Ah, spring. Off come the winter layers, and the birds and bees begin to arrive. Are you ready to capture a bit of that spring fever and apply it to your dating life? You should be! Spring is the perfect time to re-up your commitment to finding love, and refreshing your profile is a great place to start. Why? Well, not only do outdated profiles seem so last year, the ones that look more current — not just in their levels of activity, but also in their content — may get renewed interest from other singles online. In other words, someone who passed you over last season may suddenly find his or her interest piqued by your profile tweaks.
Try some of these tips to spruce up your online persona — and then fling yourself into dating this spring:
Spring profile-cleaning strategy #1: Mention some things you love about springtime
“Doesn’t springtime give you a nudge on your personal goals — things like getting more exercise, taking a class, or actually trying to read the books you’re supposed to for book club?” offers Cherie Burbach, author of Internet Dating Is Not Like Ordering a Pizza. “Refresh your profile by including some of these. For example, you could say: ‘Now that spring is here, I’m looking forward to logging a few more miles on the treadmill. If you’d like to do the same, why not join me for a walk along the lakefront?’” By stating that you’re ready to embrace the season and looking for someone to share it with in your profile essay, you’re letting prospective dates get a sense of what interests you and what you might enjoy doing together.
Spring profile-cleaning strategy #2: Swap out your old photos for new ones
Ever passed over a profile while browsing your online matches because you recognized the photo and remembered not being interested the first time? Unfortunately, other online daters might be doing the same thing to you. By changing your photos out for new ones (upload some new photos, don’t just rotate them) and choosing a new head shot to display in search results, you’ve increased the odds of catching someone’s attention who didn’t notice you before. And hey, you might attract an entirely different pool of online suitors with a simple, seasonal photo swap. This is a quick and easy way to garner attention or renewed interest in your profile.
“It is very important that your photo matches the current season…the reason for this is to show that your profile is new and fresh,” says Trisha Ventker, author of Internet Dates from Hell. “If you still have photos from winter up, it will look as if you’re having no luck finding dates and that you’ve been picked over,” Ventker warns. “This sounds harsh, but perception is half the battle!” And do yourself a favor: Make certain it’s a photo of just you, and not a lineup of friends, family, children and/or pets that makes it hard to single you out. After all, potential dates are looking for one person, not a posse!
Spring profile-cleaning strategy #3: Update the written references in your bio
When you initially wrote your profile, you might have listed some recent books you’d read or movies you’d seen or things you’d done on vacation. And now, months later, you’ve probably read a slew of other books and watched more films and experienced new adventures…but did you bother to mention them in your profile? “Adding books and movies is a good way to refresh your profile while including a call to action for someone to respond,” says Burbach. “For example, you could say: ‘I think I’m the last person around who hasn’t read The Help yet. Maybe I’ll skip it and see the movie instead. Care to join me?’”
This makes your profile seem more up-to-date, and including a few questions in your essay can spur people to email you because you’ve given them an opening line. With the example above, someone could send an introductory email insisting that you should really read the book before seeing the movie… or asking if you’d be up for watching the film together this weekend!
It’s also a good idea to update your “Favorite Hot Spots” section if you’ve discovered new local gems or traveled somewhere different and exciting. You never know what will strike a chord when someone reads your profile, but frequent updates imply that you’re not sitting around waiting for love to find you. Instead, you’re living your life and looking forward to adding love into the mix when the right person comes along.
