Troubleshooting Tinder

[Adam101]

Not sure if this is the right forum for such a post but since I'm a beginner in this arena it seems like the right spot. And before anyone suggests it I will say now that yes, I have been using Colt's Laid on Tinder system as a guide.

I've been experiencing an interesting dilemma that has become quite frustrating; as the quality of my pictures have gone up, the quality of my matches has gone down. At first I tried just posting up some pictures that I had while taking 1 or 2 new ones on the fly and got next to 0 matches. With my second set of pics, I had the fashion and the general look and while it got me more consistent matches, rarely would I get a girl who I would even classify as semi-cute. This past weekend I was able to get a set of pics that, if they aren't considered professional, would be just a step under. Point is they are damn good and after running them by several people there was universal agreement that the pics were the best I've ever taken and the best I've ever looked. Ready to get matched up right?

Dead wrong. Seems my fashionable, high quality, professional pics only attract fat "artsy" girls and gold digging hood rats. I've followed the guidelines for sexy, masculine pics and the ratio as much as possible. Even going so far as to replicate the poses, framing, and general style used in Colt's and other examples. Yet my matches now are dryer than the Sahara.

It's actually extremely frustrating and makes me feel incredibly unattractive. What's even more maddening is there are a TON of cute girls on Tinder, yet none of them are giving me the coveted right swipe. I know this because I swipe right on everyone just to see who matches back and the results are abysmal.

I will say though the one thing I have been unable to get (yet) is a group shot / a shot of me with a girl or a few. It's something I'm working on but in my situation is not easily obtainable. Is the group / girl shot really so important that the lack of one negates everything else? I've read from other sources that girls don't like to see that have to compete / be compared with other, potentially better looking girls and so the only ladies that belong in Tinder pics are mothers. Because of that I didn't think my lack of this element would hinder me to such an astonishing degree. My current set up is 3 fashion pics, one "adventure" shot, and a shot of me with my unbelievably cute dog. Yet what I have is getting me nowhere. What the hell gives? I've also tried re-arranging profile pics to see if I get different matches based on the initial image.

My profile blurb is also concise and the theme is creating an exciting adventure with someone new.

Now I've shown these pics to a few female friends and the feedback I've gotten is that the pics look too pro. Basically because they look professional girls get turned off by that so they swipe left. My expression is one of looking away from the camera, off to the side or a little down with a straight face, no smiles and no half smirks (except in dog photos) which might be part of the issue? Instead of using my digital camera do I need to just take iPhone pics?

Finally, while Colt's opener of choice (trying not to give it away!) has certainly gotten me a fair number of replies it has also resulted in a lot of un-matching. I think the girls find it too gimmicky / pick-up-y. But then again I've yet to really get to try it on the ladies who are actually very good looking.

Bottom line is using all of the resources at my disposal and following the guidelines I'm ending up with in some cases worse results than how I started out. This has to mean there is something I am getting very, very wrong or the Tinder tips Colt describes just don't work where I live. It sucks because there is a treasure trove of girls being untapped and I'm almost at the point where I want to break Tinder Commandments just to see if I get better results. Does anyone who has experienced success with the app have any advice? Maybe some profile (description) and pic examples that have actually worked? Or maybe there's a nuance to photos that I am missing. I was really excited when I got Colt's eBook but my results have been rather demoralizing. But rather than throw it all out the window I figure I'd take things to the GC community to see what I may be missing. Thanks to anyone and everyone who reply.

 

[Lotus]

First off as with everything on this site colt's tinder system is a guideline you want to tweak and adjust it to what works for you. There is oodles and oodles of tinder advice going around and the more mainstream it gets the more you will have to adapt to stay ahead of the curve.

That being said, I can give you tips based on my personal results.

I put my dog picture first and that's where I got most of my best matches. Also how many pictures are you using?

I've read from other sources that girls don't like to see that have to compete / be compared with other, potentially better looking girls and so the only ladies that belong in Tinder pics are mothers

When you include a picture with a girl you want to semi-crop her out so you get the social proof but not enough of her is visible for other girls to judge how attractive she is.

