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The 20 to 1 Rule |
Most people get frustrated when they send out a message and get no response. After this happens several times, a person can begin to feel that something is wrong with them and/or their profile. This isn't the case, because it happens to most everyone. Keep in mind the 20 to 1 rule.
In general it takes 20 inquiries to 20 different people for you to get 1 response. As long as you see this as the norm, then you can be confident in knowing that you don't have the plague. :-)
There are some things you can do to increase the 20 to 1 ratio:
1) Make your message more personal. Specifically ask questions based on things you read about the person in his/her profile.
2) Don't be vulgar or rude. The biggest complaint from female online daters is that most men send vulgar, crude, rude, or stupid messages. Make sure your message is respectful, personal, and intelligent.
3) Don't talk about yourself too much. The focus of your first inquiry should be to find out about the other person and not provide your life's story.
4) Make sure you have great action photos of yourself posted. See the July 14, 2004 Online Dating Tips column for great tips on getting better photos.
5) Make sure your profile is interesting. Avoid cliches and be creative in the way you write so as not to sound like every other profile online.
Using the above five tips, you may triple or even quadruple your 20 to 1 ratio and find more people responding to your inquiries. Remember, if they find you interesting or intriguing then they are more likely to respond. Make sure your profile is stimulating and that your photo does the job of getting them to read your profile. |
| Posted on 12 Sep 2008 |
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