At Spring Hill Singles, we
are here to help you be successful in dating and meeting new friends.
It's what we do best. We want to take this opportunity of providing
you with some hints and tips on helping you date safely, and
successfully find that special person. You may wish to make and meet a
new friend. Your main interest may be in dating online or dating in
person, you may wish to find love and romance, perhaps the person you
dream of marrying. It could be that you wish to travel or play sport
or an activity and need a companion or other activity partner to come
along.
The key to meeting new
friends is to have fun, relax and enjoy. SpringHillSingles.com is an
excellent example of a dating site environment in which you can do
these things safely and without any pressure. If you decide to meet
someone there or in the outside world, then we feel there are some
basic ideas you should follow for your personal comfort.
Of course, they cannot
take responsibility for your actions using their services, as you are
all adults, but they can offer some advice based on our own
experiences.
Okay, so what can you do to help yourself?
First you need to get
replies to your emails and messages. To do this here are some tips you
may find helpful:-
-
Think about how your
profile is written. Ensure there are NO spelling mistakes in your My
Own Words section and your emails and messages. This is the first
important rule.
-
Keep your description
short but be completely honest. If you are not being truthful then
when you meet, you will be discovered, if not before.
-
Add fun and humor to
your profile, and don't be too serious at first.
-
Don't be afraid to state
who you wish to meet and why. Most adults know the kind of person
they are attracted to, even if they are not sure why.
-
Tell people what you
like and perhaps things you don't. Don't be offensive though.
-
Take your time,
you can edit your profile at Spring Hill Singles at any time. Change
it occasionally to keep it fresh, and try to be original.
-
Add a photo to
your profile. We find that a member with a photo can get anything up
to 9 times the amount of replies, in comparison with those that do
not include one.
-
Be polite with
messaging, and don’t make judgments about the length of time to get
a reply.
-
Please don’t feel
you need to block someone just because they are too busy to chat
this time. Be cool.
-
Keep your first email
short and to the point, perhaps humorous and interesting. Don't
include too much detail at this point, and just a few things that
you have in common. Make the email talkative and allow it to flow.
Don't be too serious at this stage or too emotional.
-
Do NOT include you
personal details in an introduction email. Leave that until a
relationship is established, and you feel very comfortable with the
other person.
-
Try and contact a few
people at the same time, but always those who you have matched, not
those who you have nothing in common with as they will not welcome
your contact.
-
Be honest and stick to
the truth. It is all too easy to add things that at this stage are
not checkable. However, you may get caught out later and ruin a
fantastic friendship or romance.
-
Always reply quite
quickly to any messages.
-
Don't talk about money
or possessions at this time. Most people like or love someone for
who they are, not what they have. We assume you do not want to find
someone who simply wants you for what you can provide.
-
Do not apply any form of
pressure in an email, whether it be for a reply or a meeting. Do not
be critical of their profile or photo. This will create a negative
response.
Okay, so once you have
mailed other members and are receiving their emails, then you may wish
to consider the following:-
Ensure Your Privacy is Protected
The information you supply
when you register at SpringHillSingles.com is completely confidential.
Your registration details are kept secret from all members and under
no circumstances are made available to any third party. No member of
staff should ever ask you for your password. They must NOT use your
contact or email details for marketing purposes. Any member who
matches you in their searches can only see what you have told them in
terms of your personal profile, nothing more. Therefore, remember not
to include you actual email address or telephone number in the text of
your profile or in emails unless you are sure that you would like to
take your friendship further. Dating sites generally cannot access
your emails and do not have any control on what information you supply
to another member. If someone you are in contact with is not giving
much away then perhaps you should err on the side of caution.
Listen
to Your Intuition
Often overlooked I feel.
This is the thing we all use on a daily basis and we all trust our
intuition often. It’s easy to get carried away when someone appears to
be interested. Remember the rule, if you suspect something, you are
probably correct. Trust your judgment. Listen to what you are being
told. Ask many questions. Don't give too many details away if the
other person tells you very little. If someone is being honest, they
will be happy to tell you about themselves and their lives.
