Why some online dating profiles are a little like plastic surgery.

Breast implants and some online dating profiles have a lot in common. Both can look happy and bouncy. Both can get your attention. Both can be impossible to ignore. Yet, upon closer inspection, there’s nothing in them that’s real. The big difference is that most people won’t reject you over plastic surgery (unless you’re that horrifying cat lady, Jocelyn Wildenstein, or Carrot Top, or Mickey Rourke.)

Point is, while an embellished profile might initially arouse the interest of potential suitors, in the end the ruse will fall flat. No one likes liars. That’s a fact in the same that no one likes cockroaches, pen leaks or itchy hats is a fact.

I’ve seen online dating profile photos of “slim” people wearing suspiciously large clothes. I’ve seen other dating profiles of people claiming to earn outrageously high incomes even though they clearly couldn’t string a sentence together. I’ve also seen dating profile photos of people who are apparently over 6 feet tall even though they seem surprising teeny weenie next to the door that they’re posing next to (not the most brilliant way to pull off a deception).

I once when on a date with a fun, attractive guy. However, he was 6 years older than he claimed on his profile. I understand fudging the facts so that you don’t get left out on searches, but somewhere on your profile or in the initial emails, you need to come clean. I never saw him again. He lied and, to me, there’s no such thing as a “white” lie unless it’s one that’s pure of heart. He lied not out of good intentions, but self-serving ones.

The outcome of lying is never good. People who catch the red flags on your online dating profile won’t contact you unless there’s something cagey about them too. Those people who do go through the excitement and trepidation of a meet and greet only to be letdown by a misrepresentation will never, ever want to see you a second time unless, again, there’s something questionable (or desperate or batty) about them.

False advertising has consequences. In the corporate world, reputations get ruined. Companies get sued. People lose their jobs. In the dating world, people get angry and disappointed, while others get rejected. Don’t lie on your dating profile. If for some reason you do lie, make the misrepresentation known immediately in the first emails. Save yourself and others from the otherwise inevitable consequences.

As an online dating profile writer trained in marketing, I can honestly (like that!) say that everyone has wonderfully unique character traits. There’s no need to lie on your dating profile. You just need to uncover what makes you special and know how to present them (this is where I come in).This is yet another reason why you should hire a professional online dating profile writer (me) so that you can maximize your chances of online dating success.

Feel to get tips on how to write a great online dating profile, by checking out my online dating profile samples.

Better still, go straight to the fun free personality quiz. It’ll help you uncover some of your unique traits, which is the first step in writing a great online dating profile. Sorry for all the redundant words, it helps with search engine optimization.