We were shocked by which greetings led to the most responses.
With the anonymous nature of online dating, personalizing your first message is especially important.
Bring up common interests that prove you have read their profile.
Not only do misspellings and grammatical errors create a poor image, they have been shown to significantly decrease the chances of getting a reply to your first message. The study conducted by Ok Cupid showed that messages containing netspeak were responded to up to 26% less than those written with proper spelling and grammar. First messages should be conversation starters and nothing more.
The one exception to this rule was found with terms of laughter, such as , which have actually been shown to increase your chances of receiving a response. Some people, particularly women, are contacted constantly and may not take the time to read through a lengthy message.