There are good free and pay sites on the internet. I dont like that some poeple use internet communitys to look for somebody. The better use dating sites!
shabazz
· 11 months ago
Re:does no one else see the problems with this? Ask Ebay why they took away two-way seller/buyer feedback
I definately am going to check out this one. I am tired of paying for dating sites.
Beverly - San Francisco CA
Robert
· 5 months ago
And this website not only free but offer you a gifts if you create an account. http://www.actwall.com
conrad
· 11 months ago
I think I would feel more comfortable with a paid dating site (if were using one to find a date ). I think a lot more spam and such will come with free sites.
Jennifer Van Grove
· 11 months ago
Kevin, great comment. Any thoughts on who you think Plentoffish's proverbial Facebook is?
Brian Bowman
· 11 months ago
As a former VP of Product @ Match.com, I think there will always be a place for paid dating sites - though the need is quickly fading. The significant movement of open social, blogging, photo sharing, LinkedIn, etc basically has rendered the concept of pay-to-respond mute. More importantly, without connecting into an individuals social feeds a "dating site" is missing out on a whole world of who the person is and how they participate online.
Sure being anonymous has some advantages but you can always create a fake email address. ** Go free. Go Now.
Justin Leon
· 11 months ago
No matter if its free or pay, there will be also scammers, pyschos and just strange people on those sites.
M2Mz
· 11 months ago
Seems awesome, but they are like once in a blue moon!
Martin Reed
· 11 months ago
All it takes is a quick Google search to see all the software packages that allow anyone to start their own dating site for minimal cost. They all have similar features to those offered by the large players in the market, so premium (ie paid for) dating sites will need to work harder to justify their fees if they want to survive.
- Martin Reed
Justin Razmus
· 11 months ago
I can definately see the paid dating site business model losing some steam. Web based business is changing rapidly, and the new generation of Internet entrepenuers are really changing the way things are done. It will be interesting to see how some of the larger sites like Match.com make changes to try to stay ahead of the curve.
moses_ms
· 2 months ago
it will not be easy like that? but give a try no easy way to success
Jenn Van Grove
· 11 months ago
Brian, thanks for your comment. It's an interesting perspective coming from someone who formerly worked at Match.com. I've personally found dating sites to be behind the web curve. Maybe it's because I'm a chick, but meeting a random stranger through a site like Match is less appealing than meeting someone for drinks that I know through the social web. It adds a ton of context.
Jesse
· 11 months ago
Men like choice and at least some anonymity.
They like to know that if they get shot down that the rest of their "social web" doesn't know about it.
Since women are not the initiators in most of the dates you may not be taking that whole dynamic into consideration.
That's why a separate dating site will always be preferable to dating on Facebook because it's separated from a guy's day to day. Women on dating sites are much more receptive to advances than ones on a regular social network.
Also, it cannot be disputed that the quality of daters on paid dating sites trumps the quality of singles on the free ones.
So, while the free trend will continue, there will always be a need for paid sites that offer a slight barrier of entry.
tyfn
· 11 months ago
Jenn, as a guy I think of myself as outgoing and willing to try new things, but I would never want to meet a random stranger through a dating site or even over some social network for that matter. There is the matter of safety and trust. I want to meet the person in real life first to size them up, find out what we have in common, our similar interests. Meeting in the real world provides a totally different perspective than a profile page or IM chat. I'm social with my friends on Facebook and find that there are alot of opportunities to meet people in the city through clubs, cafes, and events organised by friends.
Jennifer Van Grove
· 11 months ago
Jesse, I can't argue against the need for separation. The social web is a dangerous place after a break up, or hook up, gone awry. Where I disagree with you, though, is that the paid model ensures higher quality daters. I get your logic - if someone's willing to pay, that investment means their more serious about their romantic inclinations - but in actually it just don't work out that way.
Ryan
· 11 months ago
Dating sites are useless to me. People reveal more on twitter than any dating service.
