Anyone hoping to launch an online business needs to consider various factors. Do you have a competent business plan? Are you familiar with website-building software? How much of your time can you feasibly devote to your new venture? But it goes without saying, before looking into any of those points, you need to know what your business is going to be focused on.
One leisure area which has exploded in popularity recently is Internet dating, so if you’re still thinking about a possible venture, launching a dating site could be a possibility. Here are six tips towards making a success of this.
Which dating subject?
In order to make the most of your online dating business, the very basic question you have to consider is what niche you will be exploring? There are all sorts of generic dating sites like Flirt.com, but many of these have been operating for some time, building up their memberships to run into the millions. Could you really compete in such a longstanding and competitive market? It would be far better to consider a more specialized area where you could offer a unique perspective and some personal expertise.
The all-important business plan
All new businesses, no matter what we call the subject happens to be, need to have a competent plan. This is where you write down every aspect of your business in terms of who your customers will be, how your service will be offered, how it will differ from similar websites, what your longer-term ambitions are, how you will finance your venture, and how you’ll adapt to changes in the marketplace. A business plan is particularly important if you are going to be approaching third parties for sponsorship or advice.
Design an attractive web platform
It goes without saying that dating websites will flourish or die depending on how many customers they are able to attract to their platform. It is therefore of paramount importance to spend a lot of time and effort into designing an attractive and easily-navigatable interface. You might be tempted to channel less capital into your front-end and deploy your resources into other areas of your venture. This would definitely be an example of a false economy. If your website is enticing, you will attract a steady flow of web traffic.
Focus on income streams
All online businesses need to have a solid financial footing if they are going to convert their customer base into some sort of reliable income. By all means, offer a free membership from the outset, but your clients will be prepared to subscribe to a more premium service in exchange for proven advantages, such as access to members-only mailing lists or bulletins. You then need to have a foolproof financial system engineered into your website, which is 100% hack-free and your customers will trust. Rather than go for bespoke solutions, it would be more appropriate to set aside some of your initial start-up capital to secure the services of a highly-skilled web developer.
Ingather feedback
Once your website is up and running you need to establish channels of communication for your customers to let them know exactly what you feel about the service you’re offering. Only by taking on board constructive criticism will you be able to iron out any bugs and upgrade your system, encouraging your client base to keep returning.
