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Match.com Launches Profile Assistance, Providing Trained Writers to Help the Site’s Members Make a Great First Impression with Compelling and Irresistible Personal Profiles

5/20/2004

Match.com Launches Profile Assistance, Providing Trained Writers to Help the Site's Members Make a Great First Impression with Compelling and Irresistible Personal Profiles

51% of 5,000 Online Singles Surveyed Indicate Not Checking Profile Spelling and Grammar is Most Common Online Dating Mistake, 23% Complain That Singles Write About Their Exes in Profiles

- Recognizing the importance of a great first impression in dating, Match.com today announced the launch of Match.com Profile Assistance (found at advisors.match.com), providing a network of writers skilled in creating and tailoring online profiles for the site's 12 million members. Powered by Ingenio, Inc., Match.com Profile Assistance is the first service of its kind to be offered by a leading online dating site. Many singles find the process of creating a profile overly time consuming, challenging or even intimidating. With Match.com Profile Assistance, provided through the Match.com Advisors service, the site's members can quickly and easily review a list of writers who are knowledgeable about Match.com and the online dating experience and contact the profile assistant of their choice through a telephone call.

“The Match.com profile is the foundation of our entire service. Our members use their profiles to communicate so much about their interests, their backgrounds and the things they are seeking in a relationship,” said Tim Sullivan, President of Match.com. “We think Match.com Profile Assistance will prove a great resource to those members who want a little help with this key part of the Match.com experience.”

Users can access Match.com Profile Assistance by logging on to advisors.match.com, or through Match.com site promotions, and browse Match.com's list of qualified writers, found under the Profile Assistance link. Users can review each assistant's qualifications, availability status and ratings. A simple click on the “Call Now” button alongside an assistant's profile sets up a private phone call with that assistant that will ring at the phone number provided by the user. Match.com's profile assistants charge a flat $20 fee to edit an existing profile and $40 to help with the creation of a profile from scratch. Match.com expects to launch with approximately 20 profile assistants who will be available during standard business hours, including weekends, with generally four to five assistants available at any one time.

“In dating, singles rarely get a second chance to make a terrific first impression, so it's important they get it right the first time and post a profile that demonstrates what they have to offer a romantic partner and what makes them uniquely special,” said Trish McDermott, Vice President of Romance and resident dating expert at Match.com. In a survey of more than 5,000 Match.com members asking about the most common profile mistakes, 51% complained about profiles with poor spelling or grammar, 23% complained about singles referencing their exes in profiles and 23% complained about the photos posted with profiles.

Match.com's Online Personal Profile Tips:

• Proofread your profile—Grammatically incorrect profiles sprinkled with misspelled words suggest a sloppy, second-best approach to dating and life.
• Have a little fun—Playful, fun-loving people who know how to have a good time are attractive. Tell a story, poke a little fun at yourself, make the reader smile or laugh and they're likely to want to know more about you.
• Stay positive—Although we all have occasional struggles in our lives, our online profiles are not places to purge ourselves of all that troubles, irritates, frustrates or annoys us. Griping, whining and complaining are never sexy.
• Maintain a little mystery—Your goal is to leave the reader wanting a little more, which is an incentive to send you an email, ask questions, offer observations and make a connection. Don't drill down into every life detail in your profile. There is such a thing as too much of a good thing, even when that good thing is you!
• Post several photos, and a video, too—Although we all want to be loved for who we are on the inside, this is dating, and the outside matters too. Profiles with photos get a lot more attention. Be sure to smile.