With 75 million active users on Tinder every month, how can you stand out from the crowd? How can you make someone swipe right when they see your initial photo? Should you give a lot of information or keep some mystery. We will tell all if you just keep reading… see what we did there? Mystery, ooohh…

Are Photos Important?

In a word: yes. I’d love to tell you that pictures don’t matter, but on an app where someone liking you pretty much depends on that initial picture (some sources say that 87% of your profile comprises your main photo that pops up on someone’s feed)… unfortunately the quality of your photo matters. However, you have a lot of freedom as to which photos you choose.

What Kind of Photos Should I Choose?

Let’s face it; it’s a dating app. So you want to have pictures on your profile that are true to who you are, show you in the best light, are appropriate for the internet, and that stands out. So we recommend having at least four to six photos for variety. 

Make sure that you have at least one photo that clearly shows your face, and then the rest are up to you. Think of three or four hobbies or interests that you have and try to find photos that express them. For example, if you’re a keen reader, try to find or take a picture of you reading a book. If you’re a fitness fan, choose a picture of you playing sport or working out. If you’re a baker, take a picture of yourself with one of your bakes. 

Linking your pictures with your hobbies tells your potential date a little bit about yourself without them having to read your profile. Genius, right!

What Photos Shouldn’t You Upload?

Selfies

That’s so early 2000s, babe. Don’t do it!

The baby tiger photo

What is it with Tinder profiles and people posing with tigers? Just no. Please stop this.

Photos with you wearing sunglasses

One photo is okay, but they do say that the eyes are the windows to the soul. So you need to show potential date prospects your eyes!

Sexy photos

You can look sexy and sophisticated, darling. One bikini photo is fine, but not every photo. You don’t want to give off the impression that you’re only looking for sex. Unless you are, in which case you do you.

Too many group photos

You don’t want to confuse your potential date as to who they’re talking to. When choosing your photos, make sure that you only ever choose one group picture (if at all) and that it’s clear who the person should be looking at, aka- you!

Blurry photos

If it’s blurry in a cute stylistic way, go ahead, but ensure you have other crisper photos on your profile. But if it’s a photo you just took to fill up the spaces, but it’s a little bit blurry because of too many margaritas, maybe don’t upload it.

What to write on your Tinder profile

Okay, listen, I’m not going to sit here at my computer and type that every potential date will read your profile. As we all know, Tinder is very photo heavy. But. If you’re seriously into finding someone on Tinder, you should fill out your profile. You don’t have to write a lot, and actually, you shouldn’t write a wall of text. That will just deter someone. You want to write just enough to sum yourself up without telling your whole life story. 

When you go to edit your Tinder profile, there are a few options that Tinder has already to tailor your profile: age, sexuality, gender, smoking preferences, pets, etc. However, the bio section is pretty much open to whatever you want to write. You can write one sentence or a small paragraph. It’s up to you. But don’t write any more than a small paragraph. Here are some good ideas for what to write on your profile:

• Interests and hobbies
• Travel preferences
• What your idea of a perfect morning is
• What your idea of a perfect date is
• Music preferences
• Food preferences: this one might be a deal-breaker for some people.
• Religion
• Spirituality
• What you’re looking for in a date (but be general)

What Not to Write on a Tinder Profile

As well as there being a variety of things to write about yourself on Tinder, there are also some things that you shouldn’t write. Here are our top tips for how not to write a Tinder profile:

• Don’t be cocky: A little hint of cockiness is okay if that’s part of your personality, but too much will turn people off.
• Don’t be rude about any particular demographic: If you hate vegan food, don’t be rude about vegans. I once went on a Tinder date with a guy who had written ‘vegetarians need not apply’ on his profile, and he got a lot of hate from vegetarians about it. Be careful about offending people. It’s totes unnecessary. 
• Don’t write a checklist for your perfect date: You can specify what kind of person you’re looking for, but don’t write:

• 6 ft 4 inches
• Chestnut brown hair
• Green eyes
• Likes long walks on the beach
• Gets me coffee in the morning
• Has a master’s degree
• Is a doctor

… See what we mean? You’re dating and not creating a character profile for your romance novel. Having a checklist is likely to scare someone away because it will make you look real picky, so please avoid this.

• Don’t write anything: If you’re serious about finding someone on Tinder, the odds are that the people you’re looking for will want to know a little bit about you before messaging you. It doesn’t take a long time, and it really shows that you’ve put some thought into how people perceive you, so take five minutes and write something, anything. 

The Climax

Creating a Tinder profile is not rocket science. The photo aspect of your profile will, unfortunately, always be more important than your actual profile description, especially the photo you choose to be your primary photo. But mastering both is essential to find a match who is actually interested in you. 

The key to success is actually uploading pictures of you, not cups of coffee or your pet dog. And when we say you, we mean the authentic you. Try to link your photos with your interests to show yourself in as many different aspects as possible. And when it comes to your written profile, it doesn’t and shouldn’t be a long-ass paragraph telling your life story. Just sum yourself up in a few sentences max. You want to give them a hint of who you are but leave them guessing. You do that, and you’ll be getting messages in no time.