Online Dating Guide & Blog

Photo by The Welsh Poppy
Writing online dating messages can be frustrating. Spending the time to write the “perfect” email only to receive no response can cause many of us to ask if we’re doing something wrong.

Below are some online dating message tips, most of which I also cover in my online dating guide. Hopefully these will help you with communicating on online dating services and might even help you realize that a problem you think you have isn’t a [...]

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Photo by D Sharon Pruitt

I recently read an article AskMen.com that covered five mistakes men make early on that scare women away. I think this article is well worth reading regardless of how you are meeting women. I also wanted to offer my take in this area, but specifically for online dating.

Most of my thoughts revolve around one idea: not coming off as strange or the stalker-type. Appearing strange or appearing like someone who might stalk the woman is [...]

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This is a guest post by Lior

Isn’t this an age-old question? Irrespective of whether you are face-to-face, on the phone or on a dating site, saying the right thing to a woman you think you might like is always tricky.

It all comes down to forgetting the nerves and being yourself. Some guys can do this easily. They happily churn out happy one-liners and crafty jokes while the ladies lap it up, laugh and beg for more. Though these guys may [...]

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What is the difference between eHarmony and Chemistry.com? Is eHarmony better than Chemistry.com?

While the two services appear very similar, I will discuss what I consider the biggest difference between them. Then I’ll discuss some additional feature differences and why in some cases one of the two services may serve you better than the other.

Before I start, if you are brand-new to online dating or are not familiar with either of these services at all, I would recommend you read [...]

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This is a guest post by Kate Houston of trysweettalk.com

Millions of singles are dating online. There are so many people to choose from that no one can rely on looks alone. So how do you get attention and keep it? Easy – apply the same rules to your profile that successful brands apply to their ads. As an ad writer with over 20 years experience, I guarantee that good ads get noticed and get replies. The same can [...]

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According to Match.com, 1 in 5 relationships are now starting online. Other dating statistics reveal how much acceptance online dating has gained in a short ten-year period. That said, many people still hesitate to use online dating, often only because of what they perceive to be the social judgment attached to it.

Instead of making arguments to address the question of “Should I try online dating?”, I’ll instead ask you a few questions to help you decide if it is worth [...]

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This is a guest post by Kate Houston of trysweettalk.com

10. Bald spot camouflage.
If you’re going bald don’t hide the fact under a cap. It’s not a character flaw and there’s no reason to be embarrassed by it. Besides, bald is the new sexy. So show skin with pride.

9. Saying you’re young at heart.
Generally only people over 40 years old say this and often it’s to compensate for being older. Age is not a defect. Just pick someone you can be [...]

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Match.com offers a free 7-day trial to new members and is one of the few services of its type that does so. By “type” I am referring to the fact that Match.com allows you to contact any member that you want. Free trials and events are more common with the matchmaker type of service, such as eHarmony or Chemistry, where the members that you can contact are limited by the service itself. The fact that a service like Match.com offers [...]

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Recently I posted my two part interview with Chloe, the CEO of the new online dating service HelloJackieJoe. You can find this interview in the following posts:

Interview Part 1
Interview Part 2

I wanted to take an opportunity to talk a little bit more about this service. The first thing that I’ll say is that in talking with Chloe, I was given the very strong impression that she really does care about providing a great service to singles.

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This is a guest post by Kate Houston of trysweettalk.com

I had a client whose original profile asserted, I love to cook. As a professional dating profile writer, I can tell you that about 80% of the profiles I read say the very same thing.

Eventually I learned this client not only loved to cook, she loved it so much she collected antique cookbooks. I also learned she was a truly unconventional woman in many respects. So, rather than keep, I love [...]

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This is a guest post by Kate Houston of trysweettalk.com

If you’re dating online then you have a lot of competition. There are millions of people out there and each one is competing for attention. So how do you make sure your soulmate shows up in your inbox? Take tips from people who know how to get noticed – advertisers. Treat your dating profile like an ad and you can stand out from the competition.

Filed under: dating profiles

Love, Sex & Deception is a book that provides online dating advice with a unique approach: instead of listing rules and guidelines they offer advice through the telling of others’ online dating stories. A few samples of these stories include the following:

A story of two friends who find out the same man is sending them the same poetry and decide to have some fun with him but showing up together when next meeting him.

How a woman ruined a date by [...]

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A reader recently wrote in to ask about dating conversations where the person you are talking with responds but with little or no apparent interest:

If you are conversing with someone via email (regardless of who initiates the conversation) and you respond with a short paragraph and question and they always responds with one or two sentences, does this mean that they are really not interested. If asked a question I answer the question plus give some background and ask another [...]

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Photo by °Florian
In my article on writing first emails using online dating, I discuss what should and should not be in your emails. I wanted to expand on that topic to include a pattern I’ve seen recently: apologizing or making excuses when contacting other singles.

Apologizing in First Emails

For whatever reason, some people see apologizing as the preferred way to start an email. It will often begin something like “Sorry to bother you…” or “I’m sure you get lots of emails [...]

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When I first started providing dating advice, I had assumed that I would have more visitors to my site on the weekends. My thinking was that people would be reminded of being single the most on the weekends and therefore would be looking to solve that problem then. Well, that theory turned out to be incorrect – at least as far as my site statistics are concerned. For as long as I’ve been tracking the traffic to my site I [...]

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Photo by ground.zero
According to a new Match.com commercial I’ve been seeing lately, 1 in 5 relationships are now started through online dating services. Still, even with that fact, there are a large number of singles who believe that online dating does not work, or at least not for them. With that in mind, I wanted to post a challenge to all of the doubters. I really believe that people who feel that online dating doesn’t work fall into one of [...]

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Through this blog, from time to time I find myself reviewing profiles. One of the most common problems I see is the tendency for people to share a little too much, a little too fast. Often the extra details are confusing but other times they are damaging. In either case, the profile isn’t strengthened by it. I wanted to briefly discuss the idea of intentionally being aware of what you are revealing about yourself in your dating profile.

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Someone recently pointed out to me some very interesting dating videos on YouTube. I watched quite a few of these and have to say they’re very interesting. I disagree with some of the advice given, but there are so many people interviewed I guess this is to be expected.

One video I really liked was about safety when dating online. The advice here was good and I really like the advice given regarding dating people who are closer to you (it’s [...]

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This article will offer a brief online dating guide for seniors. Much of this guide will be based on previous dating advice provided with additional information specifically included to assist single seniors. If you are a single senior who has questions or if you feel additional categories would be helpful, feel free to contact me. This article will assume you have a basic understanding using the internet. If you are brand new to the internet I would recommend checking out [...]

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Recently I found myself reading some commentary in a forum where the person was stating that they believed no one should ever pay for online dating with all the free services available. As frequent readers of this site know, I am a big fan of taking advantage of free dating sites with my personal favorite being OKCupid. Still, my experience and the experience shared by singles I talk to suggest that this person’s argument has one big flaw.

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