If your promoting dating sites, this is interesting
 

not going to read all that.

but despite huge free dating sites like pof some people still pay for dating sites. it is your job as a marketer to find out why.

I actually think that the current "pay" dating model is going the way of the dinosaur.

how does aff and pof co-exist then?

riddle me that.

The affiliate model is also fucked for standard revshare and PPS. Many now upsell cams once they get the free member then pound the surfer's email with offers the referring affiliate gets no credit for and consequently the site has a reduced incentive to try to convert that free member. As an affiliate I'd rather just see a straight 50 cents pay per free without the games than promote under those terms. I think it is the affiliate model that also drives the traditional paid dating setup. But since that's also fucked now there is no reason not to change it.

pof is free and aff conversions have went from 1:250 5 years ago to 1:3500 today

I actually read almost the whole thing - thanks.

It's some good info from the guy that owns OK Cupid.

You cannot be suggesting the world at large could POSSIBLY support TWO DIFFERENT SORTS OF SITE? One, where people get content for free, that is ad supported. And one, where people pay and get content too?

Fuck right off.

if they meet it will be like anti-matter and matter colliding and the universe will be destroyed.

thanks aff! :mad::mad::mad:

Nice article. That's why I dumped the mainstream model and went with the cheaters. Seems that they still pay to operate in secrecy.:pimp

And based on my sub-affiliate bonuses, I tend to think its not just me:2 cents:

OkCupid | Free Online Dating.

unbiased source.

morons are ruining the business because they don't know what to do to beat the other guys other than going free. you'd never see this happening with big business like cable tv, cellphones, etc.

True enough. No one gives away free tv with internet and phone packages and no business in their right mind would EVER give people free cellphones.

Well observed.

uh, none of that is free smart guy. its not free when you have to sign a contract and pay x amount per month...

I dunno, with mainstream dating, having an ad based model would certainly make users feel that since anyone can sign up, the number of "real girls" would not really be an issue as the site would have not cause to even think about creating fake profiles. "Here's what we got, if you dig it, join it" kinda thing.

So the "realness" factor would be what "sold" that concept imho. In peoples minds, with free dating vs. pay dating, free dating would just be safer. And as we all know, surfers that have a good feeling usually convert 10X more than those wondering if they are going to have all these limits to shit until they join.

Imho, comparing adult dating to this mainstream concept is apples to oranges.

With dating the product (at least what the customers actually want. Sometimes existing sites are more selling a perception) in the end is other customers. The dating site merely provides the medium. You would expect it to gravitate towards free given that.

Yes of course!!! It is all p2p based. People resent having shit like that being held over their heads imho, until you join. One of the strongest emotional responses, being wanting to be in love, fear of being lonely, etc. Why would someone even fuck with those two online. The negative feelings of both, provoking quite a strong opposite reaction if you piss off your surfer, as opposed to the former.

Marketing 2011 = Psychological Warfare

One thing I just realized that I overlooked is the methodology to find the right person provided by the service. I know people who have paid many thousands of dollars to matchmaking services to help them find someone. That type of service definitely relies on trust being present with the service provider but I suppose it's different than the type of service most people sell in adult.

There are pros and cons to both models. The article is written by the owner of a free site so naturally the writer is going to present his model as being superior, but truthfully there are reasons both will continue to exist.

I actually like OK Cupid, I think they have a good product. I'm not going to nitpick at them, but I will say that free dating sites have been around for a long time and they haven't really created a dent in the market.

OK Cupid and Plenty of Fish are not new products, they've been around close to a decade and they really haven't changed the game or destroyed the demand for premium dating services. If pay dating sites were on the way out In fact, most generate the majority of their revenue upselling their users to premium dating sites.

If free dating sites were going to over take the paid model something more would have happened by now. OKCupid is great in its own way, but it's not going to take paying customers away from sites like eharmony or ashley madison. If free was a threat to paid sites why do so many exist by upselling their users to premium communities? The answer is because they don't. They're different animals which IMHO don't so much comete as the seem to compliment eachother.

...It's all about perception. Surfers are savvy, there are so many aff bashing threads, it's not even funny. adult dating is for booty calls, period imho. And through the decade of trial and error, these little rabbits have figured out that most profiles of these adult dating sites are just bullshit. And POF being the whore fest that it has turned out to be, Fubar, Fetlife, etc. who the hell needs "Dino Adult Dating" This concept is on it's way out imho.

mainstream is a different animal entirely, but it is slowly eating the adult model, ass up imho.

... also I think AFF is not the best measureing stick for the overall health of paid dating or even adult dating sites. AFF is probably the largest and most successful dating brand period, but that also makes them one of the most saturated dating brands out there. At some point looking at any online community of that size your rate of growth has to slow down, and when using them as an example you have to take that into account.

Who wouldn't pay a small fee for a potential sex partner?
It's no different to dating in the real world, sometimes you go on cheap dates, free dates and sometimes expensive dates..... it's all to get the girl you're after, that's all that matters, where you are, where you go or what site your on is just the landscape.

True dat. Welcome to GFY btw :-)

Thanks and congrats on your nomination :thumbsup
I have been lurking for quite a while, just usually too busy to post!

You mean nominations:winkwink:

markus from pof's been saying the same thing for years.. yet it hasn't happened. There's a reason people pay for online dating services.

Even better!

all your datings belong to facebook

yeah

you mean it all belongs to myspace.

yes, but facebook is not sex dating, it's just dating...
nobody has in their profile "looking for sex" right...

anyone know how escorts are converting?

I think that you need help understanding what to do to properly promote dating. I'm averaging $2.04 per free member.

Dating is doing fine for us :) Send your dating traffic and get paid $55 PPS on 3 day free trials!

Haha interesting indeed. Almost looks like someones stats homework.

Interesting.

http://www.titfetish.info/pics/affstat.gif

Me thinks you need some help if your AFF ratio is 1:3500