by Blake Jamieson Updated APRIL 2016

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Copyright (Blah, blah, blah) Copyright Blake Jamieson 2016. All Rights Reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced in any form or by any means, including scanning, photocopying, or otherwise without prior written permission of the copyright holder. Disclaimer and Terms of Use: The Author and Publisher has strived to be as accurate and complete as possible in the creation of this book, notwithstanding the fact that she does not warrant or represent at any time that the contents within are accurate due to the rapidly changing nature of the Internet. While all attempts have been made to verify information provided in this publication, the Author and Publisher assumes no responsibility for errors, omissions, or contrary interpretation of the subject matter herein. Any perceived slights of specific persons, peoples, or organizations are unintentional. In practical advice books, like anything else in life, there are no guarantees of results. That is up to you and the actions you take. Glad we got that out of the way. Now let’s get to the good stuff!

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Table of Contents

by Blake Jamieson Updated APRIL 2016 Copyright

(Blah, blah, blah) Table of Contents Why Listen to me?

Here’s some context My First Tinder Experiment Hacking Tinder 2.0 What TiderHacks IS What TinderHacks IS NOT

Setting Up Your Profile Images

First impression ABT (Always Be Testing) Choosing the right images

Modifying your images Design Software Options:

HOW TO UPGRADE YOUR PHOTOS (FOR FREE) What NOT to do (with your images) What you SHOULD do (with your images)

Bio The objective of the bio Challenge Lines Let’s give ‘em something to talk about

Instagram Integration Should you link your Instagram account to your Tinder profile?

Swipe Strategy Tinder Plus

Tinder Plus Features Should you Pay for Tinder Plus?

SUPERLIKES Choosing the right age range and radius

Messaging Message first or wait for them to make a move? How soon should you message after getting a match? What should you say? The first message

First message samples

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(with data to back them up) GIF Messaging

A Sneaky Time­saving trick to messaging The Next Step

Moving the Conversation off Tinder Getting the Number Setting Up Dates

Traveling with Tinder Final Thoughts

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Why Listen to me? If you already know my background with Tinder hacking, and just want to get to the action steps you can take to increase your matches and dates, feel free to skip this intro section altogether. This was included to catch anyone unfamiliar with my experiments up­to­speed.

Here’s some context My name is Blake Jamieson. I work in content marketing, and am currently the Director of Content Marketing for a large e­commerce company. I am in charge of managing our branded blog, social media channels, and influencer outreach.

For a long time, I was against online dating sites. When I moved to Los Angeles in 2012, a friend convinced me to give OK Cupid a try. I uploaded some photos and answered about 100 of their ridiculous “personality” questions. Although I landed a handful of dates from OKC, I was not a fan of how much time it took to court someone online, and resorted back to meeting people at local bars and mixers. I discovered Tinder in 2013 thanks to the same friend who turned me onto OKC. The app reminded me of Hot or Not, which I had played with back in high school. I used the app, set up a few dates, but did not take it seriously until many months later.

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My First Tinder Experiment I saw Sean Rad (Founder of Tinder) speak at a fireside chat in Santa Monica, and was impressed by his marketing prowess. I learned that Tinder has already monetized by advertising for TV shows. The first promoted shows included Suits, New Girl, and The Mindy Project. I saw the profiles that were used to promote those shows, but did not realized they were actually endorsed by Tinder. And that got me thinking … What if I could modify my profile to make it look like I was endorsed by Tinder? I moved from Los Angeles to Phoenix, AZ in early 2014 (after the company I work for was acquired and moved me full­time in­house). At the time, I didn’t know anyone in Arizona outside of my colleagues at work. I decided there was no better time to experiment with my profile. I didn’t have anything to lose! I used what little Photoshop skills I had to modify my profile images. I included the Tinder logo and text that said “Match of the Day.” From there, I began swiping right on every profile (to see how many matches I could get). Here are two (the first and last) of six profile images I modified:

After about 10 days of swiping, I was up to 800 matches, and published an article about my findings on Medium. The article went viral, and was receiving 20­times more views than anything else I had ever published.

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Key Takeaways from Original Experiment

Only 8% of my matches took initiative to message me first Most of the incoming messages referenced the creative effort on my

pictures When I went back to study the data, I realized that (without meaning to) I had optimized my bio to get more reads on my Medium article than anything else. There was no strong CTA (Call­To­Action) that encouraged women to actually message me.

To this day, the original Medium article has been viewed over 96K times, and still gets 75­150 new views per day. On one hand, this is awesome news because there is clearly a long­term audience for this kind of information. On the other hand, that means nearly a hundred­thousand other guys could be using the same image template. To stay ahead of the curve, I modified my images and continued to gather data. Most of the new data is being released to the public for the first time ever in this very book. I mention this three separate times in this book, but want to make sure to get the point across: You should not use the Tinder logo and “Match of the Day” on your profile. Tinder is now scanning images in search of their (trademarked) logo, and flagging accounts that use it on profile images. They will not ban you (yet), but they will restrict all potential matches. But not to worry ­ there are still plenty of things you can do to increase your number of matches, messages, and dates!

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Hacking Tinder 2.0 A reporter from AdWeek reached out to me to cover the story; and I realized I was onto something bigger than a silly experiment published on Medium. I made some profile tweaks and gathered more data. The changes included tweaks to my profile image template, and updates to my bio.

The AdWeek feature earned over five thousand social shares across Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn (LOL), and Google+. One of the most entertaining parts about this article was the reader comments. In general, people liked the experiment. A few haters surfaced, but I think my replies put things into perspective for them. If you want a laugh, you can read the comments (and article) HERE.