Today you say "The incredibly low cost of providing a dating service makes it difficult to justify payment for the basic level of service"
That is a huge perception change in a year and no doubt others have followed similar thinking. Never mind the fact that 70% of my users have actually paid for online dating previously.
I feel match.com launching a free site will make the general public wonder what if any value paying money for a dating site offers? Especially if users on paid and free sites are identical. As for users who follow web 2.0 and techcrunch/mashable etc they won't really be that into Plentyoffish, or match. Those kind of people like very niche sites like OKcupid or nerve.com
Emil
· 11 months ago
Paid vs free is a question that everyone has its own answer for. In dating sites' case I thinkit's a question of freedom vs quality. So decide what you are looking for with online dates.
Jennifer Van Grove
· 11 months ago
Markus, great comment and great points. A year is a pretty long time in web years, especially when it comes to perspectives related to online dating. I do think that there is a perception shift happening. Or maybe, as you point out, people have tried their hand at paid sites and figure out for themselves that paid doesn't necessarily equal better.
Julien Marie
· 11 months ago
There is a catch here I think. Markus Frind himself admits in one of his blog post (http://plentyoffish.wordpress.com/2008/11/13/mo...) that costs become too heavy with a ad based business model. He's selling virtual goods now. I think the biggest problem in paid online dating is that you need to pay to have an experience of the site (it seems to be dumm said like this), but all websites need to be tried before being adopted (finally, it's like music, you buy an album because you like it). So, the only reason you choose to subscribe to this site and not another is reputation and the members database size. Not the reality of service. Online dating can't be 100% free : serious dating is really costly for many reasons : 1. You need security and big moderation teams to ensure the quality of the database (Meetic has got more than 150 people for that here in Paris for 500 000 paying customers) 2. You need huge marketing expenses because it's a branding business : people have to pay to test your website so you've to claim you're the best and the biggest, be top of mind. Meetic spend half of its revenue in marketing. People do not type dating here in France to find a dating website, they type Meetic. 3. You need to filter "serious" members and "non" serious ones. Price is a way to do that. The business model can change in this business, but this would change only if the value proposition does to. It's not a question of free or not free, it's just a question of how do you conquer your audience and show them you're answering to their need. Once they're sure you can answer, people is willing to pay for a real good quality of service.
PrettyGirlwDimples
· 11 months ago
Secure, educated, employed, beautiful woman with no kids seeks a financially secure, educated, employed man with no kids! Cant find him on paid or free site!
Robert Pickar
· 6 months ago
PrettyGirlwDimples:
Just keep dating. I found my wife and we have one son and are very happy. Just keep using match.com, filter out those who dont log on frequently, and write lots of email, personalising each one. If you have a bod date, it's never match.com's fault. Just keep dating and you will find the right one for you!! Don't stop or lose hope! Robert
Joel
· 11 months ago
People will always pay a premium to meet eligible people if it works. The problem is not the money - it's that it is ineffective. The problem is the process of searching anonymous profiles. You want to meet eligible then demand referrals. Such a dating alternative exists...take a look at Sparkbliss dot com.
Julien Marie
· 11 months ago
You don't need Sparkbliss to date your friends' friends. You only need Facebook. The value of a dating website IS to make you discover people you could not meet anywhere else. That's why dating website are not used by young people : they meet to many people a day (school, university, etc...)
Antony
· 11 months ago
They shouldn't charge in the first place! I have always used free dating sites in the past and met wonderful people off them.
Antony
Claire
· 11 months ago
Over here at Subscription.com we definitely keep an eye on this issue as it affects one of our top-performing categories. While there may be some migration to free sites for some users, our data has shown that the use of paid online dating services is growing rather than declining. There are certain benefits to paid online dating—a major one being an improved user experience.
We only offer a few dating services but try to hold the sites we partner with to a high standard... they must provide a tangible benefit to customers in order to justify the cost over free services: http://www.subscription.com/services/dating/
Down to Earth looks well designed and certainly has great minds behind it, so it will be interesting to see how it competes with Match et al. I personally don’t see paid online dating services losing much market share to these sites, however. Most likely the increase in online dating in general will allow for the growth of both free and paid models.
