Dear Tamar,

Maybe it’s just me or what I say, but out of 83 emails I sent out I have only gotten back responses from 4 people. What’s the story?

Dear E-mail Eyesore,

Without reading one of your email examples I’ll give you some basic advice. First, a 5% response rate isn’t all that bad. I know one in every 20 emails doesn’t sound great, but it’s not terrible, I promise you. You have to take into consideration that only paid JDate members can open email, so your odds are probably more like 10% if not more. Then, keep in mind that the ones responding are the ones you want to talk to because you have already established a mutual admiration. Now, take a look at your emails and make sure they’re not too generic, not too long, not too self-involved, not over-flattering and that welcome a response. Emails must be personalized. Lastly, make sure you’re sending emails to people that are realistically in your range, whether that be age, location, looks or what have you. It’s great to reach for the stars because you may catch one, but make sure that, in general, your expectations are realistic. I think that if you implement these things and remember that not everyone can read their emails you’ll find yourself not only getting more responses but feeling better about the ones you do get and not wondering about the ones you’re not hearing back from.