The insane Tinder Hack which got me 20X more matches! Also, a lesson in how to market your product in a crowded market!

“Ladki patayi hai?” 

(Ever picked up a girl?)

“Nai Sir”

(No, sir)

“Phir ghanta sales hoga tujhse.”

(Then there is no way in hell you can do sales!)

This was how a friend’s interview process at a Fortune 500 company went.

True Story.

And it is weird how as you go through life, everything is inter-related and connected. Be it sales, getting the girl or even clearing an interview.

Being super interested in human psychology, and the internet consumer space, I wondered if I could hack online dating/hook-up app Tinder to try and get more matches, both in quality and quantity. I could not help but wonder at the analogy between hundreds of companies hounding after consumers online and guys desperate to catch a girl’s attention online!

Believe it or not, online-dating today is a $2 billion industry, and 1 in 5 relationships these days first began online. It has come a long way from being “the weird way of meeting people”.

This hack got me 100 plus matches in less than 9 days, more Tinder dates than you’ll ever go on, where I met up and be-friended a super-model, an entrepreneur, a fashion designer, a psychiatrist, a doctor, an Australian dancer, a lawyer and even had a crazy night out in the most awesome city in the entire world - Bombay; but then that is a story for another day.

As those familiar with it know, Tinder makes it extremely easy for girls to reject you before you can say “Tinder” unless you are Shah Rukh himself which I’m pretty sure you are not. Unless of course you are, in which case “Hey Shah Rukh! Big fan.“

 It’s scary how much choice today’s consumer has. He/She can reject you in the blink of an eye before you even have a chance to explain your merits.

You might be the smartest, sweetest guy ever but if the girl has swiped left on you on Tinder, then your story has ended before it’s even begun.

This is exactly the problem with brands with a killer product but who can’t even seem to convince a customer to try them out.

The Hack:

“Know thyself” said the great Socrates hundreds of years ago and it rings true to this day.

A picture of me upfront on my Tinder profile just as everyone else would mathematically give me a 50:50 chance that a girl would either swipe left or right. But realistically speaking, an average male generates hardly 1-2 matches a day.

Tinder is at it’s most basic level, a game where the cards are stacked against everyone else other than spectacularly good-looking men.

What I wanted to do was to change the game to see if I can get the girl to play it my way.

Step 1: In a game where the girl can swipe your face to obscurity in nano-seconds, I defined my first #win as getting the girl to spend at least a 3-4 seconds more on my pic.

How do I do that?   

Seth Godin puts it succinctly when he says:

“Figure what the always is. Then do something else.”

I could have done what this guy did (pic below), 

but then I’m not good at Photoshop. What I’m good at is words. And Boyzone let us all know way back, how words are all you need to take someone’s heart away.

PIC 1:

And so, I did this.

I tried to keep it conversational and genuine. All dating websites are just that at the end of the day: Texting based on judging people’s pics! There-in comes the A-ha moment for the prospect. Then I tell you that I have a slightly different idea on how to go about things.

Curious? Then I hit you with the call to action and you have no option but to tap on my pic to see other pics of mine and swipe right.

Boom.

PIC 2: 

This was my second pic.

Again I searched online for what women generally look for and sought to re-assure them beforehand that I was all that they were looking for and more. Smart, intelligent and sweet are supposedly the characteristics women most look for in men. Well-educated (MBA) and well-settled (equals well-paying job) are signs of success. And behind every successful man, there are hundreds of women. Chasing him!

But finally, visual attraction is still the catalyst that drives most dates online, as in real life. So I knew I had to end it with a pic of mine.

I ended the second pic with another call to action only this time making my own rules. I asked the girl to swipe right and to agree for coffee if I looked anything like a nice person ;) And unless you have a face like Osama Bin Laden, I’m pretty sure each and every one of you looks like a nice person when flashing that beautiful smile of yours.

I went straight for the coffee since I assumed I had created a certain intrigue and connect with my ‘slightly different’ approach to Tinder. Plus I detest texting. So I was open enough to admit what I was actually looking for (Which was meeting someone rather than incessant back-and-forth texting) and I was sure that anyone viewing my profile would have at the very least smiled at my ingenuity and that was more than enough leverage for me to ask her out for a coffee.   

PIC 3:

BOOM. Now that expectations of physical beauty have been significantly lowered, any average looking Joe should realistically hit the Bull’s eye.

The quantity of my matches went up crazily high and much more importantly, as did the quality. I was extremely fortunate enough to meet with a lot of genuinely interesting people with whom I could never have ever got in touch with otherwise. Plus, a lot of these women initiated the conversations themselves which as we men all know, NEVER happens. A couple actually said that this was the first time that they felt they couldn’t actually resist texting a guy!

Photo: I would suggest not uploading group pics on Tinder because nobody enjoys a good mystery guessing which person are you? Brightly-lit pics with you smiling genuinely into the camera should do very well indeed.

Bios: This is very important as bios are the only way to know a lil bit more about the person you are. Since I’m a very casual and a fun type of a guy, I tried being funny in my bio as well as a reflection of my personality. Evidently, it worked pretty well. Girls texted saying they couldn’t stop    laughing after reading my bio and seeing my pics. This gives you the upper hand pretty early from where on, you don’t even have to try and impress the girl unlike what usually ensues. The girl is on Tinder for meeting new guys, she’s swiped right on you and has initiated a conversation. From there on, unless you completely mess it up, you’re winning!

I usually open with something funny like:

— You don’t know how many times I’ve had to swipe left to find you

–- I’ve had a crush on you for years

Remember, If you’re not funny and don't instantly engage her, the next guy is only a few seconds away.

The trick with Tinder is to move the conversation out of Tinder as soon as possible. Again, I tried to be funny while asking for her number:

— On a scale of 0 to 9999999999, what’s your number?

From there-on, I guess it’s pretty straightforward to fix up a meet, but how to talk to girls is enough fodder for another article. 

WARNING: Your results could significantly vary because at the end of the day, I must admit I’m a good-looking guy ;) Because at the end of the day, the best Tinder hack is your own face!

CONCLUSION:

So this was basically how I changed the game in my favour by turning around the conversation in the prospect’s head from:

“An above-average looking, normal guy” *swipes left in a flash to

“Oooh, here’s something different. A smart, successful guy with a cute face. And funny. Yes, definitely funny. Coffee? Hell, I’d marry him!”

What I learned can be a valuable lesson for marketers looking to engage with fans—and spark conversations—on new platforms. Sometimes, it’s all about getting into the head of your prospect and turning that mental conversation around.

Going ahead, as average companies making average products for average people start to proliferate, the companies which will stand out, be bold and dare to be different, will be the ones who’ll get matched most often to their customers and derive the most success.

There’s too much of average out there. Be remarkable, which in essence means just that, something people pass a remark on. Remarkable as in too generous, daring, creative, silly and vulnerable.

In a crowded marketplace, fitting in is a failure. In a busy marketplace, not standing out is the same as being invisible.

Up your game, brother. Don’t hate the playa, hate the game ;) 

Say hello to me @AbhishekMadhavn on Twitter if you found this interesting!