Boston
· 11 months ago
I have used both eHarmony and plentyoffish. When you boil it all down plentyoffish has given me better results, more possible matches and hasn't cost me a penny.
Saïd Amin
· 11 months ago
year over year revenue is 20% plus for many subscription dating sites; hardly "a thing of the past" and a proven business model.
free, freemium and paid can all coexist. free sites like PofF are actually great lead generators for paying sites (that's how they make the bulk of their money anyway). in our space, ethnic/niche dating, most free sites can't prosper/scale; the audience is too small, there's not enough traffic and the cpm's are too low.
PofF and DowntoErath are not game changers. it's just more of the same ole' same ole'...i imagine that a game changer will provide better results with less effort and time invested. the good news is that due to fierce competition and a recession, the dating space is bound to get more creative and hopefully find better ways of helping singles meet their match.
Sarah
· 11 months ago
Nearly six years ago now, I met my present boyfriend on a paid for dating site. He is exactly what I wanted, and more.
Thing is, if you don't make people pay for dating sites, you get people 'just browsing' for a date/girlfriend/boyfriend. I don't want to meet those people. I want to meet people who are intending to find a terrific committed relationship and paying to do so is part of the commitment.
Meet someone randomly in a dark bar is so Nineties. Internet dating is much more reliable.
Chris
· 11 months ago
Paid sites aren't going away just because there are free sites. Is the point to save money or to meet people? So what if you spent $20 or $30 a month for a year or 3 and ended up finding the right person? That amount of money isn't worth it?
Using this logic, nobody would buy nonfiction books since "everything" is available free via Google. Yet many people get rich selling information. How can that be?
Yes, there are cheap or free scripts to build dating sites, but that doesn't mean you will get lots of members, even if your site is free. A dating site without lots of members is rather useless.
Brian Bowman
· 11 months ago
Jennifer - I would you like to discuss my thoughts further, please shoot me an email and we can schedule time. I don't feel we have scratched the surface of the opportunity with dating online.
To clarify a few points, to my knowledge, Match.com isn't launched a free dating site, it is IACI. IAC has tested the waters with numerous businesses and it is very difficult to get start ups to work inside a large corporation.
Regarding "FREE" -- I think there are interesting alternatives that could encourage people to pay a fee but it doesn't make any sense to me to pay to respond to an email. By the way, did you know that about 40% of online dating subscriptions are auto-renewal. Basically, people set up credit cards and get charged monthly independent if they use it or not. To me, that is too one sided and doesn't have enough consumer value.
As a former user of a dating site, being anonymous is a benefit and a problem. One if the core issues with dating online is "IS THE PERSON REAL". One of the compelling things about integrating social networking into dating is that is it harder to spoof multiple profiles. Not impossible - but it takes a lot more work.
Something that hasn't been discussed and something that has always bothered me. There hasn't been any published papers outlining how personality tests can predict long term relationship success. Many dating services proclaim they have a magic button that will help you sort everyone to find find your significant other. The fact is, dating is work. Finding a life partner takes time and effort. No software is going do it for you. BUT... software and sites can help present people that you just don't come across in your normal busy life.
I met my wife using an online dating service and we have been married for just about 5 years and have 2 kids. It works...
But I feel strongly the paid dating model will erode and dating sites have no desire or reason to see the model change anytime soon.
Tom Blue
· 11 months ago
I thought a paid subscription model was the only way for it to work so that women can filter out the financial deadbeats. :)
Dan
· 11 months ago
I don’t believe phenomenal success will come to companies that merely make the right choice in terms of pay vs. free. Both free and premium sites can do okay over the next few years. Truly successful companies will change the game by inventing user experiences that are more fun and effective than typical profile/questionnaire-based sites.
GERARD
· 11 months ago
after you go to www.tagged.com you never look at another dating site again!
Josh Viney
· 11 months ago
They might be dead if the free sites prove they can make the same kind of money. We're talking numbers well over $100M/yr for the sites like Match, eHarmony, and FriendFinder not to mention about $50M/yr for JDate a niche site.
