Dating sites with aff programs, which do you like?

[Kandevil]

Doing some research into a new project, I'm looking for dating sites (UK focused) that offer the best deals for affiliates.

I've had a look around and seen what's on TD, AF, AW etc. Are there any good indie programs too?

Just wondering which you guys favour and why you like them?

cheers guys

[Azam.net]

We researched over 100 dating affiliate programs. Most of them offer a measily sign-up fee even though they continue to rake in hefty membership fees for months or even years.

There aren't that many that offer a genuine revenue-sharing deal, but the one we liked the most was Dating-Central. They offer 40% of users monthly charges - for life.

Based in the UK, their affiliate support is unparalleled, with a dedicated affiliate manager, forums etc. You get a free white label site - or several if you wish, for different niches. And they will even mail out your emails to the members who sign-up via your links.

[Darren]

Date the UK/Sex in the UK/My UK Date (all networked) on Paid on Results has been a consistent performer for me for well over a year.

I personally wasn't all that impressed with Dating-Central, but didn't trial it for all that long so can't comment on the earning potential.

[Kandevil]

I don't think I've got my intentions across clearly initially, so I'll start again.

I have been approached to run the affiliate marketing for a dating site, this is my first venture on the merchant side of things so be gentle

We'll be running an independent program, so we can avoid the overrides, keep costs down and provide more for us the affiliates.

I was just after finding out what will make this one of the best offerings out there in the dating market.

I would put down what we have established from my experience with affiliate marketing, but think its best I leave the slate clean for your ideas and requests, so I don't just end up tailoring the offering specifically to my view as an affiliate. Any questions give me a shout.

After a few replies (hopefully ) I'll chip in again later with how I see the program running to your benefit.

[Edwin]

Never used dating affiliate programs, but I've seen loads. Here's what might catch my eye...

A) Recurring commissions, at a good rate (some programs in the US offer 50% recurring - not sure if that kind of level is feasible in the UK)

B) Locked-in users: even at the trial stage, the affiliate's ID should be encoded permanently into the database record for that user account, so that cookies become irrelevant once a user has opened an account and (close to) 100% of conversions/rebillings can be accurately credited to the right affiliate.

C) White-label and cobrand options, but a consolidated member database (so that a new white-label site doesn't start with zero profiles)

D) A "tame" front-end and tour for sites that may not like the relatively raunchy approach many dating sites seem to favour (emphasize "new friends" over anything that smacks of short-term relationships for we-all-know-what)

E) No traffic leaks of any kind - don't use the site to promote any other sites/services, don't carry ads on the site.

F) No popups/popunders - that way, affiliates can send traffic via PPC ad campaigns

Just a few ideas to get the ball rolling...

[Prophet]

Originally posted by Darren
Date the UK/Sex in the UK/My UK Date (all networked) on Paid on Results has been a consistent performer for me for well over a year.

I personally wasn't all that impressed with Dating-Central, but didn't trial it for all that long so can't comment on the earning potential.

Hey Darren,

I hope you dont mind, I emailed your consumer sites with a partnership proposal. Let me know what you think. Thanks!

[Kandevil]

any more requests?

[Rich]

I did look at the feasibility of setting up a dating site last year and I think Edwins list pretty much agrees with the list of things I thought an affiliate would want.

The running costs of a dating site should be relatively low, so I think recuring commisions should definately be part of the deal - though I have no idea of how many people renew.

[Kandevil]

Considering offering double commission for the first couple of months to give people a taste of the program and see what they think and then drop the commission back down when the program is running at full speed.

Will be fully transparent on this with it being clearly stated from the beginning that this would only be a temporary commission level. Does any have a problem with this or envisage problems?

[crazydating]

I know this thread is old, but some people may still be looking for good alternatives. I have been an affiliate with World-Dating-Partner.com for almost a year now, and I wish I didn't waste my time and money on other dating affiliate programs like White Label Dating or DIYdating.

WDP provide actual white label dating sites with true niche customisation, no advertising, lifetime initial and recurring commissions (up to 75%!), and excellent retention rates.

Also, once you recruit a member with your white label dating site (your own domain so there is now way the user may not be credited to you), he remains yours for life.

As to the database, it is a 20 Million members database that affiliates can filter with hundreds of members filtering criteria to create actual niche dating communities that converts even better (I am running a disabled dating site with them for instance).

There are no ads/pop-ups etc... on the sites so anybody is free to use PPC (I am running a few campaigns with Adwords and have a ROI of almost 100%) of course you have to target the right keywords and bid wisely depending on the niche you are promoting.

Another very nice feature is that you can 100% customize your html front page as you have full access to the html code.

Actually there is much more to say but the best thing to do is probably to have a look at their site http://www.world-dating-partner.com, there is plenty of information about what they do and how you can leverage the benefit of their White Label Dating solutions.

PS: This is a UK based company and their database in the UK is huge! They seem to have a lot of members from all over the world though.

[cyates]

loopy love is good £2.50 just for a free registration

[kier]

loopy love is good £2.50 just for a free registration

Loopy Love and Pocado (their sister site) are actually now paying £3 a free registration and depending on you rmonthly volume this can rise to up to £4.50.

I manage these programs so anything you need just let me know.

[shellylevin]

Try Freshmeet.co.za, it has a bias towards South Africans but can be used by anyone in the world.