How To Build Your Own Online Dating Website Business

Building your own online dating website is a great way to earn an extra income online. People will always want to meet and hookup; that's one thing that will never change. The dating industry is hot and will always be in demand.

Getting started can be easier than you think. My goal is to outline as much as I can here to give you the right tools and resources to get your dating website up and running; and give you a few things to consider in terms of establishing a brand for your business.

I'll share my personal experience with building dating websites and growing my membership to generate monthly income. With all of the dating websites I've built, I started with no members. In this post I'll talk about all the alternatives as well.

Quick Overview
Here is the short version of this post. If you just want a quick snapshot of what you need here it is.

1. Dating Website Name, be creative.
2. Hosting (I always use BlueHost just $3.95 a month also includes a free .com name)
3. Register your .com
4. Professional Logo (99designs.com)
5. Build your website I recommend SkaDate for beginners and Wordpress for those with some web design experience(If you choose WordPress it's more affordable. The #1 Wordpress Dating template software i recommend is Sweet Date cost $59
6. Mobile Accessibility - If you choose SkaDate you can add-on a mobile app to your site if you go with WordPress it will be just mobile friendly not a true mobile app
7. Marketing Plan (Great Content, Social Media, Networking)
8. Advertising (Facebook Ads, Google Adwords, Local partnerships)
9. Patience - It's going to take time and consistence marketing and advertising to grow your community, give your hard work time to blossom.

If you have a minute for all the details...then keep on reading while I break it all down.

Lets get started

One of the first things you'll have to decide is if you're building a dating website community that will be free for all or pay to join? Let's go over the two.

Free or Paid
This is a very important question and in many ways will determine your level of success. I've worked with both and each has it's pros and cons.

Free Membership Dating Sites
Choosing to create a free dating website will definitely help you build your community fast. This method is especially useful if you choose a small niche or local market to building your community around. For example Miami Pet Lovers or Orange County Singles. When you choose a small niche and then make the site free; it becomes easier to attract singles that are eager to join. I use this method when I start with zero members and wanted to build a community of real users.

Just because you start out as a free dating website doesn't mean you have to stay that way. If you are in a niche with very little competition; you can easily start to charge to make money from the site. But keep reading because charging your members isn't the only way to make money from your dating website.

Example of Popular Free Dating Website
One of the most popular free dating site is Plenty of Fish; this site now has millions of members and still offer a free membership.

Paid Membership Dating Sites
Getting started with a paid membership site requires a marketing strategy. If you are going this route you will have to do one of two things (or both). Purchase a member database of singles that will give you site the appearance of having active members or pre-register members before you launch the site.

Think about it; no one wants to pay to date no one. If there are no members no one will pay to stay on your site. So this method will require marketing cash to get started. Another option with this method is to partner with a white label dating site affiliate that supplies members for you and then pay you a % of any new members that join through your website.

Once you figure out if your dating website will be free to join or pay to subscribe, choosing the right solution to build your dating site is the next thing to decide.

You have a few options. Choose a free framework or purchase a software solution that comes fully featured and ready to go.

Paid Online Dating Software Solutions
I recommend purchasing a professionally developed software program to start your dating website. Especially if you are not familiar with website design or coding, this will save you time and money in the long run.

The best online dating site software out there is SkaDate. It's the best because it's constantly updated and improved to make sure you are offering your visitors the absolute best technology.

It also has a very advanced mobile App component that you can add-on. are ready to go out of the box. Complete with advanced features and tools like video chat, mobile messaging, flirting and user email.

1. Ska Date ($299) one time payment

Free and Almost Free Online Dating Website Solutions
The following list include FREE options for building your online dating site. Try these options if you have some experience with website design or need to save a few bucks. The following solutions will need some customizations to include many of the features expected on a dating website.

1. Wordpress - Can be done easily with templates, read on for my template recommendations.
2. DateMill - Requires PHP and HTML coding knowledge

WordPress offers some pretty beautiful options for your online dating site. Keep reading find out how to use WordPress to build your site for about $65

The other two options DateMill and OsDate are cool solutions but you have to have advance knowledge with web development and coding. With these options the framework is free, but you will have to hire someone to handle all of your customizations if you can't do it yourself.

Using WordPress is a fairly easy way to get your online dating site start quickly. There are 3 Templates that I've found out there that include everything you need to get started.

The cost associated with WordPress is based on what theme or template you choose to create your dating website.

These themes I have listed are just $58, and that's a one time cost. The only other cost you'll have is your monthly hosting fee to keep your website online.

Online Dating Website Hosting

I use BlueHost and it's $3.95 a month for hosting; they include a free .com domain registration as well. It's a pretty good deal to get you started.

