Operating and running a free online dating service called Thehotspotguide.com

Added: (Sun Jun 28 2009)

Pressbox (Press Release) -
Tom and Ashley of TheHotSpotGuide.com know exactly how hard it is to run a free online dating website. They first began their 100% free online dating service in 2007 they had no clue on how ruthless and competitive the free online dating industry was. Tom Landry and Ashley Lekov thought if they hosted innovative features on their free dating services they would become a success in the online dating industry, little did they know that all of the other free dating entrepreneurs had the same idea.

Creators Tom and Ashley decided if they were going to get anywhere they would have to come up with a better plan. They integrated both free dating services and social networking tools so that members could set their own pace while dating online.

"We wanted our members to have fun during the process of finding online romance." Ashley says.

"Instead of having the average 'meat market' we wanted to give our users some options. Most people like to take things slow and become well-acquainted before getting romantically involved." Ashley added.

On top of having the more traditional dating services like camera chat, IMs, email, winks, chat rooms, and hot or not, TheHotSpotGuide.com expanded their community by adding two other themes. One of the themes is called Yoga Dating where members can watch free yoga videos, and the other theme is set up for performing artists where they can publicly display their works. Members can then vote for their favorite artist, comedian, and musician getting them placed on the front page of the site. Ashley and Tom also added quizzes, online stores, videos, customizable profiles, forums, and a questionnaire-like profile which generated both matches and friends.

"After the additions to the site we started to notice more and more people were interacting with each other." Tom Landry says.

"That was when the real work began." Tom states.

By 'real work' Tom meant the amount of spam flooding his free dating site. Both Tom and Ashley monitor TheHotSpotGuide.com daily for any suspicious emails, chat and IM messages, and even blogs. They delete anyone who asks another member for their personal information on the first encounter.

"We couldn't believe how many people do this for a living." Ashley says.

"This is a major crime and should be handled appropriately by the authorities." Toms says.

While hosting new services and monitoring spam these two hard working entrepreneurs continuously optimize their free online dating site.

"This is the most 'mind-numbing' process of all." Tom claims.

"Yes, at first we had not a clue where to start." Ashley agrees.

But they somehow found the right formula because they are rapidly climbing to the search engines' front pages for most of their targeted keywords.

"We keep our methods honest and search engine friendly." Tom states.

"We noticed other free dating services performing 'black-hat' techniques and not getting anywhere, so we steered clear of those methods." Ashley added.

Has this been worth it? Do these two brave business owners have lives, other than the internet?

"Totally, a friend always told me you can become successful at anything as long as you work hard and steadily." Tom states.

"Absolutely! I feel honored knowing about web design, SEO, and other useful internet methods. No matter what you put your mind to you can achieve anything." Ashley says.