Guest
Editorial: The Biggest Online Dating Challenge - Converting
Guests into Members
by Michael Jones, President of Userplane
(April, 2004) Returning from the recent
Internet Dating Conference in Miami, one thing is clear:
aside from gaining overall site traffic, the majority
of online dating sites feel that their primary challenge
is perfecting the art of conversion -- taking a free
membership granted to a guest, and converting that
guest membership to an actual paying subscriber.
Judging
online dating sites isn’t all that different
from sizing up potential partners at any social event.
Visitors to online dating sites typically assess the
prospective website by the images displayed on the
first few pages of their membership query. While this
has become the standard approach for the dating website
homepage, it’s unfortunate. This tendency doesn’t
enable users to determine the site’s real value
and utility. Just as in online dating itself, first
impressions (the “look and feel” of those
members displayed during that all-important initial
search) trump the actual experience. And just as with
people, website appeal shouldn’t be skin deep.
There
are exceptions, of course. eHarmony.com , for one, boasts
a superior personality-based matching system
and does not place an inventory search on its homepage.
Along with other personality-based dating sites,
eHarmony attempts to put more emphasis on the functionality
and actual success rate of individual matches than
on the physical characteristics of its members.
In order
to combat this “hot or not” impulse,
many sites require users to register or at minimum
sign up for a free guest membership prior to allowing
an in-depth search of the member base. Alternatively,
some permit an in-depth search but restrict actual
member contact until the visitor subscribes. While
this can be successful, it does require the visitor
to actually find a relevant match within a few simple
clicks – an unlikely prospect for many. The byproduct
of these approaches is a large number of free visitor-memberships,
but a small percentage of conversions from guests to
paying members.
Fortunately, a new breed of dating website
is emerging, taking more progressive steps toward
a solution to
the problem. Among the methods these sites use to
support guest-to-member conversion are these:
Give away more free lifetime memberships to women.
The same principle of a good nightclub now applies
to online dating websites; if women are present
in abundance, men will join. Sites such as Verona
Street have realized
that typical online dating websites have a 70/30
ratio of males
to females and that with a larger female user base
and a more female-friendly environment, they can
more easily attract male subscribers. Although
this is hardly a new concept offline, I regard
it as a
new trend online.
Support real value through features
and experiences, not restrictions.
In general, most online dating sites go to great
lengths to prevent users from revealing their
offline information
(blocking the display of email addresses and phone
numbers, etc.). The theory holds that the more control
a dating site can exercise over member and guest
contact, the more dependent the member or guest
becomes on the
dating site. A better approach to online dating will
not use the website as a method of controlling contact
but as a platform/environment to provide users with
a more intimate and safe online setting.
The concept
of providing unique online real-time methods of
communication such as audio and video chatting,
online dating games and more advanced chat rooms
enables online dating site users to obtain value
from actual
experiences, rather than simply paying for contact
restriction. Those websites that embrace this approach
will be providing members with tools that enhance
and extend the value of paid membership.
Catch me
when I’m engaged.
A growing number of new online dating sites have
realized the tangible benefits of offering live communication
tools and rich media experiences such as instant
messaging, video profiles and chat rooms. One specific
benefit – easy to implement and certain to
pay dividends in the form of increased conversions
-- is to enable guest users time-limited access to
these live communication tools. There is no better “taste
test” than allowing a guest to participate
in a instant messaging session, watch a live video
profile, or engage in a chat room conversation for
a specified amount of time, then redirecting the
user to a membership conversion page.
Using this method,
a dating website can convert a visitor who is actively
engaged in a live experience
that only that site can provide into a paid, sustaining
member – you just have to ask. Although dating
websites have traditionally been wary of providing
guests with access to these live chat services for
cost reasons, the live communities available through
online chat and instant messaging are often the most
compelling reasons to join. Without actively participating
in these experiences, prospective members are left
with the limited exposure of that first query and thus
miss out on sampling the personality and flair of the
active online user base.
The online dating industry remains in its infancy.
Searching the web reveals a handful of new dating sites
being launched every day. With the new competition
and more niche-focused environments, there is something
(and someone) out there for everyone.
My sincere hope
is that in the near future, dating sites will be judged
not by a few pretty faces, but
by their ability to provide unique, interactive online
experiences – experiences unmatched by any alternative
medium, online or off.
Michael Jones
Userplane
Michael
Jones, founder and business partner of Userplane, oversees
the company’s application and business strategy,
focusing on the future of live communications through
the development of web apps.
|