( If you choose BlueHost, they have the quick Free Wordpress Installation option as well. Get Blue Host - Dating Website Hosting

If you choose another hosting company; you should pay no more than $7 a month.

Most hosting companies will setup your Wordpress site for you. All you'll have to do is purchase your WordPress dating website theme and install it.

Take a look at these themes, they are all fully customizable and include all the features you need like:

1. User profiles
2. Process payments for membership
3. Flirting and messaging features
4. Chat Rooms and videos
5. User account management

The Money Is In The Niche!
So by now it's time to start thinking about who you are building your dating site for. With so many larger competitors like Match.com and eHarmony.com, it's almost impossible to compete. You will better off and see faster results by choosing a niche. Contrary to popular belief there are still TONS of dating niche markets that either haven't been served or are undeserved.

The Mighty Authority Rules!
Your goal in choosing a niche market is to become the authority site. If you do your research you will find that not many niche dating sites have grown enough to really become a TRUE authority dating site. Authority meaning the go to site for all daters in that niche.

Brand Yourself!
OK, now this may seem obvious but really, I've seen so many dating sites that are just outright GENERIC. It is so important to establish a professional image. This includes your logo and your template choice. If you choose a niche like scifi lovers, it's also fun to use a theme like the solar system or stars. Just make sure it is SUPER PROFESSIONAL. Branding is going to set you apart from other dating sites that may provide the same niche as you. Branding is what will establish you as an authority site.

Get People To My Site
Now comes the fun part, watching your community grow. Depending on how you choose to build your dating website, you may start with 0 members. This is fine..really... for now. ALL of the dating sites that I've started, had no members on day 1. Here are some of the online marketing methods I've used to generate traffic:

1. SEO - Make sure your title tags are unique on every page, and you research your keywords thoroughly. (Use Google Keyword Planner for this, it's free)
2. Link Directories - A quick way to generate some traffic, there are many online directories to list your new dating site in. Most are free. Do a google search to find these.
3. Craigslist - I like craigslist you can generate traffic this way, but you can also get flagged quick. Whatever works right!
4. Facebook - Facebook has a really simple and affordable advertising program. You have to have a facebook account to get started.You can set a budget as little as $5 a day and start sending super targeted traffic to your site immediately. Google Facebook Ads for details.
5. Local Ads - I am sure there are single people where you live. Why shouldn't they know about your website. I see bandit signs all over the place talking about "Find Georgia Singles". It's worth a shot, I'm sure it helps.
6. Recruit Affiliates - Affiliate programs work. If you have a pay to join dating website, you can pay affiliates/ recruiters a % of each sale for sending you new members.
7. Email Marketing - Make sure from the moment you decide to start you online dating website you are collecting email address. Communicate regularly through email to get referrals and keep your members active.

Be creative with your marketing efforts. With every niche there a tons of unique ways to market your dating website. Think about who your website was created for, and then find out where those people hang out, on and offline.

How You Will Get Paid

1. Member Subscriptions - If your site is pay to join this is one of your income streams. It's always a good idea to make some of your features free for all, but charge a fee to initiate communication. So it's free to Browse, Pay to communicate.
   
   Note: Make sure the dating software your purchase includes a pay to join system so that you can make money, some free dating softwares may not include this feature. All of the resources on this page include a pay to join option and all of the ecommerce tools you need to process secure online payments
   
   
2. Affiliate Offers - As your build your community and increase traffic. You may want to offer related resources to your members. If they make a purchase, you get paid. An example of affiliae offers may include deals at restaurants, jewerly sites, flower shops and gift shops.
   
   Note: Check out Commission Junction (Google It) for a variety affiliate programs you can join and link to your site. You have to have your website up and running before they will approve your website to sponsor affiliate ads.
   
   
3. Google Adsense - Yes, we cannot forget the mighty GOOGLE. If you website is Free to join, Google Adsense can definitely compensate you for your operating cost. Just a note: be strategic with your placement. You want your ads to compliment your content. You can to get members to join to browse and use your ads when they are ready to leave your site.
   
   
   
4. The email List - The money is in the list! Building your dating website will create a very large database of email addreses. Use this information to stay in communication with your members it is very important to let them know your site is active to keep them coming back to check on what's new. Your dating website system will also automatically send out new member and match notifications. In addition to these notifications make sure you personally keep in touch.

I could talk on and on about the online dating industry, and I will! There's plenty more I want to share. I hope this hub has provided some helpful resources for you as you get started. Please share your comments or questions as your journey begins or continue in the online dating business.

If you have questions please leave a comment.

Check out my online dating business blog OnlineDating.biz

Also check out my other Hubs about building online dating websites:

• Choosing a Niche For Your Dating Website
• How to Use Wordpress To Start Dating Website