What makes "paid personals " different from free classifieds?    Paid personals typically have a higher quality membership of singles who are looking to meet someone to date, are hopeful they will find a relationship, and less likely to be people playing games. You know the old saying, "you get what you pay for". . . . . . and FREE doesn't necessarily mean quality.

How do matchmaking systems differ from free classifieds?     Most free classifieds (like Plenty of Fish) are one or two sentences that someone posts that tell you very little about the other person.   The average person that posts a free personal is a first time person that really doesn't know what to write to tell about themselves, or is a game player that is good at charming/hiding their real self. Matchmaking systems provide you with the most compatible match and quality members to choose from.   Most matchmaking systems have questionnaires that provides the most accurate match based on many criteria. In addition, some allow you put your personality into your answers to the essay questions.   Similarity is determined in advance! With Matchmaking systems, you know in advance whether someone has common interests, goals, values, personality traits, habits, and more.    Free classifieds lack the matching questions and essay questions.

What kind of people will I meet on a internet matchmaking system?   Matchmaking type Dating Services reflect the general population of the internet, typically 70-80% white collar, a high percentage with college degrees, a mix of never married, divorced, widowed, single parents and you will find a few swingers and married people  looking for anything from new friends to one night stands.   Heterosexual singles tend to go to Metro or national systems and the married, swinger, gay/lesbian tend to go to systems that cater to their interests.   The majority of the profiles typically are members ranging from 28-50.    Younger singles typically are still meeting a lot of people in bars or playing around with MySpace.com and Facebook.   Singles who are 28-50  are tired of trying to meet singles in bars, they have been fixed up on lots of blind dates, don't want to spend $2000 for a dating service. If they are a single parent, just don't have the time to go out and meet someone.   It is easy to hop on line and search after their kids are in bed.

Why try meeting people on the internet?   You have tried it all, haven't you and you are still single:.  the bars, the church groups, getting fixed up on blind dates by friends, meeting people at work and now you have run out of quality people to meet.   I love the comments "God will find someone for me when the time is right," or "I must be going through a dry spell."  WAKE UP! The fact is that YOU are in control of your own destiny.  And you have to get out there and meet people.  God can't help you find the love of your life if you are sitting at home watching TV. You have to go out and meet people, make new friends.  Online dating sites are just one of many avenues to make new friends. That doesn't mean that everyone will meet the love of their life on the internet.   But the more people you meet from a variety of sources, the greater chances of meeting your future mate, and making several new friends in the process.   

What are some of the benefits of meeting on line?   Meeting people online is totally unlike the random chance meetings at a bar or business conference, or the limited compatibility of meeting someone through a certain type of activity that you enjoy. 

• You will can meet quality people that share your interests, hobbies and values.

• You will know if they are looking for a relationship

• You get to meet people that you might otherwise not have met.   

• There is no rush.  You can take your time getting to know someone.  And if there are warning signs, you can end the correspondence with the click of your mouse.

• YOU are in control.  You can choose who you want to send email and answer email from.

• YOU SAVE TIME AND MONEY!  That's right.  Your valuable time going from activity to night club to activity groups, to.....that does sound exhausting!   You also save yourself the $2,000 you would have spent on a dating service for their limited database that you don't have time to drive back and forth to a dating service office to view.   You have immediate access to new friends and dating prospects 24 hours a day!

How do I get the best results from using a matchmaking system?  Make sure that you fill out the profile honestly and completely.  Fill out any essay questions with at least 2 or three sentence answers.   Use the SEARCH, MATCH, and BROWSE features provided on many of the systems to narrow down choices.   

Doesn't it take time to use a matchmaking system?   Your time is valuable. Why waste time in the bars. Why waste time, money, and energy meeting people who are not compatible just because they were kind enough to answer you newspaper personal ad. A matchmaking system will provide you with the closest matches in advance.   You can check profiles and email at your leisure. This gives you more information  than trying to meet someone in a bar.   In addition you have immediate, interactive access ANYTIME (from any location, even if you are out of town on business) to browse profiles, send e-mail and chat on line.   For the busy single, and the busy single parent this is critical.   

Is it confidential?   Yes, all systems allow you to use a handle or a name you designate.  This gives you total anonymity.   Most systems provide you with your own User ID,  Number and Password and a free e-mail account  assigned for use within the Matchmaker Service. No one has access to any of your personal information outside of the profile you publish. All access is through Browsing, E-Mail and Chat on the system.   In fact, it is highly recommended you use a handle, nickname or something cute as your anonymous name on the system you choose.   Do not use a name that sounds sexual, desperate, lonely, etc.  You will just end up with poor results. Examples of poor choices for handles: Horndog523 just sounds like someone looking for a one night stand or a married person looking for kicks.    Lonelyguy203 sounds like someone who has no life. Coolgal983 sounds like a woman who isn't cool that needs to make herself look cool.  Cinderella625 sounds like someone living in fantasy waiting for prince charming.  Pick something that sounds catchy, makes you stand out and also sounds like you are a winner, the one you want to meet.  Examples of good choices for handles:  Runner163 sounds like someone who runs marathons, is in shape and may have their act together.    Operalover122 sounds like someone who is into the arts.   

