Rudolph was unique and it paid off (okay, it's a stretch, but you try finding a photo that works!)
Bet you didn’t know that “Happy Birthday to you” has a copyright value of $5 million US. Given that statistic, I have to figure there’s a really rich, really happy eccentric out there who’s collecting millions from the following profile. It’s high in popularity but low in distinctiveness:
Looking for my soulmate, are you out there? (That headline alone must be worth millions in royalties and is second only to “life is short”). I luv life (as opposed to the rest of us who are happier dead?) and I luv to laugh (right, who doesn’t hate a good belly laugh), lol (that’s an abbreviation just in case you didn’t understand the word laugh).
As for “luv” – is it really so taxing to fill out all 4 letters in the word love? If you’re going to go as far as writing three letters then, for then for the luv of god man, just add one more letter!
Besides a grumpy rant about dating profiles, I’d like to contribute one of the best online dating tips ever: be different. Be unique. Be unlike anyone else. To do so, check out your competition and make sure you’re not selling what they’re selling. Good brands check out the competition it all the time. One of the best ways to succeed in advertising is to keep abreast of what others are saying, then be sure to “one up” them.
In the 20 years that I’ve spent writing ads for companies, I’ve had innumerable clients point to an ad and say, “I like that ad. I want mine like that.” I’ve said no emphatically every time.
First of all, making one ad similar to an already good ad just makes people think of the first ad. In short, it promotes the first ad. Worse still, by making your ad similar to someone else, you end up being like the other person. In online dating, the sheer number of ads that are similar to each other means you’ll be just like everyone else.
In essence, the only thing that’ll make you different is how you look. Unless you’re the best looking person online – by far – looks are not enough. To stand out, you need a profile that’s different from everyone else.
So, as I suggested earlier, check out the competition and make sure your profile stands out as different and better. If everyone’s saying “I love to laugh” then, instead, give the reader an engaging anecdote about the funniest thing you’ve ever seen, and be creative – it could be something you saw as a child. When everyone else’s is saying, “I love life”, be unique and tell us why you love life. If you love sunsets – like everyone else – then describe the best sunset you’ve ever seen.
An interesting profile attracts more interesting icebreakers, emails, people and conversations. And, no matter how “fine” you might be doing online, your profile can help you do better. Yet another good reason why you should have your online dating profile written by a professional ad writer, specifically one trained in marketing…okay, more specifically – me.
For more online dating advice, feel free to read through the previous blogs, or to contact me directly. For tips on how to write a great online dating profile, check out my online dating profile samples. Or, go straight to the free personality quiz and have your online dating profile professionally written by me!
