How many times have I heard about the next Plentyoffish/niche/group/Facebook dating site? A hundred times a month, or so it seems. The next question is, “how do I fill up my database?”
If you are a dating startup, or a top-10 site, here’s the reality. You have to spend a *lot* of money to get a subscription-based dating site large enough to be profitable. Doubly so if you are a free site relying on advertising for revenue. Dating sites drive a lot of traffic via affiliate marketing, and if you’re free, you need a war chest to get a decent affiliate marketing program running. Ads, at least in the beginning, won’t pay for this until traffic reaches a certain level.
The reality is that dating sites, especially large ones, are incredibly inefficient with their ad spending (spray and pray). Networks perform well for a while, they continue to pump in more money, then the network ROI drops off, and a new network is tried, rinse, repeat. This is a brutal cycle, and why many dating sites spend upwards of 40% of their revenue on advertising.
There are a number of new traffic-driving opportunities coming on line. Smart dating sites will take advantage of these emerging channels. Everyone seems to be stuck in the Google washing machine, around and around it goes.
If you run a ad network, affiliate network or other lead-generation service, leave a comment. Better yet, buy an ad and your service will be seen by key decision-makers in the online dating industry. It’s cost effective and where else can you reach a billion-dollar industry for a few hundred bucks a month? Contact me for more information.
