Pictures and titles will immediately catch the roving eyes of people who are perusing the singles section, but it is the content of your profile that will give the best indication of who you actually are. As human beings, we’re far too complicated to have our entire lives and personalities captured in a couple of snappy sentences, but these profiles should at least give a nice glimpse into who you are and why people would want to date you.

In order to write these profiles, a balance has to be struck between being way too general and insanely detailed in your descriptions of minor aspects of your daily life. The best bet is to maintain a tight focus on a couple of particular aspects of your life, so that it’s clear that you have specific interests that you would like to share with other people. You should avoid just listing hobbies and passions, as this is not only boring to read but can likely be duplicated by ticking off “interests” boxes on the profile’s front page. On the other hand, you want to keep the topic somewhat broad so that you don’t wind up talking about how much you enjoy brushing your teeth at 9:16 every morning.

So, instead of “I enjoy hiking, biking, long walks on the beach, watching videos and occasionally I like dancing,” pick just one of those aspects and really explore it for a couple of sentences. “I love strolling along the beach at sunset, especially in the early summer when the air smells fresh. I’ve done some traveling, and I have fond memories of the beaches along the California coast. I can’t wait to go back!” There’s something appealing about someone who’s passionate about a few things, rather than someone who recites a laundry-list of interests.

Don’t forget to list activities which can actually be enjoyed with a number of other people. Collecting action figures, as thrilling as it may be for you, may not draw the interest of many people. Remember, these are all passions and interests that you may potentially share with other people, so whatever interests that you talk about should be engaging and interesting for other people as well.

If most of your pursuits are solitary, talk about future plans, or what you look forward to throughout the day. A lot of people will be reading these profiles to get a better handle on the personality who is writing it, so the actual details can be left to your discretion. Again, keep in mind that this is really an exhibition for yourself and your prospects, so as long as the material is fascinating and enticing enough to draw interest, you should be fine. This is your chance to give a nice snapshot of what you love to do, what you look forward to doing, and why people would be delighted to do any of this stuff with you. As usual, stay upbeat and positive. This is not the time to go into details about childhood traumas and how you’ve been hurt in past relationships. If you put positive energy out into the scene and you’ll be rewarded by similarly positive feedback.

A good profile should accentuate the charming, pleasant aspects of your personality. Even if you do not have the time or energy to talk about every positive feature in detail, you should have enough space to give a decent impression of who you are in a few sentences. You’ll definitely receive plenty of emails if people can tell you have a passion for the more interesting things in life.