Like (most?) other answers I can provide my own preferences as a mid-20 heterosexual man. So at least you get many datapoints.
The things most important to being someone I would want to have a long term relationship with are
Physical attraction
Positive influence on my life (compatible goals and desires, good at providing help I need, …)
Being of enjoyable company
Being high status, or rather being someone who will have a good impact on my own status
Physical attraction is not exactly the same thing as looks because looks also on an impact on the other factors and on how I estimate them.
For example the way you dress might look good in my eyes but be a bad thing overall because it would be low status for me to introduce you to friends/family/colleagues.
I would say physical attraction is overall overhyped. You need to be above a certain level and if I don’t find you physically attractive at all there is little you can do to make up for it.
But once a certain threshold is met you reach sharp diminishing returns.
Many things go in being a positive influence on my life.
This includes having strength that go well with my profile and goals, for some characteristics this means sharing the same strengths as mine (if you and I both communicate well in the same fashion it can be great), for others this means having strengths that that help with my weaknesses (for example being good at handling situations I struggle with).
Also we need to have compatible ideas regarding our life paths (children, where to live, …)
Being of enjoyable company is mostly about how we vibe. In this what matters is very much the end results: am I happy when we are together. Sex is a big part of it but not the majority.
Overall the best way to convince me you will have these positive influences on me in the future is to have them in the present (if you already help with some problems I have, I am likely to think you will help with other problems in the future).
Likewise for being good for my status and especially being enjoyable to spend time with.
Lastly, I wrote above about the kind of profile I would likely want to be with, plenty into your framing of “market value”. But another big aspect of what relationships do end up happening is who we flirt with/date.
A woman could be perfect for me and I for her but we won’t end up together if we don’t learn about eachother at some point and decide to try building a relationship.
In this I believe the important things are:
Show you qualities (in my case, show you will have a positive influence/be enjoyable to be around/improve my status)
Make it clear it is ok to pursue you, socially and in your own view (it won’t bother you)
Don’t do it in a way that reduces your status. Making the first move is fine but it seems to me women who are too forward risk being seen as desperate / having some hidden flaw (“why can’t you get men to chase you? What’s wrong?”).
If I have to turn all this into advice about how to behave to make men like me seriously consider a relationship with you
Be good looking. If you are plain looking to begin with then being reasonably fit and dressing well is probably enough.
Be kind and open to others.
Display some great qualities (smart, disciplined, creative, empathy, …)
Be approachable
Make me feel like I can help you in some way. This is both because it makes me think you are likely to like me and therefore it is worth trying to see if a relationship is possible; and because it is in some way deeply alluring to me and many other men to be helpful to women.
Like (most?) other answers I can provide my own preferences as a mid-20 heterosexual man. So at least you get many datapoints.
The things most important to being someone I would want to have a long term relationship with are
Physical attraction
Positive influence on my life (compatible goals and desires, good at providing help I need, …)
Being of enjoyable company
Being high status, or rather being someone who will have a good impact on my own status
Physical attraction is not exactly the same thing as looks because looks also on an impact on the other factors and on how I estimate them. For example the way you dress might look good in my eyes but be a bad thing overall because it would be low status for me to introduce you to friends/family/colleagues.
I would say physical attraction is overall overhyped. You need to be above a certain level and if I don’t find you physically attractive at all there is little you can do to make up for it. But once a certain threshold is met you reach sharp diminishing returns.
Many things go in being a positive influence on my life. This includes having strength that go well with my profile and goals, for some characteristics this means sharing the same strengths as mine (if you and I both communicate well in the same fashion it can be great), for others this means having strengths that that help with my weaknesses (for example being good at handling situations I struggle with). Also we need to have compatible ideas regarding our life paths (children, where to live, …)
Being of enjoyable company is mostly about how we vibe. In this what matters is very much the end results: am I happy when we are together. Sex is a big part of it but not the majority.
Overall the best way to convince me you will have these positive influences on me in the future is to have them in the present (if you already help with some problems I have, I am likely to think you will help with other problems in the future). Likewise for being good for my status and especially being enjoyable to spend time with.
Lastly, I wrote above about the kind of profile I would likely want to be with, plenty into your framing of “market value”. But another big aspect of what relationships do end up happening is who we flirt with/date. A woman could be perfect for me and I for her but we won’t end up together if we don’t learn about eachother at some point and decide to try building a relationship. In this I believe the important things are:
Show you qualities (in my case, show you will have a positive influence/be enjoyable to be around/improve my status)
Make it clear it is ok to pursue you, socially and in your own view (it won’t bother you)
Don’t do it in a way that reduces your status. Making the first move is fine but it seems to me women who are too forward risk being seen as desperate / having some hidden flaw (“why can’t you get men to chase you? What’s wrong?”).
If I have to turn all this into advice about how to behave to make men like me seriously consider a relationship with you
Be good looking. If you are plain looking to begin with then being reasonably fit and dressing well is probably enough.
Be kind and open to others.
Display some great qualities (smart, disciplined, creative, empathy, …)
Be approachable
Make me feel like I can help you in some way. This is both because it makes me think you are likely to like me and therefore it is worth trying to see if a relationship is possible; and because it is in some way deeply alluring to me and many other men to be helpful to women.