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Key Takeaways After Tweaking Profile for AdWeek Article

Increased incoming messages from 8% to %18 Incoming messages referenced either profile pics or the bio CTA

Increasing the (incoming) message rate to 18% might not seem like a big deal, but improving conversion rate by 125% is huge for a data­driven digital marketer like myself. (More on exactly how I changed my bio later in the book) Shortly after the AdWeek feature was published, Tinder caught wind of my experiment, and sent the following email:

First off, I consider this a huge accomplishment, and find it hilarious that the subject line of the email was “Match of the Day.” When I logged into my account, I saw that all of my images had been removed. Since my Tinder profile was tied to my legitimate Facebook profile, I did not want to risk getting banned. So I uploaded pictures that did not violate Tinder’s rules. For the same reason, I do not suggest you simply create a profile that says “Match of the Day.” Although I do thoroughly enjoy when female friends from all over the world send me

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screenshots of guys who used my exact same template, I realize that it’s not a sustainable strategy to be successful on Tinder. The reason I was successful with that strategy is because when I did it, it was new and stood out. Tinder, just like any iteration of digital marketing, is a quickly­evolving landscape. You have to be willing to take risks; to try things other people are afraid to try. You might strike out more often than not, but when you get a hit, it’s a grand slam! Now if you’ve kept up with the publicity around my Tinder experiment, then everything above comes as no surprise to you. What most people don’t know is that my experiment never stopped. My original Tinder experiment was published in March 2014, and the AdWeek coverage was in April of the same year. In fact, the AdWeek feature ended up being named the “Top Technology Story of 2014” on all of AdWeek ­­ beating Kim Kardashian’s #breaktheinternet story, the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge, Mark Zuckerberg and more. As I write this, it’s June 2015 and I the experiment never stopped. And of course having over four thousand matches to test messaging doesn’t hurt. ;)

UPDATE: An internal source at Tinder has confirmed that accounts are now electronically scanned in search of the trademarked Tinder logo. If you use the original template I used, or include the Tinder logo in any of your images, then you will be flagged. A flagged account is not banned or deleted, but is shown zero matches. DO NOT USE THE TINDER LOGO ON YOUR PICTURES!

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What TiderHacks IS TinderHacks is a collection of my experiment data I’ve collected from my personal Tinder account, as well as a few dummy accounts created for the sole purpose of split­testing. TinderHacks includes suggested best practices for profile setup and messaging. These best practices were tested and proven to be true in several different cities, using several different sets of profile pictures. TinderHacks is a call­to­arms for boys to become men. Real women want real men who take initiative, are confident enough to make fun of themselves, and aren’t afraid to take chances.

What TinderHacks IS NOT TinderHacks is not a way to trick girls into thinking you're something you’re not. The best practices can only do so much, and you will still be required to show some personality that is unique to you. TinderHacks does not simply tell you to put “Match of the Day” text on your pictures, as that goes against Tinder TOS. The last thing I want is a bunch of people getting their accounts deleted and being pissed off about it. Plus, I was actually able to get better results with the profile adjustments I made after my initial experiment.

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Setting Up Your Profile Optimizing your Tinder profile is a great way to increase your success rate on Tinder. However, you need to understand that from a female’s perspective: The first (and only) thing she will see is your first picture. She had to physically click that photo to be taken to your bio, or browse more of your photos. For that reason, the absolute most important part of your profile is your main image. Once you get a solid first image in place, and have women wanting to learn/see more about you, then your secondary images and bio become more important.

Images We’ve established that your first profile image is important because it is your first (and sometimes only) impression on a potential match. But what about the other photos? The truth is, someone is going to check out your other profile images because they are interested, but not certain they want to swipe right. Either that, or she wants to see more of your images because you two have already matched, and she’s doing research before or during a conversation. In either case, you want to have a strong and diverse mix of pictures.

First impression The absolute best first impression you are going to be able to give is unique to you. It would be ridiculous for me to give instructions like “use a close­up shot of you gazing off camera with a serious expression,” because there is no single­best answer. There are, however, a few guidelines I suggest you follow (based on the data I’ve collected).

The picture should be of only you. (Don’t make matches play Where’s Waldo, and having a girl in your main profile picture does not go over well)

The photo should be good quality, but not look like it was staged by a photographer. Outdoor photos work really well. The photo should be a close­up ­ either from waist or shoulders up. (Don’t worry, you will

get to show off your sweet bod later) Honestly, it is a lot harder to choose a “best” photo of yourself then choose for someone else. So if possible, have a few of your (female) friends give advice. Pick 3­5 of your favorite pictures of yourself, and ask several different girls which is their favorite. You don’t have to tell them it’s

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for Tinder if you don’t want to. Tell them you are trying to decide on a new profile picture for Facebook, or LinkedIn, or whatever you want. If you are not comfortable asking for feedback from female friends, you have other options! During the first edition of this book, OKCupid had a tool called “my best face” that was for the specific purpose of picking your best image. That feature has been removed, but a new alternative launched recently: PhotoFeeler.com The concept is simple, vote on images to earn credits. Redeem credits to have people vote on your images. In theory, this should work well. However, the problem is, people are ONLY on that site for selfish reasons. Nobody will be rating photos “just for fun.” At least with the OKC feature, you were being clicked on by actual singles that were browsing the site looking for dates. You can also passively leverage your Facebook friends to get feedback. Change your profile picture to one of the images you want feedback on (make sure you upload the image fresh so it starts with zero “likes”). Leave that photo as your profile for 2­3 days, then upload a different profile photo. Over the course of a week, you can gather data on which of the options got the most Facebook likes. If you are concerned with post “reach,” you can upload each image on the same day/time of consecutive weeks. Below are two of the images I use on my Tinder profile. I chose these specifically because these are the avatar images that I use on Facebook (personal and fan page). Keep in mind that since I work in content marketing, and these Tinder experiments are part of my branding, I wanted everything to match.

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The image on the left is my first profile image. I chose it because it is a headshot that also shows that I like to surf. The image you use for your primary Tinder picture does not have to be taken by a “professional photographer,” but it certainly won’t hurt if it is. The image above on the right was taken by a photographer, and the image on the left was taken by my GoPro attached to the front of my surfboard.

ABT (Always Be Testing) Regardless of how you choose which images of you are “best,” you should most certainly test the order of images in the Tinder app. You want to set your strongest image first, so you get the maximum amount of matches. This is the exact process I use to test images:

1) Write down how many matches you currently have.

