Your dating service personal ad is where you get to tell prospective partners all about yourself, your chance to make a statement of who you are and what you want. But how to make every word count, how to make your ad really attract the people you want?

But what to write? As you start your ad, be confident and sound confident. No need for apologies or explanations about why you’re internet dating – it’s a fantastic thing to do! So sound sure of yourself, excited and enthusiastic about the possibilities of being on the site.

It’ll help to be specific. Rather than saying you’re generous, describe how you threw a party for your friend’s 50th; rather than saying you’re very active, explain that you ran the marathon.

Write About What You Want

Equally, don’t write about who you don’t want to meet using the dating service. It may be hard to resist warning people off “no time wasters… ” but it’ll make you seem defensive and temperamental. You can always weed the unsuitables out once you’ve made contact with them.

End your ad with a friendly ‘call to action’ – “I’d love to meet up”, “Why not get in touch?”. You want potential partners to feel good about the prospect of getting to know you – they will if it’s clear you feel good about the prospect of getting to know them!

A final point, about the username you choose. That’s the first thing that other dating service members will know about you, the first impression they have of you. So make it memorable, confident and appealing rather than over sexy or a self put-down. Call yourself “Mr (or Ms) Miserable”, and you’ll get far fewer approaches than if you confidently style yourself “Ms (or Mr) Happy.”

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