Seeking Inspiration

Writing an online dating profile, especially if you’ve never written one before, can be tough. If don’t have to write often in your daily life, or if you have to write in a technical, non-conversational style, it can take a little while to switch gears. And who hasn’t spent a considerable amount of time and effort on something, then seen someone else’s work and thought, “Oh, I wish I would have gone in that direction instead”? So it might seem strange, but before you sit down to write your profile, you might want to consider reading the profiles of others first.

To be clear, this is not at all the same thing as plagiarizing someone else’s work. It’s simply making yourself familiar with the “genre,” as it were, of online profiles. I’ve known people who have said to me, “I thought I had a really original idea for my profile, but it turns out everyone says this.” By reading through a few profiles, you can get a sense of what’s “normal” and even what’s overdone, so you can avoid such cliches and save yourself time and effort.

Additionally, make notes of what you like in the profiles of others, and what stands out to you in a positive way, so you can incorporate something similar in your own profile. Again, this doesn’t mean you should copy directly; however, there’s nothing wrong with emulating a style you like. Just reading through well-written profiles can help you get in the “conversational” frame of mind. It also can’t hurt to take note of what pictures stand out and “work” as well.

Sometimes we all need to jump-start our creativity, and the easiest way to do this is to have something to aim for, a mental picture to paint. By first familiarizing yourself with online dating profiles, it’s possible to jump over the hurdle of the learning curve - and make your “first profile” also a “great profile.”