Decoding Monetization Methods For Dating Apps

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Presenters

ROBB SALANon-gaming Lead - Business Development, North AmericaExtensive experience in partner relations across Twitter, ShareThis and Meeborobert.sala@inmobi.com

MONA SHARMAGlobal Lead – Native Advertising Solutions, Product Marketing5+ Years of experience in the technology space.mona.sharma@inmobi.com

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Agenda

Overview of the dating app ecosystem

Tips while designing dating apps

Monetization methods for dating apps

Best Practices for advertising in dating apps

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Agenda

Overview of the dating app ecosystem

Tips while designing dating apps

Monetization methods for dating apps

Best Practices for advertising in dating apps

1

2

3

4

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World is hooked onto dating apps!

* Global Web Index, Q1 2015, Clickz.com

91 million users are active on

dating apps

2 out of 3 users are

men70%

of the users are in the age group of 16-34

yrs

60% increase in usage of

mobile as a dating

platform

$2 billion industry

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An average user...

* The New York Times

Spends ~90 minutes in a day browsing through dating apps.

Logs in 11 times a day.

Particularly, female users have longer sessions lasting ~ 8.5 mins as compared to 7.2 mins session of male users.

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A lot more dating apps are finding their match!

* The New York Times, ** TechInAsia, *** Global Web Index

Rising Valuations

$1 billion valuation, 50 million monthly active users*

$3 billion valuation, 78.1 million monthly active users**

Users paying for

dating service 6% 14% 20% 24%

Average Internet User

Dating Site User

Dating App User

Tinder Users

% of users who paid for dating service in past month

For Real Connections8

Types of dating apps

Messaging based

Messaging based

Location based

Messaging based

Location basedOn

Demand

Having Fun Finding Love!

Coffee Meets Bagel

Bumble

Tinder

3nder

Happn

Hinge

Raya

JSwipe

Grouper Whim

Clover

How About We

Match

The League eHarmony

Plenty Of Fish OkCupid

Zoosk

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Agenda

Overview of the dating app ecosystem

Tips while designing dating apps

Monetization methods for dating apps

Best Practices for advertising in dating apps

1

2

3

4

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Building a dating appTip#1 Make it fun with gamification

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Building a dating appTip#2 Match better: Strong feedback-engagement model

Ask behavioral questions to give the user better matches.

Incentivize users to answer more.

OkCupid eHarmony

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Building a dating appTip#3 Curate content: Help users make decisions

Coffee Meets Bagel

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Building a dating appTip#4 The login choice

Give user the option of creating login profile with the social network of her choice.

Raya, a dating app for creative communities lets a user create her profile using her Instagram account.

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Building a dating appTip#5 Design it for the Ladies!

Where are the ladies: 67% of dating apps users are males.

On Bumble, girls hold all the power!

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Building a dating appTip#6 Limit the matches

Singles feel overwhelmed with more than 24 potential dates.*

A/B test with the number of matches being shown to the user at a given point in time.

*Mic.com

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Agenda

Overview of the dating app ecosystem

Tips while designing dating apps

Monetization methods for dating apps

Best Practices for advertising in dating apps

1

2

3

4

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Monetization methods of dating apps

Premium features are available on monthly or yearly basis.

Example: TinderPlus, Zoosk, HowABoutWeDating

1 Subscription

Features as add on to app’s main features.

Ideal for apps with substantial user base.

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Monetization methods of dating apps

Let users access the basic version of the app for free, and charge them for premium features.

Example: OkCupid,Coffee Meets Bagel, Skout, happn

2 Freemium

Quick sign-ups: boost for user base building.

OkCupid Skout

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Monetization methods of dating apps

Let users digitally gift their potential dates roses, chocolates etc.

Tie in services like book a cab, table, or cover drinks.

3 Gifts and tangible services

Example: Grouper, Plenty Of Fish

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Monetization methods of dating apps4 Advertising

In-Line:Carousel Ads on Chat Lists

In-Feed:Content Stream Ads

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Monetization methods of dating apps4 Advertising

Gift Walls Online to Offline Services

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Agenda

Overview of the dating app ecosystem

Tips while designing dating apps

Monetization methods for dating apps

Best Practices for advertising in dating apps

1

2

3

4

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Advertising in dating apps

Easy Discoverability: Place the ad on the main page, within the first 2 tiles of a chat feed or 3-4 swipes.

# Best Practices

Straightforward Call-to-Action: Keep the user taps to minimum, ensure the CTA lands at the desired landing page directly.

Contemporary Content: Grab the user attention with in-vogue brands, as 70% of the audience is in 16-34 yrs age group.

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Advertising in dating apps# Best Practices

Immediately Noticeable: Prominent, large ad units perform

better. For compact layouts, highlight the ad in a slightly

different color to improve performance.

Clear Identification: Clearly mark the unit as an

advertisement with a tag such as “Sponsored” or “Ad”.

Respect User Privacy: Steer clear of private spaces such as

conversation windows to avoid intrusion.

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InMobi is the largest independent social monetization platform globally

InMobi Dating/ Social Partners

“User experience is what makes or breaks any app. We wanted to ensure that any advertising solution that we bring in does not compromise on user experience at all – InMobi provided us with the right blend of monetization and user experience.”

Denisha BrekkePartner Manager, Skout

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Questions?

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