Dating Services

Update 2020-05-27: Please note that these coupons have expired and there are currently no coupon codes available for Match.com.

We have found a new coupon for the dating site which won our Singles Choice Award (see Story). This promotion gives singles up to a 74% discount on Match.com memberships (depends on subscription term). Memberships are available for 1, 3 and 6 month periods.

Instead of a percentage discount you could instead opt for 3 Days Free at Match.com. The 3 free days really only makes sense if you plan on signing up for a one month membership. If you are planning to sign up with the 3 or 6 month membership then you will save more money with the up to 74% discount mentioned in the first paragraph.

For further details about what makes this dating site so popular with online daters, read our Match.com review for more information. User reviews of Match.com are also accessible from our review page.

Every dating site has its own spin on the dating profile format. In this series, I'll take a look at some of the different profile formats and how you can write your best profile for that particular service. JDate.com, part of the Spark Networks family of dating sites, is focused on matching Jewish (and Jewish-friendly) singles.

JDate's profile is in four tabs: Basics, Lifestyle, Interests, and Relationship.

Basics

Here is where your About me paragraph goes. Only a paragraph (maybe two!) is necessary here to give people a taste of who you are and what you do. The purpose of this section is to intrigue people into contacting you, not to dish your life story. Be fascinating, but brief.

Lifestyle & Interests

No paragraphs to fill out here, just things to select or not select.

Be careful when selecting checkboxes for your personality. Your idea of "stubborn" may be that it takes you a little while to be convinced to eat at a new restaurant. Your potential match may read it as "will challenge me on everything and make my life miserable" because that's what their ex's flavor of "stubborn" happened to be. Tread carefully.

Relationship

There are four optional paragraphs in this section. There are some MAJOR traps in these, so read carefully so you know how to avoid them:

My ideal relationship:

Here's where you describe the style of relationship you want. Think in terms of the kind of activities you'd like to do with your future mate. "I'm looking for a man who likes a long walk after dinner so we can burn off dessert while we chat." or "She's the type of girl who always thinks of the little things that I'd forget - like keeping extra Lactaid pills in her purse so I don't have to skip out on Cold Stone!" Don't mention the scary "m" word - monogamy. Most people agree that it's a good idea, and are kinda put-off by seeing you flat-out request it.

My past relationships:

Don't fill out this question. Seriously, it invites too much negativity. If you really need to fill it out, mention the positive qualities of your past relationships. For example, "Each of my ex's has taught me something interesting. Thanks to Dave, I can follow a football game. Thanks to Daniel, I know how to rollerblade (and love it!). Thanks to Justin, I have an urge to go back to school and get my PhD!"

I'm looking for a:

Here's the section where you can list the qualities of the person you'd like to date. Be specific about character, but leave the details of looks, job, etc out. Focus on the type of person, not the specifics.

My perfect first date:

Up to you here. What I'd suggest is mentioning a place or activity you'd like to try but haven't yet. That gives your potential match a good idea of something to talk to you about in their first email. "This may sound crazy, but I really want to try that new burger place on Long Street. It's not really a fancy first date, but I really love a juicy burger!

Jdate.com allows you to have four pictures. One picture should be a close-up of your face, one full body shot, and two of your choosing (group shot, action shot, another close-up, etc).

Best of luck with your JDating! Next in the series... OkCupid profiles!

For more information on the dating site mentioned in this article, read our JDate.com review.

I notice the other day that eHarmony has now hidden their traffic statistics over at Quantcast. This is what you see now:

On eHarmony's Quantcast profile page you still get to see the US demographics and how many unique visitors they had last month but, the daily traffic and trends graphs are not available to the general public anymore. eHarmony first became Quantified by Quantcast last summer (see Story). A website being Quantified means that Quantcast directly measured the traffic data. It is not based on estimates as other sites may be on Quantcast and other traffic measuring services like Alexa, Comscore and Compete.

Over the last year eHarmony has become a much more open dating service, they have started several blogs and answered customer complaints in their forums. I hope that the fact, eHarmony has hid their daily traffic statistics, it is not a sign that they may have decided to reverse this trend.

