Emma's Posts

Hi I met Jackie through the web site. I sent her a message first and we got chatting. We’d both only been on there 24 hours, we arranged a meet and we hit it off almost straight away.

Dating for free this Spring Bank Holiday

Dating for free this Spring Bank Holiday

As Spring Bank Holiday beckons again, and paves the way towards a fantastic summer ahead (we hope!), what are your plans for the forthcoming three day weekend?

 

If you’re single, then you’ll probably join thousands of others who’re looking for love, and join a free dating site. As you’ll probably know already, there are quite a few to choose from, but not many of them is 100% free dating. FreeAndSingle.com is exactly that. When you join us, you won’t be asked at any point to pay a bean! It’s 100% completely free to contact anyone on the site. Always.

Join FreeAndSingle Now

And, unlike other free dating sites, if you can’t find what you’re looking for with us, we have more than 10 other “niche” dating sites for you to choose from. Ranging from the over 40s (maturefreeandsingle.com) and professionals (professionalfreeandsingle.com) to sites for the wealthy and single parents (wealthyfreeandsingle.com, freeandsingleparents.com).

 

So if you’re single, and are looking for a date this weekend, head on over to FreeAndSingle.com, our free dating site and give your love life a boost. We look forward to having you as a valued member.

 

Good luck!

 

The FreeAndSingle Team

free dating versus paid-fof dating sitesIn the first post on this subject, I talked about why freedating sites are different to paid-for (or premium) dating sites, and how they (generally!) cater for two different types of single. In this instalment, I’ll go into what people are looking for when they join a paid-for site, and also why here at FreeAndSingle, we’ve made the bold move of running both.

 

When someone joins a premium dating site, it’s generally because they’re looking for something they haven’t been able to find on a free dating site like FreeAndSingle.com. And that “something” is usually other singles who are looking for the same thing…a relationship.

 

People tend to take things more seriously when they pay for them. With online dating it’s exactly the same. More people upload photos, and complete their profile properly on paid-for sites. More people consider what they write in their first emails to prospective dates. And they do all this because they know they’re dealing with other, more engaged, singles, and because they know it matters!

 

We’ve taken the unique step of managing both free and premium dating sites. This allows people to try out online dating for free, in a safe, fun environment. While they’re doing this, we’re learning more about them and whether a niche site might be more suited to their needs. Similarly, paid sites aren’t for everybody either. Some people will join our niche sites and never pay, usually because they’re just not ready to date seriously. In which case, they can join and try FreeAndSingle.com, and see how that goes for them.

 

join-now-button

 

As each of our niche dating sites is completely unique, we usually recommend our members to join the free daitng site, FreeAndSingle.com, and in addition, join a couple of the niche sites they think they will be most suited to. Then, get involved with each of them, and see how things go!

 

As ever, good luck in your search. Stay positive, smile, and enjoy yourself. It’s dating, after all, which should make anyone feel good!

Free Dating vs Paid-for dating sites

 

free dating versus paid-fof dating sitesAs we run a freedating site as well as premium, niche dating sites, we’re often asked which is the better option to join…a free dating site, or a paid-for dating site where you pay a subscription each month. Here’s our view on the free dating versus paid-for dating discussion.

 

When PlentyOfFish opened their doors way back when, they predicted the death of the paid-for dating sites like Match and MatureFreeAndSingle.com. That was 10 years ago, and  do you know what? There was no revolution. There was no death to premium dating sites as promised. Those premium sites are still going strong (in fact they’re going stronger than ever before, and there’s no indication that their popularity is slowing at all).

 

Then came OKCupid, another free dating site that proclaimed the same Apocalype. But what happened? They ended up getting bought out by Match.com, who viewed them as a great new member driver (much to the annoyance of POF!). Now Sam Yagan, the then OK Cupid CEO, is CEO of Match.com.

 

So why were POF and OKCupid wrong? Why hasn’t the paid-for dating site gone away? What is happening here that means both freedating sites and paid-for sites can co-exist quite happily.

 

It’s all about engagement.

 

Not the “will you marry me” kind, but the “how seriously am I taking this dating stuff” kind.

 

The reason the free and paid-for sites can co-exist is because they’re serving the needs of two different markets.

 

People who join a free dating site are by and large trying online dating out for the first time, or are coming back to it after some time away. Generally, they are dipping their toe in the water and, as such, they’re not fully engaged with the online dating process. They’re yet to be convinced that it’s going to work with them.

 

So, free dating sites are generally made up of people new to the process. People who are taking the whole experience casually, and who aren’t prepared to make any commitment. Understandably.

 

Then, as these new daters start to decide that maybe online dating is for them, they basically grow out of their free dating site membership. They’re ready to make a commitment to the process, and to the other singles they’re potentially meeting. So they start looking to premium or paid-for dating sites in the hope that they’re going to find other singles equally committed to finding a like-minded partner.