Also good to note. Many of the more successful online dating sites started in the mid to late 90's as free services. Over the years they've spent tons of time creating successful business models that almost all require subscriptions. The sites that were free or had alternate business models all disappeared except for Craigslist. They've even survived the social network superstorm of Friendster, Myspace and Facebook with only slight (unconfirmed) damage to revenues.
I would even wager some of the free sites are making money off of affiliate programs for the larger more successful sites.
There's a lot to overcome for the free sites to become real successes. Not the least of which is the fact that many people want to pay to keep the freaks away.
EricWilliams
· 3 months ago
Josh,
Would you be interested in writing an article for my website? I liked some of the key points you hit on concerning free vs paid dating sites.
Saïd Amin
· 11 months ago
@josh: great post.
Darian
· 11 months ago
When we were looking to start http://www.matchalot.com, we sat down and tried to envision what would make the fastest, easiest, and most fun dating site. What we came up with was that you would need the most photos possible on a page, a mouse-over profile viewing system, and a one-click match request function. Finally, it would have to be free!
Brian Bowman
· 11 months ago
Interesting post came out today on TechCrunch from Mark Brooks (great blogger in online dating).
First of all before i go on here is my private email:-(ag_ilom4god@yahoo.com)
How are your family and business there in ! also your health, hoping all is fine, i am very glad meeting you today!, Iam Mrs Agnes ilom, I am a business woman in profession, from Mauritania.
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My husband along with his business partner was involved the last victim, On the 11th November 2004. Bot died instantly as a result of unsustainable brain affcetion in the Gulf Air Flight Crashes in Persian Gulf Near Bahrain Aired August 23, 2000 - 2:50 p.m. ET, click on the website for more details. http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0008/23/...
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shabazz
· 11 months ago
I want to add something to debate pointing at connection between online and offline side of dating business. I think that's social network plus: it's an online service that is tied to offline life. That's why I completely agree with Julien Marie's comments (I am not trying to date you, Julien... :-) ). Most of the things Meetic does is to keep both online and offline sides of business at the same level. Meetic will be a big competitor when will introduce REAL social features. And that's why mr. Jacob Solotaroff is damn smart. RealRatings is not anything new but it's appropriate for a new change of model: mix/mash offline and online. RealRatings force users to go offline, experience dates and then give feedback (a dating eBay) to prove the genuineness of users, so the service. DownToEarth is on the right way to succeed.
Ana is dating better
· 10 months ago
No it's not, it just doesn't work for everyone.
Allan Wills
· 10 months ago
I think I might have just fired a shot into the air to declare my intentions into the quagmire that is the online dating world...
I might be a bit sassy in this latest post (http://tinyurl.com/78vnle) but it comes with a confidence that is building towards next week...
Allan
Anne
· 10 months ago
I tried Chemistry.com believing that the "paid" component would lead to a higher caliber of potential dating partners. It was actually the biggest waste of money I could imagine. They don't allow you to browse other people's profiles- you are stuck with who they pair you with, in my case people with whom I had nothing in common and didn't even live nearby. And their customer service is truly terrible. I'd never use paid dating again.
Robert Pickar
· 6 months ago
Anne
Just keep dating. I found my wife and we have one son and are very happy. Just keep using match.com, filter out those who dont log on frequently, and write lots of email, personalising each one. If you have a bod date, it's never match.com's fault. Just keep dating and you will find the right one for you!! Don't stop or lose hope! Robert
Joe
· 10 months ago
In my experience (which is limited), there's a different level of seriousness in participants between free and paid-for internet dating.
On sites like plentyoffish, my experience was that it was more a "people you may want to meet" social network, rather than being focused on actually finding someone. It seemed to me that you have to build a social network reputation (friends, flowers, etc.) before anyone would be willing to talk to you, let alone meet you.
With sites like eharmony, there is no social networking 'how many friends do you have, who has given you roses, etc.', it was strictly meant to find you a useful match (which has worked well when I've been single and looking for something serious).
