Erika Ettin (A Little Nudge)

Erika Ettin is an American online dating coach and the founder of A Little Nudge, which she started in 2011. Before that she worked as an economist at Fannie Mae in Washington, D.C. She began online dating in 2001, tracked her results in a spreadsheet and found that her response and date rates were well above average, which led her to coach others.

Approach

A Little Nudge helps singles write profiles, choose photos, send first messages and plan dates; higher tiers add hand-picked matches and message drafting up to arranging the first meeting. She treats dating as a numbers game, with more first dates meaning better odds, and recommends being not attached to the outcome, an idea she abbreviates NATO.

Media

Ettin has been interviewed by NPR, The Kojo Nnamdi Show, the New York Times and the Washington Post, and has worked with JDate as an expert and with the Chicago Tribune as a syndicated relationship columnist. A 2023 JTA profile describes her as Brooklyn-based, while earlier NPR coverage had called her business Washington-based.

Book