2) Change your primary profile image to a new picture (leave everything else the SAME)

3) Swipe right on a specific number girls. I prefer 100 b/c it makes for easy percentages. The more swipes per image, the more accurate the results will be. The important thing here is that you count how many, and do the same number for each photo you test.

4) Wait 24 ­ 48 hours, then record how many matches you have.

5) Repeat these steps for as many images as you want to test.

Testing Notes:

The image that yields the highest match percentage is your strongest image, and should be used.

When performing this test, I swipe EVERY potential match to the right. This makes it

easier to do quickly, and you will not lose count of how many swipes you have done.

It is also smart to re­test and change the first image every few months.

The number of swipes per day is limited unless you have Tinder Plus. Personally I think paying for Tinder Plus is worth the investment, but that will be covered later in the book. You don’t need Tinder Plus to do this test (it just makes things go faster).

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Choosing the right images There is a reason that professional models have portfolios to showcase different “looks.” They are demonstrating a wide variety of expressions and styles to appeal to the largest audience possible. You should take the same approach when selecting your six Tinder profile images. Some women like a guy who is athletic. Some like men who clean up nicely and look great in a suit. And I think it’s safe to say that every woman likes a man who has a good social life. Someone with their own friends and activities. These are the kinds of traits you should be thinking about when selecting your images for your profile. I am not saying you need to hire a professional photographer to go build a portfolio specifically for Tinder. But I AM saying that you should use that portfolio­building mentality when trying to appeal to as many potential matches as possible. Use your profile images to communicate a mix of the following:

Athletic Cleans up nicely Social Good sense of humor

Note: The suggested traits listed above are just that ­ suggestions. Everyone is different, and the best approach on Tinder is going to be one that plays to your unique strengths. If sports is not your thing, then you should not go out of your way to show that you are athletic. It will probably come off as forced, and even if it doesn’t, you are setting the wrong expectations with your matches. Maybe you play music? Great! Then that is a trait you should communicate in your profile images. Maybe you love StarWars, and you are looking for a girl who can sit through an 8­hour movie marathon with you. If so, you should probably communicate your love for StarWars in your profile images (or bio, which we will get to soon). At the end of the day, your profile should showcase the many sides of you. Stay true to yourself in your profile ­­ and you will have a higher chance of matching with someone who actually likes you (not just an edited version of what you think you should be).

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Athletic In my case, I used images from surfing and skateboarding, but any athletic activity will do. Do you play tennis? Beach volleyball? Soccer? Baseball? Great ­ just pick a sport that you actually play and use a picture of you playing it. Or at the very least, dressed to look like you are either about to play, or just finished playing. Don’t play a sport? That’s okay too, throw on some shorts and tee shirt and go on a hike! Just make sure to bring someone along to snap a photo. Below are two photos I currently use on my profile. You don’t need to have two sports shots.

What you should NOT do is showcase your “athleticism” with a selfie in the gym or bathroom. I don’t care if you’re shredded, find a more creative way to show it!

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Cleans up nicely I think it’s pretty safe to assume that most women like a guy who can pull off a suit. Maybe a sharp suit gives the perception of financial success. Maybe it makes people look more “grown up” and mature. I can’t be certain what makes women like suits, but I do know that my suit picture comes up in about 20% of conversations. Don’t dress up in suits often? Yeah, same here. So the photo I used (below) was from a wedding I went to last summer. If you are anywhere near my age (29), it’s about that time when all of your friends from high school and/or college are starting to get married. And taking a shit­ton of photos is a given at any wedding. Bonus points if you can rock a pocket­square like a boss. The image on the left was used during my Tinder Hacking 2.0 article for AdWeek. After getting the warning email from Tinder, I removed the banner altogether. I could have just removed the Tinder logos and left the text (since the logo was what broke the Tinder TOS).

If you choose to add text to your images, do not use the Tinder logo. If you do, Tinder will flag your account, and you will not be shown any potential matches to swipe.

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Social Including a picture with a few friends is a great idea, as long as it’s done correctly. This picture should be near the end, so by the time someone gets to it, they know which one you are. You can have girl(s) in the picture if you want, but if you do, I suggest using a group shot that also includes other guys. Below are a few different pictures I have used on my Tinder profile to communicate that I have a decent social life. Of course, these are much easier to come by if you actually do have a good social life, but I am certain you already have a picture that will work fine. The image on the far left works because it is a fun, outdoor group shot. The fact that I’m standing next to a girl is non­threatening to matches because of the other people in the picture. Also, we are both wearing the same shirt because we were working at an event together. (I know not everyone would know that right off the bat, but if they decided to google “VenturePong” from the shirts, they would see that was the case). The image in the center is also very non­threatening because the other guy in the picture has his arm around the girl in between us. The image on the right is a surefire safe bet. It shows that I like to get out of the house to mingle with friends; and it doesn’t hurt that my buddy is a good looking dude. Have you ever seen a Tinder picture with a handful of good looking girls and thought, “This girl has hot friends! I just want to meet any of them!” Yeah, I thought so. It works both ways.

Note: the faces of my friends are not blurred out on my actual Tinder profile pictures. That would weird and creepy as shit. I’m just not trying to put them on blast in TinderHacks. :)

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Good sense of humor Honestly, it’s pretty hard to showcase your sense of humor without a little photo manipulation. In my early Tinder experiments, I demonstrated this by overlaying ironic text on one of my photos (left). I took a picture that showed me holding a bull­horn, and added text overlay that said “a great listener” to the top of the photo. I later experimented with memes, and have seen even better success from those. The image on the right held the sixth image spot for months, and was frequently referenced by girls during conversation.

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Modifying your images Modifying my Tinder images was the first phase of my initial experiment. I added the Tinder logo and text that read “Match of the Day” to my main profile image, and added other contextually­relevant text to the other pictures.

Just to re­iterate my update earlier in the book ­ do NOT use the Tinder logo on your pictures. If you do, Tinder will flag your account and will not be shown any new matches. The Tinder logo is off limits, but that doesn’t mean you can’t modify your photo to stand out. You can use text to add humor to almost any photo, and there are a handful of design software options that will help you do it. Here is a great example of a creative photo sequence. It is attention­grabbing (literally), and does not require professional photos.

