Marketing Ideas for an Internet Dating Service...

**AllConfidence22** · 06-03-2009 11:14 PM

Any ideas for Marketing an online dating service? I'm looking to go the free route first and then work my way up. Thanks for any help given.

**ACMAir** · 06-04-2009 01:38 AM

Well, the best marketing is done by thinking outside the box. I don't have any real help, but it reminds me of a book I read about David Neeleman, Founder and Former CEO of jetBlue Airways. He spent a large amount of capital buying small gifts for the shuttle drivers that drove around the airports he serviced, knowing that the word about the generosity of his airline would reach the passengers, hopefully on their ride to the airport.

**AllConfidence22** · 06-04-2009 01:47 AM

Ok that actually has a lot of potential... Maybe if I want to drag people away from the big sites like eHarmony and match.com I will have to persuade them and make them think that our site is more generous and truely does care.

**ACMAir** · 06-04-2009 01:56 AM

Well, eHarmony, Match.com, and Chemistry.com have a similar interface, i'd assume. I haven't used the sites. I would actually check and research heavily into the services, the ease of use, and everything about these three. There will definitely be something you would want to change. When you find that, make sure to integrate it into your website. But in terms of marketing, the sky is the limit, and so is your wallet.

**AllConfidence22** · 06-04-2009 02:23 AM

Thank you very much for the advice Andrew... you make a lot of sense

**s2008aw** · 06-04-2009 12:54 PM

Hi there,

I used to own a dating website with 15,000 members before I sold it for a $x,xxx. My advice is if your serious about making a profitable dating website you need to spend a fair amount on marketing. Otherwise I suggest you consider another venture, theres plenty of good online ventures where you can make a decent amount of money.

As in order to make the business profitable you need to build up a significant sized member base, which was difficult for me starting up as most people wont bother to sign up if they see theres nobody on your website.

Though it does depend on your website if it has a strong USP, if you want you can contact me for advice.

**bmiles** · 06-04-2009 02:19 PM

I understand your situation as I will be contemplating how to bring people to my site. My site is not in the area of dating, but I do know from other sites that you have to bring the women first. Plentyoffish, OK Cupid, Eharmony, and even the hook up sites all are majority women. That is the only way your going to get the guys there, so thats half your battle. Now its easier for you, because really you just have to think........ how can I get the women.

Hope that helps some.

B.

**TrafficVault** · 06-04-2009 04:05 PM

i would consider identifying a niche in dating. perhaps you could be a dating site for people that like to bike. or a dating site that is for a particular geographic.
Its a lot easier to Hit the Mark- if you can separate 'The Mark' from everything else.

think about a lion hunting. do they run into a herd of with their mouth open hoping??

They pick one - and hunt it down.

**PsiPro** · 06-04-2009 05:03 PM

Originally Posted by TrafficVault

i would consider identifying a niche in dating.

That really is the key IMHO. I've been hired to to four different dating sites and all of the people came at it with small changes and they wanted to target large groups typically (three of them for African Americans)... all four are now collecting dust on my servers (hey they still pay me!).

Because they didn't have a good target (or a novel idea really), and they didn't put time into organization.

**AllConfidence22** · 06-04-2009 08:13 PM

I think all of you bring great ideas... Can I contact you for more questions?

**TrafficVault** · 06-05-2009 12:06 PM

Traffic Vault's whole business is built on helping people succeed on the web- We literally LIVE on questions like this! Ask away.... we love to help.

**knittingmill!** · 06-09-2009 08:27 PM

I just heard on the radio last night about a guy in the US that has started a niche dating site. He matches people by their taste in music. Maybe a niche idea would work.

**TrafficVault** · 06-11-2009 11:25 AM

Matching by music tastes is a great idea... no more fights about the radio on long drives!

Another tip: Research your niche using a keyword tool. Ideally, your keyword should have a lot of search volume, low competition, and be relevant to your market. Here's Googles-https://adwords.google.com/select/KeywordToolExternal