7 Proven Facts About Online Dating!
There are many proven facts about online dating, which can boost men's results on dating apps. These tips include avoiding using photos taken inside your car, check your grammar, and avoid wearing sunglasses in photos at all costs.
If you're looking for an edge on dating sites, here are 7 proven facts about online dating. Each of these tips is based on studies and dating sites themselves.
1. Your grammar matters.
Women don't take kindly to men who appear uneducated. Your grammar gives clues to your intelligence, and women aren't cool with guys who appear uneducated.
Zoosk conducted a study and found 72 percent of participants stated they're "turned off" by blatant spelling errors. Here are a few facts about the impact grammar has on your results:
- 96% of women think grammar is essential and bad grammar is a turn-off according to Match.com
- Zoosk found 65% of women would let grammar get in the way of pursuing a date.
- Poor spelling and grammar mistakes are the biggest turn-offs, according to Elite Singles.
Bad grammar is a terrible first impression. It's a huge red flag because it shows you're uneducated, lazy, or just don't care.
For example, let's take the word "a lot." Many guys write "alot" and doing this, decreases their response rate by 12 percent. Yep, that's the impact one misspelled word has on your results.
Do yourself a favor; take a few minutes and spell check your bio. Copy and paste it into a grammar tool like Grammarly. It may make the difference between if a woman contacts you or not.
Women are turned off by grammar errors on dating apps
2. Specific words can impact your results.
Using a specific word can positively or negatively impact a woman's decision to contact you or respond to your messages. Yep, a single word can either hurt or help you.
Zoosk found men with these words and phrases got 2–9% fewer incoming messages from women than those who left them out:
- maybe
- dunno
- sort of
- kind of
Writing the phrase "not sure," as in "I'm not sure" about something decreased messages by up to 16%.
The reason the words above hurt men is because they are wishy-washy. Women are attracted to men who are clear and concise about who they are and what they want. Avoid using words that show you are unsure of things or show a lack of confidence.
Another word you should avoid is "entrepreneur." Men who refer to themselves as an entrepreneur in their profiles get 16% fewer messages. The word has become a bit played out these days.
If you happen to be an entrepreneur, leave it off your profile, even if you're successful. A better choice is explaining what you do instead of some generic term that's fashionable right now.
On the positive side, if you have a dog which happens to be a rescue; mention the words "rescue" or "adopted." 59% of singles agree that finding out your date had adopted rather than bought their pet would make them more attractive.
Another positive word is "CEO" or "founder." If you mention either of these in your profile, you can get up to 31% more messages.
Here are a few words you can include in your profile or messages, which are proven to boost results:
- Ambitious - 33% more messages.
- Instrument - 15% more messages.
- Optimistic - 44% more interest from women.
- Single dad - 7% more messages.
- Yoga - 21% more messages.
3. It's not all about your photos.
There is a huge myth a lot of men believe that women only care about photos. Some guys think you must be ridiculously good looking to achieve success on dating apps.
That's complete nonsense. Sure, your photos are important, but your written self-summary impacts your results the most.
Hinge found 57% of women said they didn't respond to men's messages because they "took a closer look at the person's profile." You must put effort into your written bio.
Here are a few more facts about your self-summary:
- Women spend 50% more time than men analyzing profiles than men.
- Women spend 65% less time than men viewing photos on dating sites.
- The average time women spend reading a profile is 84 seconds to assess if you're a match.
- Zoosk found writing a description about yourself gets you up to 28% more incoming messages.
Be detailed with your profile info: The top 10% most LIKED profiles were 35% longer than the rest. Don't write a few vague sentences about how you "live life to the fullest" and how you enjoy "going out, but staying in."
The key is providing details about yourself. A little depth can help tremendously. For tips on how to write your bio, go here: What Is A Good Dating Profile Example For Men.
4. Women look at EVERYTHING!
We all know that women look at photos and read your bio. Still, they also pay attention to those pesky settings where you answer questions about yourself.
You know those settings on Match.com, Hinge, POF, and OkCupid:
- Do you want/have kids?
- Do you smoke?
- What type of relationship are you seeking?
- Are you religious?
Women look at this stuff. Take this example where I messaged a woman and look at her response. She told me that we're not a match because I selected the "Non-religious" option on Plentyoffish.
Make sure you're messaging women you match up with.
Pay attention to the settings of women you send messages to. For example, don't message women who don't want kids if you want children. Don't message women who share political beliefs that are different than yours.
Take this other example from POF. I didn't realize my relationship setting was "casual" while I was messaging women. I wasn't seeing responses until this woman pointed out why.
Women pay attention to your profile settings.
Give your profile a once over, making sure your settings are correct. Also, if your dating app has a filtering tool, use it! Fill in what you want and seek women who are on the same page as you.
5. Don't use pictures inside your car.
Never use photos taken inside your car, or outside. Zoosk found photos of people in front of a car or motorcycle, or inside of a car, tend to get fewer likes.
Women want to connect with YOU and not your car. Selfies are already shown to get fewer responses, and selfies inside your car? You may as well put a caption underneath, saying, "Please don't message me."
Pictures that are taken inside a car decrease your likes on dating apps.
6. Don't wear sunglasses in your pictures.
An instant attraction killer is using pictures of yourself wearing sunglasses. Another on the list of proven facts about online dating is photos with sunglasses. These photos were rated as a "no go" by Elitesingles 19% of the time.
It's so common, many women warn guys NOT to hide their faces behind sunglasses. Here's an example from a woman on Hinge.
Women are tired of seeing men hide behind sunglasses.
Here are a few more facts;
- Tinder found sunglasses reduce your matches by 12%
- Zoosk found people who wear sunglasses get 63% fewer messages and also receive fewer likes.
- Photofeeler, a website that gives advice for profile photos, shares this advice; "Don't cover or block your eyes...sunglasses and hats make you seem unapproachable."
Women dislike profile photos of men wearing sunglasses.
7. Older men rock!
There are studies which show women prefer older men. A 2010 study of nearly 4,000 people found women prefer older guys. As women get older and become more financially independent, they prefer older men even more.
"We think this suggests greater financial independence gives women more confidence in partner choices, and attracts them to powerful, attractive older men," lead author and University of Dundee psychologist Fhionna Moore said in a statement.
Match.com surveyed women and asked, "Is silver hair really sexy on guys?" and 72% of women find men with gray hair attractive. Evolutionary psychologists say that younger women and older men pair up because older men have more time to accumulate resources and status than younger guys. Also, older men are generally more emotionally stable.
Older men generally have greater resources and are more stable.