These particular photos were all taken as selfies (which is just about the only use case that I think selfies are okay on Tinder). This works GREAT right now, but once it goes mainstream, you will need to switch things up to stay ahead of the curve.

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Design Software Options:

Photoshop (30­day free trial) Gimp (free) Skitch (free) PiclabHD (free mobile app)

You shouldn’t feel like you have to modify your Tinder images. The images I have right now are not modified (besides one meme). However, the fact that 99.9% of guys will not add text or modify their images, gives you a clear opportunity to stand out. I am not, in any way, suggesting you should modify your images to alter your physical appearance. If you don’t retouch photos for a living, don’t make Tinder your first attempt. It will show, and you will not get more matches because of it.

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HOW TO UPGRADE YOUR PHOTOS (FOR FREE) If you want to upgrade your photos but don’t have the money to hire a professional photographer, I recommend reaching out to an aspiring photographer to potentially get some shots for free! Craigslist has a “gigs” section specifically for that sort of thing:

Go to the Craigslist homepage for your local area, then click on “talent” in the gigs section (in the lower right corner of the screen). This section includes photographers, models, and a handful of other one­off job (most of which are unpaid).

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Once you are in the “talent gigs” section, type “TFP” into the search bar. This is a photography/model industry term that means “trade for prints.” In other words, in TFP shoots, neither the model nor the photographer get paid. They are both usually doing these shoots to build their portfolio. Check out all the shoot opportunities that come up from a quick search in the San Francisco Bay Area:

Even though no money changes hands, you can get some really badass shots this way. You don’t have to be a model and you don’t need a portfolio. You can tell the photographer you want some new headshots for social media, or you can be completely honest and let them know you want to use them on dating apps. Most student photographers won’t care. They will just be happy to have a new subject to shoot so they can build their photography portfolio. If you do a TFP shoot, make sure you agree beforehand on the number of pictures you get to keep. Some photographers will give you the whole set, and some will just let you pick 3­5 of them (and usually re­touch them for you).

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What NOT to do (with your images) Do NOT use a shirtless selfie with you flexing in front of the mirror. If you’ve got some abs you want to show off, find someone else to take a damn picture of you. It’s not that hard. Do NOT include a picture with a sedated tiger. Maybe this is just an LA thing, and admittedly I first thought it was cool, but quickly learned that it’s WAY played out. No exotic wild animals, period. Do NOT use group shots for every single picture. I’m sure you hate playing the Tinder version of Where’s Waldo ­ trying to decipher which girl is common in every picture of her profile. Well guess what? Women hate that shit too. If you use a group shot, make sure that photo is near the end of your photo sequence.

What you SHOULD do (with your images) DO showcase a variety of images to appeal to the widest audience possible. DO use images that actually look like you. If you are misleading with your photos, then even if you get a date, you are setting yourself (and your date) up for disappointment. DO test your first profile image to make sure you are using the one that will get you the most swipes.

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Bio Nobody will see your bio unless they click your photo in the main swipe screen. Which means you can safely assume that anyone reading your bio is at least slightly intrigued by your first profile image. Remember when I said that there is a reason a model portfolio showcases a variety of looks? That you should take that into consideration when choosing the six images that will be shown on your Tinder profile? Well similar advice applies to your bio. There is a reason why the best copywriters in the word can inspire specific emotions and drive specific actions. Copywriting is combination of science and art, but data (across all digital marketing) indicates the science plays a larger role.

The objective of the bio I assume that the majority of the readers (like you) are here to get more matches. So the primary objective of the bio is to get women to either message you first, or message you back. As a secondary objective, your bio should provide fodder for conversations after they’ve started.

During my first Tinder experiment, my primary objective was to get more views on my Medium article. The only CTA (Call­to­Action) was:

Find my stories at www.Medium.com/@blakejamieson

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So naturally, that was the primary action that my matches took. I got a shit­ton of reads on my Medium article, and mixed responses from the Tinder matches who read it. I am guessing that a lot of matches read the article before a conversation between us ever started, and the article itself stopped some women from ever messaging me. Of course, there were also matches who messaged me because of the article (and referenced they were proud to part of the 8%). But the point is, this bio was not optimized for starting conversations. When the AdWeek feature was on the table, I decided that I no longer wanted to encourage Medium views, but instead wanted to increase the first­message rate I received from women. The CTA was…

If I said “I like your style,” what would you reply? (There is only one correct answer)

If you are not familiar with the quote, it’s from Starsky and Hutch. During a dance­off scene, Owen Wilson (Hutch) says “I like your style.” to Ben Stiller (Starsky). The quick response was “I like your moves.” Honestly, not many got it right, but at least it got messages!

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Challenge Lines In the example above, you should notice the part at the end suggesting there is only one correct answer. This turns it into a challenge. Girls will feel inclined to message you to see if they got it “correct.” Here is the bio I am currently using (June 2015):

When I created this most recent book update, I also created a separate document with 50 “Challenge Questions” that can be used in your Tinder bio (or to start conversations). Check out that separate PDF, and choose a challenge line that best suits YOU. Or better yet, you can come up with a challenge line that is completely unique, and relevant to your interests and personality. You bio certainly does not have to include only a challenge line. You can put more information in your bio if you like (more examples on following pages). If you do include more information, I suggest you also put a challenge line at the end of your bio. Your bio should NOT read like a resume. It should be short, light, and playful.

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Let’s give ‘em something to talk about Even if you don’t use a challenge question in your bio, you can still add text that gives you something to talk about. In this example, I added a (completely made up) “fun fact” saying that I am:

Ranked 4th in the world for snuggling.

