As far as online dating goes, when it comes to knowing something about the other person, you don’t have much to go on. You have a picture, a paragraph and some of their basic details. It’s during the first few emails back and forth that you can get to know someone better. Women almost always want a confident man, financially independent, intelligent and well mannered. So guys, when it comes to writing a message to a woman online, use good vocabulary. Remember it’s “the” not “da” and “this” not “dis”.

Show her that you took the time to write out something good just for her. If she is a beautiful and well education woman, imagine the massive amounts of messages she receives. Since she has to narrow down her options and one good way of doing that is by eliminating those guys who write sloppily.

Lavalife started way back in 1983 as a personals service and has now transitioned into an online dating site. So they know a little something about connecting compatible singles.With over 20 years experience in the dating sector you can imagine the number of success stories they have. Upon reading some online reviews submitted by former and current Lavalife members I concluded several things. There are indeed real members on this site. There’s also a good mixture of men and women here. However you must exercise your due diligence when talking to someone. Apparently one former female member from Canada was contacted by a male inmate from Bangladesh. So there’s no such things as background checks here that’s for sure.

Lava Life caters to three different types of relationships. These include casual dating, in which couples are just interested in dating and meeting new people. Lavalife also caters to serious relationships, in other words, people who are interested in building a long term partnership with someone which could lead to marriage and children. Finally LavaLife also caters to those who are looking for an intimate relationship, a no strings attached sexual experience or a discreet affair. You can state what you’re looking for in your profile and when browsing profiles you can also choose which relationship type you want to appear in the search results.

This image is a tag cloud showing the most common words used in online dating profiles, separated by men and women. You can use this keyword list to see what interests the opposite sex have. If you want to have more matches with the opposite sex you might consider using some of the words in your profile. Only do this if you genuinely enjoy those things though. Here are some interesting things to note.

- Women are more social than men. We see this in the tag cloud as women use words like: family, traveling, laughing, family and friends.

- Entertainment is big. Both men and women like music and movies evenly.

- Men use the word cooking more than women do. This doesn’t mean men cook more than women do.

- Women like family and reading, while men like sports and outdoor activities.

When people try online dating for the first time they make lots of mistakes. The rules of meeting someone at a bar and meeting someone online are completely different. You have less to go on, so the little things tend to matter more. Did you know that you could be turning off potential mates without even knowing it? Here are some common mistakes to avoid.

- Use a recent picture. If you’re fat, don’t use an old picture of when you were skinnier. People like all sorts of body shapes, but almost nobody can stand a liar.

- Don’t lie. Guys, if you’re not a millionaire don’t say you are. It might get you some first dates but it won’t get you any second dates. After all, you want someone who likes you for you.

- Write correctly. Show them that you have some level of intelligence by spelling correctly. Don’t abbreviate things too much. The other person may not be an internet pro like you are. Don’t write in all capital letters. It’s the equivalent of shouting in person.

A good picture can make or break your profile. When you’re browsing through hundreds of online profiles the picture is what you look at first. It’s the most important part of an online dating profile. As shallow as that may seem that’s just the way it is. The courtship process begins (and often times ends) by the first glance of a picture. This is the reason why you must have a good main photograph of yourself in your online dating profile. Here are 4 tips to help you improve your picture.

- Your main picture should be a picture of you. Don’t choose hello kitty or a sports team logo. These types of profiles will be skipped. If you don’t want to add a photo, then you don’t really want to try online dating.

- Smile. People want to be with a positive person who can improve their life. People always look better when they’re smiling.

- Use a current picture. If you’ve gained or lost weight recently, update your picture with a current one. If you’ve cut, dyed or lost your hair, update your picture.

- Use multiple pictures. Don’t just have one picture. Upload several different shots. Have a face shot, a body shot, a picture with your friends and another one doing one of your favorite activities.