Mikhail
· 10 months ago
Men like choice and at least some anonymity.
They like to know that if they get shot down that the rest of their “social web†doesn’t know about it.
Since women are not the initiators in most of the dates you may not be taking that whole dynamic into consideration.
That’s why a separate dating site will always be preferable to dating on Facebook because it’s separated from a guy’s day to day. Women on dating sites are much more receptive to advances than ones on a regular social network.
Also, it cannot be disputed that the quality of daters on paid dating sites trumps the quality of singles on the free ones.
So, while the free trend will continue, there will always be a need for paid sites that offer a slight barrier of entry.
CaptainDave
· 10 months ago
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Could someone please help me so I can get this show on the road.
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So as a Visionary... I HUMBLY SUBMIT THAT I am strong in the Sales-Marketing-Training (and Communication with my last book on PERSONALITY-Types)
- BUT I AM WEAK in the high-tech website and Customer Service , geek-side of the business....
- I need to pull together an expert team to build it and implement the plan....
- and when the members come... I need someone to hold it all together and make all the design features work.
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on Match, PofF, Tagged/CaptainDave or many more...
Allan Wills
· 10 months ago
AreYouMyPartner is in beta! Apply to become a beta tester and help us create the best dating site in the world. Depending on your feedback, we change the site!
for sure they are. i just built my own free dating sites in a few days and now its looking pretty good! checkitout!!!!! http://2meet4free.com/
cholox
· 8 months ago
Not really because a lot of people are using free dating sites to fool around. Free Dating sites will definitely have more members than the paid ones but will not gain good reputation from members due to scams with its members.
Ed
· 8 months ago
I have a very innovate new revenue model for paid dating sites. The idea is so simple and amazing most of the industry most likely will follow. If anyone would like to learn about it please leave contact info thanks.
Andrew
· 7 months ago
Personally I think pretty much all paid for services on the Internet are facing the wall and there are so many good free alternative with pretty much every type of site, including dating sites. As the free sites offer more and more features the pay site have to find something that makes people want to pay the premium. At the moment they seem to focus on their large number of members and the so called 'quality' of this membership, but many free site like POF and my site Completely Free Dating (http://www.completelyfreedating.co.uk) are challenging them on this as well. They need to find something new and unique or move to a different business model.
Andrew.
Angela
· 6 months ago
tell you later..tell you later..tell you later..tell you later..tell you later..tell you later..tell you later..tell you later..tell you later..tell you later..
Dan @ How to Woman
· 4 months ago
I think they will never die. I agree with some of the things you've said but I know when I talk to people that finding someone is the driving force in their life. It's universal and people will employ whatever means they can find to find someone they can call special...
I don't begrudge people earning money for putting people together. Like anything else... if it's worth paying for... people will!
Dan @ How to Woman
· 4 months ago
I think they will never die. I agree with some of the things you've said but I know when I talk to people that finding someone is the driving force in their life. It's universal and people will employ whatever means they can find to find someone they can call special...
I don't begrudge people earning money for putting people together. Like anything else... if it's worth paying for... people will!
Free_Dating_Service
· 4 months ago
I believe they are becoming less popular than free dating sites because the free sites offer way more interactive features. Free dating sites are also (usually) user-friendly and easy to find a connection. Unlike the paid sites where you're interrupted by a "pay-screen"when you want to chat with someone.
Oliver Jameson
· 3 months ago
Are paid sites dead? No there will always be people willing to pay for some that is unique and offers real value. But unimaginative 'me too' mainstream dating sites are surely going to struggle in the coming years against free competition. However, the ones that innovate with new features and keep raising the bar will be okay. I run a free site called http://www.cougared.com - I believe that unless you have a membership in the hundreds of thousands (critical mass) and truly offer an unrivaled experience the site is better being free because if you don't make it free, someone else will right?
All Comments
I dont like that some poeple use internet communitys to look for somebody.
