How Markus Frind Build an Online Empire in PlentyofFish.com

Markus Frind started the renowned free online dating site PlentyofFish.com. In 2006, he earned an estimated $10,000 a day from Adsense. Currently, PlentyofFish is reported to have 45 million visitors and 1.1 billion pageviews monthly earning Frind approximately $5 to 10 million annually.

So how did Markus Frind achieve this seemingly impossible feat? For would-be online entrepreneurs, Markus delineates 17 doable steps that could help spur business. These are:

1. Timing is Everything – Knowing what the market needs and addressing it promptly is crucial. Growth of an online business is often spurred by being the first-mover. For instance, Lavalife used to be the only dating site in Canada and this contributes to the fast increase in membership sign-ups.

2. The Power of ‘Free’ Business Model – free sites always attract a lot of attention. When PlentyofFish came online, it was the only free dating site which was instrumental for its massive success later.

3. Forming a team is Not Necessary – When starting an online business, it is not necessary to hire employees immediately. This is because almost all work, except for few technical issues, can be automated.

4. Offline Marketing is Not Necessary - Offline promo is only good when there is a huge customer base. However, if you are just starting and want to attract more members to your site, offline promo is not needed.

5. Success is Not Based on One Thing – There is no single, surefire formula for success. Success happens due to an amalgamation of factors. One cannot just copy a popular website like Google and be successful. Success is due to having the right idea that address people’s needs at the right time.

6. Uptime is Equally Important to Innovation – Redesigning the site is good. Having a consistent uptime however is just as important as the skill in redesigning a website because as the site grows, more and more users will be coming to it and it is necessary that it stays up so as not to drive potential users away.

7. Make Unique Sites - create sites that no one else has made. Sites may have low number of visitors but if they have high EPC or earnings per click, they will make more money

8. Good Work Ethics – whenever you find yourself running out of ideas just force yourself to type words. Later, working would become a habit.

9. Function over Form – the value of the site and its functions are more important than its design. Site should be useful to the reader. Ads should not be too obvious. Improvements should be introduced.

10. Think of ways to monetize your site before building it. See the potential ways to earn money first like Adsense, affiliate marketing and others.

11. Don’t be discourage. If you drive traffic to your site, it can have good earning potentials for you. Just persevere even if you are only earning a few cents per month. As the site grows, so do its pageviews.

12. Learn what is necessary. Pick out new things even from your competitors and do things better than them.

13. Monetize Your Site. There are other money-making ventures other than adsense. When you generate traffic, it is good to look at other options in order to earn higher.

14. Know the Limits of Your Business. Do not try to adopt business models that do not fit into your current one. For instance, turning your site into a paid one instead of being a free dating site. This could confuse users. Also, aiming to expand to an already saturated market.

15. Always have a goal. A goal will inspire you to work harder. This will also deter you from being complacent.

16. Success does not fall on your lap. Planning alone will not make a business a success. There is no substitute for hard work.

17. Costs vs Profits – knowing how much you need to spend will enable you to determine how much sales you need in order for the business to become profitable. For sites with at least 100,000 unique visitors per day, operational costs in the form of hardware and software could would be necessary. If the costs run to 2-3 cents per unique visitor then advertising is enough. If you incur a cost of 10 cents per unique visitor then selling a product or service would be a good idea.