Anyone living in the UK and looking for love online needs to know several of the unspoken rules regarding online dating.
One of those rules has to do with writing a perfect first message, which can be a huge deal breaker if not done properly.
The first impression is the most important one, and luckily there are a few tips and tricks that you can use to make sure your first message doesn’t go unnoticed.
Step 1: Keep It Simple
The biggest trick with any social media message is to convey your idea in less than roughly 300 characters. This can be particularly challenging for some people, but the reality is that nobody is going to read your essay regardless of how brilliant your writing skills may be.
Keeping the message simple and on point is the first step to making sure your attempt to meet someone doesn’t go unnoticed. And the UK gals and lads will certainly appreciate the absence of any complication!
People who are good at writing simple yet effective tweets or Facebook status messages do really well with first messages on online dating sites. And those who need help in this department can always rely on finding inspiration from such sources and their witty friends with good writing skills.
Step 2: Keep It Interesting
The idea behind the first message is to get someone’s attention, which means the message has to be really interesting, especially if you’re writing to someone who has a popular profile and gets a bunch of messages all the time.
To make your first message pop, reference something you’ve seen on the person’s profile that the two of you have in common. This will show that you’ve taken the time to research the person and actually paid attention to what they’ve said about themselves.
General rule of thumb is to stick to the interests, hobbies and even friends that you share with the person to break the ice. When you combine this strategy with polite or interesting comments or observations about the things that interest the other person, you’re bound to get a response.
Step 3: Keep It Polite
To increase the number of responses your first messages get (note the plural), make sure you’re polite and respectful.
A rude or disrespectful message is guaranteed to fail in its mission to attract any positive attention, and will only be condemned and discarded. The Brits certainly don’t appreciate bluntness!
Being nice goes a long way and opens more doors than you think, and so does treating the people the way you’d like to be treated.
Keep in mind that sexting is off the table on any respectful online dating site, and you should refrain from it no matter the circumstances.
Every message or photo that you post online remains stored somewhere and if it makes its way into the wrong hands, the consequences can be grave.
Last, but not least, write original messages that you haven’t already sent to a bunch of other members because the experienced users of online dating sites will see right through it!