Category: Courtland Brooks Press

Interview With Johnny Du, CEO Of 51taonan, China’s Top Free Dating Site

Posted on January 11, 2012

JunOPW INTERVIEW – Jan 11 – Johnny Du runs 51taonan. Turns out, the Chinese like free dating as much as the West. Here's Johnny's story. – Mark Brooks

What's the founding story?
51taonan was founded in January 2011 in China. We wanted to leverage from the significant business opportunities in the online dating industry in China. There's no major free dating site in China and so we wanted to take and own that position in China. Currently most dating site in China are paid dating sites. The first year has been very successful with high rates of user acquisition, and a reasonable conversion from registered users to active users. In less than two years, without much marketing 51taonan has gained over 3.5 million registered users. In May this year, we were the first dating company in China to introduce a location based mobile internet dating service, which supports smart phones such as Android, IOS, Symbian, blackberry. Now we have over 250K mobile internet users.

We're now the No.1 free dating site in China. Overall, in China, we're ranked the No.4 dating site, after JiaYuan, Baihe and Zhenai.

Would you say you’re the Plentyoffish of China?
POF is currently the No.1 free dating site in North America and UK.  We're the No.1 free dating site in China in terms of the status in the market, so yes its fair to say we're the POF of China.

How is 51taonan different from POF?
POF is a very successful and mature company. We like the POF business model and want to duplicate its successes into China. However, we're a pretty young startup company with serveral million users.

We're still exploring ways to monetize. We want to learn from POF and all other successful free dating companies. Our ultimate goal is to provide a totally free dating services to Chinese users in a successful way.

What does the name 51taonan mean?
The numbers 5 and 1, means I want. Tao means find and get.  Then nan means man.  So 51taonan means I want to find/get a man.  Women find this amusing and seem to like it a lot.

How fast is 51taonan growing?
We have about 100K users signing up at our site each month.  We're seeing the hottest growth coming from mobile internet as well as 2nd and 3rd tier cities in China.

How are you monetizing?
Right now, advertising is the major source of our income. We're also looking for any other innovative ways to monetize.

Are you looking for funding?
Yes, absolutely! In order to continue our growth, we're looking for outside investment, with a focus on 'smart money.'

(Disclosure: 51taonan and POF are clients of Courtland Brooks)

See all posts on 51taonan

Ian Bell, CEO Of Tingle, An iPhone Dating App

Posted on December 18, 2011

THE MORNING SHOW – Dec 18 – Ian Bell is the founder and CEO of Tingle, an iPhone only dating app. "We use location as a way for people to run into each other electronically”, Ian Bell explains in the Morning Show in Canada. “We have an engine that works on the back end of our system and is constantly looking for people who are in similar places." Tingle launched in Vancouver earlier this year and Ian Bell claims his app is the most popular mobile dating app in Canada.  "The future of social is mobile," said Mark Brooks, editor of Online Personals Watch. "Mobile dating apps like Tingle will begin to disrupt and will eventually usurp traditional web-based dating sites."

The full article was originally published at Global News Toronto, but is no longer available.

See all posts on Tingle

BBC Radio 4: You&Yours – The Business Of Online Dating

Posted on December 9, 2011

Global Personals logoBBC RADIO 4 – Dec 7 – BBC Radio 4 has interviewed Mark Brooks; Ross Williams, CEO of GlobalPersonals.co.uk (WhiteLabelDating) and Marc Lesnick, the organizer of iDate. Mark Brooks said: "Worldwide the online dating industry stands at over $3.5 billion. But when you consider it in terms of the social impact online dating has, there’s an incredible impact and potential for the future." Ross Williams claims to be the CEO of the biggest dating company in Europe with £ 30M revenue per year. Global Personals now hosts more than 6K white label sites and has won 3 awards in the industry equivalent of the Oscars – iDate Awards. Marc Lesnick organizes the event and iDate awards nominations for next year’s awards which will be held in January have just been announced.

The online dating world is about to change again. Some sites are already offering a mobile dating App. From your location it can tell you if anyone is single, available and suitable nearby. Mark Brooks explains: "Singles can have it all. They can be sitting in a coffee shop on a Friday afternoon and decide they want to go on a date and they can see who’s around them. I believe it is the next stage for online dating."

Ross Williams:
"The importance of mobile isn’t so much on the location element. Instead of sending messages from your computer you can do it from your phone."

Listen to the interview & read the full transcript

Dating Sites For Those Who Know What They Want

Posted on December 5, 2011

Online_dating keyboard2TELEGRAPH.CO.UK – Dec 5 - The internet dating industry is worth £2.5 billion worldwide. But if people really know what they want, the big general websites probably aren’t for them. Specialist sites can connect them with vegans, pagans, bald men, short women, wannabe Wags or triathletes. Mark Brooks, an internet dating consultant and the editor of Online Personals Watch, says, 'Many users are addicted to choice, and this has helped cause expectations to rise.’ The truth is, 'People often don’t know what they really want. The more selective you are the less likely you are to be compatible on other levels.’ On the upside, he says, 'Niche dating can get the toughest questions out of the way up front.’