This kind of bio does not necessarily increase the number of (incoming) first messages I receive, but I was able to leverage the bio in some sent messages (shown later in the book)

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Instagram Integration Last year, Tinder added a bio feature that allows you to embed your Instagram profile into your Tinder bio. This can be a great way to show even more personality in your Tinder profile, but it can also hurt your chances if used carelessly. If you link your Instagram account to your Tinder profile, then your Instagram photos are shown below your bio. The images are organized to show most recent first, and Tinder users can scroll through your 29 most recent photos, and even link directly to your Instagram account to see the rest. To link your Instagram account, click “Edit Profile,” then “Connect” in the Instagram section:

Should you link your Instagram account to your Tinder profile? I wish there was a simple yes­or­no answer that applies to everyone. Unfortunately that is not the case. If your Instagram showcases nice photos, or a fun lifestyle, then by all means I think you should include it. If you rarely use Instagram, or you are not sure if your Instagram photos might deter some women, then it’s a much safer bet to leave it off your profile. If you are unsure, you are welcome to email me at blake@TinderHacks.com with a link to your Instagram account. I am happy to give feedback and let you know if I would include it.

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Facebook Likes You’ve probably noticed that Tinder shows you mutual Facebook friends, as well as shared interests. In the most recent Tinder update, they began limiting the number of interests to 100. Tinder will ONLY include the 100 fan pages you have liked most recently. This is great news, because if you’re anything like me, you have tons of “interests” that are pages you liked many years ago (that are not really relevant to my life now). You can see your most recent Facebook interests in your “View Profile” screen. However, you cannot modify the interests within the Tinder app. If you see a Facebook interest that you do not want to include on Tinder, you will need to log in to Facebook and “unlike” that particular page.

Since the way Tinder shows these interests is so systematic and predictable, you can certainly game the system if you wanted to. By strategically “liking” pages on Facebook that will make for good conversation fodder on Tinder, you could give yourself more to talk about. But it’s definately worth noting that the interest will only show up to a match IF it’s a mutually shared interest.

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Swipe Strategy I will be the first to say it ­ having a section called “swipe strategy” is just ridiculous. I’m glad we got that out of the way. Okay, moving forward… Having a swipe strategy can, and will, save you time and frustration on Tinder. Swiping potential matches should be a fun activity, but you should not take it too seriously. I was visiting a good friend (who ironically was the guy who convinced me to sign up for Tinder in the first place). He saw me struggling to decide whether I should swipe right or left on a Tinder match, and offered some sage advice: “Don’t bother looking at girl’s additional pictures. She might not even swipe you back, so you don’t want to get too attached.” I laughed it off at the time, but after as much testing as I’ve done now, I realize how spot­on he was. If a girl has 6 images, and you check every single one of them, you are significantly increasing the time it takes you per (potential) match. Tinder is a numbers game, and favors speed. I’m sure you’ve met up with someone in real life who looked way better in the pictures you saw online. On the flip­side, I’m sure you also know women who are smoking hot in real life, but for whatever reason, all of their pics on Facebook make them look average at best. Some people photograph well and some don’t ­ there is no denying that. Go with your gut from the first image. If you match, and after viewing her other images you decide you are not interested, you can simply “unmatch” her and all is good. Don’t be afraid to unmatch. When your match list gets large, it can easily be cluttered by profiles that you are simply not interested in. I would much rather you have a smaller match list, filled with women who you are stoked to go on a date with. Then you can implement the messaging strategies in this book to move the conversations off Tinder. Set your standards. Stick to them. You deserve it.

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Tinder Plus In 2015, Tinder rolled out a new premium version of the app called Tinder Plus. In this new (paid) version of the app, you get unlimited right­swipes, and a few other features listed below. At the same time, Tinder began limiting the number of swipes you get on the free version of the app.

Tinder Plus Features

Unlimited right­swipes (compared to 30 per day on the free version) An “undo” button if you mistakenly swipe someone left 3 Superlikes per day (compared to 1 per day on the free version) Passport feature that allows you to change your swiping location All ads are turned off

Currently you get 30 right­swipes at a time on the free version of Tinder, then you have to wait 12 hours. The number of swipes you get goes UP, however, when you do not return to the app for a few days. I am not entirely certain if it just banks 30 new swipes every 12 hours, or the algorithm is based on something else.

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I am underwhelmed by the “undo/rewind” option, but I do use it from time to time. Most of the time I am swiping, I will swipe girls right even if I am mildly attracted to them. I know that I can always unmatch people later, so I am generous with my right swipes. Because of this, I rarely need to use the “rewind” feature. Tinder Passport, which allows you to change your location, is very helpful if you travel a lot. You can get matches in a new city before you even arrive. This can be great for setting up a date with a girl to be your “tour guide.” When I was traveling through Europe last month, I knew I would be visiting Barcelona and Switzerland. The Tinder Passport feature allowed to start swiping in Switzerland a few days before I went there. I did the same thing when I was heading back to Barcelona from Switzerland. Note: If you are using the Passport feature, you will likely end up with matches from all over the place. This can be confusing to keep track of, you Tinder doesn’t do a good job organizing your matches (they are ordered by the timestamp on the conversation or match). I don’t recommend using the Passport feature unless you are swiping in a place you are actually going to visit soon.

Should you Pay for Tinder Plus? If you use Tinder often, and are constantly being restricted by the swipe­cap, then I think you should. The way I look at it, Tinder Plus costs less than a round of drinks, and gives you a lot more freedom on the app. The pricing for Tinder Plus depends on two factors: your location and your age. In the US, Tinder Plus costs $9.99 if you are under 30, and $19.99 if you are 30 or older. In my case, I am right on that line, but on the more expensive side. A good friend uses Tinder Plus in Australia, and it only costs $3/mo for him (he is under 30). I would love to collect data about how much Tinder Plus costs around the world, but that will have to be saved for the next book update. If you use Tinder Plus and live somewhere outside of the US or Australia, shoot me an email and let me know how much it costs there!

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SUPERLIKES Another feature that Tinder rolled out with their premium version is the “Super Like.” For free users, Tinder gives you one Super Like every 12 hours. If you don’t use them, they do not roll over. For this reason, it’s smart to use them whenever you can. As a Tinder Plus user, you are given 2 Super Likes every 12 hours. Again, they do not roll over if you don’t use them. Note: If you want more Super Likes, you can purchase them.. But don’t bother. Just use the ones you get for free.

When someone Super Likes you, that match is always put near the top of your swiping stack. While it usually goes all the way to the top, sometimes you have to swipe a few non­Super likes first.

