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Inside The Online Dating Industry
by Joe Tracy,
publisher of Online Dating Magazine
A Look at the
International Marriage Broker Regulation Act
This month, a new law goes into
effect that places restrictions on agencies that help
American men find a potential bride from overseas.
The law is a result of the International
Marriage Broker Regulation Act which was passed
by the U.S. Congress and signed into law last month
by President
George Bush. Here is a paraphrase of the key requirements
of the law:
1) International marriage brokers can't provide U.S.
citizens with any information about women under the
age of 18.
2) International marriage brokers can't provide U.S.
citizens with any personal contact information of any
woman until the following conditions are met:
- A criminal and marital background check must be
run on the man. The man must sign the background check
(either
in writing
or
electronically).
- That background check must be provided to the woman
the man wishes to communicate with and it must be in
the language the woman speaks.
- The woman must be provided with information on U.S.
laws about her legal rights and resources she can contact
in regards to issues like domestic violence in the
U.S.
- A signed consent form allowing her information to
be released to the man wishing to communicate with
her.
Read the full
act for additional information.
President Bush Signing the Act into Law
In essence, this law seeks to protect overseas women
from abusive men. Since overseas women are generally
not familiar with U.S. customs, laws, society issues,
and U.S. men, the law seeks to fully inform them.
So how many men actually meet and marry foreign women?
The Act estimates the number to be between 8,000 to
12,000 a year.
I actually support this law, even though it will create
a hardship with some international marriage brokers.
This law arose out of a genuine need versus the online
dating industry background checks, which was simply one
company's apparent attempt to get media publicity by
pushing
background check legislation.
As the Act points
out, American men that use international marriage brokers
are generally looking for a woman
they can control. It is a widespread problem. In addition,
overseas women generally aren't educated in U.S. domestic
violence issues. There are growing numbers of overseas
women being abused (and some even killed) as a result
of hooking up with American men they know little about.
Nearly 50% of immigrants reported physical abuse by
an intimate partner during their lifetimes. And that
number could be higher when you consider complaints
never filed. As you can see, this is definitely a widespread
problem in need of a solution. The International Marriage
Broker Regulation Act provides that solution.
So what happens to companies that don't comply with
this new law? They can be fined up to $20,000 for each violation!
There can also be jail time involved.
Effect on the Online Dating Industry
This law targets sites/agencies that are
specifically aimed at hooking up U.S. men with overseas
women.
Since typical online dating sites like Match.com and Yahoo!
Personals aren't
"international marriage brokers" they don't
have to specifically worry about this law. However,
it also beckons that online dating services should
be
careful
in
how they approach communications between Americans
and foreigners. If this new law causes a huge influx
of overseas women using general online dating services
then congress may start taking a closer look at that
issue.
The unfortunate result of this law is that it will
put many legitimate companies out of business and
will create a monopoly of a handful of international
marriage brokers that come up with an effective means
to follow
the law. Perhaps the law calls for too much. But it
is addressing an actual need.
I'll keep you posted as to any further developments
in relation to this law and any court challenges it
may face.
Tip of the Week
We're to the fourth tip for building a strong user
base. Last week I said that I'd address driving traffic
to your Website in this week's tip, but I'm going
to table it for one more week in favor of this
week's tip, based on a conversation I had with
someone today, on improving your male/female ratio.
Tip
#4: Attract More Females
This morning I was speaking to a gentleman who is thinking
of starting a new online dating service. He called
me to discuss some insight I provided in a recent MSNBC
TV appearance. As we chatted, I told him that some
online dating services have problems with their male
to female ratio. Many ratios heavily favor men anywhere
from 60/40 to 70/30. This makes it harder for men to
find success because they heavily outnumber the women.
When True entered
the marketplace as TrueBeginnings.com, this is one
issue they tackled with great success.
For a limited time, they allowed women to use their
service for free and only charged men. This allowed
them to gain an influx of women to their service
in order to create a better ratio. Smart. As I was
telling this to the gentleman I was speaking to on
the phone, he said that it was just like many clubs
who allow women in for free in order to boost the
ratio in the club. He nailed it.
It's a great concept. So is female ad targeting.
For example, if you find men heavily outnumber women
in a particular city then you should start doing
targeted advertising to women in those areas. Look
for radio shows in that area that have heavy female
demographics. Then advertise. This applies across
all advertising mediums.
It's vitally important that you try and keep a balanced
ratio, otherwise your service could create high
dissatisfaction and users may look elsewhere.
Next week I promise we'll tackle the first (of several)
tips on improving your traffic numbers in order to
have an audience to "sell" your services to.
Joe Tracy is
publisher of Online Dating Magazine and is often quoted
by the media in relation to online dating topics. His Inside
the Online Dating Industry column is published
every Friday.
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