The Best Niche Websites
- Teeforetwo.co.uk sets up single golfers with partners to play with, and for dates
– Brainiacdating.com and sweetongeeks.com is for bright people
– Redhead-world.net is an international social network for redheads
- Paganpartners.co.uk for druids, shamans or wiccans
- Alternativedatinguk.co.uk specialises in goth, emo and, er, vampire dating
– veggieromance.com is for vegetarians
- ethicalsingles.com is for people with a humanitarian outlook

by Rebecca Seal
See full article at The Daily Telegraph

Seeking Fun, No Privacy Attached

Posted on December 5, 2011

Badoo logoTHE SUNDAY TIMES – Dec 4 – Users of Badoo.com can now check which of their friends have joined up using their email address. Facebook users are automatically informed which of their friends are on Badoo. The site also gives a visitor the option of checking their email contacts list to see which are Badoo members. In a 2009 study Joseph Bonneau and Soren Preibusch, researchers at Cambridge University, ranked Badoo worst for privacy out of 45 social websites, with a score of only 23%. MySpace scored marginally better with 28%, while Facebook and LinkedIn scored 53% and 70% respectively. Mark Brooks, a consultant specialising in online dating, said Badoo’s relaxed approach to privacy was a sign of the times: “One of the distinguishing features of dating sites has always been privacy. But there are advantages to people knowing who you are. The best way to meet people is through friends of friends — social dating — and that’s what Badoo is trying to emulate. This is the future. “Yes, it’s an erosion of privacy, but the younger demographic don’t care so much. Badoo is for people who are a bit less concerned about privacy.”

by Jonathan Leake
See full article at The Sunday Times (the article is behind paywall)

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Police Target Lonely Hearts Fraudsters

Posted on November 28, 2011

Soca logoSUNDAY TIMES – Nov 28 – Romance scammers are to be targeted by the Serious Organised Crime Agency (Soca). According to Soca ~200K people have already been tricked by overseas conmen. Online dating scams have become one of the most lucrative methods. This is because online dating has itself become so successful, with 1,400 dating sites operating in Britain, including Plentyoffish, eHarmony and match.com. Mark Brooks, who runs Courtland Brooks, a consultancy specialising in the online dating industry, said: “Every site has significant problems in dealing with scammers. It is the bane of the industry.” Karl Gregory, head of match.com’s UK division, said cases of fraud were still rare. “Our advice”, he said, “is to stay within the site to build up relationships over time rather than giving out personal details, and never to give money to anyone for any reason.”

by Jonathan Leake
See full article at Sunday Times

Mark Brooks: Actually, this is far more a problem in the USA than the UK.  Most sites are fighting and winning the battle against scammers, I think.  But the isolated cases of date scamming are still very newsworthy and bad for the dating industry. 

See all posts on POF
See all posts on eHarmony
See all posts on Match.com

The Love Letter Ghostwriter

Posted on November 11, 2011

Virtualdatingassistants logo new August 2011FT – Nov 11 – Kelly Hitchcock works as a virtual dating assistant. She is penning profiles and making contact with potential matches on behalf of men and women who are too inept, too strapped for time or simply unwilling to do so themselves. Ms Hitchcock is employed by Scott Valdez, who launched Virtual Dating Assistants in 2009. The US census calculates that of the nation’s 87m singles, 40m have tried online dating. Annual revenues from dating sites are $1.2bn in the US and $3.5bn worldwide, according to Courtland Brooks, an internet dating consultancy. Mark Brooks, a consultant to dating sites, believes virtual dating assistants have a future. “A significant proportion of people don’t have time to filter through online matches. They are cheaper than matchmakers, who typically charge between $5,000 and $50,000”. Virtual Dating Assistants charges $147 for a basic profile, while $600-$700 a month will buy you date selection and correspondence.

by Emma Jacobs
See full article at Financial Times

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Plentyoffish.com to Grow Through Global Buys

Posted on October 6, 2011

PlentyofFish MERGER MARTKET – Oct 6 – PlentyOfFish.com has set aside $15M to acquire companies in dating, mobile and the daily deals space. POF revenue is estimated at $20-$30M. Markus said POF is not for sell at the moment. Noel Biderman, president of Avid Life Media, parent company of Ashley Madison, said Avid would absolutely acquire POF.

Frind compared POF's valuation to Badoo, which he said is £2 Billion. Cupid also could consider buying POF. Cupid has 34M members in 39 countries, and generated revenues of $25M in the six months. An IPO is also a possibility for POF. Frind maintained that POF is focused on buys and so far has made several acquisitions and investments this year, launching offeron.com, its new daily deals business.

See all posts on Plentyoffish

A Quarter of Canadians Venturing into Online Dating

Posted on September 26, 2011

PlentyofFish CANOE.CA – Sep 25 - According to a Leger Marketing survey conducted on behalf of QMI Agency, one quarter of Canadians participate in online dating, including 36% of Canadians between 18 and 34. Kate Bilenki, director of love at PlentyOfFish, the free dating site with ~33M registered users worldwide, said the site’s membership has increased 40% over the last two years. Bilenki said POF is responsible for ~1M relationships per year, and 300K of those result in marriage.

by Sheena Goodyear
The full article was originally published at Canoe.ca, but is no longer available.

See all posts on Plentyoffish

Many Using Dating Services to Find True Love Online

Posted on September 5, 2011
Internet dating RICHMOND TIMES – Sep 4 - According to a 2009-10 study by Match.com and the research firm Chadwick Martin Bailey, 17% of couples that married in the previous three years met their mates through a dating site. The divorce rate for first marriages in the US is 50% so it's no wonder there are so many fish in the sea. ~120M people worldwide use Internet dating services, says Mark Brooks, editor of OnlinePersonalsWatch. Although sites such as PlentyofFish are free, many are fee-based and accounted for gross annual revenue worldwide in 2010 of $4 billion, according to Brooks. "With online dating, you have the opportunity to ask the tough questions first," he said. "You do your research, and you can communicate safely online." Not only is this an improvement over the personals, he said, it is also efficient and easy on the heart: Online dating sites "promise to help you not fall in love with the wrong person." Sites such as AreWeGoodTogether.com was designed to find out whether couples who are matched, or thinking about becoming so, are a good pairing.

by Marci Rich
The full article was originally published at Richmond Times, but is no longer available.

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See all posts on Match.com