Contributed by: Jet on Tuesday, April 13 2010 @ 10:32 am
Last modified on
We all know it's important to give specific examples of your interests when you're constructing your online profile. After all, how would your potential perfect match know that you love to play Scrabble unless you mention it, right? But there's a second reason to get specific that we don't really consider until we try to email others: not only do specific examples help others find you, they promote conversation in those key first emails.
Some people are masters at saying absolutely nothing concrete about themselves. They “love life”! They “work and play hard”! They are “loyal and independent”! They are looking for “someone who doesn't play games” (literally?)! Now try sending one of those people a first-contact email, where you should comment on something specific about their profile.
“So, I see you... love life. Um, I do too. Isn't... life great?” Contrast this with someone who says they love college basketball. Suddenly you can ask about different teams, who they rooted for in the Final Four, or if they like pro basketball as well. Even if you don't have basketball in common with them, you can talk about that; either way, it shows that you're not sending a copy-and-paste email and that you are interested in their thoughts.
Honestly, it is not that hard to give examples of your interests. You don't even have to get incredibly specific; instead of saying you like Scrabble, you could say you like board games (prompting someone to email you and ask if you like Scrabble or Clue). And you don't need to have a massive laundry list; just make sure you have three or four concrete interests somewhere in your profile.
As you construct your online profile (or check it over to see what needs editing), remember: you're trying to get potential matches interested in talking to you, yes. But you also need to give them something to talk to you about!