Open markets are good and I believe everyone should have the opportunity to succeed.
That said, there are too many broken, poorly designed, sad excuses for dating sites out there. I would like to take most of them behind the shed and put them out of their misery because they make my job harder.
The initial *perceived* barriers to entry to build successful dating sites are too low. We need to raise them. I am all for risk taking and starting internet businesses, but there should be some kind of test you have to take before you can roll out a new domain name (no hyphens!).
Why not have a “throw in the towel� day? Shut down your dating site and become an eBay Power Seller. Less stress, shorter workdays and more money and time in the sun.
The software for sale to run dating sites is terrible, with few exceptions. The service these companies provide is even worse. Why would you want to get into something that is going to cost little to build and your sanity to make work and keep running?
Someone needs to start a consortium of developers dedicated to the building and maintaining of dating sites. Guru.com doesn’t cut it. Neither will your nephew or the guy you met at the local geek networking event.
Today when people call me to ask for advice on how to start a dating site, I often mention green energy or pet rocks as a better way to make money. There are too many dating sites which a) never should have been started, b) have no idea how to run an internet business, c) have unrealistic expectations. Is it better for them to limp along on life support or close up shop and move on?
The world does not need another dating site. If you think your idea is novel and never been done, it’s probably for a reason. Sometimes ideas are more fun to think about than execute.
You probably don’t have enough money to make your site successful. Your competition has a bigger marketing budget, and knows where to spend it (and where not to waste resources.) eHarmony spends $90 million a year on radio and tv jingles.
You are not Match, or PlentyOfFish. The chances of this kind of luck and success are infinitesimal, even lower than most dating site visitor-to-member conversion rates.
Most people don’t think about dating sites as internet businesses, which is exactly what they are. There is no “youâ€? in running an online dating site, it’s your IT guy and your credit card processor. They are your new best friends. Who call at 2am.
If you still want to get into the game, congrats, you are either comfortably ignorant or incredibly smart. Either is good, just know where you stand and what direction you need to go in to be successful.
Keep reading and learn how to make it in the world of online dating “social networkingâ€?, because that is what online dating is going to be called in 2008 as the space between the two continues to narrow and paywalls fall down in favor of free dating (which I’m not a big fan in most contexts, BTW.)
