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If you have spent any time on a dating app or website, you will probably have noticed fewer swipes and messages than you had hoped for upon registration. Rather than get frustrated or give up and delete your account, be sure you are doing everything you can to prevent self-sabotaging your profile.
Photos
Do you have four to six photos? Did you remember to use photos without sunglasses? Are you looking at the camera? Are you in the photos? Did you remember to crop excess space and people in your photos? Did you remember not to use selfies? Are you using natural, candid photos from traveling, being out and about with friends, special event, sporting event, concert etc? Are these photos unique and help tell a story? Did you remove duplicate photos that are too similar to others in your profile? Do you look flattering? Did you leave out the photos of you and your neck down, feet, breasts, abs or silhouette?
If you said no to any or most of these questions, you might want to update the photos in your profile. For apps focusing on volume swiping like Tinder and Bumble, photos are the first thing people take notice of and with that, the old adage holds true: You are only as good looking as your worst photo. You don’t need modeling photos or professional photos but you should show how you look like dressed up, on a regular basis, experiencing a unique event or travel location, or surrounded by great company.
Bio
Now that you have addressed the photos take a look at your bio section. Chances are it could use some love. Did you use forget to use spell check? Did you remember to use fewer adjectives and focus on descriptions, nouns and hobbies? Did you remember to keep your bio short and to the point? If you have written you are smart, sweet, traveler, foodie, sexy, driven etc. please delete your bio and start over again. Everyone like to eat and travel. Add some quirkiness, randomness, wittiness, self-deprecating humor or contradicting descriptions to your bio. Here are some examples:
-Avid flosser, closet Rose lover, stereotypical engineer by day and my day starts after coffee #2.
-Sucker for Paul Rudd rom-coms, secret man crush on John Oliver, the last person on earth to discover S-Town and the least limber person in my yoga class.
-NYC transplant (trying to find all my NYC spots and moments in SF), nothing beats a gin cocktail at Whitechapel or margarita at Nopa after a walk in GGP, love exploring all the street art SF has to offer (check out my IG for recommendations),
-EaterSF is my homepage, analytics geek by day, wannabe photographer at night and weekends and in constant pursuit of all the best waterfall hikes in the Bay Area
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This post was originally published on the author’s website and is republished here with his permission.
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Hey, Good Men Project readers! Did you know our partner MeetMindful is a dating site for conscious men and women? They can help you find what you are looking for.
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Related, here on GMP:
Online Dating: Avoiding Disappointment When You Finally Meet Offline
So it’s finally time to meet offline, how exciting!! Minimize your worry (and disappointment) by taking some simple pre-date precautions.
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Photo credit: Getty Images