Golden rules of online dating.

Give yourself the best chance of making the most of your online dating membership. Try applying these simple suggestions to be successful and you will discover a whole new world of singles that will be lining up to go out with you.

Posting a photo.

An Australian online dating service provided some handy statistics that indicated members who post a photo on their profile increase their chance's of receiving views and responses by more than 10 times as opposed to those who don't post photo's. Posting a photo immediately shows other singles that you are genuine and have nothing to hide. It shows you are confident enough to put yourself out there and also indicates that you are not married. You don't need to be embarrassed about your looks either. Online dating sites are full of singles that vary incredibly in the looks department.

Putting others first.

Save the big speal about how fantastic you are until you get to know your date fairly well. There is no better way to end a date quickly than by bragging about yourself. First up you should be showing interest in your date and keep the conversation light hearted and fun. A genuine contender that is vying for your heart really wont care about your record sales month at work. Dating is all about enjoying each others company on a personal level.

Their profile.

Before you initiate communication with other singles be certain to have read their profile in detail. Make your first point of contact personalized which will show you have not copy and pasted the same message to a dozen other singles. Studying someone's profile will also give you a head start when you meet them in person and will give you conversation ideas.

Be respectful.

If you have been engaging in online chat or exchanging emails with another member and you decide not to pursue a face to face meeting due to a lack of interest or perhaps you have found someone else more compatible, you need to do the right thing and tell them why you won't be pursuing anything further. Many online daters simply stop communicating offering no explanation. We all have feelings and expectations so being treated this way is showing a lack of respect. Treat others as you would expect to be treated and you could find that karma will be kind to you.

Be constructive and confident.

Being positive gives an immediate impression that you are a happy and enjoyable person to be around. If a potential date can detect this quality in you, you can be fairly certain they will be interested in you enough to want to know more about you. That's why you're there in the first place so work on your confidence and watch the offers start to roll in. Your opening profile headline should reflect a positive personality such as "Check out today's specials" or "Shining spark looking to fire up a shared journey"

Be smart - be safe.

Remember online dating sites are full of complete strangers and you can be certain that not all of them are as honest as you, most of them will be though. Before you agree to go out with someone make sure you study their profile and subtly refer back to some of the minor details as you chat with them online to ensure they are consistent. Your gut instinct should govern any decision you make if you are feeling slightly unsure. The prospect of true love can lower out personal defenses leaving us vulnerable to deceptive people. If you are unsure, you should chat to a friend or family member who isn't emotionally involved for a second opinion.

All of the above advice is commonsense and can be easily followed to ensure you meet someone special and wonderful through online dating. Hundreds of thousands of marriages have eventuated in recent years thanks to online dating , which is by far the most common match making personals option available for singles.