You Probably Shouldn't Write That: Tips and Tricks for Creating an Online Dating Profile That Doesn't Suck by Lisa Hoehn

Author:Lisa Hoehn [Hoehn, Lisa]
Language: eng
Format: azw3, epub, pdf
ISBN: 9780762459049
Publisher: Running Press
Published: 2015-12-22T05:00:00+00:00

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THE HEADLINE—WITHOUT THE HEADACHE

On certain sites (think Match.com and POF), there’s a prompt that reads “Headline” or “My Headline.” This banner appears at the top of your profile or sometimes next to your profile image when you’re in search mode, is often capped by a character limit, and is usually one of the hardest things for people to fill out. After all, how can you encompass who you are or what you’re looking for in the length of a tweet? The good news is that trying to summarize yourself is the wrong approach—and these headlines are so rife with clichés and awkward greetings in the dating pool at large (“Looking for someone special,” “Let’s be spontaneous,” “Living life to the fullest,” “Ready for a fresh beginning”) that it’s easy to stand out from the crowd in a good way.

The simplest headline writing strategy is to take a fun or funny fact or story about yourself and spin it into a single sentence. Just like your profile text, your headline should keep the focus on you, and shouldn’t be some blanket statement that could apply to—or be written by—60 or more percent of online daters. It can be something that’s already in your profile, or it can be something you left on the cutting room floor from your questionnaire. The key is to be funny, upbeat, attention catching, and unique . . . and to avoid saying something that sounds like it could have come from a bad romantic comedy or personal ad.

If you’re still struggling, channel the power of three by stringing three of your interests together—preferably as an alliteration, rhyme, or some other attention-catching device. It’s not the most creative headline in the world, but you’ll give a prospective match a sense of what you’re into right off the bat.

Hint: Change your headline frequently. Not only will it help keep your profile feeling fresh, but it’s one of the easiest parts of your profile to update—and who knows who might take notice.

That’s one helluva headline:

• Once danced (poorly) with Jimmy Fallon at a party

• Baseball, breweries, and Bruce Springsteen

• Climbed Mt. Rainier . . . and only almost died once

• Raps “Lonely Island” lyrics like a boss (like a boss)

• The Don Draper of banking

• Will travel for lobster rolls

• Contributing to the bourbon shortage

• Consistently scores above 100 when bowling (impressed yet?)

• Inspired by Thoreau, Whitman . . . and Louis CK

• Rocks high heels—and hiking boots

• Has never worn mom jeans or Crocs

• Isn’t too good for wine from a box

• Once raised a baby raccoon as a pet

• Has never seen Star Wars (gasp!)

• [Insert Seinfeld reference here]

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