The Best Dating Profile Tips And Tricks For Men
Dating profile tips and tricks that help guys include ditching the selfies, sharing what you're looking for in a partner, and never hiding your face in photos. Tips like these can help you turn your profile from average to great.
This post shares 10 of the best dating profile tips and tricks for men. Following the tips below can increase your matches, boost your response rates, and help you get more responses to your messages.
1. Use your app's profile features to your advantage.
All dating apps allow you to load photos and write a bio, but they also offer unique features you may be unaware exist. Dive into your app, explore it, and use as many profile features as possible.
I'm a huge proponent of using your app's profile features to your advantage. Most men put zero effort into their profile and skip (or miss things) that could help them get better results.
Check your app and ensure you're using all its features. Examples that can help you include:
- The voice and video prompt on Hinge.
- Adding photos to your Facebook Dating prompts.
- Writing interests on POF.
- Badges on Bumble and Tinder.
- Captioning photos on apps like Hinge, OkCupid, and Match.com.
- Choosing emoji interests on Coffee Meets Bagel.
You never know what can grab a woman's attention. It's best to cover your bases and put as much effort into your profile as possible.
Explore your app and use any profile feature available.
2. Selfies are typically a bad choice.
Avoid using selfies in your dating profile. They scream narcissism and appear as if you don't have friends who can take your picture.
One survey by Match.com found that 29% of women indicated that a photo taken in a mirror with a smartphone was the biggest reason they'd click away from a guy's profile. An example is below - is this a good first impression on a dating app? Obviously, no.
Selfies in front of a mirror are an instant turnoff for women.
The photo above is a bad choice. Not only is it a bad photo, but women will also look at the environment, so a bedroom is not a good choice for your background.
Hinge found selfies are 40% less likely to receive a "like," while a bathroom selfie is 90% less likely to receive a "like." Bumble found that 23% of singles surveyed find it a deal breaker when someone uses all selfies in their profile.
Selfies don't allow you to showcase your lifestyle in a memorable way. They may be easier to use, but they benefit you less than a photo taken by someone else.
Pro Tip: Get a flexible tripod with a Bluetooth remote. They are dirt cheap and allow you to take selfies that appear as if someone took your photo (see below).
A flexible tripod allows you to easily take a selfie.
3. Describe what you're looking for in your bio.
What do you want in a partner? Why did you join a dating app? One of the best profile tips and tricks is describing what you're looking for in a partner.
Sharing what you're looking for gives women an idea of why you're on the app. Here's your chance to share traits of your ideal match.
Your profile shouldn't be 100% about you. Sharing what you want on your profile shows women you're a man who knows what he wants - its exudes confidence.
Avoid writing what you think women want to hear when seeking a partner. Guys always fall back on bland descriptions and end up boring women.
Don't be afraid to share what you're looking for on the app. Set the bar high, but be realistic in your description. Avoid a laundry list of "must-haves."
Below is an example on Hinge where I keep it light. You don't need to show your vulnerable side in your profile, but you must add some depth.
Describe what you're looking for in your bio.
Pro tip: use the word "you" or "you're" in your description instead of "a woman." The word "you" speaks directly to women reading your profile, while "woman" can mean anybody.
Pay attention to the differences in the following sentences. "You are adventurous, affectionate, love road trips...." vs. "A woman who is adventurous, affectionate, love road trips...."
4. Raise your arms in a photo!
Here's a tip for your photos - raise your arms above your head. One study discovered men who raised their arms above their heads were rated most attractive by women compared to other poses, including smiling.
Below is an example on Hinge showing what you should do. This type of picture is excellent at getting comments from women.
A good photo tip is raising your arms above your head.
This "victory" pose highlights masculine physical features, such as upper body size and muscularity. It makes you appear proud and powerful.
Add a photo like this outdoors somewhere with a great view behind you. This photo stands out and can give you an added boost on your apps. .
5. Never hide your face in photos.
Covering, or hiding, your face is a huge blunder on dating apps. According to several studies, the first thing women look at is your smile, and the second is your eyes.
Women want to see your face. Many guys use terrible photos that hide their features - examples include:
- Sunglasses - Zoosk found people who wear sunglasses receive 63% fewer messages and fewer likes.
- Hats - Avoid wearing hats in your first 3 photos. Hats are acceptable if you're outdoors doing something active, a hike, for example.
- Motorcycle / Skiing helmets - These photos hide your face completely and add no benefit. Take them off and then take a picture.
Hiding your face adds no value to your photo portfolio. Ditch any picture where women can't see what you look like.
Never hide your face in dating app photos.
