Spending: In The Computer Dating Game, Room For A Coach

NOT getting any online dates? Maybe its time for an online makeover.

Reporters and editors from The Timess Sunday Business section offer perspective on the week in business and beyond.

Businesses like Dating-Profile.com, ProfileHelper.com and E-Cyrano.com say they will help turn a stale personal profile for dating Web sites into eloquent and catchy advertisements, writing the words for you. They will even help clients sift through prospective dates and start an initial e-mail conversation. Depending on the company and the services used, prices may range from $39 to $2,000.

Other companies, like LookBetterOnline.com and SingleShots.com, sell professional photo shoots and retouching of existing pictures for people to post online.

As online dating has gotten more popular, the more people have to do to get attention, said Mindy Stricke, owner of SingleShots.com, a New York business that has produced 1,000 profile portraits, at prices from $130 to $300. Theres a lot of anxiety around this purchase because theres no guarantees. But a lot of people, especially in New York, are willing to go the extra mile.

Dating makeovers are hardly new. High-end offline dating services have long provided hairstyle and clothing renovations, as well as other help. But the latest twist underscores the frustration felt by some of the 40 million people using Internet matchmaking sites, said Mark Brooks, who follows the industry and author of the blog OnlinePersonalsWatch.com.

The promise of Internet dating is you plug in your profile and you send a few e-mails and you have got a date, Mr. Brooks said. Its not as easy as that.

Jim West, 43, a divorced engineer from Tatamy, Pa., struggled to get beyond the first hello e-mail when he started online dating. Sure, he got some dates, but with the wrong people, he said. So after six months, Mr. West paid $49 for a critique from Eric Resnick, owner of ProfileHelper.com, based in Orlando, Fla. (The price of that service is now $69.)

I felt like he was my sixth-grade English teacher, Mr. West said. He taught me how to write a good essay. Some of Mr. Resnicks advice: when sending e-mail messages to women, he should ask them questions about their profiles so they are more inclined to reply. Mr. Resnick also told Mr. West that his profile did not stand out because it used very general terms, with Mr. West describing himself as very laid back and happy.

Mr. Resnick said: Why say you are laid back when you can talk about the family barbecue that gives that air of laid back? Why say youre adventurous when you can talk about your trip to the Great Wall of China?

In the multiple-choice section of his profile about the woman he was seeking, Mr. West had listed a specific hair color, a specific eye color and requested that his date share his Moravian religious faith.

Mr. Resnick suggested that he be less specific. Three months later, Mr. West met a woman whom he has now been dating for more than six months. And she is also of the Moravian faith, though she responded after he removed that stipulation in his profile.

Marianne Kost, a divorced mother in New York, ran a bigger tab. She paid $2,000 for a profile, photographs and coaching from Evan Marc Katz, owner of two coaching services based in Los Angeles, EvanMarkKatz.com and E-Cyrano.com. Ms. Kost was new to online dating, so Mr. Katz also helped her decide which dating service to use and which men to meet.

When Ms. Kost wrote her personal essay, Mr. Katz pushed her to tell specific stories, such as, I came face-to-face with a bull moose during rutting season, and, I occasionally smear a glob of peanut butter on my dogs nose, just for fun. Ms. Kost said she had many responses when her profile went online at Match.com.

Ms. Kost, 49, said Mr. Katz was of much help. It was wonderful for my ego, and I felt I had a pick of the cream of the crop. I ended up having so much interesting stuff in my profile that I had a lot to talk about and write about in e-mails.

Ms. Kost said she did not meet many men in person, because Mr. Katz had advised her to go through a long screening process with e-mail and phone conversations before an actual date. After three months, Ms. Kost met Stephen Micallef, who, like her, is an engineer. She immediately liked how he spoke of his daughters. I liked his values, Ms. Kost said. He seemed emotionally mature and very open.

Mr. Micallef, 47, liked the professional photographs of Ms. Kost. And he liked the way her profile captured her essence with details, like how she raced a storm on a sailboat and collected strawberries to make jam. This was well written. There was thought in it, he said. I found her profile to be authentic, sincere and honest, and it was proven out.

They have dated for eight months and plan to marry.

Mr. Katz said his company has helped thousands of people since it began five years ago. It offers several packages, starting at $49 for a 20-minute consultation and a line-by-line critique of a profile. For $129 to $199, people fill out a questionnaire and spend a half-hour on the phone with a freelance writer, who writes two essays for them. For $1,500, the company interviews clients, writes their profiles, takes professional photographs and coaches them via phone and e-mail about online dating. For $1,000 a month, he coaches them about dating and relationships in general.

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