In this series, we’ve talked a lot about investigating the company you want to work with, and reviewing what skills you have to offer. Today? I’m going to talk to you about communication.

When you’re a freelancer, you will need to communicate with people who don’t live in your area. That means you’re going to chat with them online or via e-mail. Unfortunately, e-mail doesn’t always work well to convey emotions. Sure, it’d be easier if we’d take a page from Dork Tower and color-code our text, but the reality is that when you e-mail? All anyone has is your words to go on.

Having good communication is crucial to building a good relationship with someone. But what should that look like?

Dear Game Publisher,

I your bestest fan evah! I play Dungeon Fabulista version 1.0 ALL THE TIME and my character is Lvl 3,000 hipster troll paladin. Get it? Hipster troll? Ironic, ain’t it? LOL.

i’ll be At GenCon this year and want to no how to werk for your company. Soooooo excited to c u in person. i no ur website sez u don’t wanna hire anybody but you’ll hire me!

Love,

Please hire me ‘cuz imma broke buyin’ all ur gamez. LMAO!

Okay, now you may either a) laugh or b) cry at the above, but these e-mails do exist. I’ve seen them. What’s more, I’ve had to tell an aspiring writer who wrote to me in LOLspeak that your e-mails are a representation of your professional work. Why on earth would a game company hire you to submit well-written text for their game if you sound like a cat who wants a cheeseburger?

The other issue with the e-mail is that it sounds like it’s coming from a fan. While that is not necessarily a bad thing, it can be difficult to transition from fan (this is what I think the company should do) to freelancer (I am now getting paid for what the company tells me to do). Games are fun! Yes! But? At the same time? There’s a business behind the games that needs to function, too.

Instead of treating a potential employer like your BFF at your gaming table, I recommend this for an introductory e-mail:

Dear Game Publisher,

I am sending you an e-mail because I’m interested in writing for [Game Line or specific game.] Based on your submission guidelines, I am attaching a few writing samples for you to review.

I have been playing [Game Name] for X years as both a player and a GM. I am an active participant on the forums and have also run [Game Title] at conventions. While I haven’t freelanced for the RPG industry before, I have a background in writing and have been published in [2 or 3 Publication Name(s)].

If I haven’t heard from you in a few weeks, I’ll follow up to see if you’ve had the chance to review my submission.

Thanks for your time and consideration.

Regards,

Potential Freelancer
[Website]
[Twitter/Facebook]

In the second e-mail, the potential freelancer is specific about why he’s contacting the game company and what he wants to get out of it. The key thing a game company will look for? The fact the potential freelancer read and followed the submission guidelines. The e-mail is informative without listing every character stat and opens the door to further discussion.

Mind you, not every game company is the same. Some are more casual than others; sometimes you’ll get a gig over a forum post instead of an e-mail. The thing to keep in mind is that having good communication skills is crucial to your image not only as a writer, but as a professional regardless of where you are.

One of the features of OkCupid that is both wonderful and troublesome is the Message lights system. When someone is logged in and looking at your profile, one of three traffic light colors will appear:

• Green: Replies often
• Yellow: Replies selectively
• Red: Replies very selectively

As far as I can find out, there is no specific documentation on OkCupid’s end explaining the math behind the lights. There’s much speculation on the OkCupid forum and in user’s journals about the system and whether it’s accurate and/or fair.

The Bottom Line

Ladies, if you have a red light, guys are going to assume you won’t reply to their email.  Many of them won’t even write the email because of this assumption.

So it’s pretty critical that you do everything in your power to keep your light green, or at least yellow.

A New Client

I had a new female client recently who signed up for OkCupid as her first attempt at online dating. She put up one photo and a little blurb that said that she had just signed up and would be filling out her profile soon. Then she hired me.

In the few days her profile was up, she received some unsolicited emails from local guys wanting sexytime.

Yep. Her nearly empty profile with one, semi-obscured face picture was getting her emails. And she deleted them, since she thought, “I don’t want this.”

Makes sense, except her lack of replies turned her light yellow. And if she had continued in that manner, it would have turned red before she even got her new profile up and running.

Does A Red Light Hurt Me?

I generally advise my male clients to email the women with green and yellow lights first and to only email a red light if it seems she’s an extremely good match. Even then, most of the red light women live up to the red light and don’t reply.

