Money is the key to a marriage, but live dating has risks

Some time ago, Wang Po from Kaifeng became popular on the Internet, which not only made the city popular, but also brought huge traffic to the blind date track. In this article, we will also analyze whether the online matchmaking business is profitable? And how to make money?

There is a story in "Xuanguai Lu" written by Li Fuyan, a writer of the Tang Dynasty: A scholar named Wei Gu passed by Songcheng and stayed in an inn in the south of Songcheng. At night, he met an old man who was looking through a marriage book under the moonlight. The old man tied a red string for Wei Gu to indicate the marriage partner. Later, Wei Gu really married the daughter of Wang Tai, the governor of Xiangzhou - this is the origin of Yue Lao.

With the marriage book and the red string, Yue Lao can help people find love even though they are thousands of miles apart. In modern times, matchmakers can also match people up quickly with the help of the Internet. Wang Po, who lived in the Wansui Mountain Wuxia City scenic area in Kaifeng, became popular on the Internet some time ago. Her unique skill of matching young people quickly made her known as "Yue Lao's top seller".

There are far more such "matchmakers" than Wang Po in Kaifeng. If you search for keywords such as "matchmaker" and "blind date" on social platforms such as Douyin, Kuaishou and even Xiaohongshu, you will see a large number of "matchmaker" accounts, some of which even thoughtfully mark the preferred regions.

However, the popularity of Wang Po in Kaifeng is mainly due to the curiosity of netizens. The matchmaking programs in scenic spots are entertaining, interactive, and novel. The marketing behind them has pushed them to a high level of traffic, which is why they attract a large number of netizens to watch.

How do online matchmakers attract traffic? What is the process of online matchmaking?

Matchmakers and matchmakers help to arrange marriages, and the benefits come from money. Is the online matchmaking business profitable? And how can it be profitable?

01 Five thousand yuan, guaranteed to introduce a wife

Since the emergence of China Dating Center (the predecessor of Zhenai.com) in 1998, Chinese people have been moving their love and marriage to the Internet for more than 20 years. What is new about online matchmakers now is that they have added live blind dates.

Xiang, from Xinyang, Henan, has been a matchmaker on Douyin for two and a half years. As a rural woman born in the 1970s, Xiang's previous matchmaking experience came from relatives and acquaintances. After the Douyin live broadcast, strangers have been approaching her for matchmaking.

"The content of my live broadcast is very simple. In addition to introducing the basic information of the children who come to me to find a partner, their blind date demands, collecting the information of new blind date people who register in the live broadcast room, and chatting about my views on the current blind date market and some small things I encounter when I am matchmaking. Of course, I will also interact with them and answer everyone's questions."

Sister Xiang told DoNews that she would usually match the information she collected with the requirements of the men and women seeking marriage and their own conditions, and then ask them individually. After both parties agree, she would introduce them to each other. But she would not directly connect with the microphone during the live broadcast, because she is in the business of guaranteeing successful introductions.

The successful introduction provided by Xiang Dajie means that the fee will be charged only after the man and woman decide to get married. "So I guarantee that the introduction will be successful. If the two parties feel that they are not suitable after the introduction, I will continue to help match other suitable people until the man and woman are engaged. Then the man will pay me 5,000 yuan in one lump sum, and I will not charge any other fees."

According to Xiang, online matchmakers have their own charging rules. Some matchmakers charge matchmaking fees directly at the beginning of the matchmaking process, some set a requirement in the live broadcast room that fans must give a certain amount of gifts before they can get the qualification to connect with the microphone or sign up to join the group, and some charge fees for leaving the group or removing the blind date information after the two people are successfully matched.

DoNews observed on Douyin that some matchmakers posted a wide variety of charging items, including matchmaking fees, introduction fees, engagement fees, marriage fees, group entry fees, membership fees, etc.

Xiang believes that setting up these fees may seem to make money quickly, but it will affect her reputation. "People come to a blind date with the intention of getting married. Who would want to date you if you charge them before they even start dating?" In her opinion, a good reputation will attract more people to come to her for matchmaking.

