If you want to increase the number of email response you get, read on for tips about the best ways to update your profile and present yourself online.

First email success

To increase the online dating email to response ratio, aim to make contact with women whose dating site profiles show they have something in common with you on a few different levels. Studies show that couples who last tend to have a lot in common as this makes for a more harmonious partnership.

Write tailored emails

Job hunters will sometimes send out hundreds of applications and then be surprised that nobody has replied. It's harder to write specially tailored applications to many different jobs and the same goes for online dating.

It's impossible to properly tailor your messages if you're emailing hundreds of women, so consider picking a few who you share a reasonable amount of interests with and write something slightly more personal to them so they know you have taken the time to find out a bit about them. You will probably receive a lot more replies this way.

Employ a ‘trial and error' approach

Switch around your main dating site profile picture to see which one helps you to get the type of responses you are looking for. You might find that an interesting photo which gives a talking point is popular because that will help people think of something they can comment on when they get in touch.

Also, try mixing up your initial emails and your profile description and see which combination generates the most interest. There are an infinite number of things you could say about yourself, as well as ways to approach members of the opposite sex, and trying some different tactics once in a while and it could really pay off in the long run.

Sense of humour

While this doesn't work for everyone, if you can wow your online dating partners with a genuinely fabulous sense of humour, this will give you a great advantage in terms of generating first email replies. While the first email should always be short and to-the-point, and not every word you utter needs to be a joke, there is still room for a spot of witty banter when you send your messages.

Take a step back

If you've been dating online for a while, you might start to find it harder to be objective. As author Salman Rushdie says, the only people who see the whole picture are the ones who step out of the frame so, to get a little perspective, try taking a short break from dating sites and go back later with a fresh approach. It can be good to analyse your strategy with a second or even third opinion, ideally from unbiased people, who can suggest how your dating strategy might be improved.