Category Archives: Profile Tips

October 4, 2012 · 4:00 pm

POSITIVITY: The Secret to a Successful Dating Profile

By Sabrina Cohen. Sabrina Cohen is a blogger, copywriter, and creative consultant for MarketSmiths.com.

If you’re old enough to vote, chances are you’ve experienced the dark side of dating. Rejection. Confusion. Disappointment. Doubt. Rage. Heartbreak.

Instead of committing to a life of celibacy, you opt to stay in the game. Why? You suddenly see a platform for change. A way to inform the masses and change the dating world forever… your MeetMoi profile!

In your pent-up stupor, you craft what you think is a passionate profile. In reality, it’s more like a dating manifesto, complete with the bitter rantings of an Alanis Morissette song (circa 1995). It likely includes something along the lines of…

LADIES: “FYI guys, it is NOT ok to offer dinner at your favorite neighborhood restaurant and then direct the taxi to your apartment instead! WTF?”

GENTS: “Look ladies, real love can’t be measured by the size of a man’s… um, stock portfolio! ”

It’s certainly tempting to vent our frustrations about dating dramas. We’ve all been there.

But before you unleash your wrath, consider how 500 words of emotional outrage would look spewed across your screen. Not attractive. Even subtle negativity can be a turnoff.

Never forget—the audience you’re preaching to is also the audience you’re courting. It’s like telling your boss you hate your job and then asking for a raise. Crazytown!

Profiles are meant to highlight your best assets. If yours reeks of scorn and cynicism, not many people will want to investigate the product behind your pitch.

Your ability to stay positive in the face of it all says a lot about your personality and your endurance. If you’ve eaten dating dirt and can still come out swinging for the fences, your confidence and strength will prove to be weapons of mass attraction—while negativity will just bring you more of the same.

So take another look at your MeetMoi profile—or ask an unbiased member of the opposite sex. Any negativity lurking? Strip it out, and let us know what you find.

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October 3, 2012 · 1:46 pm

What Really Matters On An Intro’s Profile?

By Natasha Burton

A potential Intro’s profile is your way of finding out if two would make a good match — or at least have a fun meet-up. But, the various information on a person’s profile should not be weighed equally. While you may want your taste in movies to be the same as the person’s you date, for example, whether or not someone enjoyed “The Hangover” is not as important as some of the more telling qualities an Intro’s profile will reveal for the long-run. Here are the clues for compatibility that you should really pay attention to.

The Intro’s interests

Instead of focusing on whether or not you have the same taste in music or movies — or even the same sense of humor — look for commonalities in your lifestyles. You can introduce each other to new cinematic and symphonic tastes, but you can’t change the way someone likes to live his or her life. For example, if a potential Intro enjoys hiking and you hate the great outdoors, that details matters much more than if you both enjoy jamming out to Death Cab.

The Intro’s profile photo

Of course, the photo is one of the most important and most-weighed aspects of a profile. But don’t just look at it for looks — the photo someone chooses can tell you a lot about his or her personality and confidence level. Take a close look: Is the photo self-taken? Overly Instagram-filtered? Super-posed? Is the person in costume? Is a cat in the photo? A niece or nephew? Really look at the details to determine if you’d make a good match, not just the Intro’s face and body shape.

The Intro’s age

Sure you’ll be looking at the physical stats like whatever an Intro reports for his or her height, weight and other physical attributes, but these aren’t as important as age. If you’re a guy who wants to play the field, know that many single women in their early 30s might be looking to settle down.

What the Intro is looking for 

In that same vein, you want to really pay attention to what an Intro says he or she wants to get out of dating. Of course, it’s important to look at the qualities he or she might be looking for in a partner to make sure you meet them, but it’s even more important to understand the kind of relationship he or she is looking for. If a guy says he’s still sowing those wild oats, believe him and don’t expect him to want to be in a relationship. If a woman says she just wanted to have fun, she probably isn’t wanting to be a wife any time soon. And if an Intro is adamant about settling down, don’t waste his or her time because you just want to have a fling and you find the person attractive. That’s how you get bad dating ju-ju.

