The Problem with Women’s Bumble Bios

I decided to do some recon this week: what’s it like being a straight man on Bumble these days? I spent about an hour swiping on a guy friend’s Bumble to find out.

The results? Not good!

There were 3 issues I noticed over and over and over again.

Which is great news for you! If you adjust your profile to avoid these three things, you are automatically going to stand out from the crowd.

Here’s what I learned:

1. So many people have no bio at all

The prevalence of profiles with no bios shocked me. It used to be an evergreen complaint that straight women had about men’s profiles: “They put in no effort! They don’t even write anything!” But boy has that become par for the course on women’s profiles, too.

On Bumble, I do understand the logic a bit. Women have to message first anyway, so why bother spending time crafting a great bio about yourself when the guy isn’t going to start a conversation with you about it?

But having no bio signals either a lack of taking dating seriously, or an arrogance that men should swipe right on you based on your looks alone. So please: write something! Write anything!

2. So many bios were generic vibes

Well… maybe don’t write just anything. Write something concrete and specific about yourself.

Here are two examples of a bio trope I saw constantly:

Naming qualities (“self awareness”) or broad strokes interests (“always in travel mode”) doesn’t tell someone why you’re going to be a great person to spend time and money going on a date with. Especially when you see just how common these types of pleasant-but-vague bios are.

Read your bio right now. Do you list one-word interests like “travel, hiking, cooking, concerts”? Do you say you’re looking for non-specific qualities like “kindness, honesty, sense of humor”? If so, it’s time for a rewrite.

3. Everyone was so negative!

Real lines from bios I saw:

“If you don’t want it to lead to something serious let’s not waste our time.” “Love me right or leave me alone” “No Trump voters (some people try to sneak by…please don’t bother)” “Don’t match with me if you’re not going to ask me out” “If you ask me what I’m looking for, you automatically move down in the rankings. Take that question and replace it with something interesting, and we’ll go from there.” “No hookups” “My time is valuable” “Have manners” “If you are an avoidant or emotionally unavailable, please swipe left”

I’d say 75% of bios had something negative: “don’t be like this” or “you had better be like this.”

There are so many kind, creative, and positive ways to get all of these feelings across!

Let’s take a look at this bio:

And let’s transform it into a bio that gets those same points across, but also checks all of our boxes: positive, specific, and personal.

Clear communication, good manners, and smart conversation go a long way with me. I’m dating intentionally and looking for long term love. I tend to click best with people who live responsibly, stay out of trouble, and value mutual respect. By day I work in a high school; by night I’m likely listening to NPR, putting on Springsteen, or finding a reason to dance salsa.

See? You can communicate what you don’t want through what you do want, and you can much more easily come off as an approachable, dateable person.

So how do you get your bio to stop looking like everyone else’s, and start looking like one that will catch a guy’s eye?

Write something, add specifics, and keep it positive.

That’s it!

Happy Dating!

Alyssa

The One and Only DIY Profile Kit

Designed for getting your profile Swipe-Right ready in as little time as possible. With the DIY Profile Kit, you’ll learn to avoid the most common pitfalls that make for an undesirable profile while building a winning profile that attracts individuals who match your lifestyle and standards.

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