Online Dating and Social Networking Industry Forums

BradeLink · Joined: 21 Aug 2006 Posts: 3

My name is Brad with eLinkMedia, eLink is a full service Internet marketing company specializing in highly targeted opt-in and double opt-in Email marketing. We just finished beta testing a list gear toward dating sites if you interested give me a call and I will explain in more detail.

mark_brooks · Joined: 16 Jun 2004 Posts: 20 Location: New York, NY

You're talking to the entire industry here. Could we get more info posted to the boards on your service. Also, beyond the specifics of your particular service...what should people be looking for in a reputable email marketing house? How should they be valuing ad spends? $2CPM vs $20 CPM. How should a cautious ad buyer structure an initial buy with you?
_________________
Mark Brooks
Editor, Online Personals Watch
mark@onlinepersonalswatch.com
USA 212-444-1636, UK 020-8133-1835

BradeLink · Joined: 21 Aug 2006 Posts: 3

There is one major thing to look for in a company and that’s one that will provide you with a good relationship. Every company has lists some for .25 CPM and some for 20 CPM. What’s better? That more less just depends on whether you want volume or quantity the reality is lists are lists they may work one day and not the next. You need to look for a company with a variety of different lists and marketing recourses and one that will take an interest in your campaign and do their best to keep you ahead of the curve.

The particular list that I was speaking about is comprised solely of people that have converted on a dating offer in the last 6 months. We scrub it constantly and are continually adding new data to it.

I would like to talk to you about what we can do for you company. Give me a call and we can talk business.

mark_brooks · Joined: 16 Jun 2004 Posts: 20 Location: New York, NY

Let's talk business here, and let the industry in on our conversation. The problem with email marketing is that it's tough to test. I like to have a 24 hour clause on banner ad buys. However, you can't really do 24 hour out clauses with email ad buys because once you press the button, you burn through the email send (and the $5k ad buy) and you don't know it's worked until the day after.

Unless, of course, you allow small test buys. Do you allow small test buys? But then, as you say, the test buy could work, and the larger buy could fail.

So, really, the secret for a dating site ad buyer is to find reputable companies and reps that they trust... and keep it a secret. Because, once everyone starts marketing to one list, the responsiveness of the list will degrade quickly.

What's your thoughts? What other considerations are there? What's a typical ad buy? Do you allow tests? How big? What kind of lists do you manage? Could you give a couple of examples of lists?

btw folks, Datran Media is worth a call. They manage some good quality lists.
_________________
Mark Brooks
Editor, Online Personals Watch
mark@onlinepersonalswatch.com
USA 212-444-1636, UK 020-8133-1835

BradeLink · Joined: 21 Aug 2006 Posts: 3

Well Mark, I understand your concerns and thoughts regarding e-mail marketing. And for that reason we will work as small as $1k on a test basis. There are so many variables in marketing that we suggest a few small tests before we move on to the big picture. I also agree with what you are saying about lists degrading its part of the industry, that’s why you have to keep your clients ahead of the curve and you have to always scrub and add new data to your lists. I have clients that spend 50-100k a month with me. They stay with me because I do that little extra for them. As for the details. We manage a large variety of different lists we work directly with the major ISP’s we are white listed with them as well. We have ISP lists that get 95-97% into the inboxes. Everyone has a different site, business plan, ECT. The best way to find out what works best is to try a test and allow me to put my best foot forward and establish a track record for future business.

mark_brooks · Joined: 16 Jun 2004 Posts: 20 Location: New York, NY

What are the major email marketing companies? How does Datran compare with your company?

Do you have any lists that geotarget the San Francisco Bay Area? Silicon Valley ideally?
_________________
Mark Brooks
Editor, Online Personals Watch
mark@onlinepersonalswatch.com
USA 212-444-1636, UK 020-8133-1835

marsvenus · Joined: 06 Feb 2007 Posts: 2

Hi, everyone. As we are all in the dating business together, and sharing best-practices on this forum, I just wanted to give folks a heads-up about our experience with elink media.

In October/November of 2006, we researched and ultimately paid for a mass email (can spam compliant), with the promise of 100% delivery of those emails. This was an amazing promise… we know. But, they put their reputation behind it and promised to “make good” if the results were less than promised so we went forward with them.

Our campaign went out in November and they claimed to have sent over a million emails. The campaign we mailed has previously been used and was proven to have good results.

This is when the problems began.

We saw very little change in visitors for the period when the campaign mailed. Truthfully, we saw such a nominal response we wondered if it had gone out at all. I tried for almost a month to get a report from them on the campaign. Repeatedly I was told they were busy, or that when they had the data they would share it. That, in and of itself is ridiculous because we all know running a report like this is a matter of pushing a few buttons.

After a month of asking for answers I finally escalated my complaints and got a manager to answer me. He sent over a report documenting the failure of the campaign and stated in writing that we only had 137 opens. This seems like a very small percentage given the level of brand recognition we have. When we raised the issue that the numbers didn’t match up, we got no response back. Despite numerous attempts to resolve our questions, the response from elink has been “too bad”. Finally I asked for them to make it right or issue a refund. Their response: “Give us another $1500 and we’ll try it again. A bigger campaign will have better results.” You must be kidding me? You want us to throw good money after a bad service. No thanks.

This issue is now headed to our legal department.

We know this is not an enormous amount of money; but really, it’s the principle that’s the issue here. If we are working in an industry that helps people with relationships, it seems sensible that we need to be able to have good relationships with the business side of the house as well. Relationships are built on trust and good faith. Our good faith was demonstrated by our payment for a service promised; but the evidence suggests that perhaps our trust was misplaced.

If we can offer this, don’t trust elink media. They are clearly in it for the money and willing to make promises they have no intention of keeping. If you want additional details about our experience feel free to drop us a line.

Melanie
MarsVenus.com
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www.marsvenus.com

raj555 · Joined: 21 Feb 2007 Posts: 10

Could you send me the information related online marketing : raj555[at]yahoo.com.
Online Dating Site, Internet Dating Services Agency for Singles UK
Looking forward for a reply soon

raj