eHarmony Review
Facts-at-a-glance:
Dating site:
Inception: 1997
Registered Members: 20 million
Daily marriages: 236 (Harris Interactive Poll results)
Types of members: People looking for long-term lasting relationships
Allows promo codes: Yes
Pricing:
1 Month – $59.99
3 Month – $39.99/mo
6 Month – $29.95/mo
12 Month – $18.95/mo
For returning members (who have let their subscription lapse)
eHarmony sometimes offers special discounts and promotions.
Certain subscriptions may offer a discounted renewal rate.
eHarmony also has a gay dating site that caters soley to gay
people. The Compatible Partners Review goes more in depth
about this new dating site.
Best Feature:
Without a doubt, the best feature eHarmony has is their patented
matchmaking compatibility system which analyzes your personality
based on hundreds of scientifically proven “dimensions”. eHarmony
then takes this data and matches you with other people whom their
research has indicated you would be most compatible with. eHarmony
spends hundreds of thousands of dollars every year in scientific
human compatibility/relationship research and then takes this data
and incorporates it into their site.
Worst Feature:
On average, eHarmony costs about $10-$20 more a month than most
of the other online dating sites. eHarmony is widely considered to
be a “high end” online dating website. People join eHarmony because
they are looking for a long lasting, quality relationship. People
looking to play games, or looking for a one-night stand are not going
to join eHarmony when there are cheaper alternatives out there.
When people tell me that eHarmony “costs too much”, I ask them to
answer the following question:
How much money would you spend on going out on dates (per month)
if you were a member of another online dating service, knowing full
well that the people you were matched up with on that site were not
as compatible with you as the people you would be matched up with
on eHarmony? Just one “bad date” with someone you met on another
online dating site alone costs more than the extra few dollars
you would be spending on an eHarmony subscription.
Intro:
eHarmony is widely considered to be the premier online dating service
out there. Millions people every year join eharmony with the intention of
being matched up with a compatible partner who shares their goal of a
long term, successful relationship. eharmony delivers on this with their
patented matchmaking system which analyzes key dimensions of your
personality. These dimensions are scientifically proven indicators of long
term relationship success.
eharmony review:
eHarmony.com is a very unique online dating site. Unlike other online dating
sites where you are forced to write a few paragraphs describing yourself
and who you are looking for, then spend countless hours searching through
galleries with the high hopes of finding that special someone, eHarmony does
all of this for you.
When first signing up for eHarmony, you are asked to fill out their
personality profile questionnaire. This questionnaire takes about 30-45
minutes to complete and at the end, analyzes your personality and gives
you back a very in depth and detailed report about yourself. eHarmony
then analyzes your profile based on hundreds of “dimensions” and then
shows you the profiles of other eHarmony members whom you are most
compatible with.
The level of involvement required by eHarmony serves two purposes:
1. It weeds out the people whom are not serious about dating. Guys and girls
that are looking for one night stands are very unlikely to sign up.
2. It gives eharmony a clear picture of your personality so that they can
match you with other eharmony members whom you are most compatible with.
After you get the initial personality profile out of the way, finding your way
around eHarmony is a breeze. Once you are presented with your matches,
you are able to view their pictures and profile in a detailed, easy to navigate
list. Some people will even allow you to view the results of their personality
profile analysis. Since this information can be a bit personal, eHarmony
offers the option of not allowing other potential matches to view it, until
you feel that you are ready to share it with them.
Once you have viewed all of your matches and found the person
(or personS) that you wish to communicate with you will then enter
into what eHarmony calls: Guided Communication.
In eHarmony, you are not allowed to chat freely with your matches right
away (unless both matches agree to a process called “open communication”.)
The reason that eHarmony requires both matches to go through their
“guided communication” process is two-fold:
1. Most people really don’t know what to say. The guided communication
process is a great way for both matches to break the ice and learn a bit
about each other before they can freely chat back and forth.
2. It allows for the important questions to be asked early on, which will
tell you right away if you wish to continue communication with the other
person.
There are five steps to the eHarmony guided communication process:
1. Read Your Match’s “About Me” Information
This step is simply you looking at the other persons profile
and seeing what they are about.
2. Send 1st Questions
eHarmony presents to you a list of questions in which you are
asked to pick out 5 questions to ask.
It is as simple as checking which box for which question you would
like the other perosn to answer. the other person then gets
5 multiple choice answers that they can give, or if they like, they
can answer the question their own words. once they are finished
answering your questions, it is then their turn to ask you 5 questions.
3. Exchange 10 “Must Haves” and 10 “Can’t Stands”
this is as simple as checking off 10 boxes of traits that are listed that you
“must have” in a potential partner and 10 boxes of traits you “can’t stand”
in the other person. Your potential match then reads your “must haves”
and “cant stands” and then sends you their list.
4. Send 2nd Questions
eHarmony gives you a list of different questions in which you are
asked to pick out 5 to send to your match for them to answer. The
process is the same as in step 1.
5. Open Communication
The founder of eHarmony, Dr. Neil Warren Clark then presents to you and your match
some final thoughts (basically it is a bit of advice). Then you
are allowed to freely communicate with your match and write emails
back and forth. If you have gotten this far, congratulations !!
You have just taken the first steps towards what could become the
best relationship you have ever had in your entire life.
Word to the wise: eHarmony can only introduce two highly compatible
couples and start both of them off on the right foot. eHarmony cannot
take your match out on a first date, nor can they make up your matches
mind as to whether or not they wish to seriously date you. this is all
up to you. Bring your “A” game to the table.
If for some reason you have been out of the dating pool for a while
and would consider yourself a bit “rusty”, eHarmony offers several
free options to help you after the Open Communication Phase. eHarmony
has advice forums where you can get dating and relationship advice.
Active eHarmony members also post messages and questions in these
visually appeasing, easy to navigate message boards. You will be able
to anonymously log in and ask questions, or participate in any discussions.
If you still find yourself needing a nudge in the right direction, then
eHarmony offers online dating advice books (authored by the founder
of eHarmony, Dr. Neil Clark Warren) for sale.
Final thoughts:
If you have decided to join eHarmony, congratulations. You have taken
the first step towards self-discovery and a chance at lasting long term
love on levels that you probably did not think existed. eHarmony is
responsible for thousands of marriages every year. If you are new to
eHarmony, my only advice to you is to take your time and get the most
out of the service. eHarmony is not only an online dating site, but it
is also a tool you can use to further your self-discovery. How many people
in your life have you considered to be truly compatible with? Chances
are not many. eHarmony allows you to explore your options and learn
more about yourself as you undertake the greatest dating journy of your
lifetime.
This is the reason most people sign up for a 6 month eHarmony subscription.
They want to take their time both in dating and getting to know themselves
and at the end of it all, they can rest assured knowing that the person
they chose to enter into a committed relationship with, is truly the
love of their life.
Related posts:
April 29th, 2010 at 10:10 am
i think it will work.
May 2nd, 2011 at 5:48 am
I have paid but no response
July 31st, 2011 at 3:53 pm
I have been a member before but I dislike the age categories. I am 52 years old but very active and I’m told that I look and act like I am 40. I keep getting matches with men that are older than I am in both age and lifestyle. I would really like to find a way to deal with this issue.