POF Review – Is Plenty Of Fish Worth Using?

Free dating sites can be sketchy – tons of fake profiles, women who aren’t serious about dating, etc. You’ll probably encounter those problems on POF, but it’s still one of the best free options out there.

As one of the three most popular dating sites in the world, it’s got a massive pool of users. Any good fisherman knows to drop a line where the fish tend to congregate. So if you’re in a rural area or small city, POF is a great option for you.

And even if you’re in a mega city, it might be worth trying out. Keep reading to find out why…

Pros and Cons of Plenty of Fish

PROS: As one of the most popular free dating sites in the world, it has a huge user pool, with an enormous variety of women – including the occasional reality TV star. Patti Stanger of Bravo Network fame met her husband on the site. Unlike other free sites, basic features like sending and receiving messages don’t require an upgraded membership. You don’t have to upgrade to see who has viewed your profile, which makes it easy to send icebreakers to women who have checked you out. The advanced search feature gives you tons of filtering options, so sorting by specific criteria like “education”, “income”, and “profession” is easy.

CONS: As with any free site, you’ll have to do some heavy curating. Anyone can create a profile, so expect to encounter spammers, prostitutes, and fake profiles. Because it attracts so many users, competition for the most attractive women on POF can be fierce. Keep reading for plenty of tips that will make you stand out from the crowd. The whole “Plenty of Fatties” joke is not far off the mark. POF is like the Walmart of the online dating world – sure, there’s always the chance you could run into a total hottie in the produce aisle, but you’re going to have to wade through a sea of notties to get there. At least you can filter out the ones who don’t own a car or have a job… You have to upgrade to view extended profiles, get rid of all the ads, and find out if she read your message or not.

VERDICT: If you’re in an area with a small pool of singles or you can’t afford to pay for a dating site subscription, POF is definitely a good option for you. Also, if you’re between the ages of 18 to 25, POF is a great choice for you too because it’s packed with younger women who aren’t quite ready to pay for online dating. But be prepared to spend some time (okay, lots of time), searching for high-quality women you actually want to meet.

POF has the option to upgrade, and it’s totally worth it, but if you can only afford to pay for one dating site, you might be better off spending that money on a Match.com subscription instead (especially if you’re 30+ years old). Match.com tends to attract women who are more serious about finding a relationship, and in general the women are more attractive.

That said, we do always recommend testing out 3 or 4 of the best dating apps and sites at once to see which one(s) work best for you. It’s even hard for us as experts to consistently predict which site will be best for a given client until we send lots of messages on a few different platforms. That’s why POF is often included in the mix, and sometimes it really surprises us how much better it can work for a given client than the other ones we test.

Price Tag & Features

Creating a profile is totally free, and so are all the basic features like search filters and messaging. That’s one of the things people love about POF – if you don’t want to pay for an upgrade, it’s still a very useable, effective dating site.

But certain premium features do require an upgrade:

• See if she read or deleted your message.
• Priority placement on Meet Me!, the section of the site where you can say “Yes”, “No”, or “Maybe” to meeting with a user based solely on photos. Upgraded members can also see who said “Yes” to their photos, which makes it easy to send her an icebreaker. If she’s already expressed interest, she’s likely to respond to your message.
• See exactly when a user checked out your profile.
• Get highlighted in her search results. If she’s scrolling through profiles while catching up on Game Of Thrones, that tan box can help catch her eye.
• Being an “Upgraded Member” costs $20 per month, but if you commit to 4 months up front, it’s just $12.75 per month, and if you commit to 8 months, it’s only $10 per month (prices subject to change).

Setting Up An Account

Creating a POF account is easy, but a little tedious. You have to fill out a questionnaire, and almost all the fields are mandatory. But once you’ve got the standard questions out of the way, it’s time to focus on the real meat and potatoes of your profile.

Step 1: Nail The Username And Headline

The first step is coming up with a username, and to stand out on POF you need a good one. Click here for some username tips, because you’ll definitely want to put some thought into it.

When she checks her messages, your username is going to make an instant impression – and if it’s a bad one, you can kiss your chances of a response goodbye. Do you really think she’s going to be intrigued by anything “BSman007” has to say?

In addition to creating a username, you’ll also need to come up with a headline. Headlines are just as prominently displayed as usernames, so you can’t slack here either. When your headline catches her eye and actually makes her stop and think for a moment, she’s staring at your picture for that much longer. And studies have found that increased exposure to a photo increases likeability.

