Looking to spice up your single life a little?, add some
romance?... or maybe find that perfect love connection?
Cool! - jump in, the online dating waters are just fine. And by
the way, you'll encounter over 3 MILLION others already
splashing around when you do decide to take the plunge. So
you'll have lots of new and interesting company.
If
you're new, or relatively new to the online dating scene, this
article will get you headed down the right path. Follow the tips
and recommendations presented here and your initial experiences
will be more enjoyable and yield better results.
Do a
search of "online dating", and you'll be presented with more
than 2.9 MILLION web pages from which to make your selection!
Hmm, a bit overwhelming to say the least. But don't let the huge
numbers discourage you. Try the selection method below, and you
can easily find your perfect dating site match.
Your
first order of business, as stated above, will be getting
matched up with one or more dating sites that fit you and your
needs. The questions below should help you narrow things down.
What Type Dating Site?
Plain Vanilla - no ethnic,
religious or cultural themes. Black/Ebony/African American,
Asian, Italian, Christian, Senior Citizen, the choices are
numerous.
Do some searching using the terms below as a
guide.
"online dating" + senior
"online dating" +
Christian
"online dating" + ebony OR black OR African
American
"online dating" + Asian
"online dating" +
Get the idea? A search on each of the examples above will yield
pretty much what you would expect.
If you're on a tight
budget, just add the word "free".
"online dating" + free
"online dating" + senior + free ...etc.
A note about free
sites..., REALLY FREE dating sites with lots of members, and
lots of member services, and activity are pretty hard to come
by. You'll understand better after you do a few searches for
free dating websites.
A search for dating reviews and
forums can be helpful also.
"online dating" + reviews
"online dating" + forum
With the dating related forums
you can read about good and bad experiences others have had with
particular dating and personals web sites.
Dating
services reviews will give you some good info as well. Look for
genuine, unbiased reviews. Many of the dating reviews sites out
there are willy-nilly listings someone threw together to earn
commissions.
Another way to find good dating sites, is by
asking friends and co-workers who may have tried, or are using
online dating or personals services. You may be surprised to
find out how many of your friends are members of some personals
site or other.
How Much?
Monthly fees vary widely,
but the average is around $24. Most dating/singles sites will
give you a discount if you pay for 2, 3, 6 or 12 months in
advance.
I would suggest you only buy into a one month
membership with any new dating service you join. If you decide
you like it, then extend your membership. If you don't like the
service, you've cut your loses, and avoided the hassles of
requesting a refund, or canceling billing.
Tight Budget
Dating Tip: Most free dating sites have low activity, and member
activity is what makes personals and dating sites tick.
Solution: Join 3, 4 or more free dating sites. If you find that
their combined activity serves your needs... you're good to go.
If not, you'll have gained a good familiarity with online
dating, and a better understanding of what you want, when and if
you decide to plunk down some bucks for a paid membership.
Telling Your Pool-Side Story
Now write your story (aka:
member profile). No great detail, just write like you're writing
to the man or woman you seek.
Write a little about you.
State one or more of your unique qualities. Write a little about
the person you're seeking.
You'll save some time if you
write and save all your profile data to a text editor or word
processor file. Then, you can COPY and PASTE it to the proper
area of your online dating profile.
As things change, and
as you grow, you will want to update and modify your profile
statements.
A Picture Is Worth a Thousand Words
You will generally get 3 to 10 times better response with a
posted photo than without. People don't generally dwell too long
on profiles with no photos... so take the hint.
If you
don't have a digital camera, web cam or scanner, take a few
photos and a diskette to your local OfficeDepot, Staple or
office supply store. They should be able to scan you photos to
diskette. Then you can easily add one or more to your dating
site profile. You could also ask friends and relatives who own a
digital camera or scanner.
Digital cameras, web cams, and
scanners are very inexpensive these days. Check eBay for some of
the best deals.
Stay Focused and On-Track
You may
want to start a journal, (on paper, or in a text file) to log
your "love search" progress. Make notes of URL links of sites
you liked, new member specials, monthly fees, member benefits
and services, restrictions, etc.
When I first started, I
also wrote out a statement describing what I wanted to
accomplish by joining a dating site. You may want to do the
same. These statements, and a journal will help keep you focused
and organized. Organized endeavors always yield greater results
than haphazard approaches.
Date-Safe Policies
This
is actually part of the title of an upcoming article, but I
mention it here to stress use of common sense, safety and
caution when dealing with ANY dating situation - on or offline.
Now... jump in your skivvies and take the dive!
© 2005
KnowledgeTree. All rights reserved.
About the Author:
C Raymond Merrick, owner of Dating Secrets at:
http://dating.niche-links.com/ Visit and discover some of
the best dating tips, information, free and fun dating and
personals resources available.