I have heard of men who hide the profiles of women with red lights. I don’t advise doing this (since the system *is* a little buggy). But ladies, just letting you know – there are sweet, wonderful, geeky guys who assume your red light means that you’re a meanie who doesn’t reply to anybody. It’s in your best interest to keep your light green.

How to Keep It Green

There’s no sure-fire way to do this (since there are anecdotal reports that the light system is buggy), but here’s what I recommend to keep your light green.

1. Reply to everything. Yes, even the douchebags who just want to stick it in the nearest warm hole.  You don’t owe them a real reply. Just type: “No thanks.” Click send. Then find the link (at the bottom of his email) that lets you block him. You’ve kept your light green AND you’ve prevented him from contacting you again. Done and done.
2. Don’t delete emails from your mailbox until it gets full. There is some evidence that even if you reply, deleting the message futzes with your “score.” So keep ‘em in there. Purge once a month or whenever your box starts to reach capacity.

I’m curious to see some data about the messaging system. If anyone stumbles upon some, let me know!

Happy dating, geek friends.

I’m a straight girl with a fairly successful profile, so I get a lot of responses and many of them are from nice guys that just aren’t as much my type as others who respond to me. I don’t want to lead them on, but I also don’t want to be mean when letting them know I’m not interested in them romantically and we don’t have enough in common really for me to want to spend time even building a friendship.

I know the dating world is hard, so I don’t want to be harsh when I tell them to move on, but I also don’t have a ton of time to spend coming up with a nice (but firmly “no”) response for the guys who aren’t my type. When I’ve done this in the past, I’ve either erred on the side of being too nice and they read that as they have a chance to win me over, or I’ve been too firm, which they read as “bitch.”

Sometimes I almost think it’s nicer not to respond at all (except, the polite side of me doesn’t sit well with that). How do I write a nice “not interested” email back that is clear without being bitchy? Please help.

- Polite Girl Burning Out

e answers:

Dear PGBO,

Thank you.

Thank you for writing this, because I think it’s a message that needs to be heard. I’m going to answer your question, but first, I’d like to address these “nice guys.”

Guys, especially guys who consider themselves “nice guys,” strap on your listening ears. Turn off Pandora, shut down Tweetdeck, put your IMs on Away, and really read this Polite Girl’s email.

nice guys that just aren’t as much my type as others who respond to me

When a girl sends you a “No Thanks” email, she’s saying just that: Thank you for emailing, but you’re not my type. There are other men in her mailbox that are a closer match to her.

I don’t want to lead them on, but I also don’t want to be mean when letting them know I’m not interested in them romantically and we don’t have enough in common really for me to want to spend time even building a friendship.

She’s sending you this email because she cares enough about you as a human being to let you off the hook. She doesn’t want you spending days dreaming about her and then getting upset when you don’t get a reply email.

When I’ve done this in the past, I’ve either erred on the side of being too nice and they read that as they have a chance to win me over, or I’ve been too firm, which they read as “bitch.”

Oh, “Nice” Guys. Here is how you turn perfectly good, polite girls into bitches. No means no. No doesn’t mean “convince me otherwise.” It means no. It means the conversation is over.  Because PGBO has had “nice” guys try and try again to convince her to change her mind, she’s had to adjust her tone.

The bottom line, “nice” guys:

Just because you’re a nice guy

doesn’t mean that every girl you like

should give you a chance.

And now, to PGBO, the geek girl who wrote the original letter:

(Thank you for being patient while I talked to those guys!)

Stick with your original, polite Thanks But No Thanks letter. You’re doing the right thing by caring enough to let these guys off the hook. For every one “nice” guy who will write you back to question your decision, there are nine truly nice guys who are thankful that you gave them a timely answer. Keep doing what you’re doing for those guys.

If you get a “nice” guy who wants to change your mind, simply delete his email. Move on with your day. And smile, because he’s just proved your decision was a good one. He’s not the guy for you.

Good luck with your online dating adventure – I hope one of the guys you write back turns out to be Mr. Right!

Dear Anon-O-Box,

I’m a straight geek girl who is starting to lose hope with online dating. I’m smart, friendly, and relatively good-looking, and I think my profile is pretty solid.

The problem: none of the exchanges I’ve had have turned into dates. Every time a conversation gets to the “let’s get coffee” part, the guy fails to respond when I suggest a place to meet – or worse! – I get stood up. I don’t think it’s a timing thing – I’m not suggesting coffee after just one message, and I’m also not dragging things out for weeks.

