So you want to start a site but not sure if you should get a social software script or a dating software script. Well, there are couple options you have on both of them. If you are looking to make some money then I would start a dating site because you can charge for memberships unlike social software, where you don’t charge for memberships and reply heavily upon advertisements.
Your social software site will have to have a ton of members in order to take advantage of the advertisement applications like Adsense, Adbrite and Yahoo Publisher Network. I can tell you from experience that you will need well over 10,000 members on your social site before you start seeing any real money coming from those advertising applications. You also have to take the chance of Google shutting down your Adsense campaign. I’ve heard many horror stories about social sites that have had their Adsense accounts pulled because Google claims that they click their own ads. I can also tell you from experience that I have had numerous Adsense campaigns pulled and I never clicked any ads. Now, I don’t want this to deter you from starting a social site but keep all this in mind. Social sites can be fun and if you do get tons of members, then you can have other people advertise on your site. More on that in the Marketing guide.
Now if you are looking to start a dating site then keep a few things in mind. Go after a niche market (Specific Market). Don’t go after a general audience because you will find that it’s very hard to get members when there are general sites like Yahoo Dating, Match.com, MatchMaker and the eHarmony type of sites. So, be specific in your dating site.
Don’t spam your members. Also, be personal with your members. Make sure you have a contact page on your site and that you have a phone number. What works really well is to add a YouTube video to your site that is you and have yourself explain what your site is about and what you are wanting the site to be. This is a very personal way to promote your dating software site. When people see that you are “Real” then they will have a warm feeling about your site and want to come back.
Market to all genders with your dating site. Make sure you have equal number of men and women or at least make sure you have a 2 to 1 ratio. That means have 2 men for every 1 woman. This will help you in the end. As a rule of semantics, you will have more men anyway. This is just the way it goes.
If you need dating software, then check out our demo. If you are searching for social software then stay tuned for our new release of “BLUE“, which will be out January 1st, 2009. Our dating software and social software is affordable and reliable.
Do let us know if you have any questions.
Wazzum
