Meeting People Online
Meeting a partner online takes more than just reading through pages of potential partners’ profiles. To meet a partner using online dating require choosing online dating services to join, creating a profile, and a face to face meeting.
There are many online dating services to choose from. It is suggested to join at least two. One should be a general dating service that is free or has a minimal fee to join. The other one should be a service that is more specialized that matches your interests or type of person you’d be interested in as a potential partner. Once you are comfortable with online dating and feel you have time to join more online dating services, choose other categories.
Online dating service categories:
- Adult (swingers, married, sex, alternative lifestyles)
- Ethnic (cultural matches, overseas dating)
- Mail order brides
- Niche (military, partner size, disabled)
- Interests (religion, pets, hiking, movies, art)
- Income/profession
- Location (local, locations of interest to live/visit, overseas)
Take the time to create an accurate profile. A good profile will make the difference between attracting replies from the type of person that matches with you or attracting excessive replies (that will be time consuming to sift through) from the type of person that could never match with you. Before you begin creating a profile, make sure you know what you want. Make a list of what has worked in previous relationships and another with what has not. Look over the lists, is there anything missing? If yes, add it on. Maybe you never dated anyone who likes to go out dancing, but you love to dance, add it to the list of what works. Use this as a reference when filling out your profile.
What makes a good online dating website profile?
- A current photo that represents how you really look, it can be professionally taken or chosen from photos you already have. The photo should only have you in it and the background should not be distracting.
- Pick an online dating screen name that describes you without giving out personal information. Avoid your full name or initials. Look through other screen names for inspiration. Think of the type of person your screen name will attract. If you are looking for a friendship that can develop into more, a suggestive, sexy name will not attract the type of partner that you want.
- The information should be accurate that you enter in. The goal isn’t to get a record-breaking number of replies; the goal is to get replies from people who truly have the potential to be your partner. If you are having trouble coming up with positive things about yourself, interests, etc., ask friends and family for suggestions. Be sure the description of what you are looking for in a partner is not vague. Instead of “likes the outdoors” put “likes camping, backpacking, swimming, and hiking”.
- Close with a true statement about what makes you different from others or something that is unique about you. Your online dating profile closing can include a challenge like “if you are one of those rare honest men who wants to meet a down to earth lady, please contact me”
Once you have gotten to know a potential partner better through e-mailed, instant messaging, chat room meeting, and/or phone calls it’ll be time to meet in person. Meeting locally is easy. Follow the same safety guidelines you would follow with traditional dating, like meet in a public place, let someone know where you are going, limit personal information, and pay attention to the person’s body language during the meeting. When traveling to meet, it is best to make your own travel and lodging arrangements in the event the meeting goes sour. When someone is going to travel to see you, give suggestions of lodging that aren’t too close to where you live. Meeting half way at a neutral location is an option also.
Meeting a partner using online dating has been successful for many singles. Combining an accurate profile with the right service and basic dating safety knowledge will increase your chances of meeting someone who matches with you with online dating.