While replying to online personal profiles, keep in mind the following:

Never...

  Never write single sentence emails. 'Hey there. I'm ****. I like to know you more.'. With an enquiry like that, expect no reply.

  Never use any sort of 'humorous pick-up lines' in your emails. Be sensible, specific and clear in your reply.

  Never use a 'form letter' for contacting other singles. Although it is done nicely but it is generic and you don't want to lose other person's interest. It may leave negative impact on other person about you and your personality.

  Never leave the reply to the email for tomorrow. By then, it might be too late and your initial enthusiasm may have diminished. If you've got the time, write some lines if are unable to spend much time on it. Don't be bashful either. You can usually communicate anonymously, so write in a light-hearted tone, but with at least some feeling and a positive attitude.

  Never pour all the information in the very first email. Make it briefly informative and interesting enough to get a response. A brief but interesting information would have a far better chance of further communication.

  Never ask too many questions in the beginning as the other person now wants to know a little bit about you. Nor begin to mention boring stuff about weather or what happened to you that day.

In fact...

  When replying to personal ads, it is a probably good idea to have the intentions of "friends first". Then you could be more true and genuine in corresponding to each other and more friendly too. It takes time to get to know someone and you, of course, don't want to jump into any relationship without being sure that he/she is right match for you.

  Write an email that speaks to that person. Reread their profile and check out what they are looking in their partner. If it matches your qualities and if their qualities matches your views about your partner, talk about yourself with those qualities and some new ones. Maybe you both will find some more of common interest. In brief, respond to their description of what they are looking for in a partner. Why should you fit that bill?

  Inform the person about yourself in the beginning and then in the end ask a question or two to keep the conversation going. Just 1-2 questions would be good enough the very first time. You want to keep learning about that person gradually, not have a life story presented before you. Divulge interesting personal information, but be generic. Don't give away too much.

  While replying be specific, clear and interesting. Make sure to check the grammar and spellings before sending it. wrong use of grammar and incorrect spellings could make you loose your really good potential partner.

  Be patient in waiting to other person's reply. Many people won't check their email for 2, 3 days or sometimes a week. They may be having a bad time at the moment or under a mountain of paperwork at the office, so give them time before deciding if you should resend. A lot of the time, no response will mean no interest.

  Be positive, polite and courteous in everything you write. Always finish with a thanks or regards. Never ends jokingly or funny (in your view) What one person perceives as sarcasm, another may view it differently.

  After describing yourself briefly, talk about common interests. If you live in the same area, then that's something to start with. Music is usually a common interest and everybody is interested in some kind of music. Would be a good starter of conversation too.