I’m not sure why this keeps happening; the conversations leading up to that point are usually engaging and fun, and the blow-off seems to come out of nowhere. It’s almost like these guys would rather exchange emails, but never meet me in person. Any ideas?

Signed,

Likes Stand-Up Comedy, Not Stand-Up Tragedies

e answers:

Dear LS-UCNS-UT,

D’oh! This is certainly a stand-up tragedy! I’m sorry that your experience has been so bad. Clearly, these guys missed the lecture from Mom about respecting women. And the lecture in high school about respecting other people’s time (you know, the one you get when you’re in detention for being tardy to class too many days in a row?). Sheesh.

You’ve cleared up a couple of my initial questions in your email. You’re exchanging a few emails before suggesting meeting up. You’re not dragging things on for weeks on end before suggesting a date. The emails seem to be going well up until the point of no return.

Based on that information, here are a few possibilities:

He’s Not Really Single

There are guys on online dating sites that are currently in relationships. They feel that the spark of excitement that fuels the initial fire of a relationship has gone out and they’re looking to relive that with someone new. But a little flirting online is as far as he wants to take it. He’s not going to actually cheat on his girl in the flesh. Just a little cyber-dallying.

He’s Painfully Shy

If you read the last couple Anon-O-Box articles, you’ve noticed there are some really shy guys out there. Maybe the guy who poofed felt you were moving too quickly and he didn’t have the testicular fortitude to stand up and tell you that he wanted you to slow it down, that he wasn’t ready for a date yet. It was easier for him to pull an ostrich.

He’s Got You On A Back Burner

Part of online dating involves occasionally having more than one possibility simultaneously. If this guy sent 10 emails last week and two women replied, he is probably trying to get a first date with each woman so he can see which one is more compatible with him. If the other girl was first and he felt a strong spark with her, he may want to see where that goes, so he poofs out of your inbox.

He’s Just An Asshole

It happens. No rhyme, no reason, just a jackass who had no intention of meeting you.

What’s A Girl To Do?

When a guy poofs, send him a follow-up email.

If he poofs at the email stage, give him a week before following up.  Send him a note that plays up your concern about his welfare. “I really hope you’re okay – I haven’t heard from you in a week and I’m worried that something happened to you.”  (Don’t trust the dating site’s “Last Online” date – they’re often inaccurate.) Don’t mention anything about you being worried that he doesn’t like you or anything like that. Make this all about him.  Because if his grandma died and he had to jump a flight to Nebraska for the funeral, you don’t want to make him feel worse about the situation. Give him the benefit of the doubt because you’re a good person.

If he poofs for a first date, send the follow-up email when you get home. Again, benefit of the doubt. “I’m sorry our meeting at Caribou Coffee didn’t go off as planned – did you have an emergency? Our conversations have been going well, so if you’d like to reschedule our meeting for another time, let me know.”

If after your very nice and non-accusatory follow-up email, he’s still MIA, block him and move on. He’s clearly not worth your time.

Before a first date…

You haven’t mentioned if you’ve been having any IM, text, or phone conversations before your first date. I can’t tell you how many rotten eggs I sniffed out before the first date through IM and phone conversations.

• If you’re dealing with a guy who is not single, he’ll probably balk at the idea of phone (or insist on it only at specific times).
• If you’re talking to a shy guy, IMs and text are still in his comfort zone, but a step closer to real conversation. He’s less likely to freak out at the idea of going from email to IM, IM to text, text to phone, phone to in person. Baby steps!
• If you’re on his back burner, he’ll probably insist on keeping it on email. Then you know you’re not his top priority.
• If he’s an asshole, you’ll find out faster when you’re chatting in real time on IMs or on the phone. (People self-censor a lot better via email than they do in IMs or on the phone.)

Again, I’m sorry you’ve had such a bad experience so far. I really hope you’ll be able to use my advice to weed out the poofers and keep the real men!

Happy dating, geek friend.

Dear Anon-O-Box,

It is mentioned in several places that women on dating sites are inundated with emails and (ugh) winks. I don’t seem to suffer from this problem. I get absolutely no response; emails, winks, rotten tomatoes or otherwise. Not even creeps or scammers bother me.

I have a picture (it isn’t the greatest, but I don’t look like a swamp beast), and a passing grasp of the English language. And those are just the basic qualifications!

