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Easy Steps to Starting a Successful Online Dating Site

With advances in technology over the past decade, we’ve changed the way we live and behave. The internet is no longer just a source of information and entertainment, we spend more time in the cyber world now than ever before.

Online dating is one social activity that has grown dramatically. Today, there are many sites and apps for people who want to find their life partners from the comfort of their couch.

The increasing number of people who prefer to develop relationships through interactions on websites offers entrepreneurs an exciting business opportunity.

So, what do you need to do to start a successful online dating service?

Choose the right business model

Should it be Adult or General Dating?

It may seem like there is little difference but in fact there is. Adult allows adult-only, over-18 content that can sometimes be offensive to a newly divorced 55 year old woman. It has options to have hookups, one night stands, friends with benefits and options to find people with similar kinks. A lot of men prefer these sites.

On the flip side, General Dating is much more moderated to protect people from adult content and solely looks for love and friendship, something that women prefer.

Choosing the correct model determines what kind of advertising you can do, rules regarding your country, etc.

Take care of legal matters

Although it’s an online business, you may be required by law to register your enterprise in your state or country. Ensure you get the necessary permits so your website won’t get shut down when your business is lucrative.

You’ll also need professional advice on legal and taxation matters to stay out of trouble with the government.

Also, make sure that if you are going to operate an adult site, that they are legally allowed in your country, as some countries forbid anything about sex or sexual activities. Find your niche

Before you jump right in and set up a website for your dating service, you’ll have to do some homework first and get an idea of who you want to aim it towards.

The competition is fierce, so the first thing you need to do is to differentiate your business. Select a niche that narrows your focus. For example, instead of a general dating site for everyone around the world, you could connect those aged 50 and above in a specific country.

Start by researching what people are looking for when they search online for matchmaking services. Use a free keyword tool to get statistics on popular search words. That’ll give you an idea of whether your idea is viable.

There are so many niches and so many options. You could be aiming it towards race, gender, sexuality, interests and so much more.

Choose a strong name

After you find your niche, it’s time to come up with a name that clearly describes your site. Ideally, you should choose a title based on popular keywords so that it’ll show up in search results. If you are aiming it towards black people you could go with a site like Black Lives Dating, or if you want to target people who love to read you could try something like Date A Bookworm.

Set up shop

You can begin from scratch or you can work with a partner company that provides everything. The latter option may be advantageous as it saves you time because you’ll be up and running almost instantly. Make sure to do your research, so you don’t take on a non-profitable business. Dating Kit (www.datingkit.io) provide fully-managed dating sites that can get you started for a very reasonable price and help you to grow. They will handle all the technical, payment and hosting challenges leaving you to market and profit from your successful dating site.

If you’re starting from zero, first you’ll need to build a platform for people to use, host it, sort out payment processing, moderation, customer service, marketing and so much more that you will easily burn through a few $thousand before you even get your first customer.

Master your marketing

Marketing is essential for every company. You’ll need to stand out from your competitors to be successful. The best way to reach prospective customers is through social networking sites such as Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.

You can also place ads on high traffic websites visited by your potential clients. Another way to get noticed is by providing useful information relating to dating on blogs and forums. Establish yourself as an expert to build credibility and gain trust.

When it comes to adult marketing, a lot of people with adult sites find they get a lot of traffic from adult tube sites, adult blogs and so on.

Attract a crowd

It’s a dating site, so you should make it a place where everyone wants to hang out. The more people that are available, the more likely it is for a person to meet someone compatible.

Provide incentives to get people to become members. In addition to offering exciting features, ensure that your customer service is excellent. Answering questions via live chat is essential to gaining and keeping a client.

With a company like Dating Kit (www.datingkit.io), most of this is not going to be your problem to worry about, because they provide high-quality customer service, excellent promotions to engage customers you bring to the site and they have the experience to keep your customers happy for longer.

They also provide a valuable extra… an already popular database of profiles that are active so that anyone that joins your fresh new site will already have a few new friends available to talk to. When first starting out, this is one of the most valuable tools that many dating sites that start off fail with.

You’re ready to begin

Just like any business, the amount of money you can earn from your service depends on the value you provide to your customers and the effort you put in. If you don’t have the multi-million $$$ budget that Tinder or Bumble had to launch, then you are going to have to lower your targets and set goals and grow it to a level that makes other people jealous and want their own site.

Remember that it takes time to build and develop any dating website, particularly on a small budget. Set realistic goals and your hard work will pay off in the end.


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