The better use dating sites!
http://www.nielsen-online.com/pr/pr_081218.pdf
Beverly - San Francisco CA
http://www.actwall.com
for paid dating sites - though the need is quickly fading. The significant
movement of open social, blogging, photo sharing, LinkedIn, etc basically has
rendered the concept of pay-to-respond mute. More importantly, without
connecting into an individuals social feeds a "dating site" is missing out
on a whole world of who the person is and how they participate online.
Sure being anonymous has some advantages but you can always create a fake email
address. ** Go free. Go Now.
- Martin Reed
They like to know that if they get shot down that the rest
of their "social web" doesn't know about it.
Since women are not the initiators in most of the dates you
may not be taking that whole dynamic into consideration.
That's why a separate dating site will always be preferable to
dating on Facebook because it's separated from a guy's day to day.
Women on dating sites are much more receptive to advances than
ones on a regular social network.
Also, it cannot be disputed that the quality of daters on
paid dating sites trumps the quality of singles on the free ones.
So, while the free trend will continue, there will always be a
need for paid sites that offer a slight barrier of entry.
Today you say "The incredibly low cost of providing a dating service makes it difficult to justify payment for the basic level of service"
That is a huge perception change in a year and no doubt others have followed similar thinking. Never mind the fact that 70% of my users have actually paid for online dating previously.
I feel match.com launching a free site will make the general public wonder what if any value paying money for a dating site offers? Especially if users on paid and free sites are identical. As for users who follow web 2.0 and techcrunch/mashable etc they won't really be that into Plentyoffish, or match. Those kind of people like very niche sites like OKcupid or nerve.com
Markus Frind himself admits in one of his blog post (http://plentyoffish.wordpress.com/2008/11/13/mo...) that costs become too heavy with a ad based business model.
He's selling virtual goods now.
I think the biggest problem in paid online dating is that you need to pay to have an experience of the site (it seems to be dumm said like this), but all websites need to be tried before being adopted (finally, it's like music, you buy an album because you like it). So, the only reason you choose to subscribe to this site and not another is reputation and the members database size. Not the reality of service.
Online dating can't be 100% free : serious dating is really costly for many reasons :
1. You need security and big moderation teams to ensure the quality of the database (Meetic has got more than 150 people for that here in Paris for 500 000 paying customers)
2. You need huge marketing expenses because it's a branding business : people have to pay to test your website so you've to claim you're the best and the biggest, be top of mind. Meetic spend half of its revenue in marketing. People do not type dating here in France to find a dating website, they type Meetic.
3. You need to filter "serious" members and "non" serious ones. Price is a way to do that.
The business model can change in this business, but this would change only if the value proposition does to. It's not a question of free or not free, it's just a question of how do you conquer your audience and show them you're answering to their need. Once they're sure you can answer, people is willing to pay for a real good quality of service.
financially secure, educated, employed man with no kids!
Cant find him on paid or free site!
Just keep dating. I found my wife and we have one son and are very happy. Just keep using match.com, filter out those who dont log on frequently, and write lots of email, personalising each one. If you have a bod date, it's never match.com's fault. Just keep dating and you will find the right one for you!! Don't stop or lose hope! Robert
The problem is not the money - it's that it is ineffective.
The problem is the process of searching anonymous profiles.
You want to meet eligible then demand referrals.
Such a dating alternative exists...take a look at Sparkbliss dot com.
The value of a dating website IS to make you discover people you could not meet anywhere else.
That's why dating website are not used by young people : they meet to many people a day (school, university, etc...)
Antony
We only offer a few dating services but try to hold the sites we partner with to a high standard... they must provide a tangible benefit to customers in order to justify the cost over free services: http://www.subscription.com/services/dating/
Down to Earth looks well designed and certainly has great minds behind it, so it will be interesting to see how it competes with Match et al. I personally don’t see paid online dating services losing much market share to these sites, however. Most likely the increase in online dating in general will allow for the growth of both free and paid models.
has given me better results, more possible matches and hasn't cost me a penny.
hardly "a thing of the past" and a proven business model.
free, freemium and paid can all coexist. free sites like PofF are actually
great lead generators for paying sites (that's how they make the bulk of their money anyway). in our space, ethnic/niche dating, most free sites can't prosper/scale; the audience is too small, there's not enough traffic and the cpm's are too low.