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The best part about getting Super Liked is that you know that if you swipe right, it will be an instant match. As soon as you swipe right, you will be matched, and the Super Like icon will show up in a few more places. Here is what’s different:

The Super Like icon will show on the match screen. It will say which use Super Liked the other person. The icon will also show up in “New Matches” area of Tinder. The star is shown under Krista’s picture forever. This same icon shows when you Super Like someone else, and then you match. This helps you keep track of anyone you Super Liked, or anyone who Super Liked you.

And finally, the fact that someone Super Liked you also shows up in the chat dialog box. Even though Krista and I matched a month ago, it still says Super Like. Note: I know you might be wondering why I never messaged Krista. That’s a good question. She’s a total babe! Gonna have to go re­kindle that one and update you later. ;)

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How to Leverage Super Likes Remember how this all started by modifying my profile picture to say “Hot Match of the Day”? Well the launch of Super Likes gives the same kind of opportunity. You can take your profile picture (left) and add the teal bar and star icon (right) to the image.

Then when matched come across your profile, it will look (kind of) as if you’ve Super Liked them. Keep in mind that it’s not exactly the same, since in a real Super Like, your name would be shown in the blue bar, rather than the white bar below your image. Anyways, I just think it’s a fun way to game the system, and am including a Photoshop template with the updated book version. You can also get your image put into the Super Like template by going to UnlimitedSuperLikes.com (it takes 24 hours, but they will do it for you for free)

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Choosing the right age range and radius I am honestly not sure how many people mess with their age range and match radius on the Tinder app. Personally, I change the radius pretty often, depending on the scenario. I suspect that if people do change the age/radius at all, it is the kind of thing that is “set and forget.” Let’s address age range first, since I have very little to say about it. You’ve got your taste; I’ve got mine. I maxed out my age range for the initial experiment, but have since narrowed it to personal preference. Set it wherever you want it ...it’s not going to affect the outcomes of practices from this book (since they were tested on all age ranges). As for radius, the right answer will depend on what city you live in (and a few other variables). If you live in a densely populated area like Los Angeles or San Francisco, you can get away with a much smaller radius that more rural areas. If you are traveling to a densely populated city for a weekend, or even just a night, then you can get away with a tiny radius (with the hope of meeting up with your match that same night). If that is the case (traveling), add that to your bio during your trip to increase the sense of urgency.

TIP: If you want to get back into the swiping pool in your area (if you run out of people to swipe or match with), try changing (all of) your profile images. This will put you back into the mix, and you will have tons of people to swipe with again. If that doesn’t do the trick, then you can always delete your Tinder account and create a new one. When you do this, make sure to save any phone numbers or notes (since all your messages will get wiped out) In the AdWeek feature, I noted this point, and Tinder told the reporter that was not how Tinder worked. However, after the first experiment, I literally swiped on every person in my area. Everytime I logged onto the app, I had 5­10 swipes before it would tell me “there is nobody new in your area.” But after I swapped in all new images for the second phase of the experiment, I had thousands of potential matches (some of which I recognized from the first time around).

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Messaging

Message first or wait for them to make a move? During my first iteration of my Tinder experiment, I found the (female) message­first rate to be a measly 8%. Although I was able to increase that to 18% with some profile modifications, that is still not a very high number. So if you are hoping your new match on Tinder is going to message you first, don’t hold your breath. So the ball is in your court. Are you going to just stand there until the shot­clock runs out, or are you going to be a fucking man and drive to the hoop. I’m hoping ­ since you took the initiative to buy TinderHacks in the first place ­ that you’ve got the courage to make a move. Even if you fail, there are thousands of other girls at the swipe of a finger. A female friend who was inspired to do a similar experiment saw a first­message rate (from guys) to be 38%. This means that the majority of guys (62%) don’t have the guts to make a move. This is great news for you, because just by initiating conversation, you’re separating yourself from the norm. Do it.

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How soon should you message after getting a match? The length of time you should wait to message someone really depends on the context of the situation. If you get a notification that you matched with someone (assuming it is not immediately after swiping right on that person), then you know she is on Tinder right now. You can strike while the iron is hot, but if the message comes instantly (for her) after she swipes you, it might come off as a creeper. I am not a fan of dating games ­ so the whole “playing hard to get” or acting aloof is really not something I preach. But there is a fine line between playing the game too much, and just the right amount. So in the above scenario (knowing your match in online), give it at least a minute or two before you send the first message.

TIP: If you stumble home at 3am from the bar, squint at your phone until the double­vision subsides, and see that you got a new match on Tinder...do NOT make it your mission to lure your newly found Tinderella to be your last­resort booty call. If you struck out at the bar, it was probably (partially) due to the fact that you’re too drunk. Save the messaging for the next morning (or afternoon depending on how hard you raged) when you can bring your A­game. After all, you only get one chance at a first impression. Don’t waste that chance at 3am. This might seem like common knowledge to some readers, but I know first­hand how tempting it can be. If you don’t have the self­control to avoid the situation, turn push­notifications for Tinder OFF altogether.

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What should you say? I wish I could tell you there was one magic phrase that would make every single woman beg for the privilege of dating you. But that doesn’t exist. There are, however, certain messages that tend to outperform others. My whole experiment was based on data. The more data that I (or anyone) can collect, the more statistically­significant the outcomes are. If you take anything away from this book, develop the habit of collecting your own data, and use it to figure out what works best for you.

The first message We’ve established that women are just not going to message you first. The ball is in your court, and you only get one chance at a first impression. If the first message does not get a reply, you can still recover (but it is an uphill battle). I tested just over 30 first messages ­ everything from the basic “Hello” or “Hi,” to more contextual messages that worked in conjunction with my bio or Tinder nuances. I tested plain text as well as emojis. Below are some of the top performing messages, along with stats and advice on how/when to use them. (sorted by ascending conversion)

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First message samples

(with data to back them up)

Favorite animated movie. Ready… Go!” (then immediately) “Despicable Me!