What am I doing wrong?

Signed,

Single Female Dallasite

e answers:

Dear SFD,

Hmmmm… well, you’ve certainly given me a bit of a stumper. Without looking at your actual profile, all I can do is make some random guesses. Let me put on my Miss Cleo outfit and my best faux-Jamaican accent and try to predict some of the things you may be doing wrong…  and like a real psychic, maybe I’ll hit on a fact or two!

*crystal ball*

“I have a picture”

This statement leads me to believe that you have “a” picture on your profile, as in… ONE picture. I really hope this isn’t the case. You see, guys have noticed that profiles with only one picture tend to be scammer profiles. Especially if the woman is attractive. You say you’re not a swamp beast, which probably means you’re somewhat pleasant to the eye and attractive in the eyes of a subsection of the male population. Thus, guys who are attracted to that one picture may feel worried that you’re a scammer.

The alternative worry (and the one my male clients bring up to me frequently when they find a one-picture profile) is this:

“What if this is the ONLY good picture of her? She must be some sort of swamp beast if there’s only ONE good picture of her, right? I don’t want to email her saying I’m interested and then have to eat my words if she sends more pics and she’s totally a swamp beast.”

When given the choice of ignoring you or possibly hurting your feelings down the road, the majority of men will choose to ignore you. Give them everything they need to make an informed decision.

Moral: If you’re not a swamp beast and not a scammer, put up more than one photo. Four is the magic number: One face, one full body, one activity/travel shot and one of your choice.

“I don’t look like a swamp beast”

We’ve all gone the self-deprecating route, myself included. It’s a game we all play, in hopes that our friends will give us a little ego boost. We’ve all gone fishing for compliments and most of the time, we’ve succeeded.

But just like you shouldn’t write to a potential employer with the attitude of, “I’m not the worst accountant you’ve ever seen…” you shouldn’t go into online dating likening your appearance to slightly above a monster from a B-grade horror flick.

Whether you voice that opinion directly or not, it colors your writing. It makes little changes in the spirit of your profile and nudges the reader into thinking that you don’t think very highly of yourself.

When given the choice of a woman who projects self-worth and one who doesn’t, the majority of men will go with the more positive choice. Nobody wants to spend a relationship having to constantly boost the other person’s ego.

Moral: Focus on what you are and what you do well. Get rid of the negatives, the not’s, the no’s, the don’t's.

The inundation, not every girl gets it

While the average woman receives exponentially more emails than the average man, not every woman is going to suffer from a perpetually full inbox.  I certainly didn’t. While I got my share of first contact emails, there were times when my mailbox was a bit lonely.

What did I do? I went out looking for profiles of men that interested me and I emailed them.

The men who replied almost always expressed surprise to have received a first contact email and said they hardly ever have women email them first. Want to stand out as a single woman online? Email guys first.

Moral: If you’re not receiving emails, start sending them.

How’d Miss Cleo Do?

SFD, if you’re feeling brave enough to post a link to your profile below, maybe we can all help you improve it a bit. Or hey, maybe the perfect Dallas gentleman will be reading this article… you never know!

Dear Anon-O-Box,

How do I translate “woman”?

Specifically, if I get a polite response to my email that answers all my questions but asks none and seems written not to encourage response do I continue or should I just get a clue?

- No Speakee This Language

Ask the Anon-O-Box your question! Click here.

e answers:

Dear NSTL,

The good news: You got a reply! (That’s more than a lot of other guys can say about emails they’ve sent out.)

The bad news: You’re not sure if she’s just being polite.

This is actually a pretty common occurrence. Of course, since we’re dealing with human beings, there’s no 100% accurate answer to your question. Here are some possibilities of what her email means:

• “Hey! A guy emailed me. I’m going to write back!”
  
• “This guy seems nice, but he’s an 8 and I’m a 5.  I’ll reply to his email and see if he continues to be interested in me… best not to get my hopes up.”
  
• “This guy seems interesting, but the guy I started talking to yesterday is really cool and might ask me out soon. But hey, I’ll hold this new guy on the back burner just in case.”
  
• “I don’t want to be a bitch to this guy, but maybe if I write a short reply he’ll lose interest in me so I don’t have to let him down.”

As you can see, there are many different ways this email could be interpreted. Don’t always hop to the Worst Case Scenario. Unless her email flat-out says thanks, but no thanks, you can take it as a continuation of your conversation.

