Chatting someone up at a bar or a party in real life can be nerve-wracking, but navigating the tricky world of virtual dating is often just as daunting.
But now experts have revealed the secret tricks that will boost your chances of finding a date, including how to create the perfect profile and when to send that crucial first message.
Researchers from eHarmony found that women who make the first move are more successful, but that you should leave a gap of at least four hours before replying to messages.
While you might think a neutral question about what the person has been up to that day is a good way to break the ice, and the best question to guarantee conversation is ‘what do you think about traditional gender roles?’
So for the singletons out there struggling to find love online, it may be worth making a note of the following tips and tricks.
Women who make the first move get five times more interest than those who wait (file image)
MORE IS MORE:
Rather than being cryptic and mysterious with a short bio, aim to write between 200 and 250 words about yourself. It may seem excessive, but it will boost your inbox by 50 per cent.
Although currently almost half of men and a quarter of women are writing fewer than 25 words to describe themselves.
MAKE THE FIRST MOVE:
Be brave and make the first move and then wait at least four hours before replying.
Women who message first get five times more interest than those who wait.
As well as keeping them on their toes, it also increases your chance of getting a message back by 17 per cent.
WEAR SUNGLASSES:
Bizarrely, women see a 50 per cent increase of messages when wearing sunglasses in their profile picture. This isn’t the same for men though, they will see a 20 per cent drop.
ASK ABOUT GENDER ROLES:
If you are stuck for a conversation starter, apparently the question guaranteed to attract the highest number of responses from matches is: ‘what is your opinion of traditional gender roles?’
And the second most popular is ‘How do you feel when a husband makes less money than his wife?’
A huge red flag to fellow daters is uploading photos where other people have been cut out or blurred (file image)
PICTURE PERFECT
One of the biggest chores of online dating is choosing the right pictures. On top of your profile picture, each snap increases response by 8 per cent.
For men it’s an extra 10 per cent. So add as many pictures as the app allows!
Selfies are acceptable, but research says to beware of facial close-ups. Singletons who zoom in too tight get half as many messages as those who include waist-up shots.
DON’T CROP!
A huge red flag to fellow daters is uploading photos where other people have been cut out or blurred.
Whilst it may be perfectly innocent, it could look like you’re hiding an ex!
AVOID THE ‘HOW ARE YOU’ OPENING:
There is a ridiculous amount of pressure in choosing the right words to say to someone.
Remember, this could be your future husband for all you know, do you really want to greet him with ‘how are you’?
These type of short messages will actually give you a 35 per cent drop in replies. So those words are important.
CHECK THOSE TYPOS:
Men looking for love should consider a quick spellcheck. Men who make two spelling mistakes in their profiles reduce their odds of a reply by 15 per cent.
Women, however, don’t see any drop in communication due to bad grammar or spelling.