Response Rate: 50% Why it Works: I think it’s safe to assume that every girl has a favorite animated movie. This message is a light hearted opener that is not too challenging. As soon as a girl sees this, her favorite movie comes to mind right away (hint: it’s probably Finding Nemo or Frozen), which makes it really simple to respond to. And by quickly sending a second message (with whatever you choose), it demonstrates confidence and authority while avoiding sounding like an arrogant douche. Where to Pivot: This one is great because it leaves the conversation so open­ended. If they mention a movie you have not seen, you could tell them that (and then suggest you watch it together later in the conversation). If they have not see whatever movie you choose, you could do the same thing. If No Response: Since the a common response seems to be “Frozen,” that can be used to your benefit. Saying something like “You’re ice cold...so is Frozen a safe guess?” is a pretty solid bet. If you’d rather pivot a different direction, you could say, “Not into cartoons, eh? That’s cool I’ve seen a few non­cartoon movies too.”

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!!!

Response Rate: 57% Why it Works: This message is simple, yet sparks curiosity. Where to Pivot: From my experience, the match will either reply with a series of punctuation marks, or just question marks. If she replies with question marks, you can turn it into a joke about how you guessed that it takes something more dramatic than “hello” or “hi” to get her attention. If No Response: In my experience, the best way to recover from a non­response is a challenge question.

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With your help, I think I could break into the top 3!!*

Response Rate: 61% Why it Works: *paired with bio information* this works like a charm! Remember how I put “Ranked 4th in the world for snuggling” in my bio? Well this is why!

Where to Pivot: You are setting yourself up as a funny guy, so if you get a response, stick to that for the next few messages. You can easily test the water to see if she wants to hang out by suggesting that you really need to practice before the World Cup of Cuddling. If No Response: Saying something like “If you’re snuggling with the competition, I am going to be really disappointed in you” can get a laugh if they look back at your profile. It can also be taken out of context pretty easily.

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Tinder says we can tell our kids we met here, but I’m willing to lie to them about that one tiny detail.

Response Rate: 66% Why it Works: When you get a match on Tinder, there is a random on­screen prompt shown. One of the prompts says “You can tell your kids you met on Tinder.” This message leverages the fact that your match doesn’t know which prompt you saw. So no matter how many people you send it to, it seems like it was customized just for them.

Where to Pivot: If you get a response, it is going to either be agreeing (that you should lie to your children), or suggesting you be honest about it. Either way, she is essentially confirming you two will make offspring, which is great for the conversation! If No Response: Resort to a challenge question.

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GIF Messaging Tinder has added a feature where you can send GIF messages. For those of you who aren’t familiar with GIFs, these are animated images (like a very short video that loops). This is exciting because it’s much more engaging than sending text or emojis. I’ve started testing GIF messages for opening lines, and throughout a conversation, and so far it’s getting a very high response rate. In most cases, I think GIF messages will out­perform text messages.

To send a GIF on Tinder, simply click the small blue GIF icon in the lower left of the message screen. Then you can search for any GIF you want. There are literally thousands of options, and you can find them by searching keywords. For opening messages, you can search “Hello” or “Hi” or “Hey” or “Howdy” etc. These will all return different search results (with some overlapping results). Any of these searches are great for intro lines. Test a few different ones to see which get’s the best reaction in your area.

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You can also search movies, TV shows, actors, etc to find the perfect GIF. I like to use the one from “Step Brothers” (DID WE JUST BECOME BEST FRIENDS) in conversations when the match expresses an interest in something I like too. It almost always gets a laugh. I also like to use the “Workaholics” (sup.) GIF as an opening line. If a girl doesn’t recognize that it’s from Workaholics, we probably aren’t going to work out anyways.

Note: As soon as you click on one of the GIFs, it will send immediately. There is no preview, besides what you see while searching. This is honestly kind of annoying. Sometimes I’ve pressed one by accident, and sent a GIF by accident.

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A Sneaky Time-saving trick to messaging Like I mentioned at the beginning of this book, the data was collected from countless hours and thousands of messages being sent. I recently discovered a simple trick that could have save me tons of time. You can set up keyboard shortcuts for each of your ice­breaker lines. So instead of typing “Tinder says we can tell our kids we met here, but I am willing to lie to them about that one tiny detail.” manually (which on a phone is a huge pain in the ass), you can just type “th1” (or whatever shortcut you choose). When I was testing these messages, I was using copy/paste. But in that case, I can really only use one message at a time. With keyboard shortcuts, you can have an opening line at your fingertips. Then you can adjust the opening line you use based on that particular match. You can access “Keyboard shortcuts” in your “Settings” section of your iPhone. If you are using an iPhone, here are the steps you need to take to setup keyboard shortcuts:

I am sure there is an equivalent on non­iPhones, but you will have to poke around in settings to find it! I’m iPhone for life! Note: This can also be very helpful in day­to­day life. If you have friends visit your house often, you can set up a keyboard shortcut for your address (or directions, or whatever).

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The Next Step Let’s face it, optimizing your profile is pretty useless if it doesn’t lead to messages and conversations. Similarly, conversations aren’t worth much if they don’t lead to phone numbers and dates. This section outlines how to turn conversations into dates. The best way to take ‘the next step’ is going to vary based on your personality type, the legwork you did while messaging, and how your match feels (which is almost entirely out of your control). Regardless of those factors, the most important thing you need to understand is Tinder (and dating in general) is a numbers game for everyone. If you’re shot­down, just move on and don’t dwell on it.

Moving the Conversation off Tinder At some point, you are going to want to move the conversation off Tinder. You have a few options: text or Facebook. In most situations, I like to move straight to text, but there are times when Facebook can be beneficial. Moving the conversation to text requires that you exchange phone numbers. This may be a hurdle if your match is skeptical to give her phone number. The reason that moving the conversation to Facebook first can be a good thing, is because it builds trust (and may feel less intrusive than asking for her phone number directly.

Tip: Since Tinder shows mutual (Facebook ) friends, it can be really easy to find your match and do a little recon. Keep in mind she can do the same to you. Having mutual friends also (usually) establishes more trust and credibility.

If want to extra­sneaky in your Facebook recon, you can look up most people using Google image search (even if you are not Facebook friends). You can also look someone up on Facebook if you have their phone number. Simply put the phone number into the search bar, and you will (usually) be shown their profile.