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August 31, 2012 · 5:14 pm

A Guide to Dating Profile Pictures: Avoid including exes, booze, and/or nudity

by Jackie Potts

Do you cave under the pressure of choosing a 160×160 pixel profile photo to separate you from the dating throngs?

When it comes to mobile dating, we all want to stand out. Here at MeetMoi, we also want you to have more quality dates—not be mistaken as the newest cast member of Jersey Shore.

Here are some photo Do’s and Don’ts to help you succeed:

Guys

  1. Do get a shot of yourself doing something fun or active outdoors, or in natural light. Jogging, walking along the pier, or sitting at an outdoor café are all good choices as long as your face can be clearly seen…and your shirt is ON (see below).
  2. Don’t wear hats, sunglasses, or humorous wigs.  Ladies really want to see your whole glorious head, so don’t cover up with accessories. And P.S.: Bald is sexy! Jason Taylor. Taye Diggs. Jason Statham.
  3. Don’t pose next to your motorcycle or muscle car. It’s swell that you ride a cruiser, but when some ladies see engines, they think, My hair will get thrashed, not I MUST have him.
  4. Don’t listen to your wingman. Not all chicks love Ed Hardy!
  5. Don’t shoot yourself…shirtless. Pics taken at the computer are a little too “To Catch a Predator.” Walk 15 feet to the outside of your apartment to take a photo.
  6. Don’t flash gang signs. You never know when your parole officer might be cruising online.

Ladies

  1. Do include a recent photo—waist up. Pop in some feminine details, like a flower in your hair or a colorful top. It’s OK to show some shoulder or neck, but please keep the “ladies” part of you sufficiently covered. Having a magnificent rack is wonderful, but why not let the mystery unfold in a more organic way?
  2. Don’t make the fishface. So you don’t have Angelina Jolie’s cheekbones (who does?!). The only date you’re going to attract by sucking in those cheeks, sister, lives underwater and knows Nemo.
  3. Don’t substitute your pet for your photo. We agree, Lady PawPaw is adorable but she’s not going to help you land that hottie!
  4. Don’t zoom in on a single body part. Yes, you do have nice elbows. But most guys like to see eyes (2) and a mouth (1). Self-conscious about your weight? You can contour your face with makeup or try a slimming pose (we’ll tell you how in a future post!).
  5. Don’t stand so far away. Hellloooo, cutie! Is that you way back there behind those trees and that flock of geese? Try to stay within five feet of the camera lens. This isn’t Google Earth!

Everyone! Avoid including exes, booze, and/or nudity.

We hope these suggestions ease your anxiety. Did we miss something? Tell us your dating photo Do’s and Don’t’s!

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August 28, 2012 · 3:12 pm

What To Do If Your Intro Looks Nothing Like His or Her Picture

By Natasha Burton

There’s an adage about online dating that, upon viewing a potential intro’s profile, you should subtract a couple inches from a man’s disclosed height and add a couple pounds to a woman’s weight. Whether or not most people actually lie on their profiles is unclear, but many daters have reported this phenomenon from their own experience.

The issue with fibbing in one’s profile is not so much the fact that someone is actually shorter (or larger) than they claim but more the questions that this disparity creates: Is lying on one’s profile a red flag? Should the discrepancy between reported body size and reality be brought up or go politely unmentioned? Here’s what to do to handle the situation with grace.

1. Kindly hide your shock.

A friend of mine went date with a guy who claimed to be 5’8″ and turned out to be well under five feet. To say she was shocked would be an understatement — and rightly so. But, unless you are a terribly cruel person, don’t lead with “Wow, you look nothing like your picture/what you said you looked like on your profile” upon meeting your Intro if something similar happens to you. At the beginning of a meet-up you should focus on trying to get to know a person for who they really are. Show restraint so you don’t end up hurting your date’s feelings — and ruining your changes with a great potential partner because you couldn’t look beyond the physical.

