Whiffing on POF...any thoughts?

[Mr. Goods]

About 2 weeks ago, my friend joined Plenty of Fish (free online dating site) and wanted me to join as well. Seeing no downside and not much risk involved, I joined too. I figured I could have some fun with it, creating a full profile and then messaging girls who I found attractive, expecting at least a couple to reply (in fact, POF says 1/3 of messages get replied to).

Over the course of this week, I have sent 10 messages:
4/10 have been read, but not replied to
6/10 remain unread

As you can see, I'm not having any success at all. My profile is solid, I write messages that are aimed towards the girl's profile and involve some humor. I am searching for more good pictures of myself, but have a couple on there right now. In short, I feel I'm doing what I can, but getting no results.

While I am new to this online dating, this seems odd. My messages aren't even being deleted; they're just read or unread, all of which without a response. The girls I am sending to check out the site (they show users who are online), but still no results. It's as if I'm invisible. People I know who have tried this before say about 20% of their messages were replied to. Right now, I am at 0%.

What can I do to improve my chances of even getting a response? There has to be something I can try or tweak.

 

[nismo-4]

AFAICT your profile pic may not be attractive to these women. That's one possibility. Some guys photoshop their pics you know.

If not that, females on POF can be real attention wh0res! But there are some that will reply to you, I ended up finding some. You will not have a 100% success rate. But if you shoot out some thought-out messages as opposed to canned messages, and throw a little attention grabber, that can help out.

 

[Mr. Goods]

What does AFAICT mean? My profile pic is a clean headshot, so I'm not sure that's the problem. My messages are geared towards their profile. During the process, I have made my subject headers more creative, so hopefully that improves the odds.

 

[nismo-4]

What does AFAICT mean? My profile pic is a clean headshot, so I'm not sure that's the problem. My messages are geared towards their profile. During the process, I have made my subject headers more creative, so hopefully that improves the odds.

As far as I can tell.

But tell a lil' about yourself. The subject headers can help too.

 

[ARrocket]

Here's 2 things I've used with some success in the past:

Sometimes I'll say "hey I read through your profile...for a second I thought we were soulmates, but then I noticed you like (insert here), so you ruined your chances " or something like that...then from there, just do a lil fluff talk, keep it light hearted, and after awhile just say "hey you seem like a cool girl (except for your obsession with ___), send me your number so we can chill sometime! I'm busy this week, but maybe next week."

Other times I've tried the "hey I think I met you last night!!" thing...I think I actually got that from this site lol. She'll deny it, and you can go with "yeah this was at this party over in (insert part of town), you were with these crazy drunk girls that kept trying to hit on me and my friends while we were leaving. It was pretty funny!" She'll of course deny it, then you can be like "haha well I guess even if it was you, you wouldn't admit to it! You must have a crazy twin in the area!" Then, transition into the fluff talk.

Your success rate isn't gonna be all that high, but this can work from time to time, I've done it several times!

 

[Uberguy]

Over the course of this week, I have sent 10 messages:
4/10 have been read, but not replied to
6/10 remain unread

As you can see, I'm not having any success at all. My profile is solid, I write messages that are aimed towards the girl's profile and involve some humor. I am searching for more good pictures of myself, but have a couple on there right now.

If you're not have any success, either your profile isn't solid or your messages aren't that good. But that's not too hard to fix. The same lessons found in the DJ Bible work online just as in real life. Study them; learn them; master them. You will notice a radical change once you apply a few principles. I literally went from a less than 10% reply rate to a 90% reply rate by changing just 4 things on my profile and improving my approach.

Also, ditch POF. You're not going to find quality on that site. The pay sites have their drawbacks, but they also have some much better girls to choose from.

You get what you pay for.

 

[Neon Owl]

Send out more messages man, online dating is really a numbers game. If one approach isn't working too well there's no harm in changing up your opener msg to see if you get more bites.


Also, what the hell is "whiffing"?

 

[r0cky]

Thats weird, what kind of girls are you going for? maybe you're not they're type physically? the strength of pof is that if you're decent looking it doesnt really matter what your profile says, however this is a weakness if you're not decent looking.
Another thing about online dating is that people dont know how to make the best of it. I dont write profiles, my 'profile' is a bunch of silly, crazy, outrageous sh*t that hopefully nobody should believe.
Heres what my profile looks like:

"So, by my shrink's advice I've decided to make one of these things. A little about me, I'm sexy and i'm nice to people.

