Ah, dating apps. The glorious invention that enables us to swipe through a digital catalog of human beings, find one who is cute, and just maybe send that person a message. Dating apps are ubiquitous. In fact, over half a billion messages are sent on Tinder each month in English-speaking countries and 20 percent of messages sent on Tinder begin with the word "hey." Due to sheer volume, generic openers like "What's up?" and "Hey" and "Hi" probably aren't going to catch your match's attention. You need fun and sparkly conversation starters for dating apps to make your message stand out from the rest.
I was having dinner the other day with a good guy friend and I was stoically remarking (read: b*tching) about how I was in a rut with messaging matches. Although I'd rather be messaged first, I had started a few conversations over the week and gotten blah responses. He took my phone, and with my permission, proceeded to send 10 different guys all completely ridiculous messages. Before we finished our first glass of wine, eight of them had responded. Needless to say, my buddy was really proud of himself, and I learned that sometimes in order to get someone's attention, you gotta get a little weird. Here are some fun ideas — including some that we sent that night — for you to try out.
These openers are random and silly and let the person know you're up for good times.
- "I just wanted you to know that I just looked up at the sky and couldn't find the Big Dipper. Don't judge me."
- "You look like you're being held hostage in your profile pic. Hang in there, I'm coming to rescue you."
- "Vampires vs. unicorns. Your thoughts?"
These openers make the person go, "Wait, what?" and take a closer look.
- "I'm standing right behind you."
- "I've got a great idea for a couple's Halloween costume for us, but it's going to be a surprise."
- "I really dig the smell of your shampoo."
These openers are a little sassy, a little sweet, and likely to start a flirty back-and-forth.
- "You're 'ditch all my friends and responsibilities for you' cute."
- "You're a nice slice of pie and I just happen to be a scoop of ice cream. Wanna à la mode?"
- "What was the last book you read? And by 'book you read' I mean do you wanna meet for a drink?"
Whichever way you choose to go with your opening message, have fun with it! If you don't take yourself too seriously and communicate to the person that you're getting a kick out of this process, your match will likely find that very attractive.
I just checked one of my dating apps to find literally seven "Hi, Laura" messages in my inbox. At first I didn't feel particularly inspired to respond to any of them, but then I remembered that not everyone has a hilarious friend to write their openers for them! So I hope you have some fun with these suggestions and if you'll excuse me, I have to go fire off a few outlandish replies.
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