5 Things Successful Guys Do on Tinder

People who date men spend a lot of time on Tinder wading through guys' profiles consisting of shirtless mirror selfies, car selfies, and typo-laden About Me sections. Or, if their profiles are good enough to earn a right swipe, a lot of men end up sabotaging their chances of ever meeting their matches in person by sending a message soliciting sex, a message that only says something boring such as Hi, how are you, or some other kind of inappropriate or cliche opener. RELATED: Best Tinder Openers, Revealed Tinder (and dating in general) might be a tedious process of sifting through the dirt to find the occasional piece of gold, but its worldwide popularity attests to the app’s viability as a way to meet people>. What can you do to differentiate yourself from all the men on Tinder making the same mistakes? What do successful guys do on Tinder? 1. Being Too Mundane Can Kill Your Chances Never send an opening message consisting only of Hi, Hey, What’s up, etc. It might not feel romantic, but you have to recognize that dating is often tantamount to marketing, especially when it comes to your first impression. If you're a straight guy, you might not realize that women on Tinder on a regular basis receive an endless stream of matches and messages. They can’t possibly scroll through every match’s profile and read every message, so they have to determine a set of criteria to help them quickly identify men worth responding to. Sending a message countless other men have sent her won’t make her look twice at your profile, much less take the time to respond. RELATED: Best Tinder Openers, Revealed Pro tip: Pay attention to your match's About Me and the common interests the two of you share for information that can help you write something compelling. 2. Bad Photos Can Hurt More Than Good Ones Can Help Pay attention to the accuracy of your photos as far as your physical appearance goes. Be honest with yourself. You might look better in photos from a few years ago, but there’s no point in putting in the work to meet one of your matches in person if they're going to feel misled. Also, if you’re going to use selfies on your Tinder profile, make sure the background depicts something interesting, such as a place you’ve traveled. Avoid using your bedroom wall as the backdrop. Finally, you shouldn’t include a shirtless photo unless the picture is of you doing some kind of activity that requires shirtlessness. Pro tip: Don't overload your profile with group shot pics. Not only can this cause confusion about which guy you actually are, you don’t want potential matches viewing your profile only to decide one of your friends is cuter. That being said, one or two shot of you with friends (or engaging in activities) can be a good idea to show off your personality a little bit. 3. Be A Little Flirtatious — While Avoiding Blatant Sex Talk Plenty of women use Tinder for hookups, but that doesn’t mean they want to be solicited for sex in your opening message. Tinder messages should consist of playful banter about commonalities you share while tactfully conveying physical attraction. Unless you're flirting with another guy, in almost every case, any talk about the two of you having sex should wait until the later stages of your actual date. RELATED: Why You Shouldn't Send the First Sext And, by the way, always suggest dates in public venues, as opposed to inviting your match directly to your place or offering to meet at theirs. Pro tip: Romance novels can be a source of inspiration for developing a flirtatious messaging style. You don’t have to start reading them, but evoking that type of imagery in a joking way can help convey sexual interest in a way that women won't feel creeped out by. 4. Describe What You're Looking for in Your Bio Instead of simply listing your best traits in your About Me, add a few words describing what you're looking for. Tinder's feature allowing you to select whether you're looking for "long term," "short term" or some combination thereof is useful, but your matches may be more likely to respond to your opening messages if they feel compatible with you after reading your profile. RELATED: An Expert's Take on Revamping Your Profile This could even include some lines about your 'ideal match,' which is a good place to be a mix of serious and silly. Pro tip: One of my Tinder matches included this line in her About Me: “If you can’t make me laugh … can you make me brownies instead?” It’s a subtle, light-hearted way to signal that she values humor in a potential date. Using that kind of approach in your bio to convey the qualities you find attractive can go a long way. 5. Mix Together Statements With Questions Listen to any conversation between two friends, lovers, co-workers, etc., and you will notice they exchange statements more than they ask each other questions. Questions can be useful at the beginning of a new relationship to help you get to know someone; however, men sometimes use a barrage of questions as a lazy way to get women to respond to them. Women can tell when you’re asking a trite series of questions because you have nothing better to say. On the flip side, however, monologuing about yourself is an easy way to make your match feel completely uninvested in the conversation. The ideal messaging style will mix together interesting statements and compelling questions to give your match something to chew on and also respond to at each stage of the conversation. RELATED: This One Trait Will Make You Way Sexier on Dates Think of saying something about yourself, followed by a question aimed at getting your match to talk about themself. Pro tip: Ask open-ended questions, rather than simple yes/no ones. For instance, "how do you feel about...?" rather than simply "do you like...?" You Might Also Dig: AskMen's Official Tinder ReviewThe Top Alternatives to Tinder, RevealedThe Best Dating Profile Pictures