Setting up a dating site - most attractive features to offer?

Keep out the scammers.

 

So far I've read about two options here. www.faceparty.com and www.seetheface.com Does anybody want to share his/her thoughts on them? I want to hear some professional opinion on that. I suppose that this would also be helpful for the thread starter.

 

There's no place for comparison of the above mentioned. They are totally different to me.

 

Of course there isn't. The conversion option takes like ages to be complete as for the other one it is just minutes.

 

I would say free to join until a certain amount of time (when they're hooked)

 

Or starting a contest kind of thing with prizes so that you attract more people.

 

I think you've mistaken the topic, dude!

 

For example, dating sites currently suck far worse than search did before Google. They all use the same simple-minded model. They seem to have approached the problem by thinking about how to do database matches instead of how dating works in the real world. An undergrad could build something better as a class project. And yet there's a lot of money at stake. Online dating is a valuable business now, and it might be worth a hundred times as much if it worked. That is why I see its future in using more and more videos.

 

Nicely said. That is an interesting way of looking at it. I kinda like it.

 

I totally agree with you. I cannot tell such big words with regards to the future of the web, but I can certainly say them when it comes to dating sites offering quality and attractive features. It's good that I found people that share my opinion.

 

Have any of you actually, and seriously, used a dating site?

Your underestimating the self-conscious, shy, nature of people who are advertising themselves on a dating site. About 25% wont even post a photo, though they will share them with those that make contact. Of those that will post photos, most only post a couple.

How many would actually want a video of themselves on a dating site?

Remember, a dating site is not myspace or facebook.

The intentions of a user on a dating site are not the same as when on a social networking site. There not there just to have fun and meet new friends.

On a social networking site, anything goes. People are there to post anything and everything about themselves. And they are generally not so afraid to. But on a dating site they are looking to hook up with people for romance, love, or sex, so there is a certain level of reservation.

No doubt, some would use the video feature. But video alone is not the key feature that will make a new dating site a success over existing sites.

KISS = Keep it Simple, Stupid!

 

Monetizing free dating could be difficult if you want to spare your visitors from "spam".
It's not that cheap to maintain server. If you have many users, you will need few dedicated servers and load balancing.
Problem is also that most of the time same people are surfing the site and viewing same banners over and over again and they don't click them any more. Adsense also doesn't appreciate many clicks from same person at same site.
It's different when most traffic is fresh coming from search engines or other sites.

I'm also very interested in this topic as I am developing dating web application. I would rather buy one, but they are ether not good enough or too expensive and still lacking features I want.

My rule is also KISS Keep It Simple, Silly (not Stupid ) - and at same time try to impress visitors with power and simplicity.

Problem that's on my mind is how to get first 300 people to sign-up ?
Why would someone sign up with site that has 5 members at beginning?

(Affiliating with other sites that already have members is not good idea when you have niche site and it creates problems when you want to go on your own)

 

The CONTENT! That is what makes a site attractive, be it video or text that helps the users. Every site has been through this. The difference is the content that makes some good and others bad. You have to be sure that you always have an answer to the question, "How do I make my users' lives better?" If you have the answer, then that's good.

 

Where does the Spam come from?

Plentyoffish.com does Extremely well as a free dating site. Millions of active users and there is not a single way to even spend money on the site. No upgrade options, nothing. Just Free, free, free.

And as the highest Adsense earner in Canada (10k per day), also reported as the highest adsense earner in the world, its very well monetized.

And who advertises on the site through adsense? Other dating sites of course. The pay ones.

And I'm sure he gets a better payout deal from AFF than most other affiliates.

I'm a user of the site and can say it's good.

 

well, I didn't mean on spam exactly, but most free sites do send commercial newsletters and are crowded with ads. I'm thinking that users might pay small fee and enjoy adds free site. Other advantage to users wold be to that there is no fake members, or at least much less of them when they have to pay for registration.

 

Can you give me a hint how to prevent these fake members from registering on my dating site? I would highly appreciate your comments and suggestions on that one.

 

I think the best advice I can give you is to take what people like from others, but it is more important to set yourself apart from your competition as offering something better. Make your website unique. Why should people come to your website if you are offering the exact same services as match.com yet they are introducted to thousands more people there? Be realistic about your website and you should be able to make it grow.

 

can you regard video as something different and something that will attract people? So far I have read many different opinions on this topic, I would like to read yours as well.

 

Do you need proof for that? Video is definitely something different that attracts people. Look at all the sites that are using videos like Podtech's site, Lohren Feldman's vlog, the Robert Scoble show. These are some of the examples that can show you the increasing role of video nowadays.

 

I have to say that I found podtech's site kind of interesting. I have already seen the other two. Good examples!