The singles web site and online dating scene for men is totally different to that of single ladies. The direct contact responses for men is less than 5% of the responses women receive. It truly is a Venus and Mars world in many ways, and guys, if you want to get ahead of the fierce competition out there you really need to sit down and make a serious contact plan.

Honesty, courtesy and respect are the most important traits you will need to harness in order to excel in the singles world. Honesty as to your marital status, your likes and dislikes and the kind of person you are looking for. Courtesy to those that you have taken the time to seek out and contact and courtesy for those that have found and contacted you. Above all, total respect for the person they are, the person they want to be, their beliefs and for the decisions the person makes in respect to you. Without honesty, courtesy and respect you are doomed to be a single guy for a very, very long time.

OK first things first, women respond to men who can communicate well, women respond to men who are fun, entertaining and makes them laugh, and women are more in touch with the man as a person rather than what he has or how he looks.

I am no expert, but once you start READING AND COMPRENDING a few single womens profiles you to will begin to have a better understanding of a women's way of thinking toward what they want, relationships, communication, expectations and romance. I am not saying for one split-second that you create an inaccurate profile around what women write (Remember, Honesty!). What I am saying is you need to extend your vision of what a women needs, how to communicate with a woman and what a woman expects from a potential partner... Hey! I didn't say it was going to be easy!

The simple to follow guidelines for what to include in your email when contacting or replying to a single woman will certainly go a long way to helping you get over the first few initial communication hurdles and will provide a solid communication foundation and a greater response rate. :)

OK you have spent hours searching thousands of potential single womens profiles and you have found your dreamgirl, your Aphrodite, your Venus... you have decided to throw caution to the wind and make contact... now what?!?!

This may sound really obvious, but you say something!
Refrain from the pathetic 4 or 5 word emails and stay right away from the corny bar and club pick up lines...

• "Hey, Saw ya profile and you look hot. Write back!"
  
• "Hi I'm Tony, I like you profile."
  
• "Hello Dorene34, verry nice, wanna hook up?"
  
• "Hey Angel, did you hurt yourself when you fell from heaven!"
  
• "Hey JA456, you're not really what I am looking for but write me anyway!"
  

These type of initial contact messages will certainly earn you a first class ticket to the windows trash can.

Now let's try something unique, something that will be totally unexpected and something that will give you a far greater chance of receiving a positive and favourable reply.

When you want to contact a women via email write your email as if you were talking to her across a table in a cafe, make the email fun, positive, informative and entertaining.

Firstly, introduce yourself in a polite and respectful way, tell her a little more about yourself without bragging, being dominating or over-zealous. Don't dwell on yourself to much as most of your basic information is contained in your profile.

Avoid topics about personal problems, health issues, ex-partners, how much money you earn and refrain from negative, derogatory or sexually suggestive comments or topics. Any or all of these topics or issues can be introduced and addressed once you get to know the person a little better.

You could include paragraphs of any common interests or goals you share that are outlined in her profile, share a funny story of yours relating to her hobbies or interests and/or compliment her on her writing style or the interesting topics mentioned in her profile, but be sincere.

If your profile link isn't automatically included in the email, include your profile ID or user name so she can check out your profile, your photo and any other general information that you have not included in your initial contact email.

When finishing off your email, once again be polite and sincere. Let her know although you understand she may be very busy you thank her for taking the time to read your email and wether she replies to you or not you wish her every success in finding what it is she is looking for. (According to the information in her profile - Happiness, Travel Partner, Relationship, 12 kids... etc.) Before you send your email save a copy of it either in your email program or in a word or text document for future reference and read it over a few times to ensure it all makes sense and flows. :)

Patience is a virtue! Once you have sent your email don't just sit there gazing into the computer screen and continually checking your inbox for a reply. In most cases it will take hours, days or even up to a week before you receive a reply.

Email communication isn't 100% reliable and if after a week you haven't received a reply it could be for any multitude of reasons. Your email may of been lost somewhere in the void of cyberspace, she may have computer or internet problems, she may be out of town on business or visiting relatives. If you haven't received a reply after 3 or 4 days send another polite and courteous email asking if she had received your original email, (include a copy of the email you saved for reference just incase she never received it. You did save it didn't you? ;), and let her know that you are still really interested in getting to know her.

Generally a second email will produce a reply. If you still don't receive a reply after a few more days it is probably safe to assume that you will not be getting one, rude and inconsiderate I know, but some people are just like that. Don't stress or get to upset about it, just move on and continue with your quest! :)

NO means NO! It doesn't matter what the request, it doesn't matter what your mates say, and it doesn't matter what you feel - if a person (man or women) says no then don't have any unrealistic or misconceived ideas that the person is playing hard to get! I know only to well how difficult it is to accept rejection, and it makes it even harder to accept after putting in so much effort into a creating a work-of-art contact email.

Keep in mind that it's not easy to tell someone your not interested, in my early days I actually found this so much harder than writing contact emails. Finding the right words to say "Thanks, but No thanks" without disappointing or hurting a persons feelings isn't easy, but it is far better to be honest and up front right form the start rather than "play games" or lead someone on.

Receiving a polite "no thank you" email gives you that all important closure. When you receive a rejection email you have to accept it, no if's and no but's - that is what is called respecting a persons decision. Under no circumstance should you reply with angry, bitter or "why not" emails, this kind of persistence or harassment will only serve to have complaints lodged against you with the singles site owners, and you could find yourself being reprimanded, or in extreme circumstances you could have your account suspended or even cancelled.

There are thousands and thousands of honest, loving, caring and sincere single women listed on singles web sites, not all the good ones are taken and Ms Right is just waiting for you to sweep her off her feet! All you need to do is stand out from the crowd by putting in a little creative effort and taking a little time in preparing your contact email. Be honest, polite, patient and sincere, and before you know it cupids arrows will drench you like a tropical rain storm in July!... Oh! and remember always use your spell checker! :)

Good Luck, Guys!