The Best Ways To Grow Your Dating Business Over The Festive Period

This is a republished guest blog by Genevieve Zawada, the CEO of Elect Club.

The festive period is always one we look forward to in the world of dating and matchmaking, as it’s that one time of the year when people really focus in on their relationship status. As the CEO of Elect Club and owner of Love Train Dating, I work across both on and offline dating platforms, and with over 22 years working in all areas of dating, know all too well the importance of getting your marketing right at this time of year.

Anyone in the dating world needs to maximise on this time of year and focus their marketing attention to singles within their demographic audience. Having spoken to a number of other entrepreneurs in our sector, the majority spend over 50% of their marketing budget over the Christmas and New Year period. While people are away from work and making New Year’s resolutions, it’s the best time to capitalise on this because you have a captive audience.

There are a number of things people do during this time of year and personally, running both online and offline businesses in this arena, we tend to go a little crazy. Our campaigns started in November with seminars to prepare people to maximise on Christmas time, along with giving out lots of top tips during this period – flooding social media with expert advice.

People love events for singles at this time of year, so they don’t feel they are the only “single person” in the room at a party. If you don’t yet host events or have any desire to, then it’s a good time to team up with people who do. At Elect Club, we often have other people in the industry asking to bring their own guests to our events, and Christmas is no exception. Look to collaborate, so you can offer more to your members too. My online dating guide has launched this Christmas, and with lots of online and offline collaboration starting to take place, it’s certainly the time to start making good connections. This was apparent at iDate in London this October, and a hot topic for discussion.  

We all can’t get enough of “social media,” so special offers are a must at this time of the year, and lots of attention-grabbing pictures and videos with top tips from industry experts are a great way to engage and make people feel that they are getting more from the services offered.

Try offering advice rather than selling to people – consumers are wising up and want more for their money now than ever before, and are certainly more selective.

Look at what makes you different and focus your attention on that. Ensure that your campaigns and marketing material is personal and says something useful that will engage with the audience that you want to sell to. Remember the old rule – consumers need to see things at least three times before they buy from you, or even sign up with you for free. So ensure your engagement programmes go out at least three times within set periods. Also, target your campaigns to times that people will be home alone.

If you are looking to collaborate, I am always happy to have a chat and can be contacted via email at genevieve@electclub.co.uk.

By Genevieve Zawada

Genevieve is the CEO of Elect Club and owner of Love Train Dating. Elect Club was established in 2005 and was nominated and voted as London’s Top Matchmakers and Dating Coaches at iDate 2014 & 2015. Their team have been working in the industry for over 22 years and are the second most established agency in the UK. Elect Club are members of the Institute of Matchmakers and the Matchmakers Alliance. Find out more here.