White Labeling Rant

OPW -- May 8 -- Affiliates built FriendFinder to a $300 million a year revenue company. But affiliates don't want to build someone elses brand. They would rather build their own brand, and brand equity. I worked with FriendFinder as an affiliate manager in 2003 and have been surprised that they have not pushed their white labeling products more, since then. FriendFinder would far rather promote their own brand, as would most dating companies, but a number of white labeling companies are on the rise now. You can find a list here. (White Label Dating, a client of Courtland Brooks and sponsor of Online Personals Watch, is one of them, and our recommended provider.) 

White labeling is the last big opportunity in internet dating because it allows mega-affiliates, and entrepreneurs, and online media of all types, to build their own brands and utilize the economies of scale of working in a network. The little guys get economies of scale. The guys who have lots of traffic, but don't have the time or inclination to build their own dating site can use white labeling to get up and running quickly.

This post also appears on FrequentFlirters.

Comments

[David Evans]

There are at least 5 white label dating providers, why is WLD better than the rest? I am genuinely curious because I've talked to Ross at WLD and Robert at World Dating Parters and still to some extent have a difficult time understanding how to differentiate between the two companies.

Higher conversion metrics seem to be the primary selling point.

WLD has better media partners and WDP has better technology, that's where I would start the comparison.

Do you want better servers or to share a database with large UK media properties?

Feel free to disagree, I'm trying to find a starting point for the conversation.

[Ross Williams]

Better technology!?? :) Pah :) that is what Robert will say, but suggesting a platform is better because it is Oracle rather than MySQL is a difficult argument from both sides.

Ultimately it should be about about what makes partners the most money - that's the only thing I care about and everything else should, I believe, be secondary.

If people are ever in doubt I suggest they try different providers for themselves - there's no reason to choose just one provider immediately.

Try different platforms, see what works best for you.

Basing decisions on the technology rather than the benefits will ultimately cause quite a stink.

Try different platforms, try software - then choose what works best for you. This is what we've always advised to people who are unsure.

You may be promised the earth to start with but unless a company follows through and fulfills on it's promises you'll be disappointed.

If you only have one site, you can direct visitors alternatively to different platforms until you learn what converts best.

[Tim Rees]

That was hardly a rant Mark!

OK - key differences between White Label Dating and World Dating Partners:

1) Technology - better or worse WDP use an Oracle Database and Java Engine while WLD use mySQL and PHP
2) Software - you only have to log in to the two sites to see they are very different, with unique looks and features.
3) International presence - WDP site are already in several languages and currencies and more being added.

I could list the USP's but ultimately it does come down to one factor - what makes the most money for the partner.

Occasionally there are other factors that come in to play when making the decision. Integrity of the comapny you choose to be you technolgoy provider, international strategy or additional networking or partnerhip opportunities.

For anyone looking to build their own dating site its good news that there are 2 main companies. The competition is healthy in ensuring we continually improve our services to our partners. Operating within the dating industry also mens we have to continually develop our product to satisfy the demanding consumer.

[Ross Williams]

Tim - we don't use PHP anywhere on our site, I wish you guys would correct that and the other mistakes in your comparison chart.

We use MySQL and Java and always have.

I was told by the founder of WDP that MySQL is insecure because it's open source but I'll let that one slide ;)

I agree with Tim that it all comes down to what makes the most money for the partner and often suggest anyone unsure to try both companies.

More of a rant in the future please Mark!! :)

[Faizy]

Today people have more variety and options on where to go to meet other people. With the growing of the internet people are also becoming more tech-enmeshed, since all aspects of their lives can be done through the Internet. Meeting potential dates and dating can also be done in the virtual world.
Here we make a place where all US peoples meet with each other in easy steps with no costs and you are always welcome
Dating
Thanks for your precious time