What Should a Guy Put in His Bumble Bio?

Put three things in it. Say what you do in plain words, add one detail that only you could have written, and say what you are looking for in a relaxed way. Keep it to two or three short sentences, because Bumble gives the bio a short character limit and a woman reads it in a few seconds. Everything else belongs in your photos and your prompts.

Bumble describes the bio as a way to show who you are beyond the pictures. Your photos get her to stop. The bio decides whether she thinks, "I could talk to him."

That second job is the one most men miss. They treat the bio as a place to list facts, when its real use is to give her something to react to. If she reads it and has no reaction, the bio did nothing, however accurate it was.

Open with the job, the trade or the thing you spend your week on. Be specific. "Works in finance" tells her nothing. "I fix hospital equipment and get called at 3 a.m. when it breaks" is a picture she can ask about.

Let her see the shape of your life, so she can picture an ordinary Tuesday with you in it, rather than trying to impress her with a title.

This is the line that separates you from the next man. a dating coach's example of the opposite is the bio announcing that he is a gentleman who knows how to treat a lady. So many men write something like it that a woman who has read it all day passes on it from boredom.

Pick a small, true, slightly odd detail. A strong opinion about something harmless, a habit, a thing you are bad at. "I have driven past the same bakery every day for six years and I have never gone in. Convince me." works because it is specific and she can reply to it.

a dating coach also tells men to open with value and not with comfort. A page that says "I'm nice" all the way down makes a man look interchangeable. A hook that is playful and a little challenging gives her a reason to answer. His own test profile started with a line telling the woman to leave while she still could, and it produced replies precisely because it was a surprise.

Whatever your tone, the bio needs some edge. A bio that cannot offend anyone also cannot interest anyone.

Say what you are looking for in a relaxed sentence. a dating coach's point on any app is that the page attracts whatever it announces. A page written like a man after a hookup draws hookups, and one that says you want something long-term draws that.

"Looking for someone to build a good Saturday with" is clear and not needy. "Looking for my other half" is both vague and a lot to ask of a stranger.

• A list of qualities. "Funny, loyal, adventurous" reads like a form and she cannot answer any of it.
• A list of demands. "No drama, no games, no flakes" tells her you have been hurt and expect the worst. It does not make you look discerning.
• Jokes about hating the app or small talk. Half the men on Bumble write them, and they are the first thing she scrolls past.
• Anything too sexual or too gamey in the first line. a dating coach warns that it scares off women who would otherwise have been interested.
• Your height, your age or your income, unless one of them is part of a joke you can carry.

These are examples invented for this article. They are not real clients, and no result is claimed for them.

A paramedic: "Paramedic. I have strong opinions about gas station coffee and none about what to watch. Looking for someone who will pick a place and let me be the one who is surprised."

A teacher: "I teach ninth grade, so nothing you say on a first date will shock me. I make a very good lasagna and a very bad playlist. Tell me which one you will judge first."

A software tester: "I get paid to break things, and I am annoyingly good at it. In my spare time I fix them. Looking for someone to share a long dinner and one terrible movie."

Each one has the job, one odd detail, and something she can answer. None of them lists a quality.

The bio works beside your photos and your prompts, not instead of them. If the lead photo is poor, the best bio in the world is read by almost nobody.

Treat the bio as something you can change at any time. Edit one line, leave it a week, and compare how many women liked you against the week before. Change one thing at a time, or you will never know which change did the work.