Adventures in Dating

Princess Di, not Mother Teresa

A picture is worth a thousand words.

It's a cliche, but when it comes to online dating, that saying is so true. 

Guys are visual, so your online dating photo is crucial. They are attracted to you physically or they aren't.
Use at least two photos for your online dating profile - a headshot and a full body shot. Have a professional photographer take the photos, and if that is not an option, have a friend do it. But make sure you glam up beforehand. Get a makeover (don't forget the false eyelashes, which make your eyes pop)! I can't tell you how many clients have changed their look, gotten professional photos taken, and gotten way more hits! 
The written part of the profile is important too, but not in a way many women think. It's better to leave the heavy duty personal stuff out. They don't care - at least not right away - about your hopes and dreams. Just keep it very light, short, sweet and visual.

I know a Rules girl who uploaded a photo, went to write her profile and stopped halfway through because she got interrupted, and guys emailed her like crazy anyway. When men asked why her profile was sparse, she said she had been too busy to finish it, which was the truth! A rulesy answer if there ever was one.

If you say too much you run the risk of boring him. You lose your mystery. Don't get too deep here, even if you are deep, because guys aren't going to initially fall for you because you are deep, and they will be turned off if you get too intense or emotional, or are angry sounding.

The headline that goes with the profile should also be visual, it should describe you physically.
If you are inclined to write in your profile that you admire a humanitarian like Mother Teresa, perhaps hold off on that sentiment and include which celebrity you admire or which celeb you look like.

When I first put up an online profile, I consulted with Rules authors Ellen Fein and Sherrie Schneider about mine. In my original profile draft, I wrote that I admired Mother Teresa. Ellen and Sherrie told me to take that out and instead write that I admired Princess Di. This exchange is detailed in the original online dating rules book, "The Rules for Online Dating.'' Page 39 highlights our back and forth. I was fairly new to The Rules and didn't realize then just how visual my profile should be. 

While I love Mother Teresa and will always admire what she has done for humanity, I realized then what they were getting at. Guys might appreciate Mother Teresa and her great deeds, but they probably wouldn't be attracted to her physically and would not want to date her. Through my words, I needed to convey hot, sexy, light and breezy.

You get the picture!
For more tips, contact Karenna Alexander at [email protected]