by Pam Nelson

Created on: July 21, 2010

Writing an online profile is tricky at best. Too much detail and the reader will click next, not enough detail and they can't fill in the pieces. The best advice I ever read about writing an online profile is to write from the heart. Dating is difficult for everyone, whether online or meeting in person so put your best foot forward. The easiest way to write a profile is to make your reader feel at ease about you. Writing from the heart is honest and approachable. But first let's talk about what not to do:

There are a couple hard and fast rules to avoid some of the online dangers and pitfalls.

1. Do not include personal information such as a phone number, ages and gender of children.

2. If you lie in your profile you will not succeed in your goal. Someone may fall for the lie but once discovered you will loose out on everything you wanted.

3. There are people who lie to lure in the naive, vulnerable, or inexperienced. Don't blame yourself if you make a mistake. There are bad people in everyday life as well. Some are in it for the game.

4. Mechanically, make sure you spell check and proof read out loud, hear your tone? That is how the reader interprets it.

5. Answer the scripted questions. They are there to add more dimensions to round out the profile. Some sites have surveys to add personality matching. Use them and read them to get a better picture of compatibility.

6. Sexual connotations will attract people interested in that as an outcome.

So now lets get back to the positive side of online dating, writing a profile that attracts what you are looking for in a person. The first two or three lines of your profile are your best attention getter's and usually show up as a summery in searches. Search on your profile so you can see what shows up in that summery. Try for something more light-hearted. Saying I have been divorced for 3 years and I have 2 children is not going to grab a reader's attention to want to know more about you. Something like, A smile from my best friend at the end of the day is all I am missing, may be corny but if it your truth then it is good writing. It is approachable and friendly.

Lists don’t really help people understand your likes and dislikes. For example, I enjoy music, fishing, movies, camping, and rollerblading. This sounds more like a grocery list. You are not shopping. What do you want to do with someone you may meet? I would enjoy meeting someone who enjoys swing dancing, or at least might be interested in lessons so we

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