How to Start an Online Dating Service

Business Overview:

Learning how to start an online dating service could be the ticket to your financial freedom while having to do very little day-to-day work. In today’s Internet world, finding a mate online is a booming industry. Popular sites like eHarmony and Match.com have 20 million and 15 million members, respectively. Online dating is one of the most lucrative business ideas out there today with an estimated worth of one billion dollars (USD). And with more and more people looking for love each day, there is plenty of room for a specialized service catering to a particular segment of the dating population. When researching how to start a dating website, you may be overwhelmed at how many people are drawn to the larger sites. But if you offer services for a smaller segment of the dating community, you will find higher success. Some areas you could focus on are:

• Divorcees
• Single parents
• Senior citizens
• Ethnic groups
• Handicapped

Each of these groups can face difficulties when trying to enter the “mainstream” online dating arena. Having a place they can go where all the members are like them will increase their chances of finding what they are looking for in a mate. These singles will also be willing to pay more for this type of specialized membership site service. It’s a good idea when starting a dating website to either purchase a dating site builder or hire a website designer to build your site. The better your site looks and works, the more members you will get and retain. Since members pay a monthly fee to have access to your site (and its other members), the more members you have, the more residual income you will get. If you are not sure how to start a dating site, there is plenty of information and research available online. A Google search for “how to start an online dating site” returns over 46 million results. But once you get a good idea of what type of site you want to run and who your target market will be, you can build and advertise your site accordingly. If your market is seniors, advertise on online publications aimed at seniors such as AARP. And although this is a wonderful online business idea that can be run exclusively over the Internet, you can still go after local clients and advertise in area magazines, newspapers and leave fliers around town. With a clear business model, excellent membership services and good prices, you can build an online dating site that gains new members each day.

A Day in the Life of an Online Dating Service Owner:

Your day will begin with a check of your website to see if any new members have joined and see that their membership fees have been collected correctly. You will check your email (associated with the website) for any customer issues that need to be addressed. You will spend some time marketing your business by analyzing your market and discovering new places and methods with with to advertise.

About Your Customers:

Your customers will be singles looking for relationships via online dating.

What You Need to Start:

• Business plan
• Dating website
• Marketing plan
• Computer with finance software

The Good:

• Once set up, this business will run itself.
• Startup costs are relatively low.
• Income from your membership-based website will come in each month.
• It is rewarding to help people find love.
• You can easily run this business in your spare time from your home.

The Bad:

• Competition is high in this industry; you will need to work hard to set yourself apart from the big players.
• It might take some time to build up your membership list.

Resources:

• The Dating Association
• International Association of Dating Websites
• Wikipedia on Online Dating Services

About The Author

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