For more on this matchmaking service, read our eHarmony review.

Every dating site has its own spin on the dating profile format. In this series, I'll take a look at some of the different profile formats and how you can write your best profile for that particular service. Match.com is one of the biggest online dating sites out there with millions and millions of members. It's no wonder why people join up every day looking for love.

Match has a pretty straightforward profile. The sections to fill out are as follows:

• About me and who I'm looking for
• In my own words
• for fun
• my job
• my ethnicity
• my religion
• my education
• favorite hot spots
• favorite things
• last read

The most important part is the About me and who I'm looking for section. Match requires you to fill out at least a few lines of this before your profile can go live. (Ironically enough, there are tons of profiles that reference the fact that they're writing just enough to qualify. Makes you wonder what kind of boyfriend or girlfriend they'd be if they are only committed to doing the bare minimum!)

You should have at least two paragraphs in this section - the first one detailing yourself, and the second detailing the person you'd like to meet. Remember, your profile is the back cover of the story of your life. Don't give people the whole novel! Write just enough to get them intrigued about your most interesting qualities and activities. When writing about your ideal mate, be specific about the kind of personality you want and state things in the positive.

As for the In my own words section, you need to know that you do not have to fill out ANY of it. Seriously, if your About me and who I'm looking for section is great, you can leave the sidebar totally blank and people will still contact you.

Beware of those sidebar questions, though. Keep your responses to one or two short sentences. If you wax on for too long, the typical reader on the internet will get bored. Once you've published them, check out your profile and edit down any that are longer than 3 lines. Keep things short and sweet. For example, here's how I'd write mine:

for fun

I read, write, and roll d20s. Bonus points if you do, too!

my job

I own my own business writing online dating profiles and other web content.

my ethnicity

Pasty Irish chick, blinding astronauts with the glare from my legs!

my religion

I believe all faiths have a piece of the Truth, but not the whole Truth.

my education

Hamilton College, Class of 2001. Music & Creative Writing double major - would you like fries with that?

favorite hot spots

Anywhere I can get really good Asian food!

favorite things

I'd be completely lost without my laptop, my BlackBerry, and my adorable cats.

last read

Desperately trying to get my RSS reader under 1000... help, I'm drowning in feeds!

Match.com allows you to have a TON of pictures, but at minimum you want four. One picture should be a close-up of your face, one full body shot, and two of your choosing (group shot, action shot, etc).

Best of luck on Match.com! Next in the series... JDate profiles!

For more information on the dating site mentioned in this article, read our Match.com review.

Here is the results from a poll that 1,000 Zoosk members took about Virtual Gifts. This information is probably similar for members of other dating sites.

• Only 15 percent of members have ever sent virtual gifts.
• 76 percent stated they were more likely to respond to a potential match who sent them a virtual gift.
• 71 percent send virtual gifts which reflect their personality.
• Traditional virtual digital gifts (flowers, chocolates) make up 37 percent of all gifts sent. Gifts that show off a person's wild side (martini, etc...) make up 27 percent. 23 percent of all gifts are warm and fuzzy (teddy bear, etc...). Finally, 13 percent of virtual gifts are seasonal.

To find out more information about this online dating service you can read our review of Zoosk

It's Just Lunch has recently expanded and opened a physical location in the St. Cloud area. Over the last 3 years at the Minneapolis headquarters, the director, had noticed an increasing number of singles from the St. Cloud using their matchmaking services. Since It's Just Lunch requires an in-person interview it was decided back in April that a additional location which was closer to these clients was required in Waite Park.

The Minneapolis headquarters has 10 employees. When someone becomes a client of It's Just Lunch, there is a personal hour long interview which you talk more about yourself and what you want in a match. Matches are then hand selected and the staff coordinates the dates between the two clients. After each date, the client provides feedback which is then used to help further narrow a match for them. Memberships can be put on hold anytime if a couple want to explore a relationship further.

To find out what this matchmaking service is all about, read our detailed review of It's Just Lunch.