The first step in creating a great online dating profile is deciding what to put in your profile. Dating personals are the way to find other singles, so a snazzy profile is essential. A profile that lacks content leaves little opportunity for people to contact you with questions. If someone can't learn a thing about you from your profile, they won't bother contacting you.

Consider these tips:

• Reveal enough about yourself to get people interested, but still leave them with questions.
• Include your interests and disinterests. If you really hate rock music and forget to include that, you'll be disappointed when a rock star wannabe contacts you.
• Include what you like to do for fun. Whether you like mountain biking, tai chi or baking cupcakes, list your favorite things to do.
• Be appropriate. Describing your sexual skills isn't going to attract people to your profile for the right reasons.
• Include what you like to find in a partner. If you don't list anything you'll get all sorts of people contacting you, when you could have easily filtered a bunch of them out.
• Be mature and reasonable. Don't say you're out to find a Britney Spears or Brad Pitt look-alike. Also, don't say you'll only date someone who is Catholic, has blue eyes and brown hair, likes cooking and enjoys grade-B horror flicks. Being too specific and unreasonable is not going to help you find someone. Be open-minded.

The first part of your profile that you are asked to fill out is usually your username. This item is essential because it's one of the first things people will see about you when they are browsing through online personals.

Selecting a username can be a difficult, drawn-out process. You don't want to waste too much time thinking of a good one, but you don't want to pick one hastily either. You'll also want to have a back-up, in case yours is already taken.

Here are some tips for choosing a great username:

• Choose something that is original and reflects your personality.
• An attention-grabbing username will make you memorable.
• Avoid sounding desperate with a name like Longing2BLoved or Waiting4U.
• Meaningless arrangements of numbers and letters are, well, meaningless.
• Do not use something overtly sexual. This is the first thing people will see about you. You either won't be taken seriously or will attract the wrong people.

If you're still stuck, you might want to write some ideas down. Try matching up your location with one of your hobbies. For instance: CookingInDetroit or DancingInNewYork. You could also pick a personality trait and pair it with a hobby or a location. So, SuccessfulSkier or PlayfulBostonian. Play around with a number of options and choose something that sounds right to you.

Here are some other things to consider to make your profile a great dating profile.

Fill Out Everything

Failing to fill out all areas of your profile will discourage some people from viewing your personal. It also leaves questions unanswered. For instance, if you left out your religion does that mean you are not religious, don't believe in religion or just forgot?

Areas you can't forget include what you look for in a partner and your interests and hobbies. People aren't going to contact you if all they know is "I like sports and music."

Checking Boxes

When it comes to checking boxes on a profile site, you'll want to make sure you've checked the right boxes. If you've accidentally checked female instead of male, you'll be in with woman personals instead of man personals.

Also, don't avoid certain boxes. If you're atheist but are concerned that people won't contact you because of that, you're trying to change yourself for someone else. Eventually, a partner will learn this about you anyways.

Be Honest

Honesty on the Internet is sometimes hard to find or believe in since it is so easy to pretend online. Being honest in your profile will ensure the success of potential offline meetings. Lying isn't going to help you establish connections and relationships.

As hesitant as you are about posting your picture online, it's a staple for a great dating profile. People like to see, and read about, people they might be interested in. Pictures in dating personals direct more people to that profile. This gives that person more responses and messages from potential partners.

There are some important things to consider about your picture, however.

• Choose a photo that shows what you look like day-to-day. Glamour photos are misleading and can lead to trouble later on.
• Choose a casual pose. Anything seductive or revealing will attract the wrong type of people.
• Make sure the photo reveals you and only you. Pictures of you and someone else will confuse those who are viewing your profile.
• For safety reasons, inspect the photo to make sure it does not reveal any of your contact or personal information.
• If you don't have a photo, have a friend or relative take one.
• If you can't decide which picture to use, ask a trusted friend or relative.