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Getting the Number When you are out at a bar talking with a girl, it is not unreasonable to ask for her phone number directly. Assuming you have already built some rapport and established trust, it’s pretty hard for someone to tell you “no” to your face. On Tinder, it is a little different ballgame. If you messaged someone “what’s your phone number” it would probably come off as awkward. You could test the waters with something like “we should hangout sometime,” or “we should go on an adventure!” The latter sounds much more exciting, and would likely convert better. However, I prefer an entirely different approach. I much prefer to give a girl my phone number, and tell her to “use it if you want to.” This might seems like a risky move, but it works surprisingly well. Sometimes she will just reply with her phone number (putting the ball back in my court to send the first text), and sometimes she will just text me directly.

You can’t make someone give you their phone number, just like you can’t make someone text message you when you give yours. But if you set yourself up with a good conversation, this method is is a very non­threatening way to shift the conversation off Tinder. If you don’t hear from her, who cares? If that is the case, she wouldn’t have given you her number anyways.

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Setting Up Dates So you’ve got a phone number, exchanged a few text messages, and now want to set up a date. Remember that she gave you her number for a reason. She is interested in you, or at the very least, curious. It is important to remember this when suggesting you two should meet up in real life. You have no reason to pussy­foot around the idea ­ just go for it! A few pointers for setting up dates:

Suggesting a public place (vs your house) is much less creepy Hanging out mid­day feels less serious (and is cheaper) than a dinner­date If you are going out with friends, suggest she brings friends too

Suggesting a public place should be obvious. When you are meeting someone for the first time, it is important they feel safe, and just about any public place should provide that. If the date goes well, you can always suggest you head to a more private place afterwards. Take is slow to be sure you don’t scare anyone off before you ever get the chance to meet. Setting up your first day for the middle of the day has a handful of benefits. For starters, it is usually cheaper to grab lunch than dinner, and you probably don’t want to invest a bunch of money into a first­date before you really know each other. It also just sounds less serious of a commitment, so she is more likely to agree to it. You can buffer the request with a mention of being busy later in the evening, so she knows there is only a finite amount of time you will be able to hang out. For example, “Hey I’ve got plans to go out with some friends later, but want to meet up this afternoon for a drink?” This is effective because it shows that you’ve got a social life, but still expressing interest in hanging out with her. If you go this route, make sure to give her at least an hour or two lead­time to get ready. Just like with getting the number in the first place, you can’t make someone meet up with you. If you ask, and get a no (usually in the form of “sorry I can’t today, I have other plans”), it does not mean you should give up altogether. If that happens to me, I will typically try to set tentative plans for later in the week right then. You can reply with something like “No worries. What day works to grab a drink this week?” I like to go with a “three strikes and out” policy for setting up dates. If a girl turns me down twice when I suggest we get together, I put the ball in her court. “Well, you seem like a really busy girl. I’d love to hangout, but at the risk of striking out a third time, I’ll leave the planning up to you. Let me know if you get time for drinks this week.” It’s simple, a clear message, and allows you to stop worrying about coordinating. If she actually wants to get together, she will text you. If she doesn’t, then at least you’re not wasting more time.

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Traveling with Tinder One of the coolest parts about Tinder is that it’s popular everywhere (or at least everywhere I’ve been since downloading it). Being a visitor from out of town can be both an advantage and disadvantage. On the plus side, there is more urgency to hang out sooner (before you leave). However, you will also run into girls who are disappointed that you are from out of town, and decide that meeting up would just be a waste of time. Either way you can use Tinder to find out the cool places to go in a foreign city, and sometimes get a last­minute date too! As soon as you arrive in a new city, fire up Tinder and let it load nearby matches (but do not swipe any). Then close the app and handle whatever business you need to during your business. When you reopen the app later that day/trip, the first potential matches that show up will have already swiped right on you. Tinder will stack those at the top of the deck, so you have a stronger chance of matching with people near the front of that line. This will allow you to spend your time swiping people who are active on Tinder (and reduce the number of swipes you would “waste” on people who don’t check the app frequently). I’ve seen matches update their bio to say : “Visiting [Phoenix] for the weekend. Back to ____ on Monday.” or something similar. Personally, I have not tried this, but it seems like it could be effective. It will weed out the matches who do not see a point to meeting up with someone from out of town, and gives your match something to talk about. Even if you don’t get to meet up with any of your new matches, you can still get suggestions of where to go out.

“Hey I’m visiting from ______. Where should I go out tonight?” This one is great because without even asking for it, you might end up meeting your match that night. If she replies, “A bunch of friends and I are going to _____ bar. Should be fun!” then you get to skip the whole asking­for­number and suggesting­to­hangout. Worst case scenario (besides no answer) is you get a few recommendations that she likes, where you would probably meet some cool people.

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Final Thoughts Hopefully by this point, you’ve picked up some nuggets of info that you can apply to your Tindering. The two most important things to take away are:

1. Give no fucks. (You have nothing to prove and nothing to lose. It’s a numbers game) 2. Collect your own data. (Test what pictures and messages do the best for you)

As Tinder changes, I will be updating this book and sending it to anyone who purchased it. So not to worry if a big app update changes the dynamics of Tinder. I am always experimenting with new messaging and images, so if I come across anything that is working really well, I will let you know! If you could do one small favor, it will help the book updates be more relevant to you! Send me an email with your biggest challenge on Tinder (examples: Not enough matches, not enough replies to messages, no dates, etc) Also include

your age the age range you have set in match preferences the radius you have set in match preferences your general area (country or city)

If you do this, I promise to help you get past that personal hurdle. The future research and testing I do on Tinder will be dictated by the emails I get from readers. If you have any questions, or want to share your successes and/or fails on Tinder, just shoot me an email! Blake@TinderHacks.com Also feel free to add me on Facebook (Facebook.com/blakejamieson). I am on Facebook chat all the time, and happy to expand my network of fellow Tinder hackers! Lastly, make sure to like the TinderHacks Facebook Page for more tips and tricks!

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