How To Run a Successful Online Dating Site

Today’s guest post is from Sam Moorcroft, co-founder and President of ChristianCafe.com. Sam has been around the online dating industry for many years and his straight-talk and openness and success make him one of the most successful and approachable people in the online dating industry.

Having been in the online dating space for over 10 years gives you a unique perspective. I am sure my colleagues, Meir and Kris from Date.com, can relate (they’ve been around longer than I). I always get a kick out of the dire predictions which come and go, such how the subscription model is dead and “free” will be king, or some new innovation, which is always just around the corner, is going to put us in the poor house.

The fact remains that what we do meets a biological imperative. While how we operate will no doubt change, as technology increases & consumer expectations rise, that fundamental need will always be there. As the expression goes, “Plus ça change plus c’est la même chose”.

That being said, this business has become tougher over the years, and only the truly strong are surviving. New entrants seem to pop up constantly – then disappear a few months later. Perhaps we make it look too easy or natural for those outside looking in, who then decide they can carve out a piece for themselves. However, this isn’t 1999, it is 2009.

People think that because they have some nifty idea (their “killer app”), sites like ChristianCafe.com are doomed. What really counts isn’t tons of cool features or a flashy interface; rather, it is critical mass. You have to have enough members who consider your site worthwhile enough that they could actually meet someone, to then open up their wallets and give you some of their hard-earned money. That seems obvious, but I am forever amazed at the mentality of some, who figure it is something else.

It is other things, of course: things like knowing what your ROI is on your daily traffic, what your members do inside your site, what they like and what they don’t, and then constantly tweaking, experimenting, and often-times losing (a lot of) money by trying new things.

The ability to absorb losses because you have decent cash flow is critical. New entrants typically lack cash (ad buys are very expensive), but, more importantly, they lack experience, which you can only get by living, breathing, and sleeping this business. We worked 100 hours a week for years to get to where we are now. Simply put, it is a lot of work, no matter what anyone (ahem, Marcus Frind) will tell you. Those of us who are successful work hard and are never not thinking about our respective businesses.

Having smart staff with long tenures cannot be over-valued. Our average staff tenure is seven years. That figure would be higher, but is being pulled down by staff additions in the past four years. Half of our staff are blood relatives, so longevity makes sense. However, not all families have smart people. We like to think that our does:-) The rest of our staff we regard as family. We do our best to treat them all well, keep them challenged (which isn’t hard; it is the nature of this business), and let them excel at what they do best.

Another key success factor for ChristianCafe.com is that we target a niche market. Granted, Christian singles are a large niche (in the US), but ours is a niche within that. Specifically, we target those Christians who do not, can not, or will not date outside their faith. Those who do would find themselves at home at Match.com or another generic site. We knew right from the beginning that targeting a broader audience would have a tough time succeeding, because of a lack of differentiation. What is the difference between one generic site and another?

A more perhaps subtle differentiator is that we are the only major Christian dating site which is also Christian owned-and-operated. We know that our competitors realise the importance of this: one goes out of their way to hide themselves from their Christian members. Another is careful to keep quiet about other markets they attract which their Christian members would find offensive. We view this as a major competitive advantage and aren’t shy about sharing it.

I recently did an interview with a Christian magazine, whose focus was on the “proliferation of Christian dating sites”. I corrected the reporter by saying that she had it backwards. It should be on “the consolidation of Christian dating sites”. This is a trend I see happening across the online dating world. As the industry matures, and becomes harder to survive, you are going to see more and more of this. A recent example is Match.com’s transaction with Meetic in Europe.

One of the things we have been doing for several years is absorbing smaller competitors. Some get out of the game completely, while others continue to operate, chiefly from affiliate revenue earned from sending their non-converting traffic to us. It sounds counter-intuitive, but it actually works for both parties, who are otherwise competitors.

As announced June 01, 2009, Single Christian Network (SCN) merged its database of members into ChristianCafe.com. SCN will now focus all its energies on marketing, now that their time previously spent running the actual business has been freed up, by effectively outsourcing all of that to us. It is a win-win-win scenario: they make, we make, and both our memberships benefit from increased choice.

Beyond what we detailed in our joint press release is confidential, as you might expect. I may be known as being forthright and more open than most, but some things have to remain close to my chest ;-)

We look forward to working with other direct competitors in the near future, as things consolidate even more. If you are one of those, we’d love to talk!

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