DATING AD NETWORK BLOG -- Sep 10 --
Q: How old is your web site?
A: Date.com was started in 1997. Matchmaker.com which is also owned by the same company is actually the oldest online dating site. It was started as a BBS (Bulletin board system) in 1986. We recently launched a 3rd site, Amor.com.
Q: There is a lot of buzz going about 'viral marketing'. Have you used it and do you think it can be used for promoting dating sites?
A: About 20% of the business that we receive comes from friends or family of those people who have been successful on our site.
Q: Could you please tell about your affiliate program: why is it different from the others, acceptance criteria, do you offer white-labeling, how to apply, etc
A: We offer 3 types of programs for affiliates.
The first program and the one that most of our affiliates are a part of is our CPA (cost-per-action) program. We pay the affiliate when a subscription is purchased. We pay between $40 (USD) to $60. The second program is a CPL (cost-per-lead) program. This program pays for free leads sent to us. We pay between $2-6 per lead. Our third program is a Rev-Share program.
Q: What are the most important attributes for success in online dating business? Could you please list these factors in order from most significant to less?
A: 1) First I would say that you should be prepared to work hard and make sure you are enjoying the work you do.
2) Keep your cost low.
3) Study the competition and the market and try to understand what is missing for the consumer, try to solve this problem.
4) Try to find something that differentiates you from the competition.
Q: Is it possible to start an online dating business from a scratch today? What minimal starting capital would be required and what advise can you give to beginners?
A: Be prepared to spend millions of dollars if you are going to build an online dating business from scratch.
Q: How much do you spend monthly on advertising? What are the other costs?
A: We spend millions of dollars a year in advertising.
Q: How do you manage to fight scammers, do you have an automated process?
A: We do simple things like checking IP ranges, but we have developed a much more complex and proprietary system for identifying scammers.
The full article was originally published at Dating Ad Network Blog, but is no longer available.
