Men's Success in the Online Dating Game

There are several ways to get more replies when answering personals ads and increase your chances when it comes to the competitive Online Dating Game:

Try to always include your picture when responding to an ad.
When it comes to internet dating as you may already know, there is plenty of competition, expecially for guys. Women typically receive more responses than they can handle when they place a personals ad on the web. Here is where you must give yourself an opportunity to STAND OUT from the crowd and give them a reason to want to write back to you. Including your photo accomplishes exactly that: if your potential mate knows what you look like, she is more likely to reply to your ad. Of course, the odds of getting a reply from an ad depends on the quality of the picture. It is suggested that a professional photographer or service completes this task for you in order to give you the proper edge. For services that allow more than one photo, you may consider both a face close-up and a body shot.

If not, you can sometimes use software such as MS Paint to produce a collage of several pictures - this may also produce the unique effect that is needed in order to make you stand out from the crowd. You can insert the picture into the email so that download is not necessary or better yet, build your own website! This will give you the freedom to include all the personal information and photos on the site and let you simply include a link to your website in any email or message board saving you MUCH time and effort, etc. There are numerous services on the web that offer completely free websites: Yahoo Geocities, Homestead, Tripod, etc.

Write a friendly 'impact' note that includes something about yourself.
This should again be a creative statement that would separate you from the crowd and efectively produce an impact on the reader. Is should also include why you are interested in the person you're writing to. It's also very important to list some of your vital statistics such as:

Name (If you wish to sound more personable)
Age
Height
Eye / Hair Color
Body Build
Profession
Location
Hobbies
Background

Listing your statistics vertically makes it simple to read.

Keep the message short and to the point!
A person reading numerous emails will probably NOT read or finish reading the long biographical or philosophical essay about your life. One or two paragraphs should be optimal for this purpose.

Do not BULK email!
If you send several identical messages in response to several ads, it will not only be ineffective, but may also turn that person off. A lady wants to feel special and your response to her should reflect this. Although time is understandbly short, you should still take the time to pick out a certain distinguishing quality about the person and respond accordingly. You may still keep a good chunk such "your description" part of your Email the same.

Come across HONEST and GOOD-NATURED.
Nothing worse than a tacky, rude, or an obviously exaggerated statement in your email. Being complimentary to the poster's ad and her ideas / intentions as well as stating why can be VERY effective in bringing you closer to that person and therefore increasing your chances for a response.

Respond to many ads.
Do not be OVERLY agressive, but try to meet as many people as possible. Meeting more people offers you the opportunity to make the best choice. It will also allow you to always have someone to email, chat, and hang out with.

If at first you don't succeed, try again!
If there is a person who you contacted and are truly interested in, but did not get a response on the first try, you should send them another message. There may a legitimate reason that prevented that person from responding to you. However, do not hastle the person with numerous emails or instant messages - there is no greater TURN-OFF especially for the ladies than this type of online harrassment! This is a fact, and has been the subject of many online studies.

DO NOT give up!
Be persistent in your search and try many different online services, groups, message boards, clubs, whatever you may choose to not only increase your chances of meeting your mate, but to provide you with enough practice and confidence in getting there! Hard work and persistence never fail.

- by Jerry, Featured Guest Writer

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