Dear Entrepreneur:
“Are you kidding me? Are people making money with these things?” I asked jokingly. I’m skeptical of matchmaking. But when D.L. showed me the numbers for his business with a pen and a sheet of paper…I was shell shocked.
Then we checked out his websites.
Look… I’m fairly savvy.
But when D.L. showed me the numbers in his business I felt like a hick who just walked off the business bus. The business I’m talking about is matchmaking and online dating. Hang on… I know you’re skeptical!
Allow me to show you this business from the inside. Then you can decide if this thing is for real. Fair enough?
And listen… If you don’t want to build this thing from the ground up – that’s okay. I’m making a nice commission on the side as an affiliate, and you can too.
Here we go……
The simple truth is there’s money in online dating. Markus Frind is making money hand over fist with his web-based dating sites. Granted, his story is a little dated, some new entrepreneurs have made the blogsphere recently. But Markus’ story is unique. I’ll show you how to make a couple a hundred dollars a month or enough money you’ll be forced to change banks.
One bank in Canada actually refused Markus’ deposit because it was too big!
Markus discovered this market a couple of years ago and this is what he said:
“Back in 2001, after my birthday, someone in the office introduced me to online dating sites. I went back to my desk and checked out udate.com and kiss.com and lavalife/web personals. I was bored, and I wanted to chat with people. I was really annoyed when I found out you had to pay for everything. I ended up telling the girl who introduced me to the sites that I could do better and make them for free, so I went and registered Plentyoffish.com. All I ever ended up doing was creating an index page and forgot about it.”
In 2006, Markus posted an image of his Google AdSense check in the amount of $901,733.84 on his blog. Granted, an AdSense check like this means major traffic and click thrus, not to mention major keyword advertising.
Plus, Markus’ check was gross revenue. But Markus mentioned his hosting and instant messenger bills ran about $12,000 per month. And there were other business expenses too, including advertising.
If you think that’s neat, you’ll love this…
Markus’ online dating site ran on autopilot was administered by only one person – Markus!
Again, here’s what Markus’ said of this:
“There are only 1,000 or so sites in the world with massive traffic, and of those sites mine is the only one that is run by a single person.”
Hot for Online Dating!
Most people cringe when it comes to online dating because they associate it with adult stuff or someplace for losers to hang out. For the most part online dating is pretty tame. And millions of people from every age group use online dating and matchmaking sites to find friendship or love.
If you ask around I’m sure you can find people among your friends, family, or co-workers who checked out the online dating scene. A young kid at my coffee shop met his wife on a dating site. They chatted online for two years, met in person, and the rest is history.
The result of this popularity is there are a ton of online dating (and social networking) sites which generate monster traffic. When you understand HOW to harness the traffic (which I’ll show you in a second), you can make some nice money.
For example, two of the most popular social networking sites on the Internet with a dating and matchmaking components attract more than 100 million unique users a month. You’ve probably heard about eHarmony.com, Match.com, or Yahoo! Personals too. These dating sites spend more than $10 million a month on radio and television advertising to attract new users! These companies understand online dating is hot rising trend growing.
Granted, it can be hard for small entrepreneurs to compete with multi-million dollar marketing budgets like these.
Fear not…
There are ways to make money in this market without a million dollar budget. And some of your marketing efforts will be super low cost, or in some cases free.
eHarmony.com is one of the top online dating websites. The company was founded by clinical psychologist Dr. Neil Clark Warren. eHarmony was developed as a way for singles to be introduced online in a secure (anonymous) environment. The company claims to use a scientific approach to matching compatible singles.
But you don’t have to be a psychologist to be successful in this market.
Most of the top online dating services provide un-moderated matchmaking services through the use of personal computers, the Internet, and even cell phones. The focus of your site would be to connect people with people.
The “Big Boys” of Online Dating
Markus Frind’s online dating site, PlentyOfFish.com, is 100% free. He makes his money from Google AdSense and affiliate relationships. Some online dating sites generate revenue by charging monthly membership or access fees ranging from $14.95 to $39.95 (and higher). Both approaches can make money.
Obviously, once you have an audience or a following, you can start offering ebooks, courses, special events, cruises, and other similar products. For example, Chemistry.com now offers books on love, relationships, and marriage. The focus of these events and products are the same as your website – to help people find a partner or a date!
Marc’s Online Dating “Cheat Sheet”
The main goal is to develop an online dating site that is easy to use and interactive. It should allow people to post messages, instant message, and/or email anonymously. The best dating sites are starting to target niche audiences: singles, the divorced, or people with religious or racial preferences.
Obviously, your prospective users should be in the market for a date!
Markus believes there’s money to be made in other “niche” markets such as college alumni, job specific, geographical area, and widowed, among others.
It’s important to keep it simple and try not to reinvent the wheel. One of the best ways to do that is to look at other successful online dating sites.
Check out the ones I’ve included in this issue for inspiration.
Ten Top Online Dating Sites
eHarmony.com
Match.com
PlentyOfFish.com
Yahoo! Personals
True.com
SinglesNet.com
OKCupid.com
Date.com
PerfectMatch.com
Chemistry.com
PlentyOfFish.com was launched on the Internet and grew almost entirely by word of mouth (virally), first in Canada and then in the US.
But even viral campaigns need a “kick start” from time to time. That doesn’t mean you need to spend a fortune on Google, Yahoo! or MSN keyword advertising campaigns. But it won’t hurt to run some keyword ads.
There are a ton second-tier pay per click (PPC) networks too. These often cost much less than the “big boy” PPC networks.
Five second tier PPC networks I recommend include Mamma.com, Kanoodle.com, SearchFeed.com, AdBrite.com, and Enhance.com
Another way to market your dating site is with online videos. Dating “nightmares” videos that you post to video sites like YouTube would definitely attract viewers. You would include a link to your dating site for those seeking legitimate dates. Check out YouTube if you don’t believe me. You could also post How to Date and Discover the Secret of Online Dating videos.
Those are some examples how you can kick start a marketing campaign for your dating site. A small online dating site with only a couple of thousand unique visitors per month could generate $250-$500 per month from Google AdSense.
Granted, these checks are NOT going to break the bank! But you get the idea.
If your online dating site takes off you could be making several thousand dollars per month. Or in the case of Markus Frind, you could produce $5 million a year in AdSense revenue.
Your humble host…
Marc Charles
(Ed Note: Marc Charles is referred to as “The King of Business Opportunities” ….and for good reason. He should be known as “The King of Legitimate Business Opportunities”…because he’s launched, bought, sold reviewed and advised on hundreds of businesses and money making opportunities. He understands legitimate opportunities.)