Singles Suffer in Online Dating War
Friday, 1. July 2005 - 5:37 pm
PR WEB — June 29, 2005 — A war is being waged on the Internet for
dominance of the online dating world and surfers are caught in between.
Some smaller dating sites have come to fight and have prepared very
well. Said Jeff Mayhew, owner of LoveMatch.com,
"competing in the online dating market used to be really easy. But in
the last two years it has gotten a lot harder." The return on
advertising revenue is slim so he's been forced to take a cautious
approach. LoveMatch spends about $30 a month on advertising, relying
heavily on top lists and smaller sources of traffic to populate the
site. Jordan Ravka, owner of CasualKiss.com, said he spends about $50 a month on marketing. Then there are companies like True.com,
which advertised it's need for an ad sales company to manage a
multi-million dollar advertising budget. "In all honesty, I have no
idea how people find out about CasualKiss," said Ravka. "We charge
about five times less than our competitors, therefore we will never be
able to spend as much to acquire new customers." Charging less and
providing more for consumers seems like a decent way for smaller
companies to compete, but not all practice this approach. FULL ARTICLE @ PR WEB
Mark Brooks:
When users sign up for online dating sites they expect to be able to
search from as large a pool of people as possible, for the best
possible matches. Small sites that pretend to be large sites,
offering extremely limited pools of users, are a huge disservice to the
industry. The smaller the pool of users, the less the utility.
$20 a month fees are 'throw-away.' Everyone can afford $20.
Monthly fees simply demonstrate user commitment. We're seeing
companies such as True and eharmonyup the ante on fees for two reasons. 1. Marketing costs are
indeed rising. 2. Higher fees filter for those who are committed
to the process. Users put more time into searching, responding
and dating when they are paying $50 a month; higher response rates,
overall activity rates and a better user experience overall. This
is good. I urge users to conisder the value of their time and the
importance of finding a good match, rather than the paltry fees the
online dating services charge.
26. December 2005 - 11:58 pm
With so many dating sites out there it’s hard to decide which one to choose and how much money it’s going to be worth for the site. Many people are duplicating their profiles and places that they’re posting… I think people have to start looking for sites that cater to their needs and for those who are looking for a more personal touch – a site that isn’t just about browsing profiles. I recently signed up to RetroMatch.com and have had a really amazing experience with them. Their way of online dating is so different from your average run of the mill “let me sort thru thousands of profiles ot find Mr./Miss Right” What they do is they add a matchmaker to the mix to personally assist each member in his/her dating search. The matchmakers (or dating agents as RetroMatch calls them) meets face to face (when possible) or has a long phone conversation with each member to get a feel for his/her needs. Once the matchmaker / agent is made aware of what the member is looking for he/she then goes ahead and does a search thru the RetroMatch extensive database finding someone who meets the member’s needs and wants. The site is fixed towards being discreet, private and very hands on. If you’re one of those people afraid of posting yourself in the world of cyber space then you can be assured that this particular site is one where no one will be able to see your information – only your potential matches. Women get to choose whether or not they prefer to see the match before the men (and then they have the right to accept or decline the match). The site has two options – basic membership which is free and allows you to receive up to one match per week or Gold membership whichs allows you to receive up to 10 match suggestions per week. The site was in beta testing for some time and a couple of matches were made at that time. I highly recommend this site for anyone who’s serious about dating and wants to find a quality person in a discreet, but friendly manner. Good luck daters – don’t throw in the towel till you’ve given this site a shot!
8. January 2006 - 11:07 pm
thank you trenda. i’m dating a wonderful woman from retromatch.com. i took your advice and we couldn’t be happier. i just wanted to thank you because i read about retromatch here from you. good luck everyone.