Plenty of people use internet \’dating\’ sites these days to find that a special person to share their life with. Most of those who use such sites are fairly familiar with how they work, and some of the basic dating site features.

However, many people make some very common mistakes when using online dating sites, and in this article I\’m going to give you some tips and tricks to make things easier for you. Most of them fall into the category of \’common sense\’, but you\’d be surprised how many people don\’t consider these things.

First tip is to write more than a few words on your dating site profile page. Writing something like \’Just ask\’ or \’hi\’ is not going to get you the results you want. People expect more. Write at least four sentences and really try to \’sell\’ yourself by writing something interesting and unique. You want words that capture the reader\’s attention, so don\’t write bland and repetitive text.

A \’trick\’ here is that if you don\’t feel confident writing the profile information, get a friend to help you. Or look on other people\’s profiles for inspiration. You may want to cut-and-paste someone else\’s profile information, and change a few details to suit your situation. Remember though that you shouldn\’t give false information in your profile, so if you borrow someone else\’s text, make sure you customise it and make it an accurate reflection of you.

Another tip is to consider using a \’free\’ dating site (that is, one that doesn\’t charge money for using most of it\’s features) rather than a \’paid\’ site. Some free sites have just as many profiles as paid ones, and for the novice they are a great place to get started in the world of online dating. Sign up to several free sites at the same time, to increase your chances of meeting someone special.

A good piece of advice is to ensure you have a flattering and up-to-date photo of yourself to accompany your dating profile. So many photos I see are too dark, or the person in the photo is too far away from the camera. Ideally you want a reasonably close-up photo, perhaps with a smile, and one where people get a clear sense of your personality.

A \’trick\’ that useful to remember is to try searching profiles with the \’show photo\’ option turned off. This may seem counter-intuitive, as we all want see what someone looks like, before messaging them. But if you read profiles which have the photo hidden or not available, you\’re more likely to assess that person purely on their personality, which is – in most cases – far more important than how someone looks. I suggest you do this kind of search as an alternative strategy. I know from personal experience, that this worked wonders for me – the girl I contacted had a very funny profile, but her photo was hidden. When I finally saw the photos, I was pleasantly surprised. She, like many good-looking women, often hide their photos because they get too many contact messages when it is on view for all to see.

My final suggestion is that you try and keep your messages short, interesting and engaging. Imagine you have met someone in a bar, and you\’re trying to strike up a conversation. \’Hi how r u?\’ is not really good enough in an online dating message. Something like \’So, I see that you\’re a fan of Italian cooking – I\’m a big fan of Spaghetti Carbonara myself\’ is far more interesting and a great conversation starter.

Author Bio: Charles L. Jackson is a relationships writer, who has been writing for http://www.gofishdating.com since 2006. This is a free dating site with thousands of singles looking for love and friendship.

Category: Dating
Keywords: free dating,free dating website,free dating site,free online dating,free internet dating