2. Ask nicely.

There is nothing wrong with bringing up the fact that your date may have stretched the truth on his or her profile during the date in a kind, inquisitive way. In the case of my friend, she discovered that her date was having a hard time getting past the messaging stage —  no one wanted to meet up with him because of his short stature, so he changed his height on his profile. The thing is, your date knows that he or she put information that could be misleading, whether through facts or by posting old photos, so if you don’t bring this up there will be an elephant in the room the entire date. Being honest and upfront can actually be the polite thing to do in order to clear the air. Say something simple and to the point like: “I can’t help but notice that you seem to look quite different than the information you put on your profile,” and allow your date to explain.

3. Evaluate the circumstances

In my friend’s case, her date’s impatience about not being able to get women to go out with him — and therefore modifying his profile to change that — was a deal breaker.  Instead of finding someone who was interested in him for him, he was essentially duping women into giving him a chance. But other people’s fibs might not be red flags: like the woman who gained 20 pounds because she’s still recovering from surgery, or a guy who says he’s just two inches taller than he really is so he can select a higher “height bracket.” These “lies” are either temporary, presumably, or minor and they shouldn’t skew your opinion of someone. Plus, if a couple inches (or pounds) are dealbreakers for you, you might want to reevaluate your dating parameters: As a long-standing adage claims: It’s what’s on the inside that counts.

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August 20, 2012 · 2:47 pm

Guys: Does Your Profile Make You Look Creepy?

By Natasha Burton

Writing a dating profile can be a daunting task: You want to come off as cool, but not completely unapproachable, excited to meet someone but certainly not desperate. Typically, guys tend to have a bit more trouble creating these digital dating resumes, so here are five tips to help you start enticing the kind of Intros you want to meet-up with — without coming off as conceited or creepy.

Stay away from generic physical must-haves

Many people include qualities they would like to find in a potential partner on their profiles. And I would argue that most people want to find someone who is good-looking — that’s just a given. But guys should avoid listing characteristics like “beautiful” and “fit” in their “must-haves.” Even though these qualities are kind of like, well, duh!, including them can immediately mark you as shallow to a potential intro.

Balance inner and outer beauty

Make sure the qualities you are looking for in a woman go beyond the physical and the fun. Most guys do want to date women who are kind and generous, but they often won’t list these characteristics on a profile. Make sure you show that you are indeed looking for more than just a gal who’s easy on the eyes and and good in bed  – not only does it show that you actually have a bit of depth to you but it will help you find a woman of substance. Also, on a somewhat unrelated note, never say you are looking for a woman who is “sensual.” That really creeps girls out.

Don’t make your requirements read like a job posting

When listing what you want in a woman, balance specificity with a conversational tone. Words like “communicative” can sound a bit sterile and should be swapped for “easy to talk to” — even if it costs you extra characters in the description box. It’s better to sound more laid back than it is to be concise in this case.

Make sure you include what you have to offer

If you list 14 qualities you want in a woman, you best believe you should be listing just as many that you have to offer her back — unless you want to come off as a self-involved jerk. After all, a woman who is amazing enough to fit all of you wants is likely smart enough to know that she’s worth finding someone amazing in return. If you’re not sure exactly what to put down as your best qualities try answering these questions to show your personality and life goals: What do your friends love about you? What would you do if you didn’t have to work?

Choose photos wisely

Aside from your specs, your pictures are the most important part of your profile. But, understandably, it’s hard to present your best self in a totally natural way. To avoid putting up photos that look posey or trying-too-hard,  find a candid snapshot of yourself (or ask a friend to take one when you’re not expecting it), then add some images that show your personality (you dressed up for Halloween, you playing Guitar Hero). A few other tips: No shirtless pics, no photos of you with other women (unless it’s clear that these women are you mom, sister, or best friend) and no staged pics with you car, gun collection or chinchilla.

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