I'm looking for someone who has a life and isn't weird. And another thing, no matter what your looks are, if you think you're hot or if you think you're ugly, i will agree.

If all your pics are more than 6 months old, more than 5lbs lighter, or not you at all, please let me know in advance.

ps. No more stalkers. PLEASE!... OK one or 2 more then. lol.

btw. if you're still reading this you have no life and have blown all your chances with me.

...Why are you still reading?? GO AWAY!!"

I get a lot of girls contacting me because they like my humor, i also get some girls telling me how wrong it is to be so superficial, but i win them over with my replies. So my point is that your profile should be a nothing more that a humorous conversation piece.

 

[morepoonplease]

get off that site... i tried it as well, the site allows for hb 5&6's to be picky lol... i'd rather stick to real life bro peace.

 

[terran2k]

POF is a huge waste of time, the chics and dudes on there are all broken in so many ways. Go read the forums there, it's a sad f'in mess.

 

[bluenorther]

Maybe you could give us your screen-name on there, so we can critique your page? POF was letting people do that, but I don't see it anymore.

I haven't been getting a lot of results on POF either, but it's more because I don't see women on there I'd want to meet-- especially since I'm not interested in driving all over creation. They need to live within twenty miles, or I won't write to them.

I also don't write a "profile", I just blather new age cr*p, and post some REALLY good photos. I get responses now and then, just to compliment me on my page.

I was going to post this about POF-- If you click on "Rating", you get to see what kind of garbage pics people are sending in. Most of them are men, and most of those are worse than awful-- shirtless, bathroom mirror, witness protection shots, fuzzy, under-exposed, posing with small children, animals they've just killed, posing like jackasses, it's an endless Walk of Shame.
Use a frikkin CAMERA, not a cellphone, folks!
To the ladies' credit, they do turn in better pics in general than most of the men do.

If you want to get attention from the start, have a friend take some really cool, well-lit, close-up photos where you're involved in something, but you can still look straight at the camera. Dress neatly! Ditch the ball-cap and sunglasses! Your friends can be in the pic, but not pressed against your side. Have them stand back a bit. There shouldn't be ANY black space in the background.

 

[bluenorther]

Terran2k-- How do we reach the POF forum? I don't see it on the homepage toolbar... it's gone.

 

[terran2k]

http://forums.plentyoffish.com/

 

[nismo-4]

Thats weird, what kind of girls are you going for? maybe you're not they're type physically? the strength of pof is that if you're decent looking it doesnt really matter what your profile says, however this is a weakness if you're not decent looking.
Another thing about online dating is that people dont know how to make the best of it. I dont write profiles, my 'profile' is a bunch of silly, crazy, outrageous sh*t that hopefully nobody should believe.
Heres what my profile looks like:

"So, by my shrink's advice I've decided to make one of these things. A little about me, I'm sexy and i'm nice to people.

I'm looking for someone who has a life and isn't weird. And another thing, no matter what your looks are, if you think you're hot or if you think you're ugly, i will agree.

If all your pics are more than 6 months old, more than 5lbs lighter, or not you at all, please let me know in advance.

ps. No more stalkers. PLEASE!... OK one or 2 more then. lol.

btw. if you're still reading this you have no life and have blown all your chances with me.

...Why are you still reading?? GO AWAY!!"

I get a lot of girls contacting me because they like my humor, i also get some girls telling me how wrong it is to be so superficial, but i win them over with my replies. So my point is that your profile should be a nothing more that a humorous conversation piece.

That sh*t was funny bro! And I agree with that top paragraph.

POF is now to where an old 2 gets a lot of attention, more than the average male sometimes.

 

[Naughty Ninja]

To the OP and others using Plenty of Fish,

I found ALOT of success sending out a first email like this:

HaHaHaHa! I've busted you! You are soo NERDY! or "Yeah, that's what she said!"

and then send this copy and pasted in the body:

Does your boyfriend know you have a Plenty of Fish account? Nice try, but you aren't fooling the intelligent people you lil cutie you! You are wrong woman! The poor guy probably is in love with you and you're looking to upgrade. Tsk. Tsk. =(

I've gotten ALOT of replies off that, had 25 messages in my inbox. Got about 8-10 numbers, and facebook adds (for verification of cuteness, not going off 'posed' pics on POF) with girls I still talk to and am going to meet.

