Common knowledge suggests that making a good first impression is an important part of cultivating any new relationships, whether they are romantic or otherwise. This remains true even when that first impression is being made through the lens of cyberspace. For those of you who are trying your luck at online dating, you would be well advised to pay close attention to the way in which you represent yourself through your personal profile.

What you say and how you say it on your profile will determine the type of responses you can expect to receive. If you take the time required to write a well-thought out personal ad, then you are more likely to gain positive results from those efforts. Remember that a personal ad is essentially an advertisement. In order for advertisements to be effective, they need to sell the product or service they are offering in a way that appeals to their target audience. Ads with too much hype can usually be spotted a mile away and can be as much of a turn off as boring ads with little to say so it’s important to get it just right. Since online dating requires you to be in the business of selling yourself, it’s time for you to start working on your sales pitch.

In this case, as in most, honesty is definitely the best policy. Sure that cloak of anonymity on the web can make it tempting to embellish something here and there but indulging in false advertising techniques will get you nowhere fast. If you are sincerely looking for someone to connect with on a genuine level, then the last thing you want to do is lie or even stretch the truth in any way. While posting a fake picture or exaggerating physical characteristics might generate more initial results, most if not all of those results will be doomed to failure. Eventually, the online mask will have to come off and you will be exposed as a fake, if not worse. Spare yourself the embarrassment by being real from the get go.

Once you have committed to working only with the truth, take some time to reflect on exactly what it is you are looking for and what you have to offer in return. Jot down whatever comes to mind about your own personality traits and values. Then consider what traits and values you are looking for in a mate. Try not to go into to much detail though, provide just enough information so that your intentions are clear but try to omit enough to save a little bit of mystery too. Do include a real photo of yourself to go with the ad. It greatly increases the chances of your ad being clicked on from searches.

Most importantly, be sure to carefully check for errors in the final draft of your ad. Spell check was created for a reason so take full advantage of it anytime you are representing yourself in written form. Consider referring to the following checklist when writing your ad:

· Does the ad truly represent who I am and what I am about?
· Was I completely honest about everything?
· Did I include a real photo?
· Did I use spell check?
· Would I respond to my own ad?