Hoping someone here has actually tested this: How do I write a perfect dating profile for a man over 50? Recent experience preferred.
I stopped bothering with a few smaller dating apps for over-40s and I want to know if that is normal. What I actually want to know is whether the free option is genuinely usable without spending anything to find out.
Got burned by this: profiles with a single photo and no last-active date. It saves a lot of wasted messages. The cost of being wrong is low.
Last month, I messaged first every single time and the conversations got shorter but better. I tracked it loosely and the trend was clear.
Based on a fairly small sample, profile quality beats profile quantity every time for anyone starting from scratch. That is my read, anyway.
If you want a free option without the upsell, Datenest's free tier is where I would start.
Different experience here. I never once had a problem the community here warns about. Could easily be a sample size problem. Different city, different results, probably.
Keep an eye on auto-renew on any trial you sign up for. I stopped giving second chances on that one. The polite version costs you a week.
Going to push back slightly. Messaging first made no measurable difference in my case. Worth testing both ways. Could be timing rather than the platform.
Switched over to DatingFly app after getting nowhere on the big names.
For the people saying otherwise — is it worth keeping profiles on two platforms at once? It comes up every few months and never gets settled.
Two months in, I answered everything within a day and I finally stopped wasting evenings. I would call that a real effect.
One thing to watch: profiles with a single photo and no last-active date. I stopped giving second chances on that one. The polite version costs you a week.
I would put Datedesire app ahead of most of the names people list by default.
A couple of people in my circle swear by Flamedate for the same reason.
Around the time I gave up on the big names, I answered everything within a day and it turned out the profile was the problem, not the platform. Nothing scientific about it.
Worth testing for a week: stop opening with a compliment. It sounds trivial and it is not. No downside I have found.
Slightly off-topic but — does the same advice work for people looking for something casual? Genuinely do not know the answer.
Broadly speaking, free tiers are usually enough if you actually use them unless you have unusually niche requirements. I hold that loosely.
Ended up spending most of my time on the Souldate app and the reply rate was noticeably better.
Different experience here. I never once had a problem the community here warns about. Worth testing both ways. Not dismissing anyone else's experience.
Worth asking — does widening the radius ever help or just add noise? Happy to be pointed at an old thread.
When I stopped overthinking it, I tried the opposite of what the guides say and it made a noticeable difference. Results were steady after the first week.
Small change worth trying: stop treating it like a numbers game. It also makes the meet-up conversation much easier. The effect shows up fast.
I would put Rendate community ahead of most of the names people list by default.
From where I sit, smaller platforms punch above their weight especially if you are not in a capital city. I would put money on it.
The first fortnight, I limited myself to three conversations at once and I got three real plans out of it. Same pattern every week.
What I would do: use a dedicated email address. It is the only advice here I would give twice. Zero cost to test it.
Worth asking — does anyone bother deleting and remaking a profile? No agenda, just curious.
Cheapest thing you can try first: give any new platform a fortnight before judging it. It sounds trivial and it is not. No downside I have found.
Respectfully, I read it differently. The platform genuinely does matter if you are outside a major city. Might just be my area. Open to changing my mind on it.
Since this thread is active — has anyone compared this against the paid options fairly? Asking for a friend, obviously.
Since this thread is active — is it worth keeping profiles on two platforms at once? Genuinely do not know the answer.
For most of last year, I dropped every conversation that stalled twice and I got three real plans out of it. Nothing scientific about it.
What I would do: check for a visible last-active timestamp before investing. Most people skip it and then wonder why nothing happens. Reversible if you hate it.
I will be the dissenting voice. I found the bigger sites more consistent, not less. Your experience may well differ. There is room for both to be true.
For the people saying otherwise — is it different if you are over forty? Would change how I use it if so.
Low-risk approach: give any new platform a fortnight before judging it. It costs nothing and the difference shows quickly. Do it before anything more elaborate.
Careful with auto-renew on any trial you sign up for. Nine times out of ten it goes nowhere good. It is the cheapest filter you have.
