Let’s be honest with each other. It is possible that your ultimate goal in running a dating website might be matching the local padre with that goth chick from school coven, but for the rest of us it’s usually all about the money. And that’s OK – there is nothing wrong with making a living by giving the community what it wants.
Now, how exactly we all make a mint is our own business, but in this industry the two surface solutions are subscriptions and advertising. Of course it is important to realize that a startup is not likely to bring a lot of traffic immediately. This means that there should be a carefully planned strategy in place. Some successful independent dating site owners chose running their services for free initially, just to build the customer base and raise recognition. During that time the best way to see any revenue might be through using Google AdSense or any other affiliate programs, as well as employing direct banner advertising.