be misinterpreted in the written word!

Avoid Cliches
Everyone likes to walk barefoot in the sand… Don’t sound the same as everyone else, be yourself, be unique!

This is your ad – you are selling…YOU!
And the first rule of advertising is; don’t oversell… Just don’t undersell either!  Don’t try and be too clever -  in fact don’t try too hard. Just be honest and be you, that way you’ll get someone who wants you!

Your Photograph is important
Consensus is that most people will not respond to a profile without a photograph – would you?

If you do decide to include photographs then there are some simple rules to remember. See our dating photo article for more but here's a summary:

• Make one photo an accurate representation of you as you generally are – if you normally hang out in jeans and no make up then don’t use a full glamorous shot of you in a designer evening dress made up by a professional make up artist.
• Guys, you too… think about what you would normally wear socially and include a photo of you dressed like that. If you’re not too hot with your dress sense then this could be the time to get some help?
• Smile – it’s the best way to attract people’s attention and it’ll make you look attractive.
• Don’t include your ex in the shot – or cut around them.
• Think carefully about your outfits – you in a bikini will tend to attract a certain type of guy, you in hiking boots another.
• Use a decent quality camera not just a grainy picture from a low quality phone camera.
• Make sure you can be clearly seen. You in the far distance, half behind a tree will just make potential dates wonder what you are trying to hide.
• Try and include both head and shoulder and full length shots.

Check out your headline
Some dating sites let you enter your own, some just use the first few words of your profile – be sure you know which one is the case for your dating site. Your headline should be eye-catching, different and a reflection of you. You can use quotes, a description or create something specific. We cover this topic in more detail in the profile creator. See our article, attention grabbing headlines for more information.

Consider your username
On some sites this is more prominent than your headline so give it some careful consideration. What does it say about you? Is it a nickname you had from school? Does it reflect your hobbies? People will read things into your username and make assumptions so be sure you have already considered what they might be! Our article, what's in a username? will tell you more.

Be positive
Concentrate on what you want, not what you don’t. What you like and love rather than what you hate. What is good about your life rather than what’s bad. People are attracted to positive people so think about all the good things and people will respond in the same way!

Keep it succinct but detailed enough
A good profile should be about 150-250 words in length. Too little information is as bad as too much. Imagine you are meeting someone for the first time… what would you tell them about yourself?

Check the spelling, check the grammar…then do it again and again!!
Bad spelling and grammar are a turn off and there is no excuse with word processors, so make sure you check your profile. If you misspell things or use incorrect grammar then people may make assumptions about your intelligence and education, rightly or wrongly! No one is put off by good spelling and grammar so why take the chance?

Now you got the basics for cvreating your personal ad, but what about your headline and username? Read our articles 'attention grabbing dating headlines' and 'what's in a dating username' for more help and advice!

If you are still unsure about what to write in your personal ad then for just £20 our unique online dating profile building tool will help you create an original dating profile by taking you through each step and giving you hundreds of hints, tips and examples along the way..

Don;t forget your dating photo either! Read our free article ' getting your dating photo right' or why not buy our photo e-Book to make sure your online dating profile photo really works for you and attracts the date of your dreams!

Click here to find out more about our unique dating profile building tool which can help you create your own original headline, username and profile.