How To Send a Message in Bumble

Today in our Bumble For Beginners series here on TechJunkies, we are going to cover Bumble messaging. How to send a message in Bumble and what to say. One is very straightforward and the other not so much. Knowing what to say to someone you have never met or who you want to impress will either come naturally or be incredibly difficult. Hopefully, by the time you have read this, it should be more the former than the latter!

Bumble is a very neat dating app. By doing things a little differently, it has elevated the quality of users immensely without alienating anyone through cost or other barriers to entry. It puts the power into the hands of women, enabling only them to initiate conversation after a match, though men can extend the time that the woman has to initiate the conversation.

This encourages women to use the app, as they have more control and forces men to up their game. It’s a win-win not to mention that some other dating apps are known for women being sent inappropriate messages a problem that Bumble mitigates by requiring that women initiate the conversation.

Messaging in Bumble

Messaging in Bumble is very straightforward. After all, the simpler it is, the more likely you are to do it. No one wants to jump through hoops to message in a dating app, after all. Once you have matched with someone, the conversation can then begin with a message. What happens next depends on whether you are a male or female.

As Bumble puts the power firmly in the hands of women. Once a Bumble match is made, only women can initiate a conversation. If you both swipe right on each other and you match, only the woman can take it from there. As a man, you have to hope that your images and bio are compelling enough to inspire her to initiate conversation, so put your best foot forward. As a woman, you can choose whether to chat or not even after you match with a guy.

If you do want to chat, you will see a notification appear in Bumble if the man had swiped right on you and it indicates how much time you have to decide whether or not to initiate a conversation via messaging with him. You can then initiate a conversation immediately, or wait for a bit and go to your Match Queue when you have the time. You only have 24 hours to start a chat otherwise you will have to extend the match. You can only extend a match once so don’t waste the opportunity!

As a male Bumble user, you will be notified that you have a match, but that’s it. You do not get the opportunity to start a conversation; you can thank the leagues of men who have proven themselves incapable of doing that with any sort of manners on other dating apps, which is why Bumble is so popular with women. As a man, you will just have to wait for the notification to come through and see what happens next. Your Bumble matches can choose to ignore you or to message you before time runs out.

How to start a conversation in Bumble

So now you know the mechanics of starting a conversation, but how about actually starting that conversation? Some people find it easy to talk to strangers, but I am not one of them. I have had to refine my approach a lot in order to avoid crashing and burning. Use what I have learned so you don’t make the same mistakes!

Be honest in your Bumble messages

Most people will appreciate that it isn’t easy to start a conversation with a stranger; it’s a skill that a lot of people haven’t perfected. Sometimes just coming out with it is the best idea. Saying you never know how to start these things off can work in a dating app or on a first date.

Read their Bumble profile

You did read the bio before swiping right didn’t you? If you didn’t, take the time to do it before sending a message. There should be something in their bio you can use to start a conversation or to keep a conversation going.

Ask questions based on what you read in their profile

If you read their bio, there may be something in there that makes you want to ask a question. This is the perfect icebreaker, and it’s an approach I always suggest people make when reaching out to someone on a dating app. To provide enough information to attract but to pose more questions than you answer, and to make it clear you actually read their bio. This is why. Because questions are the perfect way for people to initiate conversation. If the bio doesn’t offer a question, the tried and tested ‘who would win a fight, a raccoon or a possum?’ or something like that should work.

Ask questions about them

If your Bumble match wears a uniform or has a dog, plays a sport, or has something you can use in an opening line, use it. Ask about where they serve, what they do, what their dog’s name is, what position they play, or something like that to show interest but also show you actually looked at more than just the Bumble profile pictures. The answers can unearth their passions and give you real insight into them as a person. And we all know that anyone with a dog or a cat will always want to talk about them.

Ask a classic question

If all else fails, you could ask a timeless question to get things started. Questions like ‘What three people alive or dead would you most like at a dinner party?’ or ‘What is the worst opening line they have ever heard?’ or the slightly more grounded ‘If you were to start your own business, what would it be?’ You can also fall back to TV shows, movies, music, or games if nothing else comes to mind. As an added bonus, that gives you a quick way to see if you have any media interests in common.

If you enjoyed this article, you might also like How to swipe in Bumble and what it does.

As you can see, questions are a very effective way to start a conversation on Bumble or anywhere. Got any other suggestions for conversation starters? Tell us about them below if you do!