7 Tips to Help You Hit Your Match Strike Rate

girl on beach phone aus.jpg

By Lisa Clark

OK. So your thumb is sore from scrolling and you’ve convinced yourself there must be a glitch in the system because your match rate is about as good as your dating history. Which, let’s be honest, isn’t great. With such an endless supply of potential partners, why aren’t you matching with your dream girl or guy?

It’s easy to get down on yourself and the process at hand.  I’m guessing you’ve hit the point where you’re asking yourself, ‘Am I being too picky?’ or the good old, ‘Am I destined to wander the world alone for the rest of my life?’. Let me step in here and lighten the load. YOU ARE JUST FINE! Your bio though, that may need a little makeover — a spruce-up if you like. Here’s how to stand out from the crowd with these top tips to hitting more matches on your Bumble profile.

Verify yourself straight away

If you aren’t getting matches it could potentially be because people think you are a catfish…. You’ve seen the show right? Where someone thinks they are talking to a supermodel from West Hollywood when they are actually talking to a man from middle America who has a penchant for making unsuspecting love addicts fall in love with them? Anyway, my point is anyone matching with you generally wants to know you are the real deal and that they’ll be safe talking to you. Take three minutes out of your day to verify your account. Your match rate is bound to improve with that simple step alone.

Be an overachiever (not a wanker)

This goes for you too, ladies. Let your images be the best highlight reel of your life, but stay away from pictures of you on a boat you don’t own or driving a car that’s not yours. You are way more likely to get a match through an exciting yet authentic look into who you are. So use images that show a little snippet of some of the best parts of your life, but don’t overdo it.  No one likes a show-off, and a favourite saying of mine is, ‘Have less that you show, speak less that you know’. The point? Even if you do have all of those fabulous things, it’s best to slowly introduce them into the mix so you don’t put out the wrong messages to the wrong types of ladies (or guys).

Smile, grin and smize

Don’t pout! Don’t look back over your shoulder toward the camera like you didn’t know the camera was there! And for God’s sake don’t do a mirror selfie! Just smile! I’ve literally had people DM me after my other articles asking me what they can do instead of smiling on their profiles because they don’t like their teeth. Now for someone that had braces from 25 to 28- years-old, trust me... I feel you. So try this: Smizing. Yep, it’s a thing, and it’s Tyra Banks' secret to a stunning photo. Smizing is considered to be a look that involves smiling not only with your mouth but through using your eyes — hence, ‘smize’. Ground breaking, right? And it’s the perfect way to still include your smile on your profile picture even though you don’t love your teeth.

It’s so great you have so many friends but…

I mean, you can do the whole ‘I’m the one in the middle’, but you are straight up weakening your chances of a match. They have already made up their mind based on the friend on the left that you’re probably not their vibe. So give yourself the best chance of finding a match by simplifying the 'who is s/he?' guessing game, and just include a picture of yourself as your first profile picture. Do you know what else? It’s sexy that you are confident enough to put yourself out there without the backing of your buddies. Run with that option, my friend.

Get some help from a female friend on which photos you should use, because in most cases we are our own worst enemy when it comes to self-promotion. And remember to keep your bio short, snappy and, if you can, funny. An emoji can say a lot, and it’s a great icebreaker on a bio. But I think the number one bio rule of all is to ensure your spelling and grammar is on point. You should also ensure your female photo-picker is also checking your bio for spelling and grammatical errors. Truth be told, most of us just want to find a guy that knows the difference between your and you’re…

LoveCaitlin Ryan