Niche Dating Sites Allow Special-interest Singles to Find Each Other

ARIZONA TRIBUNE -- Apr 5 -- The online personals industry is experiencing "The Big Squeeze." Mark Brooks, an online personals industry analyst and editor of Onlinepersonalswatch.com, says hundreds of small dating sites have emerged in the past five years. They are now competing for advertising dollars with the big guys like Match.com. But lower profits don’t mean the online dating bubble is about to burst, says Brooks. "It’s actually quite the opposite in some ways. Online (dating) is as solid as ever. It’s no longer cheesy and it’s no longer sneered at."  Brooks estimates there are about 900 Internet dating sites, and he claims that more people than ever are signing up.  Niches are the growing trend among these smaller start-ups. "There’s really something for everybody."  People who enjoy hiphop can find love on Hiphopsinglesconnection.com and (young) women looking for generous men to shower them with gifts may find success at Sugardaddyz.com. There are also companies that cater to "varying levels of singleness."  People looking for a spouse may have the best chance on eHarmony. The site is known to include members who are motivated and serious about ending their singlehood, says Brooks. On the other hand, Friendster.com helps individuals create a social network and don’t necessarily aim to make love connections. "They do a good job of modeling the real world."  FULL ARTICLE @ EAST VALLEY TRIBUNE

Mark Brooks: I recommend some of the niche sites such as ChristianCafe.com, DateMyPet and SeniorFriendFinder.  Never heard of Hiphopsinglesconnection and Sugardaddyz though.  They look like intriguing, but have no traffic (according to www.alexa.com) and probably just a handful of members.

Comments

[Sherry Reynolds]

I'd like to know what Mark thinks of Executive Dating, formerly executivechristiandating.com and romancepros.com. Please email me his response. I'm trying to find the best site for more mature Christian singles. I'm 49. Thank you for your assistance.
SR

[Dating Devil]

About Elexa.com, can't really put much weight into what their stats say. Their stats are strictly by what users of their toolbar do online. I have heard of sugardaddyz though, and I am only just now getting into the online dating scene.

[free online dating]

Online dating site is one of the growing industry on the web today. It is a source on income for lot of people and also help lot of people to dating, find new friend, future partners and lot more.

[Carol (Your Way Singles Network)]

As a Singles Coach, I often direct my clients to niche dating sites and special interest networks. I have been teaching them more and more about non-dating sites that are social communities and many find it to be a more relaxed setting for communication. The focus is not on does he/she make the grade, but developing connections that could naturally evolve to personal relationships.

Some singles find that while the niche sites offer unique networking, it has been difficult for them to get a solid standing in an industry with so many big players.

[London Dating]

I agree with carol most of the smaller 'niche' sites offer more of a personal touch with forums and social communities where people can build on relationships and help each other through the experiance, then hopfully develope those relationships into somthing more meaningful.

[John Roberts]

The thing that's nice about the smaller sites is you might be able to find people that closer match your interests, it's not such a needle in the haystack thing.

[Christian Dating Australia]

We run a niche dating site for Christian singles located in Australia. We find it it working well as many people would prefer to come to a site like ours which is also niche in the sense that we focus on actually helping people find a suitable match, rather than just a list of profiles to wade through. It's working well so far as people I think are looking for something different to the big sites these days.