6. Avoid any negativity in your profile.
Keep your profile 100% positive and avoid anything negative because it's a turnoff to women. 36% of women polled on the website Word Tips found negativity to be a turn off.
Plentyoffish surveyed over 2,000 singles and found negativity was one of the top "buzzkills." Examples of negativity include the following:
- Don't tell women you're not a match because of a list of reasons.
- Avoid clichés such as how you're "not here for games or drama."
- Never tell women to swipe left for any reason.
- Don't lecture women in your profile.
- Avoid telling women what you're not looking for.
The goal of your profile is to show you're a catch. Negativity does the exact opposite and will cause women to ignore you and choose someone else.
Below is an example of a guy's profile on Coffee Meets Bagel. Note how he writes a few of his dislikes.
Avoid negativity in your dating profile.
Sharing what you dislike or turns you off doesn't help you get more matches. Negativity shows you're jaded and hostile - never an attractive trait, and it's an instant "no" for women.
Keeping your profile 100% positive will connect you with more women. Your profile should focus on positive traits and make a woman smile.
7. Pay attention to your basics section.
An overlooked section of dating profiles is the basic section. This is where you write if you want kids, smoking, drinking, education, etc.
Do not underestimate the importance of this section of your profile. Everything impacts your results on dating apps because women go through your profile with a fine-toothed comb.
Look at this example below on Hinge. The guy writes he's looking for a relationship and is open to short term.
Pay attention to your profile traits.
The setting above is a huge blunder - it's one or the other, not both. A woman seeking a relationship will swipe left on this guy instantly.
Here are some tips for the traits section of your profile. It only takes minutes to update this profile section (if applicable).
- Avoid answering with "prefer not to say." The words appear as if you're hiding something.
- Never lie about anything. Don't add a few inches to your height.
- Body type - Average is acceptable. Athletic is a body type, not a lifestyle. Playing softball during the week doesn't mean you have an athletic body type.
- Children - Never lie about having children; if you want them, answer the question. You don't want to waste your time with someone not on the same page.
- Education level - Indicate your education level, especially if you're college-educated. Higher education levels increase the likelihood of receiving messages from women.
- Looking for/seeking - What are you looking for? Long-term? Relationship? Casual? Choose one answer because multiple answers show women you don't know what you want.
- Hometown/college - Including the names of your hometown may connect with women from there. The same goes for your college.
8. Avoid showing you're unavailable.
Don't write how busy you are in your bio. Some guys share they don't have much free time but are "'willing to make time for the right person."
It's a huge blunder sharing your lack of time for dating. According to Zoosk, men who mention how busy they are, receive 13% fewer messages.
Adding you're a busy guy is not beneficial because everyone is busy these days. We all have work, commitments, priorities, etc.
What woman will risk matching with a guy too busy to date her? The answer is none!
Your bio should make you relatable to women reading it. Sharing your passions and interests creates more of a connection than a busy lifestyle.
9. Show supreme confidence.
A universal turnoff for women is desperation or neediness. Women love confident men, yet guys continually plead for matches on dating apps.
23% of women in a survey by Word Tips found "neediness" to be a turn off. Examples include "please, someone, pick me," "why can't I meet anyone here," or "can someone get me off this app?"
Groveling or pleading with women to pick you never works. Don't embarrass yourself by asking a woman to pick you in your bio.
And it's not just your profile; your photos must show confidence also. Don't tilt your head down, frown, or look sad in any picture.
Maintaining eye contact, holding your head up, and exuding pride is better for showing confidence.
10. Check your grammar
The first thing you should do after writing your bio is check for grammar mistakes. Women judge everything on a profile, including grammar.
Just one spelling mistake can be catastrophic to your results. Here are facts about grammar and dating apps.
- 69% of women in one Match.com survey judged men most on the grammar in their profile.
- OkCupid found over 75% of people say they're less likely to respond to someone who has spelling mistakes in their profile.
- Word Tips discovered that 45% of women said they wouldn't be interested in someone who is "very physically attractive but used improper grammar or spelling."
Grammar mistakes show you're uneducated and give women clues to your intellect. Spelling errors also show you don't care or are lazy because you don't take the time to fix mistakes.
There are several tools you can use to easily fix grammar mistakes. I recommend using the free version of Grammarly.
Pro tip: read your dating profile out loud. This helps catch grammar mistakes and poor sentence structure.
A tip for your bio is to check for grammar errors.
Final Thoughts
The profile tips and tricks on the post can help any guy but are only the tip of the iceberg. Check the tips against your profile and use them when applicable.
Do you want better results on dating apps? Visit my dedicated page that can help transform your results, Online Dating Resources.
Which profile tips and tricks are you unaware of? Share some of yours below.