The downfall is you have to send out to alot and there were two who didn't appreciate my humor and had my profile deleted by the admins. No explaination from POF. Just deleted. My pics and profile were pretty good, basic and funny and I chatted with alot of girls. Lost contact with alot as my account was deleted before I got a chance to respond to the 25 new ones I had and old convo's I had going before getting a number.

Some are seriously stuck up or just got burned and decide to put up a profile as an ego boost. Three of them told me their "friend" had put up the profile for them. "Losers". There are alot of single mom's and fatties as well as AW's and deluded women on there who think somehow online they are God's gift when in reality probably suck as a person.

But I'm off on vacation and will set one up again when I'm back for the hell of it. Just use it as a suppliment to normal everyday dating and not the end all be all to it.

 

[Bluntmaster]

To the OP and others using Plenty of Fish,

I found ALOT of success sending out a first email like this:

HaHaHaHa! I've busted you! You are soo NERDY! or "Yeah, that's what she said!"

and then send this copy and pasted in the body:

Does your boyfriend know you have a Plenty of Fish account? Nice try, but you aren't fooling the intelligent people you lil cutie you! You are wrong woman! The poor guy probably is in love with you and you're looking to upgrade. Tsk. Tsk. =(

My God. This works. I spammed 20 girls and half of them replied.

 

[Vice]

POF is a waste of time.

Make a fake profile with a girl's pic (whatboyswant.com is perfect for this) and see how many messages you get, and at what quantity. Then you'll understand why I say POF is a waste of time.

Just go out and do cold approaches.

 

[Naughty Ninja]

My God. This works. I spammed 20 girls and half of them replied.

If you really did. I swear it does! You are being funny and calling them out on BS and getting them to qualify immediately. Some may reply with nasty responses but who cares. Just keep sending. I've gotta think of a new one as if I setup a new profile again I may get deleted if I mistakenly email the same ones who didn't like it. It really does work. Just gotta go into profile details and use the other posters advice on "I thought we were soulmates but you are obsessed with " ". I joke and kid. But I don't play! Got three down in Florida to meet tomorrow when I arrive and another one not on POF through friends. You can use POF to suppliment. Forget reading profiles...Copy and paste otherwise reading and tailoring is a waste of time as alot are single moms, damaged goods, AW, but who cares? Just copy and paste your ass off! I'm telling you I had 25 email responses that I didn't have time to read before I was deleted because of two cvnts who didn't appreciate it. You have to be a good conversationalist after that inital email and get the facebook to see more pics of them as alot take "posed" photos. Even if you get a bunch of numbers etc. Keep emailing it! lmao!

 

[Bluntmaster]

If you really did. I swear it does! You are being funny and calling them out on BS and getting them to qualify immediately. Some may reply with nasty responses but who cares. Just keep sending. I've gotta think of a new one as if I setup a new profile again I may get deleted if I mistakenly email the same ones who didn't like it. It really does work. Just gotta go into profile details and use the other posters advice on "I thought we were soulmates but you are obsessed with " ". I joke and kid. But I don't play! Got three down in Florida to meet tomorrow when I arrive and another one not on POF through friends. You can use POF to suppliment. Forget reading profiles...Copy and paste otherwise reading and tailoring is a waste of time as alot are single moms, damaged goods, AW, but who cares? Just copy and paste your ass off! lmao!

Yep, I had one girl reply and then block me. What a nutjob.

I have gotten a # so far with your message, but I doubt it goes anywhere. I have had alot of online dating success, but never from POF. I have had better luck on Craigslist than POF. I have had the most luck spamming on match.

That was a great message though, thanks. What's a good reply?

 

[Naughty Ninja]

POF is a waste of time.

Make a fake profile with a girl's pic (whatboyswant.com is perfect for this) and see how many messages you get, and at what quantity. Then you'll understand why I say POF is a waste of time.

Just go out and do cold approaches.

Cold approaches also. Take POF as a suppliment to getting more! It's a side thing. Not the end all be all. I'm telling you if you can talk and have a funny decent pic profile they WILL respond! I am NOT joking!

Still go out and do approaches in real life. POF is good to practice lines and possibly meet, get numbers etc. It's free. Nothing to lose.