Not getting any online dates? Maybe it s time for an online makeover. Businesses like Dating-Profile.
com, ProfileHelper.com and E- Cyrano.com say they will help turn a stale personal profile for dating Web sites into eloquent and catchy advertisements, writing the words for you.
They will even help clients sift through prospective dates and start an initial e-mail conversation. Depending on the company and the services used, prices may range from $39 to $2,000.
Other companies, like LookBetterOnline.
com and SingleShots.com, sell professional photo shoots and retouching of existing pictures for people to post online.
"As online dating has gotten more popular, the more people have to do to get attention," said Mindy Stricke, owner of SingleShots.
com, a New York business that has produced 1,000 profile portraits, at prices from $130 to $300. "There s a lot of anxiety around this purchase because there s no guarantees. But a lot of people, especially in New York, are willing to go the extra mile.
"
High-end off-line dating services have long provided hairstyle and clothing renovations, as well as other help. But the latest twist underscores the frustration felt by some of the 40 million people using Internet matchmaking sites, said Mark Brooks, who follows the industry and is the author of the blog OnlinePersonalsWatch.com.
"The promise of Internet dating is you plug in your profile and you send a few e-mails and you have got a date," Brooks said. "It s not as easy as that."
Jim West, a divorced engineer from Pennsylvania, struggled to get beyond the first "hello" e-mail when he started online dating.
So after six months, West paid $49 for a critique from Eric Resnick, owner of ProfileHelper.com, based in Orlando, Florida. The price of that service is now $69.
Some of Resnick s advice: When sending e-mail messages to women, he should ask them questions about their profiles so they are more inclined to reply. Resnick also told West that his profile did not stand out because it used very general terms, like "very laid back" and "happy."
Resnick said: "Why say you are laid back when you can talk about the family barbecue that gives that air of laid back?
Why say you re adventurous when you can talk about your trip to the Great Wall of China?"
Marianne Kost, a divorced mother in New York, ran a bigger tab. She paid $2,000 for a profile, photographs and coaching from Evan Marc Katz, owner of two coaching services based in Los Angeles, EvanMarkKatz.
com and E-Cyrano.com. Kost was new to online dating, so Katz also helped her decide which dating service to use and which men to meet.
When Kost wrote her personal essay, Katz pushed her to tell specific stories, including, "I came face-to-face with a bull moose during rutting season," and, "I occasionally smear a glob of peanut butter on my dog s nose, just for fun." Kost said she had many responses when her profile went online at Match.com.
She said she did not meet many men in person because Katz had advised her to go through a long screening process with e-mail and phone conversations before an actual date. After three months, Kost met Stephen Micallef, who, like her, is an engineer.
Micallef liked the professional photographs of Kost.
And he liked the way her profile captured her essence with details, like how she raced a storm on a sailboat and collected strawberries to make jam. "This was well written. There was thought in it," he said.
"I found her profile to be authentic, sincere and honest, and it was proven out." They have dated for eight months and plan to marry.
Match.
com, has begun offering free profile and photo tips via an online video with Jay Manuel, of the television show "America s Next Top Model." The company also sells services for $2 to $6 a month that offer advice on dating and ways to make profiles and photographs stand out.
Jim Safka, chief executive of Match.
com, based in Dallas, said online dating was like being on stage and being viewed by thousands of people. "Wouldn t you spend some time backstage getting ready?" he asked.
In the Dallas market, Match.com is testing a service called "Match Platinum," in which professional matchmakers interview clients, coach them on appearance and style and then sift through Match.com s database of 15 million members to find a compatible date.
"We ve had a tremendous response to it," said Deborah Robertson, a matchmaker for Match Platinum. Clients pay $500 to $2,000, depending on the level of service.
Such levels of spending and coaching concern at least one dating expert.
News RSS