Any need, want or desire that you have related to the pursuit of a mate can be found with an online dating service. Looking to marry a millionaire? Try MillionaireCupid.com. Love a man in uniform, or wear one every day? Then take a peek at UniformDating.com. These sites, and many others like them, actually exist. And if you know where to look, they are pretty easy to find. But first, you need to know what you are looking for, as there are more than 9 million websites currently catering to the singles market.
Difficulty: N/A
Time Required: 2-3 hours
Here's How:
1. Determine what kind of relationship you are looking for. Something serious that may lead to marriage? Casual dating to ease you back into the dating market? Sexual encounters with no strings attached? Friendship-based interactions that could lead to romance? If one or more relationship types interest you, make a note of that as well.
2. Create a list of things that you are looking for in a relationship, mate, date or sexual partner. Do they have to be a certain height, have similar interests, be of a certain income or intelligence level, live nearby, be open to dating a single parent, or speak a certain language? There are dating services that cater to each of these factors, and they may or may not be of use to you in your search.
3. Next, decide on a price range you want to abide by when searching the dating services for your perfect mate. There are several excellent free dating sites out there, but sometimes the added perks and membership numbers of the larger, more expensive dating services are worth the cost. Either way, have a monthly amount you are willing to spend in mind.
4. Are there any online dating services that you've heard great things about and want to explore? Have friends told you to steer clear of a particular site? If so, add these to your criteria list.
5. Create a list of potential online dating services to review. You'll eventually want to get the number down to 5-10, but for now add as many as you like. If you can't think of where to look, start with typing into your favorite search engine the requirements you listed previously, with the word 'dating' appended onto the end. For instance, if you are interested in nerds, type in Nerd Dating and see what you get. Write down your results or save them to a specially bookmarked file.
6. Of the websites you have listed, which offer you the most amount of options in the dating criteria important to you? Many of the larger sites provide you with a wealth of options to choose from when both posting your profile and searching for someone - which offer the most that suit your needs? Put these at the top of your list. Any that are too expensive, don't have a lot of people in your geographic area, or offer few matching options should be removed completely.
7. Choose some of your top criteria web dating sites - the amount is up to you but try for less than ten. Take advantage of their free signup (every single dating site offers free signups; it's contacting people that costs money). Search the other members, take a peek at the features, and smile at a couple of interesting singles. See how the interface works, and whether or not the quality, and quantity of singles in your area is acceptable.
8. After a week or so, you'll notice that you spend more time at one or two sites. Maybe they are easier to use, pleasing to the eye, quick with response times, have a plethora of singles to choose from, or offer many of the features you need. Whatever the reason, you'll know within the week which sites to invest more time into.
9. What if none of your top ten take your fancy? It's back to the original list of dating sites you compiled in step five. Don't worry - you'll find exactly what you need and want. It just takes some of us a bit longer than others.
