Getting people to go to websites and then do stuff (buy something, sign up for something, or whatever) is what I do for a living. I’ve been doing for almost a decade, and I’ve gotten pretty good at it. Part of it is making sure that a website doesn’t suck, part of it is making sure that the people you’re sending to said website are the right kinds of people (us marketers call them “targeted users” or “qualified leads”), and part of it is having a whole bag of tricks to use when needed.

So when I started online dating a couple years ago, I naturally approached my profile the same way I would a client’s website — and the results were pretty good. More importantly, as I continue to window shop for the attention of strangers online, it never ceased to amaze me just how terrible other people’s profiles are.

So I’m throwing this post out there in hopes that I can help just a few people to do a better job at having an online dating profile (and generally waste less of their own and other people’s time). I’m also breaking it up 5 simple steps or tips because as a content marketer, I know that lists of 5 and 10 tend to be more popular and I’d like as many people to read this as possible.

1. Upload a Decent Headshot

Would you ever buy something online if you couldn’t see a picture of it? Even more, would you ever buy something online if the product photo was crappy or obscure? I’m guessing not.

So as creative or quirky or artistic as a way you found to obscure your face, it’s not helping anyone. None of us are out to date someone we aren’t attracted to, and we can’t really figure out if we’re attracted to someone unless we can actually see their face.

Now, I get it. Maybe you’re shy or you want to feel things out before putting yourself out there or you’re worried that someone you know is going to see you, but that’s not really helping anyone. First of all, a complete stranger is only going to invest so much time in talking to you before finding out what you look like; I mean, you wouldn’t try to pick up someone in public if you couldn’t see their face.

Secondly, if you’re not really putting yourself out there, you’re not really gonna get a feel for what online dating is really like because people will approach you less often and more cautiously when they do. And finally, if someone finds your online dating profile, it’s because they have one too, so what is there to be embarrassed about?

2. Upload a Body Shot, too…

Just like people wanna see your face, they’re gonna wanna get a sense for what the full package looks like. I mean, you wouldn’t order a dress online if you could only see the top half, right?

So upload a pic that shows that full package to go along with that headshot because, let’s face it, we all have our standards and preferences, and there’s no point luring someone out on date if they’re not into said “full package”. You’ll just be wasting both your time.

3. Be Honest…

So, if you’ve ever filled out an online dating profile, you might’ve noticed that there’s all these fields that cover everything from your stats to what you’re looking for. This is pretty much like the “product description” you find on any ecommerce website, and you mind as well be honest because, well, if you’re not what someone is looking for, then you just spent all your time trying to sell ice to an Eskimo.

Be upfront about what you’re looking for. There’s no point going out on dates with people who don’t want the same thing; it’s just not going to work.

For example, if you have kids, say so. That’s a deal breaker for a lot of people, and as much as that can suck or be really discouraging, there’s no point pursuing someone who’s never going to buy in to who you are and what you bring to the table.

Similarly, level about your body type and your other personal stats because it’s not like someone is going to show up on a date and change their mind about what turns them on just because they took the time show up at a cafe or a bar to meet a stranger that they met online. Not only will you save them a lot of time, but you’ll save yourself the grief of courting people who just aren’t interested in you.

4. Have a Unique Selling Proposition

In marketing, a unique selling proposition (USP) is what sets your product aside from all your competitors’. For instance, there are tons of different cars and smartphones out there on the market, but each one of them appeals to a different kind of consumer. Some of us are looking for cheap, some of us are looking for reliable, some of us are looking designer name brands.

So figure out what it is that sets you aside or makes you “special”, and work it into one of those fields that dating sites ask you to fill out. After all, online dating is a lot like window shopping, so you need something that’ll catch people’s eye.

For example, don’t mention how much you “love to laugh and travel”. I mean, who doesn’t like to laugh or go on vacation? Instead, focus on what makes you different from the rest of us because it’ll (1) be a lost less cliched and boring, and (2) help increase your chances of getting noticed by the kind of person that might appreciate getting noticed by someone like you.

5. Don’t Give it All Away

So have you ever landed on a web page, and there’s a sh*t ton of text and you’re like “well, I don’t have time for this,” so you bounce? Well, people are going to do the same thing with your online dating profile.

No one really needs to know everything about you before they even met you. Just imagine if someone started telling you their life story immediately after you met them. It’d be kinda creepy and weird, right?

Get to the point, and spare everyone the details. Mystery if one of the most powerful principles of marketing and advertising, so tap in to it. Besides, pouring your heart out on your profile is just gonna make you look really into yourself.

Landing Page Optimization

In the world of online marketing, making a web page do what it’s supposed to do as best as it can is called “landing page optimization”. And a big part of landing page optimization is not necessarily getting the most amount of people to see the page and the most amount of people to do something on it, but getting the right people to see the page and do something on it. These people are your “targeted demographic”.

The world of online dating (or even offline dating) is not much different. At the end of the day, you don’t want as many people as possible viewing your profile and messaging you. That’s just gonna be a big waste of time. You’re gonna end up sorting through a whole bunch of “untargeted leads” and going on dates with them, and it’s gonna be all for naught.

Instead, you wanna figure out a way to target not only the kinds of people you want to date, but the kinds of people you want to date that are also gonna wanna date you. That’s where you’re gonna hit it on the money. So you mind as well find a way to represent who you really are with pics, stats, and descriptions, and still give them only enough to pique their interest so they’ll actually wanna jump through the hoops of messaging you and maybe meeting up someday to find out more.