An interview
Interview with My Catacombs Founder
Q. What is My Catacombs?
A. www.mycatacombs.com is a new dating site geared to the gothic and punk singles community worldwide. Our official launch date was April 1st, 2008.
Q. There are several other gothic and punk dating sites out there, what made you decide to create another one?
A. I found myself newly single after a long term relationship and I had joined up at all the sites I could find geared to gothic and punk lifestyles. I found most were lacking in ambiance and charisma. Most were owned by large companies that run several different themed dating sites and it showed by how impersonal they are, looks, themes, most use such generic templates that not surprisingly activity drops off rather quickly. I realized there was no way I’d meet anyone like minded on there and I was having a difficult finding anyone gothic or punk on the regular dating sites, so low and behold I felt compelled to create a site for others like myself. I know single people like me are out there, they just need a place to go!
Q. So what would you say really separates you from the competitors?
A. I’ve spent days, weeks, even months researching other dating sites, not just gothic and punk but also the most well known general sites out there. I looked at what features as a user I wanted, how user friendly the navigation was on the various sites, what type of information I wanted to see on profiles, and have available on mine, and most importantly prices! I then took what I learned and worked to create a site that is easy to navigate, very user friendly, offers the best features available on the market and offers really inexpensive member upgrades. I think by being more hands on with the site and being more concerned with creating an atmosphere for connections instead of just making money it shows and I am confident that alone will attract many more members over time.
Don’t get me wrong though, there are some very great sites out there but most of the great ones are simply geared to a very different crowd. One in particular is also run by a woman out of her home, it’s designed well but its geared to a more trendy urbanite crowd as most of the sites are, that is of course the safest way to go. I’ve never been about playing it safe.
Q. There are several huge free sites out there that make decent money, why isn’t your site free to all users?
A. I had thought about doing that, but truth be told I get annoyed when I go to a site and it is loaded down with affiliates and advertisements. I did not want to assault the members with the same visual overkill, and that is how those free sites make enough money to keep in the green. Of course I didn’t want to set myself into a situation where my costs would run the site into the ground so I create several membership options. Of course I still offer a free membership and I have worked hard to make sure that free members still have use of the features needed to enjoy the site and to meet and mingle with other members online.
I suppose time will tell if I made the right choice, I hold firm to my belief that I made it for the right reasons.
Q. May I ask how many members there are at www.mycatacombs.com?
A. Sure, as of April 18th, 2008, just under 3 weeks being online we have over 40 members from 4 different countries.
Q. How does that number stack up to your expectations?
A. I try not to let expectations rule me, but I had held a loose hope for 100 members in the first month, I anticipate that we may reach at least half that number and I am truly happy with that. Growth is growth and that’s all I can hope for.
Q. Are you a member on the site?
A. Of course! I am not just the founder, I am also a member. I like to chat with the users, after all it’s the best way to make sure we are doing them justice. Besides, I am still single and enjoying the connections I am making with other like minded individuals.
Q. What sort of marketing plans do you have for the future?
A. Word of mouth. It has always been said in business that that’s the fastest and best advertising you can get. Of course things have changed with the internet being such a huge media but I find it is still a very effective strategy. Of course we have and will continue to advertise by whatever means are available to us, search engines, sponsored links, banner exchanges, web rings, etc.
Q. Where do you see the site in the future?
A. I really am not holding a lot of expectations for the site, simply because it is not about making money or becoming huge for me its more personal than that for me. Naturally I do hope to see it continue to grow and become a staple in the punk and gothic communities as being one of the leading dating sites.
Q. Would you consider selling if the site grew to that extent?
A. Honestly I wouldn’t know unless confronted with that. I would hate the idea of a large company taking over and perhaps taking away the personal quality we have yet if we grew to the point where I couldn’t manage the site on my own, I might consider it.
Q. Is there any one thing you would like people to know about you or the site?
A. Just that we are there, we are not a large corporation and we hope that each and every member grows to view the site as not only another dating site but a fantastic place to meet friends in general.
Q. Starting this interview you’ve basically left your name out, is there a reason for this?
A. I have done one other interview on a dating directory site in which I used my name, it’s not for mystery purposes that I am leaving it out this time around I simply want to keep the focus on the site itself for now.
* If you’d like to reach the mycatacombs.com admin for questions or comments about this interview you can do so by emailing info@mycatacombs.com
Blog Category: Life
Playing (Music): Something Else
Current mood: bouncy
Added on: 19/04/2008 07:46:46
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My Catacombs
Just wanted to post a quick intro. We are a new dating site, yes cheesy I know, but hey we all need love right?
We are geared to punk and goth and generally alternative folk. Truth is I started the site after finding myself single and looking. The other punk and goth sites I checked out were, well, not run so well. Themes sucked and there was hardly anyone local people, so instead of whining about it I created my own. Now I hope to get some people to join up *ahem* so anyway, check it out, if your not single pass the link along to your single friends.
Cheers~
mycatacombs.com
Blog Category: Web, HTML, Tech
Playing (Music): Tragic Word Called Love
Current mood: chipper
Added on: 14/04/2008 08:32:59
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