Taking the plunge and trying online dating can be an intimidating thing. Anyone who cares to sign up for an account can see your profile and learn that you’re on the dating scene. If that wasn’t unnerving enough, what if you don’t get any responses? It can be incredibly disappointing and do a number on your self-esteem. What are you doing wrong? Is there something wrong with you?

There’s nothing wrong with you, but there might be things that you could be doing better. Let’s look at how to change your approach to online dating with these five steps.

1) Post updated photos

Photos make a huge difference in your response rate. In fact, profiles with photos are more than ten times more likely to be viewed. Use your best angle, of course, but make sure you have recent photos included in your profile.

2) Rewrite your profile

Is your profile full of generic, boring things? Be more specific about yourself and try injecting a little humor into your profile as well. Look around at other profiles and see what other people are doing. You may also want to change your profile name if it’s something tacky like “lovemachine15.”

3) Broaden your horizons

You don’t have to stick with just one site. Maybe you’re not getting as much response as you’d like because you’re not on a popular site or not on one which is geared towards the kind of people you want to meet. Look at other sites to see what sort of users they attract.

4) Ask friends for their opinions

Show your profile to friends who you trust and ask them to tell you what they really think. If you’re doing something which makes your profile come off as off-putting or unappealing, they’ll let you know. They may also have some ideas on how to play to your strengths.

5) Be open to something different

If you’re overly critical of every potential love interest, you may never meet anyone at all. Most people are probably going to have at least some interests that differ from yours, but that doesn’t mean that you’re necessarily incompatible. Try meeting some people who are different – after all, they say that opposites attract.