Yes, that’s right. Your Date Card is the first impression you make on a potential match, so it’s important to get it right.

Below are a few tips to help make sure your online dating profile is really working for you. If you’re looking for more ideas, or would like some feedback on your Date Card, visit the Zoosk community.

1. Don’t just tell; show what you are all about. Instead of telling what kind of person you are, let your personality reveal itself.  List your favorite songs instead of saying something like “I like alternative rock.”  Better yet, link your Netflix or Last.fm accounts to your Zoosk Date Card so prospective dates can see the movie titles and songs you enjoy.

2. Use spell check! Don’t type lyk u spended teh laste 10 yeers uv ur lyfe doin IM.  Your computer has spell check. Use it.  A sloppy profile reflects poorly on you as a person.  It implies that you don’t care or are not putting much effort into finding a date.  We know that is not true, because why else would you be Zoosking?

3.  Keep your profile updated. You have created a profile and uploaded a picture, but don’t stop there. On a weekly basis, make updates to your profile.  Add new pictures and new information about your interests. By sharing that you enjoy hiking and would like to hike Mountain XYZ near you, you may grab the attention of a compatible match who’d love to spend that experience together with you on a first date.

4.  Involve your friends. Before you develop your profile, send an email to your friends and ask them for three things about you that you should include.  You may be surprised at the results.  For example, your friends may think that you have a generous personality, but perhaps you never thought of yourself that way.  Invite your friends to play the role of online wing man (or woman) by inviting them to add a testimonial about you to your Zoosk Date Card.

5.  Outsmart the computer. Computers can find potential matches for you based on data like height or location, but here’s the reality – humans like anecdotes. Zoosk allows you to include information on your profile that tells the story about you.  You can include information such as: What would be your ideal vacation? When you eat out, what do you like to eat? What was your best job ever and why? Share those kinds of details about yourself and your chances for finding a compatible date will increase exponentially.

Do you have a good Date Card tip to share? Head to the Zoosk community and share it with your fellow Zooskers, or leave us a comment below.

Happy Zoosking!

Summer is almost here, and your Zoosk stories certainly heated up in May!

We heard about some incredible first dates among Zooskers. Patricia wowed us with her story of a day-long date that started over breakfast and wrapped up with a dinner cruise on the Chesapeake!

“I never thought that things like this actually happened, but I met someone through Zoosk in May.  We flirted back and forth, exchanged e-mails, and then he asked me out.  He sent me his phone number, and we began talking.  I’m so glad that I said yes because he is a very nice guy.  I have thoroughly enjoyed the time that we have spent together. Our first date lasted a whole day!  He showed up with a dozen roses (my favorite flower and he even had my favorite color).  We started by having breakfast and the conversation was so enjoyable he suggested that we go to Baltimore.  We spent the afternoon at the National Aquarium and then went on a three hour dinner cruise.  The most romantic part of the cruise was being in his arms on the deck staring into each other’s eyes and sharing romantic kisses as if we were the only people on the ship!  He is an intelligent, romantic, genuinely nice guy that I’m delighted to be able to say I have a relationship with.  Thanks Zoosk!”

We wish you and your new guy continued happiness, Patricia.

Do you have a Zoosk story to share? If you’ve met someone special – a fun date, a significant other, or a life partner – through Zoosk, drop us a line at success@zoosk.com. We’ll select one story from those submitted in June to feature right here. And if your story is selected, we’ll send you a $100 Amazon.com gift card.

Happy Zoosking!

Gone are the days when we would throw on our best apparel and drop hundreds of dollars each week on dinner, drinks, and entertainment as part of the standard operating procedure of the dating game.  In times of economic trouble, everyone is talking about how online dating has become a cheaper and effective alternative to what was once the status quo.

This got us thinking. Singles are not willing to cut love out of their budgets.  So, exactly how much do economic realities influence a person looking for Mr. or Miss Right? We took a poll fielding 1,009 responses from singles in the United States who use Zoosk.

We touched on some sensitive topics covering unemployment, living with parents, and going on dates that revolve around free activities, rather than being wined and dined. The response was an overwhelming consensus that economic hardships are not a deterrent when love is on the line!

So if you happen to be out work at the moment, you might not be out of luck. Our poll found American singles are still interested in dating even if the person is currently unemployed.

Still living at home with Mom and Pop? A substantial 80% of our responses assured us that living with the rents is not a “dating deal breaker.”

Finally, we wanted to know if our members would consider a date focused on a free activity a turn-off or turn-on.  The result? Our members think that an excessive rendezvous that leaves you broke is not necessary to have a great time.

We are happy to report that in the face of economic trouble, Zooskers are not deterred from dating. According to our findings, it’s ok to indulge in a little love, recession style.

Your Zoosk story submissions are in for our April blog feature, and boy did a lot of you have stories to share this month!

We had great fun here at Zoosk HQ reading stories sent in from Zooskers around the world who are finding dates, relationships and love through the Zoosk community. Thank you for sharing your stories with us!