PofF and DowntoErath are not game changers. it's just more of the same ole' same ole'...i imagine that a game changer will provide better results with less effort and time invested. the good news is that due to fierce competition and a recession, the dating space is bound to get more creative and hopefully find better ways of helping singles meet their match.
He is exactly what I wanted, and more.
Thing is, if you don't make people pay for dating sites, you get people 'just browsing'
for a date/girlfriend/boyfriend. I don't want to meet those people. I want
to meet people who are intending to find a terrific committed relationship and
paying to do so is part of the commitment.
Meet someone randomly in a dark bar is so Nineties. Internet dating is much more reliable.
to save money or to meet people? So what if you spent $20 or $30 a month for a
year or 3 and ended up finding the right person? That amount of money isn't
worth it?
Using this logic, nobody would buy nonfiction books since "everything" is
available free via Google. Yet many people get rich selling information. How
can that be?
Yes, there are cheap or free scripts to build dating sites, but that doesn't
mean you will get lots of members, even if your site is free. A dating site
without lots of members is rather useless.
an email and we can schedule time. I don't feel we have scratched the
surface of the opportunity with dating online.
To clarify a few points, to my knowledge, Match.com isn't launched a free
dating site, it is IACI. IAC has tested the waters with numerous businesses
and it is very difficult to get start ups to work inside a large corporation.
Regarding "FREE" -- I think there are interesting alternatives that could
encourage people to pay a fee but it doesn't make any sense to me to pay to
respond to an email. By the way, did you know that about 40% of online
dating subscriptions are auto-renewal. Basically, people set up credit cards
and get charged monthly independent if they use it or not. To me, that is too
one sided and doesn't have enough consumer value.
As a former user of a dating site, being anonymous is a benefit and a problem.
One if the core issues with dating online is "IS THE PERSON REAL". One of
the compelling things about integrating social networking into dating is
that is it harder to spoof multiple profiles. Not impossible - but it takes
a lot more work.
Something that hasn't been discussed and something that has always bothered me.
There hasn't been any published papers outlining how personality tests can
predict long term relationship success. Many dating services proclaim they have
a magic button that will help you sort everyone to find find your significant
other. The fact is, dating is work. Finding a life partner takes time and
effort. No software is going do it for you. BUT... software and sites can
help present people that you just don't come across in your normal busy life.
I met my wife using an online dating service and we have been married for
just about 5 years and have 2 kids. It works...
But I feel strongly the paid dating model will erode and dating sites have no
desire or reason to see the model change anytime soon.
We're talking numbers well over $100M/yr for the sites like Match, eHarmony, and
FriendFinder not to mention about $50M/yr for JDate a niche site.
Also good to note. Many of the more successful online dating sites started in the
mid to late 90's as free services. Over the years they've spent tons of time
creating successful business models that almost all require subscriptions.
The sites that were free or had alternate business models all disappeared except
for Craigslist. They've even survived the social network superstorm of Friendster,
Myspace and Facebook with only slight (unconfirmed) damage to revenues.
I would even wager some of the free sites are making money off of affiliate programs
for the larger more successful sites.
There's a lot to overcome for the free sites to become real successes. Not the least
of which is the fact that many people want to pay to keep the freaks away.
Would you be interested in writing an article for my website? I liked some of the key points you hit on concerning free vs paid dating sites.
http://www.techcrunch.com/2009/01/07/free-datin...
First of all before i go on here is my private email:-(ag_ilom4god@yahoo.com)
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That's why I completely agree with Julien Marie's comments (I am not trying to date you, Julien... :-) ). Most of the things Meetic does is to keep both online and offline sides of business at the same level. Meetic will be a big competitor when will introduce REAL social features.
