Sending flirty texts to girls should always give guys a badge of honor, knowing that, on the receiving end, she’s laughing and smiling and thinking to herself, “damn, this guy’s pretty charming.” While those types of messages are usually done with words, we had to ask ourselves how emojis can impact your flirty texts, and we found that, when done correctly, they can positively influence your attempts at getting laid.

Look, we’ve all sent a simple smirk back in reply to something a girl said, but emojis are there to show your emotions, so understanding how to utilize them in a flirty text is important. When accompanied with words, it can lead to more dates.

For instance, just look at online dating apps. If you’re not using emojis to get a girl’s attention or complement your messages to her, you’re already behind the 8-ball in terms of standing out. Sure, you can be a regular wordsmith and know exactly how to be witty and charming at the same time, but nowadays, it takes emojis to really make a girl know how you’re thinking.

So, how can flirty texts be enhanced by emojis? We give you some tips on how to use these little cartoony-looking caricatures to your advantage while swapping messages with girls.

Know your emoji

Before you send an emoji to a girl, make sure that you understand what the general population actually thinks about the thing. For instance, it’s internationally known that the eggplant emoji is a reference to a penis, and the water droplets emoji is thought of as squirting or something sexual, so don’t unintentionally use these types of things and give a girl the wrong impression because you don’t know what they really mean.

Be subtle

OK, so flirty texts can be enhanced with the right emoji, but do not become the guy who overuses them. Being subtle about how and when you use emojis goes a long way in seeing success when flirting through a message. Remember, you’re an adult (presumably), so you don’t want to come across as a teenage girl who uses all sorts of emojis in every single message you send.

Make your emoji unique

Take a look at your most recently used emojis and ask yourself if you’re too basic or unique. Chances are you’ve used the basic smile and the laughter emoji pretty often, but are there other ones in there that could be used in flirty texts that could either help or hurt your chances at landing a date? Nobody wants to be like everyone else, so whether it’s messaging a girl on an online dating app or through text, make yourself standout and intrigue her with an emoji that leaves her asking you what it means — that shows interest and lets you show some creativity and humor.

Don’t only rely on emojis to communicate

As we mentioned above, being subtle about your emoji use in flirty texts is so important, because the last thing you want to become is the “emoji guy.” When you only use emojis to communicate with a girl, it makes you seem incapable of using words, and leaves you open to being either friend zoned or, worse, laughed at. Yes, there have probably been times when you’ve drunk texted a girl some combination of eggplant-water droplets-smirk, but that shouldn’t be your go-to move all of the time — unless you like being ignored.