An effective headline needs to be creative and interesting, but try to keep the words simple and easy to read – researchers discovered that using simple language is perceived as more attractive because people are instinctively drawn towards words that are easy to remember and pronounce.

But “simple and easy to read” doesn’t grant you license to be lazy. Headlines like “Insert headline here” and “adfdasfadf” are instant turn offs. You don’t want to give the impression you’re not taking your profile (or dating) seriously, or worse – that you’re on the south end of the intelligence spectrum.

Get inspired by these 15 best headlines for POF, because if you sound desperate, boring, or lonely – she’s moving on to the next guy.

Step 2: Write A Profile She Can’t Resist

On POF, the bulk of your profile is the “About Me” section. There’s also a space to list your interests, and a “First Date” idea. Remember, this is one of the most popular free sites in the world, so seizing every opportunity to capture her interest is essential. If you want to meet the hottest women on POF, you need to bring your A-game – or hire a professional writer to create an irresistible profile for you.

We’ve got a great article on writing a dating profile in 60 minutes or less that’s packed with tips, but for now here’s a quick Dos and Don’ts primer to get you started:

DO:

• Show rather than tell. No one wants to read a boring list of adjectives, so instead of writing “I’m adventurous, daring, and love to travel”, describe that time you went bungee jumping in Costa Rica.
• Make it 70% about you, 30% about her. If it’s all about you, that’s a turn off – she’ll assume you’re a Me Monster and move on. But if it’s all about her, you come off as desperate and eager to please. Research has shown 70:30 to be the golden ratio.
• Follow this easy profile writing formula:

DON’T:

• Forget to proofread. That’s right, spelling and punctuation matter. A lot. A recent Match.com survey revealed that a whopping 88% of women reported judging men based on their grammar.
• Bring the drama. Everyone has past relationships that ended for a reason. She doesn’t want to read about your exes, or your personal issues whatsoever, in a dating profile. In fact, skip anything negative altogether, and just focus on the positive.
• Swear, make offensive jokes, or generally come off like a jerk. She gets enough of that crass “humor” in messages from all those losers who don’t know how to write opening lines for POF that actually work. She definitely doesn’t want to read it in your profile.

Step 3: Upload some killer photos

This ain’t your first rodeo. You know you need solid photos to attract hot women. You can have the most kick ass username, headline, and profile on the entire planet, but if you pair it with a terrible photo, you’re sunk.

POF allows basic users to upload up to 8 pictures, or 16 if you upgrade. But just because you can, doesn’t mean you should. Stick with a range of 3 to 6 strong photos. It’s difficult to showcase all the facets of your personality with just 1 or 2 images, and almost impossible to look equally good in more than 7. Photos follow the “weakest link” adage – you’re only as good as your worst picture – because guess which one she’ll remember most?

Check out this article for a full tutorial on choosing your best online dating photos. But if you’re looking for some quick advice, here are the essentials on selecting pictures:

• Channel your inner Alpha Male. This is a crucial element of every photo – you need to exude confidence, leadership, dominance – all those traits that women are hardwired to crave in a mate. So think more James Bond, less Kevin James.
• Get feedback. It’s difficult to keep an open mind when it comes to evaluating your own pictures. Gather opinions from your friends, preferable female ones. It makes sense to use the pictures your target market are most attracted too, right? You can also post them to Photofeeler.com for some truly unbiased critiques.
• Be interesting. Don’t just go with an array of 6 bathroom selfies. Not even your mom wants to see that. Remember – she’s going to imagine what it’s like to hang out with you when she’s scrolling through your pics, so make sure you’re a guy she wants to hang with.

Once you’ve got your photo uploaded, you’re off to the races.

The Best Way To Meet Women On POF

With such a huge user pool, you’ve got to work extra hard to get noticed. Free doesn’t equal easy, unfortunately. Having an arsenal of copy & paste icebreaker messages you can send to any woman who interests you will save hours upon hours of time. That’s why you might want to check out our examples of POF opening lines that work right now.

But even with a stash of go-to icebreaker messages at your disposal, sifting through all those profiles to find a perfect 10 is going to take time. Why not consult an expert and develop an online dating strategy before you jump in the dating pool?

The 20-minute consultation is completely free, and it might just change your life! Click here to find out more!