 

With premium dating sites, because their members are paying to use the service, they’re more committed to finding someone. They’re more engaged…

 

More on this in our next post.

There’s a new free dating app in town, called LinkedUp.  It’s clearly piggy-backing off the good name of LinkedIn.

 

LinkedUp's interface is like Tinder's

LinkedUp’s interface is like Tinder’s

Here’s the scoop at the Daily Mail (yes, we know, we know)

 

Have any of you used it? And even if not, do you think it’s a good idea to mix business and “pleasure”? We’d love to find out your thoughts…

 

 

We say this a lot, but with free online dating, you just can’t say it enough, it seems…

 

People who spend time on their dating profile, and who upload a good photo of themselves receive more than 20 times the attention of those who don’t.

 

That is an amazing statistic, but we see it time and time again! The dating singles who do well and who have a great dating experience are the ones who have taken some care about how their profile reflects who they are and (to a lesser extent) the type of person they are looking for.

 

The “In a nutshell” section on your profile is your chance to let the other members see what a great person you, and why they should spend the time to get to know you better, over and above the thousands of other single men or single women on the site. Saying stuff like “Ask me later” or “Looking for nsa fun” are just going to get removed by our Moderation team, because they don’t help our members find out what kind of a person you really are.

 

If you find this hard to grasp, imagine it’s like you walking into a bar and announcing yourself to the world like “Hi, I’m Mike, and I like Sex!” The chances of anyone talking to you in there are fairly remote, don’t you think? And you’ll most likely be asked to leave.

 

Well, it’s exactly the same on FreeAndSingle. There is nothing we cherish more than our valued members and their well-being and success while with us, so we’ll do everything we can to protect them.

 

As a free dating site member, you’re going to be much better off giving some indication of the type of person you are. What are your hobbies, what things do you like and dislike, and what you’re hoping to get out of being a member of FreeAndSingle.

 

Imagine it’s a kind of biography in a single paragraph…think about how you would sum yourself up in a few sentences.

 

It’s hard to do, we know, but we also know that the rewards are well worth it. Your profile will show up more in search results, and you will receive more attention because suddenly you’re someone who’s maybe worth getting to know!

 

So, whichever free dating site you’re a member of, do yourself a favour right now. Log back in, get yourself a cup of coffee (or whatever your tipple is), and spend just 10 minutes writing something that shows the world just how incredible you are!

 

Good luck!

 

The FreeAndSingle Team

Well, just as “All animals are equal, but some animals are more equal than others” (Animal Farm…yes we read books now and again), all free dating sites are not free.

 

So watch out when you’re looking into which free dating site is the best one for you!

 

Why aren’t they 100% free?

 

Well, it costs a lot of money to run a successful dating site. With so many people logging in every day, there’s people’s photos to moderate (so you’re not shocked by some body parts some people post). There’s profiles that people write (not always nicely, politely, and not stuffed with email addresses and phone numbers). There’s scammers just prowling around looking for their next unsuspecting victim…our job is to sniff them out, then snuff them out.

 

Then there’s the technology. Software breaks and has to be mended. It also needs to be updated to make sure it’s current, and that it works well on different devices (eg smart phones, tablets, PS3…the list goes on). And all this technology has to run on servers. The more the members coming to the site, the more servers and server power is needed…

 

And all this worthwhile work costs money. So if you’re free a free dating site, never charging a bean, then how do you pay for all this?

 

Is it really 100% free dating?

Well, most free sites will run advertising on their site. Whilst this can be annoying for you, it’s essential for the free site.

 

Other sites choose to try and top up their advertising revenues by charging you, the user, extra cash for some extra functionality on the site. Simple functions like who’s been looking at your profile, elevating your profile up the ranks so more people will see your photos, the ability to add favourites, and many more, are all designed to get you dipping into your wallet so the free dating site can make a little more cash from you.

 

And then of course there are all those paid (or premium) sites who say it’s free to join but…once you’re in you need to pay in order to contact that special someone…

 

So what’s the best free dating site out there?

 

Well, POF (plentyoffish) is the mother of all free dating sites at the moment. They’ve been around for ages, and they’re huge. They also have a pretty good reputation as dating site owners, but beware they are not 100% completely free for everything. They do charge for some stuff.

 

OKCupid are a big site too, although mostly in the USA. They’re now owned by Match.com.

 

Smooch is another good free dating site, but they’re only in the UK (bummer if you’re from anywhere else).

 

Then there’s us. We’re aiming to keep FreeAndSingle.com completely free, for everything. We also run a host of premium dating sites, as we know that when people start to get serious about dating, they tend to like to pay. But for Freeandsingle itself, that’s going to stay free forever…we promise.

 

So sign up with us, and enjoy yourself….and did we mention it’s free? 🙂