Pretty quiet week. Here is what I found interesting in online dating industry :

-Online Dating Industry is bigger than Porn. Surprising? read it.

-Run your own dating site with WhiteLabelDating. read more.

-Date .com is now offering virtual gifts.

“Usage is down, but revenues are up” says EMarketer.

But how is this possible ??

“Because online dating site marketers got smart about pricing and targeting. Monthly fees can be $30 or more, depending on the service. Dating sites are counting on the fact that a small percentage of Internet users are serious enough about dating to pay for services of this sort instead of meeting through social networks”

Waow!

US Online Dating Revenues Statistics for 2007 to 2012:

Demographic Profiles of Online Dating Users:

iDate 2009 (Internet Dating Conference) will be held January 22 and 23 in Miami, Florida.

iDate is a business conference for the online dating industry.

See the Miami Agenda 2009.

The 6th annual Internet Dating Conference taking place in Miami will be the largest gathering of industry online dating and social networking executives ever. The 2008 Miami event had over 650 executives in attendance.

Nowadays, more and more people are getting eco-friendly. Some amongst us are even conscious to an extent that we don’t throw a recyclable can at wrong place nor we do non environment friendly things at our home either. It is good to do so, actually it is the need of hour. The green house gases are on all time rise and it is our duty to save our mother earth. More and more people are adapting the concept of Eco-Friendly nowadays. No wonder dating is not an exception, many eco lovers like to date with like minded people because according to them, those who don’t respect the nature, don’t have the respect for anyone else.

Eco lovers like to make compost for their lawns, recycle meticulously and ride the bike on the river banks to enjoy nature. No wonder, many dating sites have been launched which lay special emphasis on the needs of eco lovers so that they have a right place to find like minded people.

The unique concept of Green Drinks is on an all time rise nowadays. If you are still not familiar with this thing, check out your local listings. There must be a Green Drinks Bar some where around you. These are bars meant for like minded people, not to mention eco lovers. In these type of bars, the eco lovers gather to chat and have a sip of some natural drink. These are great places to socialize and to meet new friends. Not to mention many have found their perfect dates in such bars only.

The Green Dating websites are doing great work to bring green lovers together under one forum. This is a great dating place. These websites allow you to get very specific about your dating needs. You can find others who share your interest in animal rights, alternative energy, recycling, organic farming and more.  Just think, you could meet your mate and then go dumpster diving on your first date!  Believe it or not, there is nothing more romantic than using some one else’s left overs. This might sound weird to you but there is no harm in trying it. Only a Green Lover knows its worth. 

The white label dating provider Bone-Fish revealed that Online Dating and Adult Dating are not anymore the best converting markets.

Actually, they have been surpassed by the lesbian network that have an impressive 12.5% conversion rate.

Note: Adult network has a conversion rate of 9.8% and the romance network 8.8%.

BoneFish has an affiliate portfolio of 14,000 members and a membership base of 3.7 million.

According to Zanox Marketing Platform, Leads to Online Dating Sites are highest between the working hours, 7:00 am to 5:00 pm.

The highest CTR (Click Through Rate) occurs at lunch time between 11:00 am and 2:00 pm and at the end of the day after work between 4:00 pm and 6:00 pm.

Zanox’s Research also shows that there is a Seasonality Effect : 

Cold weather, Low Temperature (Autumn, Winter) means high online dating traffic.

Nice weather, High Temperature (Spring, Summer) means low online dating traffic.

For example between August and September 2008, Zanox reports a traffic increase of 55%.

I think these numbers can be interesting for firms who want to developp online dating marketing strategies or even some seasonal websites, why not.