And that's why mr. Jacob Solotaroff is damn smart. RealRatings is not anything new but it's appropriate for a new change of model: mix/mash offline and online. RealRatings force users to go offline, experience dates and then give feedback (a dating eBay) to prove the genuineness of users, so the service.
DownToEarth is on the right way to succeed.
doesn't work for
everyone.
just fired a shot
into the air to
declare my
intentions into the
quagmire that is the
online dating
world...
I might be a bit
sassy in this latest
post
(http://tinyurl.com/78vnle)
but it comes with a
confidence that is
building towards
next week...
Allan
Chemistry.com
believing that the
"paid" component
would lead to a
higher caliber of
potential dating
partners. It was
actually the biggest
waste of money I
could imagine. They
don't allow you to
browse other
people's profiles-
you are stuck with
who they pair you
with, in my case
people with whom I
had nothing in
common and didn't
even live nearby.
And their customer
service is truly
terrible. I'd never
use paid dating
again.
Just keep dating. I found my wife and we have one son and are very happy. Just keep using match.com, filter out those who dont log on frequently, and write lots of email, personalising each one. If you have a bod date, it's never match.com's fault. Just keep dating and you will find the right one for you!! Don't stop or lose hope! Robert
On sites like plentyoffish, my experience was that it was more a "people you may want to meet" social network, rather than being focused on actually finding someone. It seemed to me that you have to build a social network reputation (friends, flowers, etc.) before anyone would be willing to talk to you, let alone meet you.
With sites like eharmony, there is no social networking 'how many friends do you have, who has given you roses, etc.', it was strictly meant to find you a useful match (which has worked well when I've been single and looking for something serious).
They like to know that if they get shot down that the rest
of their “social web†doesn’t know about it.
Since women are not the initiators in most of the dates you
may not be taking that whole dynamic into consideration.
That’s why a separate dating site will always be preferable to
dating on Facebook because it’s separated from a guy’s day to day.
Women on dating sites are much more receptive to advances than
ones on a regular social network.
Also, it cannot be disputed that the quality of daters on
paid dating sites trumps the quality of singles on the free ones.
So, while the free trend will continue, there will always be a
need for paid sites that offer a slight barrier of entry.
I am LAUNCHING a Singles Site Spring/Summer 09 depending on what we do.......
I SEEK WORLD CLASS EXPERTS TO ASSIST US....
REFERRALS WELCOME... I tried to contact a few of you but no luck... i.e. I don't read French - I wrote Marcus a few times and he never replied... so here I am with you folks ;-)
Could someone please help me so I can get this show on the road.
I am BLESSED to have enjoyed an amazing life jam-packed with Success, Awards, Books, Titles...
- I'm a SINGLE man who has been online for years, joined 50 sites and studied-researched-tested and now I have DESIGNED THE WORLDS FINEST Singles Site...
- and I know there will be plenty of you who will challenge me to see if I really have reallllly trullllly Designed a Brilliant Program that will bring in 10's of Millions of Members Globally...... and would be happy to prove my claims to the right moral experts who have tons of integrity..... I'm not foolish enough to share this incredible plan with just anyone
So as a Visionary... I HUMBLY SUBMIT THAT I am strong in the Sales-Marketing-Training (and Communication with my last book on PERSONALITY-Types)
- BUT I AM WEAK in the high-tech website and Customer Service , geek-side of the business....
- I need to pull together an expert team to build it and implement the plan....
- and when the members come... I need someone to hold it all together and make all the design features work.
- this is my 1st day on this site... spent hours researching all your GREAT comments, ideas
- thanks for your time........... I welcome your thoughts, suggestions, ideas.... and I bet I'll get an earfullllll
;-)
- Dave, mid-life semi-retired man living in the beautiful mountains of sunny southern California
HealthMaker2004@hotmail.com
on Match, PofF, Tagged/CaptainDave or many more...
http://areyoumypartner.com/beta/
See you on the other side
Allan
Andrew.
I don't begrudge people earning money for putting people together. Like anything else... if it's worth paying for... people will!
I don't begrudge people earning money for putting people together. Like anything else... if it's worth paying for... people will!