Plenty of Fish: 10 Profile Tips to Get More Matches in 2024

If you're looking for success on Plenty of Fish, you'll need to make sure your POF profile is working in your favor. It's all too easy to drop a silly joke in your bio section and forget about it. Or, worse, to not fill out the bio section of your POF account at all. But online dating rarely works the way you want it to without a complete profile — so read on for these and other mistakes you might be making.

Not having a photo strategy

Everyone knows by now that you need to have high-quality pictures if you're using any dating site. But what exactly high-quality means when it comes to online dating is another story. It's not enough to just have a few flattering pictures that you put out there, your photos as a whole need to make sense, too. That means you need to show different aspects of your personality so that your photos as a whole make it clear what you're all about, and what it's like to date you.

Having a bad first photo

Once you've got a photo strategy to follow on the POF website, each photo also needs to do its job. And the first photo is by far the most important on your POF account. In fact, the first image on a person's POF profile is more important than all the other photos put together. That's why it's a serious POF profile mistake to not have the best first image possible.

Using group photos

We can't say it often enough — you should avoid sharing group photos on dating sites, and that includes your POF account. Nobody wants to play a guessing game on your dating profile to figure out which person in the shot is you, it's much easier to just keep scrolling.

So the only excuse to use a group shot is if it's absolutely amazing, shows something you can't include any other way, and if it's 100% clear which person you are in the shot.

Sharing outdated photos

Just because POF has been around for 20 years, doesn't mean your photos can be that old. POF users want to know what you look like right now — because that's the version of you that will show up on the date. It can be tricky to choose photos if you don't love how you look right now, or if you feel like your most exciting adventures are in the past. But that's no excuse to use something outdated as a profile picture.

In fact, using outdated pics can make other users think you're one of the fake online profiles they're trying to avoid.

Creating a lazy profile bio

Second to your profile picture, your bio is the most important part of your POF account. Like most dating apps, the POF dating site gives you a set of tools to make your case — and it would be silly to ignore any of those tools. As free members, the POF app gives you the ability to write a bio for yourself, and this is essentially your dating cover letter. And just like trying to impress a potential employer, you need to make the most of this space to impress potential dates.

There's no one proven profile writing formula — though plenty of free online dating advice will claim there is. The fact is, your online dating profile is about you — and you're unique. So your POF profile needs to be unique, too.

Have a hook

Just like in a novel or short story, POF headlines need to have a hook. Basically, that means grabbing the reader's attention from the very first line. A quick and easy method for deciding on your hook is to find a clever way to answer two questions:

• Who I am
• What I'm looking for

Edit carefully

POF users tend to be a little older than the average age on other sites, and that can mean they're looking for different things. While slang and abbreviations might work on Tinder — heck, writing a whole bio out of emojis might work on Tinder — that's not going to fly on POF. So make sure you double check your spelling and grammar before publishing a draft.

Keep your POF account active

Most dating apps reward active users, and POF is no exception. So plan to access POF at least several times a week, if not every day, if you're looking for success. That also means keeping your pictures and bio up to date if anything in your life changes, like a new job or even a new haircut. Updates always help bump you to the top of the search results.

Be realistic about your dating preferences

What really matters to you when it comes to dating? That's going to depend a lot on what you're looking for. Maybe lifestyles don't need to align when you just want a hookup, but if you're hoping to settle down with someone, make sure you're on the same page about the big stuff. From children to religion to politics, be honest with yourself about how much agreement you need with a partner, and where you can be more flexible or open minded.

Still struggling with your Plenty of Fish dating profile? Here are some frequently asked questions about how to have success on POF.

How do I make my POF profile better?

Start by conducting an audit of your active POF account. Get out a pen and paper, open the POF website, an consider your POF profile from top to bottom. What's the first thing that jumps out about your POF profile? Are there pictures that don't fit in? Big gaps in your bio? Anything else that calls attention in a bad way?

The first trick on dating sites is making sure nothing is working against you. Then you can start adding features to your POF profile that work to your advantage.

Once you have a list of all the elements, and you've taken notes about what needs fixing, delete everything you're not 100% happy with so you can start over.

What should I write in my POF profile?

How you should fill out your POF profile depends on what you're looking for. Every POF account is going to be different, so it's important that you understand two things:

• What makes you a good date or partner

• What you're looking for on the POF website

  
  

The answers to these two questions will inform the way you fill out your POF profile.

How genuine a profile you create will determine the quality of matches you get (and whether you get any matches at all.) Users on popular dating sites have figured out how to spot fakes, and also how to spot people who will waste their time. So the amount of effort you put into your profile will directly impact the results you see.