Online dating and romance to many men and women seem to be mutually exclusive ideas.
The men, especially, that join up on Internet dating sites without doing any homework about how to woo and seduce women online are doomed to failure.
However, just a slight readjustment of your mental attitude - to include more romance - will see you streak ahead of the try-hards.
So, how can you be romantic when you are a member of an online dating site? Surely the empty cyber space of pixels and bytes offers little opportunity to be romantic with girls and guys you are chatting to online.
Actually, no! The three Internet dating tips outlined below are mainly addressed towards men, but women can also employ them with a fair degree of success.
The Power of Romantic Words Men have long held the upper hand when it comes to being romantic with the written word.
The greatest romantic poets have been men - Shakespeare, Keats, Byron, and many more.
So, men are indeed capable of turning their hands to the power of romantic writing to win the hearts of fair maidens.
If you are not a great one for writing romantic emails, though, then you can always get some inspiration from some of the great writers.
Introduce a classic quote from one of Shakespeare's sonnets, for example, and the women you are targeting through your favourite online dating site will be very impressed.
In fact, admitting that you are not a great wordsmith, and then including a romantic quote, will often score you bonus points.
This might be called the "aw, shucks!" factor, where a woman sees that you have gone the extra mile to make an impression, but at the same time are being modest about your own capabilities.
Use Cyber Gifts Everyone loves receiving gifts.
This is especially true in the early stages of dating.
So, make use of the many e-gift options that are out there.
Once you have someone's private email address, it takes no time at all to order and send an electronic greeting card with some appropriately chosen romantic words.
Especially effective are animated greeting cards, and those where you can personalise the messages by inserting his/her name and your name.
Send Real Gifts Using the Internet Once you have established a trusting and perhaps even romantic relationship with a person you have met online, you can surprise and delight your girlfriend or boyfriend by sending real presents through e-shops and other online merchants.
Some of the favourites are the old standards of flowers, chocolates and perfumes.
But don't be limited by this.
When you know the person well, including their hobbies and passions, then you can be a real romantic by sending small, yet very personalised gifts.
For example, if your guy is into golf, send him some monogrammed golf balls.
If your woman is an avid reader, send her a gift voucher from a trendy bookshop.
You will only be limited by your imagination.
And you don't have to be a brain surgeon - just pay some attention and all will be revealed to you.
Such small yet amazingly thoughtful presents will strike all the right cords with your beloved.
So, it is clear that you can be a true romantic by using the amazing resources available over the Internet, and without having to spend a fortune to do so.
If you use these dating tips at the early stages of an online relationship, you will have a better chance of converting cyber love into reality.
What's more, if you play your cards right, you will also be on the receiving end of some romantic gestures.