This month, a story from Sarah in the UK stood out to us. Without further adieu, here it is:

“I would like to tell you about the amazing relationship Zoosk helped me find. I met a guy on Zoosk in December 2007 and we chatted online for a few months before meeting in-person. As soon as I saw him, I knew he was worth the wait. He made me laugh so much and we had a great time. Although all good things come to an end and unfortunately our relationship did, I’m still so glad I met him because he changed my outlook on life and love. So thank you, Zoosk. I owe you big time for bringing this man into my life. I’m still looking for my prince charming on your application.” – Sarah

Sarah, we hope you find your prince charming on Zoosk, too!

Do you have a Zoosk story to share? If you’ve met someone special – a fun date, a significant other, or a life partner – through Zoosk, drop us a line at success@zoosk.com. We’ll select one story from those submitted in May to feature right here. And if your story is selected, we’ll send you a $100 VISA or Amazon.com gift card (your choice).

Happy Zoosking!

We were thrilled to read through the stories you sent us for our new monthly blog feature…featuring your real-life success stories made possible through Zoosk.

We promised you we would select one of your stories every month to feature right here on our blog. So here it is. Kelly and Andy’s story was pretty special, in our opinion, and a congratulations is in order for their upcoming wedding!

I met Andy last January via the Zoosk application on Facebook. We arranged to meet up on February 9, 2008. Neither of us viewed it as a “date” since neither of us were particularly attracted to the other’s profile (though neither of us would admit it). However, within 15 minutes of our first meeting, it was clear that it was very much a date. Andy proposed several months later and we’re getting married in August 2009. Thank you Zoosk – you definitely worked for us!” – Kelly

Congratulations, Andy and Kelly!

Do you have a Zoosk story to share? If you’ve met someone special – a fun date, a significant other, or a life partner – through Zoosk, drop us a line at success@zoosk.com. We’ll select one story from those submitted in April to feature right here. And if your story is selected, we’ll send you a $100 VISA or Amazon.com gift card (your choice).

Happy Zoosking!

The Zoosk team is constantly working to add new features that enhance the site and your experience. This time, we’re bringing it home…

Zoosk is releasing a new home page experience, and we will be rolling it out to all Zooskers over the next several weeks.

Each release the Zoosk team rolls out is meant to improve your experience. The new home page is designed to bring you a concise and live stream of activities about other Zooskers as well as consolidated access to key Zoosk features so that you can more easily meet and connect with others.

Zoosk Feed

From the home page you’ll be able to view new Zooskers who have just joined, see who has updated their profile with new information, and stay up-to-date with what other Zooskers have been up to since you’ve been gone.

The updates in your live feed introduce you to other Zooskers who fit the criteria you’ve asked for and are based on trends we see in your searches and daily matches. The updates are great conversation starters, and are an effective way to quickly introduce you to someone new who you might not have found through a search. We are refreshing the feed all the time, so feel free to come back throughout the day to see what’s going on.

Easy Access to Zoosk Features

On the home page you have access to all of the site’s features you need to meet new people:

• Search: Enter the characteristics of your perfect match, and immediately browse through profiles tailored to the criteria you are looking for.
• Emails: You’ll see clearly how many unread emails are waiting for you.
• Favorites: Find out who has added you to their list of favorites. Is it mutual?
• Date Card Views: Curious to know who is checking you out? Click on this link to find out.
• What’s next? Find out what you can do to improve your date card and other opportunities that are available to you in Zoosk.

Feeling Lucky?

Remember the Daily Matches page? No worries! It’s not gone, it’s just more comfortable at home. You can get to the same Daily Matches page by clicking on “full view” next to Feeling Lucky. Just like before, you can browse through profiles that match what you are looking for. See someone you like? Choose to view their profile, wink, send an email, or skip to the next person.

The Zoosk team takes pride in providing a simple and easy-to-use platform for our members. With all that Zoosk has to offer, we want to be sure that the site stays that way as we continue to expand its features.

What do you think about the new home page? No amount of testing we do can substitute for your feedback. If you have something to share, we want to hear it! Visit the Zoosk community and tell us what you think about the home page.

L’équipe Zoosk travaille continuellement sur l’ajout de nouvelles fonctionnalités afin d’améliorer votre expérience. Cette fois-ci nous vous offrons une page d’Accueil…

La page d’Accueil Zoosk est en cours de déploiement et sera disponible pour tous les Zooskeurs d’ici quelques semaines.

A chaque nouvelle version de Zoosk, notre équipe s’efforce d’améliorer votre expérience. Cette nouvelle page d’Accueil a été conçue pour vous présenter un flux en temps réel présentant un résumé de l’activité des autres Zooskeurs ainsi qu’un point d’accès aux principales fonctionnalités de Zoosk pour faciliter votre navigation et la prise de contact.

Flux Zoosk

Vous pourrez désormais découvrir les Zooskers qui viennent de s’inscrire, ceux qui ont mis-à-jour leur profil et suivre les dernières évolutions de la communauté.

