Industry leader DatingGold has been on a roll of late, releasing updates and new products as if dating makes the world go round, which might actually be true. The company’s latest release is a white label solution, White Label Pros, and its safe to say they’re as excited about it as anything they’ve done in a while. We grabbed them for a quick Q&A to assess just how excited they are, and why.
What is your white label solution and how exactly does it work?
Our product is White Label Pros, and it offers three main white label options for our dating and webcam platforms.
The first option is similar to the basic promotional tools that we offer to all of our affiliates. This is a do-it-yourself system within our promotional tools area that is easy to navigate and implement. This is the quickest and easiest option to set up and takes less than 15 minutes.
The second option goes one step further in that it enables you to offer your new white label site to your affiliates within your own affiliate program. With this option you can easily offer your affiliates a dating or cam site with your own brand.
The third and most sophisticated option allows partners and prospective clients to integrate their own billing system and thus have more control over customer info. This works as somewhat of a franchise for the partner as they will have the ability to create their own sites but have access to our network and technology.
Why would a company choose one white label product over another?
At the risk of sounding a little general, it really does depend on the partner’s needs properly meshing with what a white label service can provide. No two white label services out there are the same, so what I would recommend doing is making a list of your needs and then asking around to different service providers to see who can meet the most needs on your list. Don’t be afraid to ask questions; you should try to find out as much as you can before making a commitment.
What are some of the main issues or situations that are developing in the industry that your white label product can address?
We have seen a decline in paysite businesses over the past couple of years; there‘s no denying it. One of the most important ways that companies are adapting to this shift is to put more of a focus on the quality of their content over the quantity. A good company’s business model is always in a state of flux. What is working well this year might not necessarily work as well next year. Exploring alternatives to your current business model, such as white label, significantly helps to keep your content fresh and gives the added value to your product to keep your customers coming back for more. Many companies have been approaching us with a strong desire to extend their current brand and add new channels of revenue that they have yet to tap into.
Is there a specific type of traffic that will be more attracted to your white label solution than others?
It’s already pretty well established that paysite traffic converts to sales much better than free-site traffic. Out of paysite traffic, the best conversions that you are going to see are dating or escort sites sending traffic to cam sites. If you already run a live-cam site, it would be very advantageous for you to have a dating white label that you can send your paid traffic to first. Then, after your customers sign up for a membership, post ads for your cam site in the members area and you’ll see your conversion rates for your cam site greatly improve. This filtering process has been proven effective many times over.
Can someone with a novelty or niche site use white label successfully?
Certainly. For what we offer, our dating white label service works best when paired with amateur or escort sites. Our cams white label is most suitable for social networking and dating sites. Niche sites do have a stronger potential to earn a more loyal customer base, but finding a white label service that can specifically target your demographic will be a more custom solution.
Generally speaking, what sort of revenue can someone expect to earn using your white label service? What is the revenue split?
We built our product with the idea of scalability in mind. No two companies are the same so we individually evaluate their situations. On average, if a partner wishes for us to handle the billing for them, they can expect to retain 50 percent to 70 percent of the revenue. If the partner prefers to handle their own billing, they can expect to retain 80 percent to 90 percent of the revenue.
What’s the integration process? How long does it take and how much money does it cost to get up and running?
That depends on which level of solution you are talking about. If the partner’s needs are simple, they can be up and running in about 15 minutes. For the most customized and complex of integrations, it can take up to 30 days.
How will your white label solutions address the coming changes that the industry is destined to face?
There certainly are new challenges that the industry faces every year. Most recent issues developing are in relation to the abundance of free video content and the viability of cross-selling business models. With a white label dating or cam solution, companies can rely on content that is dynamic, unique and cannot be stolen or reproduced. But I think that William Feather said it best when he proclaimed, “Success is largely a matter of holding on after others have let go.”
This article originally ran in the August 2010 issue of AVN.
