Here are the most common mistakes men make:
... terrible letters, short notes without punctuation or capitalization which makes it very hard for beginning English readers to understand. The girls write off most of these guys are lazy and illiterate.
... terrible photos. Men generally send terrible snap shots or web-cam captures which tell the girl the man is not serious or considerate of how he is perceived by others. Most however do not send any photo. When we call a lady to tell her to expect a letter in the post, the first question she asks is "did he send photo?" If the answer is no, sometimes they don't even want the letter to be sent.
... the point of men claiming they look younger then their age is well taken....women hate that, they have eyes and know men look like themselves and their age. It is not something to be embarrassed of. Present a well composed professional photo and the ladies will be happy. Concern about your appearance. Learn to enjoy better dressing.
... complaining about women in their past or their country: women hate it.
... bragging. This is something that goes along with being men but it is not well received by serious women. Money issues brought up early makes the girls feel as if the men are trying to buy them, a common complaint about visiting western men
... comparing cultures: This is rude anywhere but particularly in Russia where most western visitors dwell only on money and inadvertently put everything and everyone down but at the same time ignoring the real assets of the culture in the arts, family structure, education, social customs that Russian compare very favorable with westerners.
... guys showing up for meetings in overly casual attire. The ladies will present themselves well and take the meeting seriously. They feel as if they are not important to the man when he dresses in his bumming around clothes. They dress well to show respect to you, it is fair to do the same for them. A guy will say "she likes me to be myself and comfortable" but behind his back they tell us it embarrasses them to be seen with someone who disrespects them.
... guys who wine and dine a lady he knows is not going to be the one: This creates false impressions and hurt feelings because a formal dinner date means something more than just good food by candle light. Save the special evenings for the special lady. Keep meeting short and if you are not interested, end it after 30 minutes or so, don't take up their time needlessly. They have lives and tasks to juggle so be considerate of their time.
,,, assuming the ladies will be grateful for "rescuing" them: Sheer short-sighted foolishness. Girls with anything on the ball are not desperate. They resent being treated as if they are.
... using the word "scam" or any inference to some ladies possibly being scammers. Remember, scam hunters, who might bring that up, never ever get a real girl and never ever have a healthy normal relationship with a woman. Being Suspicious is a very unattractive trait to have.