Les actualités dans votre flux Zoosk vous présenteront de nouveaux Zooskers qui vous correspondent sur la base de vos précédentes recherches et de vos Rencontres. Les actualités sont un bon moyen d’entrer en contact, et un moyen efficace d’attirer l’attention de personnes que n’auriez peu être pas rencontrées par une recherche classique. Le flux d’actualité est rafraichi continuellement, donc n’hésitez pas à vous connecter plusieurs fois par jour pour voir ce qu’il s’y passe.

Un accès simplifié aux fonctionnalités Zoosk

Vous avez accès à tous les outils pour faire des rencontres:

• Recherche: Sélectionner les caractéristiques de votre partenaire idéal, et parcourez immédiatement les résultats qui correspondent à vos critères.
• Emails: Identifier d’un coup d’œil combien de nouveaux emails vous attendent.
• Coups de Cœur: Découvrez qui a flashé sur vous. Est-ce réciproque ?
• Visites reçues: Vous aimeriez savoir qui a consulté votre Profil? Cliquez sur ce lien pour le découvrir.
• Prochaine étape? Découvrez nos suggestions pour améliorer votre profil.

Vous avez de la chance?

Vous vous souvenez de la page de Rencontres? Pas d’inquiétude, elle n’a pas disparu, c’est encore plus facile depuis la page d’accueil ! Vous pouvez accéder à l’ancienne page de Rencontres en cliquant sur le lien “plein écran” juste a côté du titre « Vous avez de la chance ? ». Comme auparavant, vous pouvez naviguer d’un profil à l’autre. Vous apercevez quelqu’un qui vous plaît ? Consultez leur profil, envoyer un clin d’œil, un email ou bien passez à la personne suivante.

L’équipe Zoosk s’applique à vous proposer une plateforme facile d’utilisation tout en ajoutant de nouvelles fonctionnalités qui répondent à vous besoin.

Nous souhaitons nous assurer que Zoosk est sur la bonne voie. Que pensez-vous de la nouvelle page d’Accueil ? Tous les tests du monde ne sauraient remplacer vos réactions.
Si vous avez des commentaires ou suggestions, nous voulons le savoir ! Rendez-vous sur la page de la communauté Zoosk et dites-nous ce que vous pensez de la page d’Accueil.

One of the most rewarding parts of working at Zoosk is receiving emails from you, our users, when you have met someone special – a fun date, a significant other, or a life partner – by using Zoosk. Your stories make us smile, laugh, and yes, we’ve even gotten a little misty eyed with happiness at times. But recently your incredible stories got us thinking. When you’ve met someone, don’t you want to shout it from the rooftops? We know we do!

We’re kicking off a new monthly feature on our blog to help you share your real-life Zoosk stories. Your stories, right here for the world to read.

Email us your story at success@zoosk.com. Entries will close on the last day of every month, and we’ll select one story to feature right here. If it’s your story, we’ll help fund your next date by sending you a $100 USD Visa gift card.

Happy Zoosking!

In addition to offering the entire Zoosk community free premium membership on February 13 and 14, Zoosk opened its doors to over 200 people from the Bay Area’s tech community and the Zoosk community as well for Zoosk Lunch 2.0.

Friday the 13^th may be unlucky for some, but the winks and flirts that we saw at Zoosk’s Lunch 2.0 on Friday put this superstition to rest faster than the speed of cupid’s arrow. (Cupid was also kind enough to make an appearance)

Described by many who attended as a “new kind of Lunch 2.0″, we perpetuated the Valentine’s Day theme by bringing the virtual trademark of Zoosk, the Date Card, to life as an actual Date Card that attendees could wear. Exchanging stickers to decorate the date card that were marked as flirts and winks, as well as reading the creative ways people chose to describe themselves, was an immediate ice breaker.

The goal was to be able to turn in your date card for a box of See’s Valentine’s chocolate by collecting at least 6 flirt or wink stickers. We found that by the end of the lunch it wasn’t even necessary to have chocolate as an incentive. In fact, thoughts of bon bons had been wiped from our memory as the crowd started dancing with the DJ! Networking, flirting, food, beer, and dancing…truly not bad ways to spend a lunch break!

This year The New York Times recently noted a National Retail Federation Survey that predicted that average consumer spending on Valentine’s Day would be lower than the two previous years. Zoosk knows that online resources provide cheaper alternatives that don’t cheapen the romance. Even the free-access social networking site, Facebook, is calling out its activity in matchmaking, highlighting Zoosk as an effective way to find a date for V-day!

Aaah Valentine’s Day with Zoosk, how do I love thee? Let me count the ways…

We’re blushing…and ready to celebrate!!

Thanks to all of the much appreciated support from the Zoosk community, Zoosk has won the People’s Choice Award in the Dating and Romance category of the Open Web Awards 2009!

Mashable hosted the second annual Open Web Awards. It’s known as a “multilingual, international online voting competition that covers major innovations in web technology. Through an online nominating and voting process, the Open Web Awards recognizes and honors the top achievements of websites and services in 26 categories.”

Being elected as the people’s choice is an achievement that speaks to the hard work we continue to invest into making the Zoosk website and service a leading experience. It feels good going from contender to winner, and we thank each Zoosker for such an honor. This recognition is just fuel for the fire as the Zoosk team is driven to provide nothing short of excellence for each Zoosker!