So you’ve picked an online dating service, and are wondering about the best way to go about using it. Well, you’re in luck, because I’m going to tell you the secret methods to finding true love. Okay, maybe some of these are less than secret. In fact, a lot of them are now recognized as essential by those “in the know”.

The most important part of online dating is your profile. Even if you are hoping to be proactive and instigate most of the communicating yourself, those you email/wink/nod at will almost certainly use your profile as a way to judge their response. As such, there are a few rules to profile-making:

1.Don’t Rush It

Spend as much time as you need building your profile. Take every little mouse-click into account, and make sure that you have more than a couple of sentences in the “talk about yourself” section. If you don’t take it seriously, then neither will anyone else.

2. Give Details

You need to separate yourself from the masses, so don’t rely on “I like movies, eating out, and walks on a purty beach”. Talk about your favorite tv shows/films/music, your particular hobbies, or those things in life that make you laugh, smile, or cry.

3.Be Positive

Don’t say “I am just trying this out” or “my friends dared me to do it”. Don’t worry, nobody thinks you’re desperate – that would make them desperate as well, right? It also helps to focus on making yourself sound at least somewhat happy. After all, unless you’re part of one of those groups in which being unhappy is a virtue (Goths, ghosts, Red Sox fans), sadness isn’t an attractive trait.

4. Be Honest

Sure, you can claim to be as smart as Stephen Hawking, as funny as Robin Williams, or as hot as Catherine Zeta-Jones, but your potential mate won’t be all that impressed when you are actually more Jim Varney/Al Gore/Jabba the Hutt. Unless, of course, you actually are one of the aforementioned people. And if you’re Mrs. Zeta-Jones, that guy is too old for you… get in touch with me at pennilesswriter@lonely.com.

5. Use a Spell-Checker

Nothing is worse than reading a profile that starts with “maybe your the one for me” or something worse. Sure, we’re not all perfect, but that squiggly red line under half of your text is there for a reason. Note: this means typing things out in a word-processor, then cutting & pasting them onto your profile. This way you can also use the same text for more than one site!

6. Upload a Photo

This goes without question. A photo goes further towards getting you the right attention than any other action you could possibly take. Remember, even if you don’t consider yourself particularly attractive, there are hundreds of people that – I guarantee it – certainly will. As in #4 above, a photo is the ultimate in honesty. Think about just how important it would be to see a photo of someone whose profile you were reading!