Using information gleaned from the millions of profiles in its system, OkCupid has determined that specific things can help (and hurt) your online dating mojo.

Tip 1: Show Some Skin

So it turns out that you do get more messages if you have a more revealing photo.  But we found that was actually more insightful was that the cleavage advantage, as I call it, actually increases with age.  So when you’re 18-years-old, if you have a photo that’s more revealing, you’re going to get about 24% more interest than a non-revealing photo.  By the time you turn 32 that advantage increases to 79%.

Tip 2: Don’t Use Flash

We learned that if you use flash, it adds seven years of age.  So a 28-year old using flash has the same attractiveness as a 35-year-old who doesn’t use flash.

Tip 3: Consider Eye Contact

If you are a man, you shouldn’t look straight into the camera because that’s intimidating to women.  If you are a woman, you should be looking into the camera because men don’t want to imagine you looking at some other guy.  They want you looking straight at them. 

Tip 4: Be Candid

If you take a photo in your bathroom or a photo taken with your cell phone, those have a more authentic, more intimate appeal and those actually do very, very well.
 
Tip 5: Don’t Be Shallow

So if you use the words, “sexy” or “cute” or “beautiful” in a message, you’re going to get about a 30% worse response rate than if you talk about interests that she has in her profile. So if you use words like, oh it’s fascinating that you have this interest or if you talk about a band that she likes or something that’s actually written about in her profile, you’re going to do twice as well as if you’re someone who is focusing on her physical looks.