Funny Dating Profiles
Published on December 3, 2007
First a warning: this article does not tell you how to create a funny dating profile. It explains why trying too hard to create a funny profile is a bad idea. There are many things that should be a part of your profile (which I cover in my online dating guide) but being funny, especially artificially so, is not one of them. I know this isn’t what most men want to hear, trust me. I also know you’re not going to find a good formula out there that is going to magically make your profile funny.
Still reading? Great!
More Harm than Good
When I first started dating online, I believed that it was important that my profile be funny. Unfortunately, I found the harder I tried to be funny, the worse my profile became. Eventually I gave up on trying to be funny and just used my profile to describe myself and what I was looking for. Looking back, this change went a long way towards improving my profile and eventually my overall dating success. As the saying goes, it is far better to be clear than clever.
From what I have seen, men are the ones who believe their profiles must be funny. To these men I ask this: do you think a woman is more likely to respond to a profile that is funny or one that has qualities she is looking for? I suspect the majority of women will pick a profile that has the traits she finds desirable.
And yes, being funny is a desirable trait. However, being funny and trying to be funny are two very different things. Trying to be funny is difficult. Trying to be funny to total strangers in nothing more than a paragraph of text is even more challenging. Don’t believe me? Log into your preferred online dating site and look at a few dozen guys’ profiles. Keep a running total of those profiles that are funny versus those that are obviously trying to be funny. I’m confident if you do this you will realize why trying to prove you’re funny often has the opposite effect.
My advice: abandon the attempts to be funny. Write a clear profile and if it happens to be funny, that’s great! It’s also fine to list being humorous as a trait you have but don’t feel as if you then have to prove it! Being funny should not be your goal. Your goal should be to describe yourself clearly to your potential dates. If you absolutely must attempt to make your profile amusing, get some opinions from some friends before posting it.
Still plan on going for funny? Here’s some rules to follow if so:
- Avoid sarcasm. It’s hard to understand on the internet.
- Don’t look at humor as a way to avoid talking about who you are and what you are looking for. Humor should add to your content, not replace it.
- Berating yourself isn’t flattering. It might be funny to point out that you’re lonely or desperate but you’re not doing yourself any favors with this. Keep it positive!
Author: Brad
Brad initially struggled with online dating but over time became quite successful using it. He met his wife using online dating and has been giving advice and helping people improve their results since 2007. He has written a Free Online Dating Guide to help others find success with online dating. You can learn more about his personal experience using online dating and running this website here.
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