My profile blurb is also concise and the theme is creating an exciting adventure with someone new

.

since your pictures are quality it comes down bio because unless you are strikingly attractive girls aren't going to swipe right without looking at your BIO. I'm not sure what colt recommends on the bio, but "exciting adventure with someone new" sounds boring as FUCK. You want to say something cute or clever that tells a girl something interesting about you.

My bio said, "XXX --->XXX. I can grow a beard and I hope you can't".... and honestly it took me ages to come up with something clever that was concise and worked for me.

Just keep tweaking and testing

 

[Franco]

Adam,

I would actually think at least one pic showing you with friends and/or (preferably) at least one female are very important. The reason for this is so that the individual who is deciding whether or not to swipe can see that people actually enjoy being around you and that your personality draws people to you. It only takes one solid group photo to do that, but having a ton of professional photos of yourself without one photo of you and friends (female or not) that looks candidly taken makes your entire profile look too rigged -- so in that respect, I agree with the females that you should add some more candid pics.

I've read from other sources that girls don't like to see that have to compete / be compared with other, potentially better looking girls and so the only ladies that belong in Tinder pics are mothers.

This... on the other hand, is utter horseshit!

First of all, just to be clear, my mother will never end up on a dating profile of mine! That's just silly. Second of all, as has been mentioned several times on this website, the quality of the girls you are seen with by other girls gives you pre-selection as well as an idea of how attractive you are to attractive women. There's absolutely nothing wrong with having stunningly attractive girls on your profile and, if you can, I highly suggest you put the most attractive one on there. Like brum mentioned, however, any photo that can appear like you are "dating" said girl should be cropped, and it should only show just enough to let the girl viewing the photo that the girl is attractive, but that's about it.

Anyway, I would certainly throw in a "phone-camera-like" photo of you and some friends together, and possibly another phone-camera-like photo with you an an attractive (and cropped) girl together. These, coupled with your professional photos, should give more balance to the profile and not make it appear extremely fabricated.

Hope that helps. =)

- Franco

 

[Adam101]

Thanks for the swift reply brum. I get that a lot of advice is meant to be a guideline and you tweak as you go, I just wasn't expecting to go backwards after implementing the advice.

Using my dog pic as my first one hasn't really yielded results for me but I'm trying a different one now. My first pics were just of me holding my dog but the new one is of me having him do a trick.

Also I use 4-5 pics. 2-3 fashion / general pics, one with a pup, and one adventure shot.

Wow...I really didn't think my bio was that bad. I was aiming for appealing to girls' desire for adventure and creating an "us VS them" dynamic. And I will say I was giving the gist and feel that what I actually wrote was creatively worded. Defense aside though I see your point in how it reads as dull and uninteresting. Based on your own line it seems the Tinder bio is an ideal spot for one-liners and zingers as it were. Anyway I'll switch it up and see what happens. Thanks! Any other tips are welcome as well.

Edit: Just saw your post as I posted mine Franco. I am with you in group / girl photos providing social proof. I was just stunned at just how important it is. So let this be a lesson: if you don't have that then the rest of your profile won't make up for it. This weekend I think I'll be in a situation where I can get some group / girl photos so we'll see how that goes. I'll also try throwing in an iPhone pic and post the results. Till then though it sounds like I should probably lay off the app until I have this new material, reset my whole account and try again. I appreciate the advice and insight as always.

 

[Lotus]

That came out a little harsher then intended considering I don't know how you worded it. But I'll stick to my guns on creativity being important

 

[Adam101]

No worries man. I appreciate the advice and it's something I had to hear. I went back and read it again and while I may vouch for my flowery wording it ultimately still does read like a dry bio just with a little more window dressing. And thanks to your example I see how one simple, witty line can show more personality than a more direct expression of intention which is what I was doing. Anyway no harm no foul and you are 100% correct.