With over 4 million daily active users, Plenty of Fish (POF) is one of the most popular and successful dating apps. It’s all about first impressions because people have no choice but to judge you by your photos and the limited information you provide in your bio. Undeniably, POF is driven by appearances – as superficial, as it may sound.
If you’re looking to up your POF game, you’ve come to the right place. In this article, we will be discussing the best tips that can help you get more matches on the dating app.
It is worth noting that POF is different for men and women. An interesting POF experiment conducted by the Youtube channel ‘How Goodr’ clearly illustrates this gender disparity. They created two profiles using photos of attractive male and female models. Further, their information was identical regarding age, location and number of pictures. After 1,000 swipes, they discovered that a female profile matched 67% of the time, while a male profile only received 30% of matches. Additionally, the female profile received almost 400 messages in a short period while the male profile only received 28 messages in his inbox.
POF Tricks to Get Matches
Some of these tips are simple and common sense, while others may be more outside the box. But all of them have been proven to help users increase their match rates. So, without further ado, here are our top nine tips for getting more matches on POF:
1. Keep Your POF Profile Complete
Your profile is your first impression on POF, so make sure it’s a good one. This may seem like a no-brainer, but you’d be surprised how many people have incomplete or outdated profiles. Update your photos regularly and write something interesting in the bio section.
If you want people to swipe right on you or accept to match with you, it’s important that they know who you are and what you’re all about. An incomplete profile is a major turn-off for most users.
Plus, it only takes a few minutes to update your profile, so there’s no excuse not to do it regularly. And speaking of photos, let’s move on to the next tip.
2. Use High-Quality, Recent Photos
Your photos are one of the most critical factors in getting matches on POF. Make sure they’re clear, well-lit, and show you at your best. And avoid using group shots—they make it harder for people to know which one is you.
If you have a good photo, you’re more likely to get swiped right on. So, make sure you’re using high-quality, recent pictures if you want to increase your chances of getting matches.
3. Use a Compelling Bio on Your Profile
Your profile bio is another vital part of your POF profile. This is where you get to sell yourself and show people what you’re all about.
Most people just put something basic in their bio, like “I’m a fun person who likes to travel and have a good time.” But if you want to stand out from the crowd, you need to be more creative.
Think of your profile bio as a way to market yourself. What are your best qualities? What makes you unique? Write something that will make people want to learn more about you.
If you put some thought into your bio, you’ll be more likely to get matches.
4. Avoid Known Clichés
We’ve all seen them before—the photos of people in front of the Eiffel Tower, holding a fish or doing some other obvious cliché. And while these photos may get you likes on Instagram, they’re not going to help you much on POF.
Using clichés is one of the surest ways to decrease your chances of getting matches. People want to see something original and interesting, not the same old things everyone else posts.
So, if you want to increase your chances of getting matches, avoid using such clichés in your photos.
5. Use Your POF Location Settings
One way to get more matches is to tweak your location settings. By default, POF only shows you people within a certain radius of where you are. You can tweak this setting to increase the Maximum Distance and Age Range. You can also increase your chances of finding a match by enabling the Global feature to see people nearby and from around the world.
6. Avoid Too Many Group Photos
Your prospective matches are not going to waste time analysing ten different images, trying to decipher which one out of the group photo is you. In saying this, avoid photos involving you with your ex-partners or people from the opposite sex. In general. In fact, 96% of these photos receive a negative reaction.
Although having group photos show you are social, you don’t want your potential match to play ‘Where’s Wally?’, now do you?
7. Smile
According to Zoosk data, women who flirt directly with the camera receive the most messages. On the other hand, men that look away and not smiling receive more attention. Maybe it’s because it gives a sense of mysteriousness about them.
But don’t go delete all your non-smiling pictures. Choosing what photo you want as your main is an important choice. Smiling is attractive for both genders and will make you look genuine and inviting.
8. Be Active on the App
The more “things you do” the more the algorithm likes you. POF uses algorithms the more often you’ll pop up in other people’s feeds. While some of your scores are outside of your control, you can increase them by remaining active on the app and actively engaging with others in the right way.
Changing your profile bio regularly to show you’re active. Messaging people daily to confirm you actually engage with your matches. Open the app every day to swipe a few times.
9. Link Your Other Social Media Accounts
You just appear more authentic and human when you link accounts. Put your Instagram, Snapchat, Facebook, and/or Spotify accounts in your profile. There’s no question that POF has a catfishing and bot problem, so providing evidence you’re a real person is a big green flag. On top of that, it’ll make it easier for matches to get a hold of you if they’re interested.
10. Add a Prompt in Your Bio
Make it easy for people to come up with a first message for you. Let’s face it, coming up with a solid opening line can be anxiety-inducing and difficult. Make the opener a breeze for your matches by giving them something concrete to work with. For example, you could say:
- “If you’re into hiking, give me a review of the last trail you hiked.”
- “Tell me your favourite book and I’ll talk your ear off!”
- “If your favourite mob movie isn’t Goodfellas, tell me why and we can fight about it ????”
- “Share your favourite childhood story with me and you’ll win me over in an instant.”
POF is a great way to meet new people, but it’s not always easy to get matches. However, by following the tips shared above, you can improve your chances of getting more matches on POF. So, give them a try and see what works best for you.
If your messages do disappear, read why POF messages disappear to fix the problem.