Is there a risk to using a matchmaking system?   Only a few dollars a month and your time.  You may or may not find Mr. or Ms. Right immediately. A good rule of thumb is to give a system at least 3 months trial.   Holidays and warm weather can affect membership, although there are people looking to meet new friends all the time.

Is it costly to join a Matchmaking System?   No.....It is very AFFORDABLE!   Compare these time efficient system and their low monthly fees of $12.95-$34.95 a month (usually less cost per month for 3, 6, 12 month memberships)  to the other national video dating services that can cost $1,000-$2,000 or more.  And you have to take the time to go in and view videos and folders of profiles....who has the time.  Also, compare Matchmaking systems low costs with services that rack up monthly bills on 1-900#'s. 

How many matchmaking systems should I try?  How do I evaluate these systems?   How long should I use a system? Try at least 2 or 3 matchmaking systems.  Unless you are looking for a long distance romance (which is costly and time consuming), try to find a matchmaking system that has a large base of singles in the are you live.  A good matchmaking company will have a database of over 5,000 members for cities of 1 million to 2 million people and the 10 largest cities in the US will have between 15,000-30000 members.   Don't be fooled by the numbers that are on the main/intro page.  The data is everything from how many people created profiles in the last year on their system, since the inception of their system and there are a few honest companies that "scrub" their system of old profiles monthly so you are only viewing new data.     If the data on the system gives you matches that have only a few members in your age bracket that have logged on in the last week, dump it and move on to another service.   Why commit time to a system where people don't stay or don't come back?  Numbers attract numbers and the systems with the most recent users keep getting more.   When you find a couple of good systems, sign up for 3 months.   You can't expect to find someone right away.  And over a few months, new people will sign up daily.   Below is a comparison of the top dating services.

Top Five Online Dating Sites Reviewed
#	Online Dating Services	Dating Type/Sign Up Process	Special Features	Members	Rating	Membership Cost
1	Match.com	Casual to Serious Dating Average Sign Up Time●	● Complete matching based on a variety of criteria. ● Find out when a match has read your email ● MindFindBind™ dating insight from Dr. Phil-extra charge ● Free Portrait Toolkit-Search through millions of portraits through ●  Keyword search, profile matching, reverse search and mutual search. ●  6 month guarantee	15 million	Top overall dating site ♥♥♥♥♥	3 Day Free Trial ● Special Offer: 15% Discount ● $34.99 for the basic month ● Save 50%! Special six month rate of only $16.99 a month    If you don't find someone in six months, you'll get another six months free.
2	American Singles	Friendship, Casual to Serious Dating Quick Sign Up	● Free Online Chat/Flirt Instant Messaging ● Matches emailed to you ● Astroscope Compatibility ● Face to Face Video Chat ● Easy to use ● See who's browsed your profile	10 million	Top dating site for casual dating and online chat ♥♥♥♥♥	● 1 Month $29.99 ($29.99 monthly renewal) ● 3 Months $59.97 Save 33%! ( $19.99 monthly renewal)* ● 5 Months for $84.99 Save 50%! ($16.99 monthly renewal)*
3	Eharmony	Serious Dating to Marriage Lengthy Profile for more exact matching	● Proven personality profile lets you know about yourself and your ideal partner ● 4-step guided communication process encourages honesty ● Most members have a religious faith or are spiritual ● Largest database of Christian and Catholic singles ● More Marriages Per Match Than Any Online Dating Service ● Compatibility matching based on core values, sense of humor, character ● Privacy-Only matches see your profile and photo	6 million	Top dating site for serious dating and marriage minded singles	● 1 Month - $59 month  Billed in one installment of $59.95 3 Months - $36 month    Billed in one installment of $110.85   Save 38% off one month subscription 6 Months - $28 month Billed in one installment of $173.70   Save 52% off  one month subscription 12 Months - $20.95 month Billed in one installment of $251.40 or in 3 payments of $83.80 (payable monthly during the first 3 months of membership). Their most successful plan for finding lasting love Save 65% off our one month subscription
4	Yahoo Personals	Casual Daters to Serious Relationships Quick Sign Up	● “Better first dates and more second dates ● 7 day free trial ● A personals wizard helps singles write their personal ads ● Icebreakers before you email ●Secure anonymous mailbox for all your flirting. Receive alerts when members send you a message ● Rate your matches to improve results ● 5 star safety program	10 million	♥♥♥♥♥	7 Days Free Trial! Yahoo Personals $24.95 per month (Billed monthly*) $16.65/mo for 3 months ($49.95 billed quarterly*) Save 33% $12.49/mo for 6 months ($74.95 billed every 6 months*)Save 50% Highest Success. Best Price.
5	JDate	Serious Dating to Marriage Average Sign Up	JDate is the largest dating site that focuses on Jewish singles Jewish Singles Travel	700,000	Top Jewish dating site for serious dating and marriage minded singles ♥♥♥♥♥	1 month $34.99 3 months $33.99 6 months $29.99

What matchmaking services should I use?  Click on the following links to try a few of the best matchmaking services on the internet today.

Dating Directories

MetroDates  Browse the personals by Metro area. Find a date in your city today! 

Best Singles Link  The best singles sites on the internet.  Lists links by national, regional, religious, and more