Online Dating Profile: Anatomy Of A Great Opening Paragraph

Wouldn’t it be great if people read your entire profile simply out of respect for the effort you put into it? 

The sad truth about profiles

Sadly, this is the opposite of reality.  The truth is, people rarely read all the way through your profile before deciding to move on.  The second they get bored, they close it and skip to the next person… usually before the end of the first paragraph! 

So, is not reading the whole profile the fault of the reader for not having a great attention span?  No.  It is the fault of the writer for not hooking them in the first paragraph!

The opening hook

Most online daters fail to appreciate the importance of the “opening paragraph hook.”  This is a critical tool in any writing, but especially in online dating profiles, where you must get your reader, man or woman, to become involved in your profile enough to want to see it all the way through. 

Your first paragraph is absolutely the most critical in your profile. It sets the tone for your entire piece. It hooks the reader.  It gets them curious, and makes them want to read more.

Consider this… when you pick up a magazine or newspaper and start reading an article, if you get bored during the first paragraph, how much more do you usually read?  NONE OF IT.  And that’s exactly what’s happening with the people reading your profile, they aren’t getting hooked and are wandering off.

How to lose their attention

Want to know one of the best things you can write to lose their attention immediately?

Try this:

"I hate writing these. It’s so hard to describe everything about yourself in words. Each time I do I feel I never come close enough to who I really am. Oh well, I guess I have to put something, so here it goes."

In this common and pessimistic paragraph, you are telling the reader that you are uncreative, lacking personal insight, and just as average as every other online dater out there who starts their profile the same way.  This is a bad way to kick off your profile!

How about this one…