best dating site set-up?

[highhopes]

Hi,
I am soliciting opinions from you again please?
Since my last visit I have been busy doing some part time research with respect to setting up a dating site.....WELL, the more i read the more confusing it got...I know what brand i want to create, but could anyone give me some sound advice on the type of dating site I should set up?
Template system, Script or full dating service providers???
I pasted an article from this wwebsite on the subject.


Thedatingassociation.com

Template Systems

The second option available for the creation of a dating site with outside support uses the concept of Template Systems. Companies that provide this service offer template sites, free of charge, with a limited degree of variation per template, (slightly different design, different colours etc), all of which are fairly basic in design, although some do include mobile and text services, as well as chat services. There is normally a shared database on offer, but this is seldom of a significant size. Similarly payment systems are based around third party merchant accounts that are expensive and cannot offer recurring payments. If you work with a template system provider, you will receive a share of revenue, but normally only on initial payments, or on a per profile or email basis. Scammers are known to take advantage of many Template systems based on their limited anti-fraud processes and payment methodologies. The combination of a limited selection of template designs, a small database, restricted payment options, and a high volume of scammers, means that retention and conversion rates are often poor. However earnings and potential profits are normally better with a Template provider than a Dating Scripts company.

Dating services

By far the best choice of the three types of external providers of dating sites, are those companies that offer a full dating service. By this we mean companies that provide a complete range of dating sites (customisable templates, co-branded sites, white label sites, and portal links) with a wide range of site features. The good dating service companies have a substantial shared database of members, superior payment methodologies, good anti-fraud systems, and a fair way of sharing revenue, which ensures the active site owner will make an extremely good income. As an example of these companies that offers the most functionality with the best financial rewards is Online Affiliate Dating Sites solutions by World Dating Partners - Worlddatingpartners.com. Its unprecedented speed of set-up, a shared database of over 3.5 million members, a full range of merchant accounts, the best anti-scam practices, and the widest range of functionalities on offer. World Dating Partners recognised as a world leader with unique filtering systems that support creative niche markets, offers outstanding retention and conversion rates, and some of the best revenue sharing models. All systems are free, with the facility to go it alone with the company’s blessing if a site/site-owner ever feels he would prefer to work independently with his own data-base at a later date.




I feel like someone wanting to purchase a car with no knowledge of cars!
Any good suggestions out there please?
Sorry its a bit long.

[highhopes]

Forgot to mention, is there anybody making a living with a dating site on here?

[adssassin]

Before you consider any of that, have you considered your biz model? Are you adsense driven, paid subscription, per message sent?

I ask this because plentyoffish and other free sites are your biggest competition. Unless you have a very specific angle or specialized service, you'll likely have to provide free access also...

[highhopes]

Originally Posted by adssassin

Before you consider any of that, have you considered your biz model? Are you adsense driven, paid subscription, per message sent?

I ask this because plentyoffish and other free sites are your biggest competition. Unless you have a very specific angle or specialized service, you'll likely have to provide free access also...

Thanks Adssassin,
Well at this moment of time i dont know really how things work, or the best model to use.
However, I was looking at this site; WhiteLabelDating.com

They offer the template site, 75% commissions on conversions and all the office back-up with new enquiries etc.
Also, other sites.
Free access seems to be the ticket for just about all the sites I have come accross, but of course they are very limited in their use until you become full member!



As the set-up was free, I thought it sounded aggod place to start.
I thought intially of a "friends only site".( no heavy stuff) etc?

What do you think?

[highhopes]

One more post to try and find the answer....trouble is with doing a google search to find a truly unbiased view. You type in `best dating software` or `top rated dating software,`
`dating software voted the best` you get advertizers selling their products.
How do you find out?

[highhopes]

No more advice?

[adssassin]

I apologize for the wait. I totally forgot about this and I'm terrible with forums.

You mentioned the biz model and that many sites have limited functionality until membership to upgraded to a paid subscription. However, those sites are mostly failures cuz plentyoffish offers full functionality off the bat. I think they have a membership upgrade now, where a user can get more visibility.

That's what you need to compete against. That's very tough. I think your best bet is to start a niche dating site. For example, adultfriendfinder caters to the physical. Maybe you could start one that caters to the highly intelligent?

How do I find out the best dating site? Check out the real dating forums and selectively look at long standing members and their reviews. Another area to check out is the forums at plenty of fish. It's free to join, and the members generally give honest feed back about other dating sites.

[Neil Morgan]

I don't want to rain on your parade but...

I truly think dating sites must be one of the most difficult to get off the ground.

The competition out there (both offline and online) is MASSIVE. And some of those competitors have very deep pockets for advertising etc.

And as if that wasn't enough to put you off...

...by definition, a dating site won't work unless you have loads of members. Where are they going to come from to start you off? It's like when you go on holiday and walk past all the empty restaurants until you see one with people in it - the food might be crap but at least it's busy.

There are MUCH easier ways to make money online than dating IMHO.

Cheers,

Neil

[Ron Killian]

I was going to say the same, hate to be negative, but dating is a huge competition. If your struggling just getting started, you might have a tough road ahead.

If you really want to stick with it, why not start out as an affiliate first? Then you can see how the programs work and you'll learn to push traffic. Just a thought.

[Sebulba]

I would think huge competition. Must be easier niches?

Seb

[Rod Cortez]

I've got several websites in the dating niche and let me tell you it's brutal out there. It's a fantastic niche if you know what you're doing (examples: know the market well, follow a proven montezation plan, able to deliver the goods, able to separate yourself from the pack, know how to get traffic, how to convert that traffic, competitive analysis, etc.). But if you don't you can lose your shirt really fast.

I read your OP and it was a bit confusing; sounds like you were all over the place. Which market are you specifically going after? And what top competitors' models are you going to emulate?

RoD

[highhopes]

This update for the site is interesting; spent £948.00 ppc google over 6 weeks
498 free members and 63 paid , revenue to date £1,256.00. Half goes to the site owners as I am an affiliate.... so i am down £320.00.

March the 2nd brought my first sale about £4.50 after ppc campaign started on 23rd February.
I am trying to build free traffic as well, articles submissions, stories, bloggs are the next.
I have noticed the expenses are coming down and the revenue is going up...It got scary 3 weeks into the campaign.
Free traffic as fast as possible is the key.
This white label site has really good features on it, enticing people to join up etc. also, their was a surge over easter with jopin now for half the costs.
The jury is still out but, in a months time i will be in a position of being in the black.
The flow chart graph is peaking!!!

QUESTION: Who can offer a blogg submission service on here?

[Sparky1984]

Hello HighHopes

I Have been reading through the topic and im just wondering how the sites are going for you i have just started using whitelabeldating.com myself so interested to see if its worth perusing.

Thank you paul

[pearlpitt]

I would like to suggest that you should concentrate on making it popular in a particular region as guys and girls want to hangout with a date in their area as its most convenient for them.