Reply back and continue a friendly banter. Ask a follow-up question based on the answers she gave you in the first email. Chat a bit more about yourself (things that aren’t in your profile, hopefully maybe related to things she mentioned in her email).

If she doesn’t reply to your second email, then you can assume that first email was merely a polite gesture and move on to greener pastures.

Happy dating, geek friend!

Ask the Anon-O-Box your question! Click here.

Dear Anon-O-Box,

So, here’s the thing… I just signed up for a major dating site and I’ve already gotten a few messages, however the brunt of the messages are “hey gorgeous” and “you’re pretty, I’m looking for a friend with benefits.” Yikes!

I know you recommend that online daters take time to respond to every message they receive, but I’d rather not give these guys any attention. It’s obvious they haven’t read my profile and are just looking for a booty call. What do you recommend doing in this situation?

By the way, I did receive one well thought-out message from a guy who definitely looked into part of my profile and responded to a comment I made. I messaged back this morning… nothing may come of it, but it definitely made my day to have a guy start a conversation with something other than “hey baby.”

Thanks for your insight!

Signed,

Not a Baby (straight female)

e answers:

Dear Not a Baby,

Baby has always been my least-favorite pet name, too. Yuck.

Let me start by saying that I hope the good guy pans out. Ultimately, what you choose to do with the other guys is your decision.

However, I believe that the best way to teach people how to treat us is to speak up when they’re not treating us with respect. Ignoring these “hey baby” emails just reinforces the behavior, ESPECIALLY when one lady replies and takes him up on his offer. Be the one who tells him nicely that you are not his baby and not interested.

Keep a text file with a cut-and-paste response for these guys. Probably a couple based on how offensive his email was.

Some Examples of an Email Swipe File

His Email:

“Hey, just saw your profile and you are totally hot. If you want to hang out, email me sometime.”

Your Cut-and-Paste Reply:

“Thank you for taking the time to email me. However, your email does not mention any specifics about me or my profile, which leads me to believe you’re only interested in my photos and possibly sent this email to dozens of other women. I could be wrong, though, so feel free to try again if your interest in me is deeper than picture-deep. Good luck in your dating adventure.”

His Email:

“Hey baby, UR so hot. I’m looking for a no-strings relationship, so if UR interested in [censored] all night long, Im UR man. Write back.”

Your Cut-and-Paste Reply:

“Thank you for taking the time to email me. However, I find your email to be offensive. My profile states that I am not interested in a no-strings relationship, so the fact that you emailed me anyway displays a lack of respect. I hope you show more discretion in the future and only email women who state they are interested in a casual relationship.”

The Next Step

Your dating site should give you an option to block members. Give the person a day or two to actually see and read your email, then block them. You’ve given them a polite reminder of how to treat a woman and hopefully (HOPEFULLY) given them pause when they consider sending similar emails in the future.

Happy dating, geek friends.

Don’t worry, I haven’t gone all sleazy pick-up artist on you. (You know how my lovely assistant J and I feel about those people.) But I am going to tell you a quick and easy way to make your inbox a little more full (or less empty, depending on how your experience has been).

It all started with an email someone left in the Anon-O-Box. This particular guy noticed a trend and decided he’d email me to see if this was just anecdotal evidence or a real deal statistic in play.

Yeppers, my geek brethren are smart cookies. Y’all want data and well… I’m happy to dig a little deeper and get it for you. I emailed Colin Burns, the Social Media Manager at Match.com and posed the question to him. He ducked into the magical data mine at Match.com and came up with an answer.

You’d better get a pen and paper and write this on a sticky note. Attach it to your monitor.

OMG, STATISTIC!

If you send a first contact email to someone who has already scoped out your profile,
the response rate is 44% higher
than if you email someone who has not yet seen your profile.

Those people are sending a signal – they noticed you. They noticed you enough to click on your profile and read it.

Why didn’t they email you, then?

1. They were too busy and planned to email you later.
2. They were too shy. (Some people don’t send ANY first contact emails. Ever.)
3. They thought, “He/she’d never go for someone like me.“
4. They were confused by a part of your profile and decided not to chance it.
5. They weren’t 100% sure about you.
6. etc, etc.

Bottom line: They noticed you. On some level, your profile was intriguing to them. This is why you’ll have a 44% higher response rate rather than cold-emailing someone who has never seen your profile.

