Texting is one of the keys to almost any relationship. No one really has time to sit on the phone talking for three hours. Texting is a simple and fun way to keep in contact with your love interest. The key to flirt texting is to make them want to keep texting back.

Like everything else regarding dating, there are do’s and don’ts for flirt texting. The main thing to know is how to have a conversation. The first rule to having a great text session is a conversation starter. When you first begin talking to someone, you want to grab their attention right away. Open up with an exciting salutation not just a dull “hi.” Your text partner will think you are just texting them because you are bored not that you’re truly interested. Use punctuation, emoticons and nicknames to spice up your intro. Even “Hey cutie!”, is perfect. You want to get them to smile from the very first message they see.

The next step is to keep the conversation going. Plenty of people argue a one to six minute rule before replying to someone. But if you think of texting almost as if you are having a face to face conversation with this person, would you really wait an entire minute to reply to them? If you are having an exciting conversation and you are both into each other, there’s nothing wrong with replying right away. Still, you want to keep the conversation light. Something like, “how’s your day going so far” or “what have you been up to today,” are ways to get the other person to tell you about themselves. Everyone loves to talk about themselves, remember that.

While you’re texting, there may be a point where the conversation becomes stagnant. In this situation you have two options. Take a break from texting and go do something active. Get your creative juices flowing and give your fingers a rest. However, make sure you leave them with a text that keeps you on their mind. If you’re going to work out you could text “I’m gonna go perfect my beach body so you can take me to Hawaii sometime.” Then they’ll be curious to what your beach body fully looks like and appreciate the fact that you take care of yourself.  Your other option is to change to a new subject that interests both of you. Music and activities are usually the best choices for conversation.

The easiest way to kill a conversation is to send dull responses and one word answers. Saying “ok” or just “lol” can be a conversation killer. Give a real response and compliment them. Be playful when you’re talking and maybe even challenge them to something. Your major goal when texting is to actually hang out and go on a date with this person. So try to imply things that you like that you two can do together.

Flirt texting does take practice to perfect. Just like face to face flirting, sometimes your first approach is not going to work. Don’t be discouraged, just change around your tactic for the specific person you are talking to. Make all your conversations personalized. Now get to work on your flirting game!