When we think about summer lovin’, we imagine walking along the shore and watching the sunset hand-in-hand with the guy or girl of our dreams. However, real life isn’t like the movies; great summer love usually just becomes a one-time summer fling, or sometimes nothing.
Dating app OkCupid believes in “substance over selfies”—connecting people based on what truly matters. It is where people looking for more than summer fling go. Here are its top tips on how to get the most from your dating profile and grab that summer romance of a lifetime:
Start it right
“Hey” is a popular conversation starter, but here’s a fun fact: saying “hey” in a first message gives you an 84 percent chance of being completely ignored. Instead look at their profile and comment something specific that you like. Keep it short and sweet. Try something along the lines of “I love halo-halo, too! It’s the one thing keeping me from melting in this summer heat,” or other engaging lines you can connect over.
Upload a variety of photos (more than just selfies!)
Share photos that show what makes you, you—whether that’s bumming by the beach, volunteering, running marathons, or just hanging out with friends. Here’s the secret—you want to make it easy for that person to reach out to that photo and say, “Hey, I went to Siargao last month and I loved it! Do you surf, too?”
Show, don’t tell!
Instead of describing yourself with a long list of adjectives, talk about the things you love doing. If you love to go windsurfing, show some of your best action photos; if you love dogs, show a picture of you and your puppy walking along the park; if humor is your strong suit, show off some of your best one-liners and funny anecdotes. Show your potential summer love that you’re a catch.
Update, update, update!
An estimated one in three dating app users doesn’t update their dating profile app once they upload it, but if you add a new photo or a new story, most dating apps treat you like a new person and the algorithm kicks into gear, showing you more people.
Put time and energy into it
How often have we heard “It’s so hard to find someone! I guess I’ll be single forever,” and other hugot lines? But when you ask them how much time and effort they put into their profiles, they’ll probably say none. Remind yourself that dating is supposed to be fun. You really get out of it what you give, so put some more energy into finding that summer love of your dreams.