Do I mention I noticed they saw me?

That’s up to you.  If you can bring it up in a way that’s not creepy (“Yo babe, saw you lookin’ at me. Now I’m lookin’ at YOU!”) or pathetic (“Um, so, I saw you looking at my profile but you didn’t email so maybe you’re just shy or maybe you got totally turned off by my profile. I hope it’s the former.”), then go for it.

But really, you don’t have to mention it. Just write your regular first contact email (click here for tips!) and send it off, knowing you have a 44% higher chance of getting a response. Pretty awesome, right?

Need A Deal?

If you’re looking for a deal on a Match.com subscription, the link below will give you 7 days free. It’s an affiliate link, which means should you purchase a subscription, a small percentage will come back to Geek’s Dream Girl, which little by little, helps defer the costs of maintaining our site and keeps us in the business of coaxing valuable tidbits like this article out of dating site employees. But we love supporting your dating life even if you don’t support us. We’re cool like that.

Want more articles like this? Check out our Geek’s Guide to Online Dating Success.

Want us to help you write a stunning profile that gets you noticed? Click here for our services.

Want to join our geek matchmaking list and dating advice newsletter? Check it out here.

Here are the top 10 articles of 2010 by traffic:

1. Needles of Knitting +5: Using The Craft Skill To Its Best Advantage

2. GenCon 2010 Update: Castle Ravenloft Board Game

3. Coping With Being Single: Ur Doin’ It Wrong

4. Brainless Act Leads to Smart Decision

5. LiveBlogging: Dungeons & Dragons Experience 2010 (DDXP)

6. Top 5 Anime Speech Patterns that Drive Us Nuts

7. 5 Gosh-Honest Reasons Why Your Dating Life Sucks

8. Doctor Who: In Defense of Amy Pond

9. A Laugh and a Lesson: “My Girlfriend Gave Me Harpies”

10. If You’re Anything Like E, You Will Hate Dragon*Con

Top 10 Oldie-But-Goodie articles by traffic:

1. Choosing a Good Online Dating Username is Like Writing a Hit Song (2008)

2. Geeks Can Cook: Apple Pie Breakfast (#fit4gencon) (2009)

3. Top 10 Reasons Why You Should Date a Geek Girl (2008)

4. D&D At The Library: The Adventure of Little Rogue (2009)

5. Match.com Mysteries: How To Tell If Someone Is A Paying Member (2009)

6. Dinner and a Movie? Yawn. First Date Ideas That Are Different! (2008)

7. The Return of Red Dwarf: Still Flying High (2009)

8. e’s Soapbox: Why OkCupid Is NOT Ok (2008, and I’ve changed my mind since then!)

9. Acting Like A Gay Guy Helps You Get The Girl (2008/2010)

10. It Was Trash From First Hello: Fix Your Dating Email Subject Lines (2009)

How about you?

What was your favorite Geek’s Dream Girl article of 2010?

What other blog did you discover in 2010 that has rocked your socks?

(The story starts at 3:15. Feel free to skip to that part.)

The internet is a strange and wonderful place. Just the other day, I followed a link to Gizmodo to watch a video about a hacker whose computer was stolen and the clever way he retrieved the information necessary to get it back.

Even as a not-very-computer-savvy person, I found this story to be immensely entertaining. In short, the hacker was able to connect to his stolen computer and look in on everything the thief did.

One thing that the guy was doing was trying to get laid. I say this because he seemed to be taking quite a few naked self-portraits and posting them to dating sites and emailing them to women. Since most dating sites don’t accept naked photos, I can take a few guesses as to what sites he was trolling.

The hacker was a little confused because the keylogger showed the guy pressing Ctrl-V a lot. It turned out the guy had written one email and was cutting and pasting it to hundreds of different women. (Doesn’t that make you feel special, ladies? You were worth him pressing two keys!)

Lessons You Can Learn About Online Dating

1. Self-portraits nearly always look crappy. Have someone else hold the camera. A real camera.
2. Naked photos are not the way to attract non-hooker ladies. (Especially if you’re a grower. *cough*)
3. You may get a few results if you cut-and-paste the same email to 100 people. You’ll get better results if you take five minutes to write each person a personalized email.

Oh, and the #1 Life Lesson…

Don’t steal a computer from a hacker.