Putting together an internet dating profile is hard work! For most people looking for love online, it's a lot easier to know what you want than to sell yourself to someone else. The good news is that by taking a few simple steps you can write a profile that fits your personality and increases your chances of meeting that special someone!

Be Yourself - You're looking for someone to be compatible with the real you, not the ?new and improved? you. Trying to reinvent yourself for your dating profile will only result in disappointment down the road. Don't try to be someone you aren't; just be yourself!

Include a Picture - It's true that profiles with pictures are viewed more than those without. In fact, many of the current online dating sites have an option to search only those profiles with a picture. Another thing, do both you and your potential date a favor: make sure your picture is current. Within the last year or so is great. Since posed shots often come of as stiff, see if you have a picture of you doing something you enjoy. You'll come off more as yourself, and because you are doing something you like your natural charm will be more likely to show through.

Just Sit and Write - If you're really brainlocked, put your favorite CD in the stereo, sit down with a glass of your favorite beverage, grab some paper and a pencil, and write. Just write whatever comes into your mind about you, who you are, what you like, what you are looking for, anything! It might be a struggle at the beginning, but once you overcome your writers block you'll find that you just may have written down a lot about who you are on that page!

Ask a Friend - Who can tell you about how others see you? Your friends, of course! You may know what you mean to project on the inside, but they know what you are really like on the outside. Ask several friends for 3 words that they would use to describe you and look for patterns. Ask a couple of close friends to give you a bit more detail. Before you know it they will be not only telling you about yourself, but giving you advice on who to date as well!

Be Clear and Brief - More is not necessarily better. The profile is meant to be a glimpse into who you are and a conversation starter, not a biography. Be clear about who you are and what you are looking for, but save the life story for that first date.

If you take these simple tips into account, before you know it you'll have a profile that describes you clearly and is more likely to land you the ideal mate!