 Today, I want to talk all about online dating because apparently there is 40 million Americans who are on an app right this second. And on top of that, the average adult up to age 30 spends 10 hours per week on one. I'm partnering with my fav dating app, OKCupid to help give all of you the leg up on the competition. I'm going to be teaching you what to do as soon as you download the app, what pictures you should use, how to craft the perfect about me. And finally, how to finesse the messages. When it comes right down to it, there's three main reasons that make OKCupid the best dating app on the planet. Number one is their commitment to matching you based on what matters to you. Secondly, is their profiles. And third, everyone is welcome. They have 22 gender options and 13 different sexual orientation options. Now I know what some of you veterans out there think is. Shan, girl, really? OKCupid? Listen, they have totally revamped their app so you no longer get inundated by creepy messages. And on top of that, they make every single person take a pledge that they will not behave like an asshole, which I love since I don't like assholes. I know what you guys want. You want to be where the people are and where the creeps aren't. And that is precisely why I'm recommending OKCupid for anyone out there who was looking for love or looking to get back on the horse. Congratulations, you have successfully downloaded the app. So is it time to start looking for love? Hell no. This is not going to be as simple as ordering a pizza. You're going to have to be ready to take your time with this to do it right, honey. And so first thing is first, I want you to figure out what right is for you. OKCupid makes this simple by giving you a ton of questions to answer so that you can find what's important, what's really important. For example, are you close with your family? Do you enjoy discussing politics? Will they pay extra for guac? The more questions that you can answer, the better your matches are going to be. In addition, these questions are a great way to get to know yourself and to get to know what you want in a future insert here. Numerous adults, and this is a pledge I want all of you to take, please update your profile often and this is a hack. First of all, when you update your profile, it tells the algorithm something new is there and then it shows you to more people. In addition, you're also kind of in a relationship with OKCupid. The more it knows about you, the better it gets at reading you and of course at matching you. And finally, if you were applying for a job, wouldn't you make tweaks to your resume as you went along to make it better? As you're on the app, you're going to get better at being on the app. So make sure your profile reflects how much sharper, smarter, cooler, sexier you're becoming. So here's a simple rule of thumb. Every Wednesday, answer a new question and every Saturday, add a new photo. And speaking of photos, let's keep it 100. Your photos are the most crucial part of your dating app profile and it's not just a place to like, you know, show off your exceptional looks and stuff. It's also an opportunity to tell your story. When they say a picture is worth a thousand words, they're not making that up. But before we get to that place, first we got to hook up and we do that with an exceptional first photo. Now your first photo should mirror that of magazine covers, which are usually but shoulders and up. You want to be close, engaging and inviting right off the bat. And to do that, I know you have this exceptional black shirt that you love so much, but just tuck that back in the closet. For this picture, I want a bright color or a crisp white shirt. Something that draws the eye into what's really important. And that is right here. And despite popular belief based on what you see on Instagram, the duck face is not the business when it comes to online dating. Okay. Cupid data says that people who smile more get more likes and a ton more messages. All right. So now that you have an exceptional first photo, let's move on to the other five that I think are crucial. Your second picture should be a full body shot and of you doing something out of the ordinary. Are you skydiving? Are you traveling? Are you petting an exotic animal? This is the place to slide that in. Your fourth picture is going to be a group shot, preferably of your family, but also it's cool if it's with your friends. This is the shot that says this is what you're buying into. Take it or leave all of us. Picture five is your wild card. Show off your personality or just post a really bomb ass photo of yourself. This can be a professional pic. You at a wedding. And again, yes, it can be you with an exotic animal. Number six is possibly the most underrated, but to me, the most important. This is your weed out photo. Is there something that is intrinsically a part of who you are that is going to be a make or break for others? If so, put that here to save yourself time. And now let's go ahead and give you some good old pro tips. Flaunt your pets. Photos with animals. Get more attention. Caption your photos. Adding a caption to your photo gives potential matches a little more context plus a way to strike up conversation. Show off shots taken in the late afternoon. People love that golden hour lighting. Take advantage of portrait mode. Pictures with a shallow depth of field tend to get more likes. If you got an Instagram, flaunt that Instagram. People who connect their profile get more messages than those who don't. And finally, I said it before, I'm going to show you it again. Answer more questions. When you do that, you tell the OKCupid algorithm to bring more people to see what newness has transpired, which means more likes for you. And now I want to talk about the wonderful world of words. Your about me section is a place that a lot of people tend to get real stressed out about and I don't want you to do that. As a matter of fact, I want you to keep it simple. And OKCupid makes that mad easy by teeing you up with some prompts like six things that you can't live without. What is your typical Friday night look like? Now, whatever you do, just make sure that you keep it short, like less than 200 words short. You want to give someone a taste of your personality and invite some intrigue. You do not want to tell your life story here. And speaking of do nots, here's my pro tip list of do's and don'ts when it comes to the about me section. Do make statements that invite people to start a discussion with you. Do narrow down your interests so they reflect your most current self. Do invite people to ask a question. Do show your favorite thing about your personality. Do proofread everything. Typals are a deal breaker. 75% of people on OKCupid say they're less likely to respond to somebody who has spelling mistakes in their profile. Do not list your criteria and especially do not list your weed out criteria. First and foremost, creeps don't read about me so you're wasting your time. And secondly, when we tell people what we don't want, we're making it very clear what we've had in the past. And that makes people come across bitter. And your about me is a section for you to shine. Your funny side, your bright side, your optimistic side. Save the heavier stuff for the messages, which we about to slide into right now. I could probably do an entire video alone on sliding into the DMs, but you guys have some dating to do some of keep it short and just say two things. Who should message first and how long should that message be? Studies show that when women are the ones to initiate contact, the conversation lasts longer and you are 2.5 times more likely to get a response. So ladies, don't be afraid. And when you do send that message, there's a real art to this, a sweet spot. Now, first and foremost, you want to make sure this message is meaningful. So saying, hey, is not going to work. As a matter of fact, 84% of the time, you're not going to get a response back at all. You also don't want to say too much in there. So between 40 to 100 characters is the right amount. Now go back to their profile and figure out a question that matters to you. And then type that in the message box. That's going to incite a conversation that lets them know that you're interested and you didn't just copy and paste from your other match that you had three seconds ago. But let's be honest, you had a match three seconds ago because you pop in. So at this point, you guys know everything that I know when it comes to starting a pro online dating profile. So there is nothing stopping you from going out there and finding yours or getting yours. Whatever you're on there to do, just make sure you go in the info box below and download OKCupid so you can start matching on what matters to you.