A key point is to make
sure that you are enjoying your online dating. Never ever let someone
pressure you. If you don't want to explain something or provide
certain details then do not. A real friend will behave in a patient
and relaxed way. After receiving an email, sit back and think about
what you are being told, take your time and try and sense the person
behind the email. And read their profile thoroughly.
When the Time Comes
At some point you may wish
to meet in person the friend you have made. Remember the rule, you
only have to meet someone if you really want to. If you feel
uncomfortable about meeting, then don't agree to meet. Even if you
have agreed, you can change your mind whenever you like. Perhaps you
need to chat for longer, perhaps it would be better to use the phone
first. Do not give out your home number, address, or personal details
unless you are sure about the person you wish to meet.
If you do decide it's time
to take your friendship a step further, then here are some things to
think about. It may save you a great deal of time and effort: -
Ask yourself these questions:
Do you feel you know the
person well?
Have they answered all your question?
Are they patient, good humored and fun?
Do you trust them?
Have they applied any pressure on you?
Do you know what they do for a living, and the area they live in?
Do you know about their background and family?
Have you seen their photo and have you more than one photo of them in
different situations?
Have you spoken on the phone?
Are you sure they have described themselves truthfully?
If you can answer YES to
these happily then maybe it is time to meet. Only you can decide that.
Think about these general dating rules, and act upon them if you think
they are a good idea :-
-
Tell a person close to
you about the meeting. Tell them where you are going, when you are
meeting them, where the meeting will take place, what time you will
be returning. Give a person close to you as much information as you
can. If you have a mobile phone or are close to a pay phone then
perhaps call to say you are fine and that everything is great.
-
Agree to meet in a
public place first. Perhaps a
restaurant or
bar or somewhere where there are plenty of other people. Agree
to meet somewhere that you know, in familiar surroundings where you
can relax and enjoy the meeting. You could arrange to have other
friends in the same place but at a distance, so you feel more
relaxed.
-
Do not agree to be
collected from work or home, and make your own way there and home on
the first occasion. Perhaps get a friend to take you there and
collect you afterwards.
-
Restrict the time of the
first meeting. Perhaps a lunch hour or a short time after work. This
is useful if you decide that the situation is not favorable and you
need to leave.
-
If at any point you wish
to leave then do so. Do not feel obliged to stay and find yourself
feeling awkward. If you do not feel relaxed then you will not enjoy
the date. You owe it to yourself to feel happy and relaxed, and it
is possible that it may take a few meetings with different people
before you find that special person.
Long Distance Relationships
Online Dating through
Spring Hill Singles means that you can easily meet people from all
over the world. This is a fantastic way of dating and perhaps very
soon you may find yourself emotionally involved with someone who lives
a long way away. Perhaps that may be part of the attraction even.
However you should try and be practical. If the person lives overseas
then ask yourself the question as to are you serious that you will
travel a long way to see that person? If you do travel and find
yourself more than happy, then how easy will it be to keep up the
relationship? If you are content with this situation, and you decide
to meet then there are some other things you may wish to consider:
-
ALWAYS stay in a
hotel you have arranged yourself, and never stay at their
accommodation, however generous. This will allow you both to feel
less pressure, to relax into the situation and find some common
ground. You may have both made promises in mail or on the phone that
may be harder to keep once a meeting has occurred. If possible,
arrange the hotel in a secure area of the city you are visiting, and
arrange the hotel yourself. It's always easier to escape a date
that's not going well, when not staying with them.
-
Provide the details of
your hotel and travel arrangements to a best friend at home, and
make an arrangement to contact them when you arrive, after you have
met your new friend and when you are returning. Take a mobile phone
if possible and keep in contact.
-
Always be cautious if in
any doubt, and never be uncomfortable about changing your mind and
returning home at any time should the situation cause you any
concern.
The Bottom Line
The bottom line? Be
yourself and enjoy your dating. We know that online dating can be
great fun, safe and immensely enjoyable. We have found that as long as
the basic precautions are followed, then it is possible to travel
locally, or indeed, anywhere in the world to meet a special partner or
make new friends. The beauty of dating online is that the whole world
is open to allow you to meet fantastic new people. Just use a little
intuition and common sense. We hope you don't mind us offering some
basic tips and wish you every success.