Although her Douyin account has only 46,000 followers, Sister Xiang is relatively well-known locally. Many local people working away from home have heard of her, and some have registered with her asking for help in finding jobs in the same city.

Wang Qing, who works in Guangzhou, is from a county near Sister Xiang. His mother registered for him in Sister Xiang's live broadcast room. "I haven't found a good partner because of my work, and my mother is always urging me. When I went back home during the Chinese New Year last year, I found that she often watched the live broadcast of this girl named Sister Xiang. When I asked her, it turned out that she was watching to see if the blind date girls introduced in the live broadcast room were suitable for me. She said that she had sent a private message to Sister Xiang before and registered my information."

Last year, Sister Xiang received 13 couples' engagement gifts. In addition to the agreed 5,000 yuan, some hosts who like to have a good time will invite her to witness the engagement on the day, and the gifts will include red envelopes ranging from 200 to 600 yuan. In the local small county, many people's monthly income is only about 1,500 yuan. Sister Xiang's annual income as a matchmaker is about 70,000 yuan, which is quite lucrative.

02 Live dating is also a way to make friends

But strictly speaking, Sister Xiang is still a "half-traditional matchmaker" who does business with local acquaintances and her business model is relatively traditional.

Switching to the Internet, as those born in the 1990s and 2000s become the main force in the marriage and dating market, their demand for marriage and dating services is also leaning towards interactivity and entertainment. For them, blind dates do not necessarily mean they want to get married. They may just want to make friends temporarily.

Kathy, who works as a salesperson at an export trading company in Yiwu, started working part-time as an online matchmaker on Douyin at the end of last year. She is planning to start her own business and devote herself to it full-time with her colleagues in the second half of the year. The content of her live broadcast of blind dates is very different from that of Xiang Dajie. She does not broadcast information for a long time, but interacts with fans via microphone.

"Those dating platforms and matchmaking agencies are becoming less and less attractive to young people because they are faced with a lot of boring information. How can they attract young people if the live broadcast room is still about information?" Kathy believes that online matchmakers are the hosts and liveners of online gatherings. "It's enough for everyone to feel relaxed and happy when they come in. It's even better if they meet friends they can chat with."

Because Kathy's live broadcast room is relaxed and interesting, fans often give her red envelopes and gifts in her live broadcast room. In addition, she has also opened a product showcase on her account, and can also earn some income from selling goods.

Kathy told DoNews that in response to fans' needs, based on the traffic resources accumulated through live broadcasts, she has currently established three blind date groups, two of which are already full. "If possible, I would like to open overseas blind date groups, divorce groups, etc. in the future, hoping to cover more people."

Currently, Kathy is planning to set a threshold for joining the group, requiring a certain fee to join. "6.6? 8.8? 9.9? I haven't decided yet." As for the already established communities, Kathy is also considering operating them through some free activities and paid packages.

Feng Che, a college student who started to be a matchmaker on Xiaohongshu at the beginning of the year, also has the same idea as Kathy. "The form of live broadcasting is based on the matching of interests and hobbies and chemistry, so we try our best to provide everyone with a relaxing and pleasant atmosphere in the live broadcast room, so as to better encourage everyone to make friends."

In addition, Fengche also shares some love tips and psychological notes on his homepage, and occasionally organizes some small offline meeting events, which also receive good feedback.

03 Good business, but risky

In recent years, with the expansion of the single population, the scale of China's Internet marriage and dating market has maintained a growth trend.

According to the "China Marriage and Dating Industry Consumer Behavior Survey Data" by iiMedia Research, the number of single people in my country will exceed 240 million in 2023. In terms of the frequency of blind dates among Chinese singles in 2023, 49.50% of singles will go on blind dates at least twice a month, 17.50% of singles have no fixed frequency and it all depends on their parents' arrangements, 16.90% of singles will go on blind dates whenever there are holidays, and 16.10% of singles will go on blind dates at least three times a year.

These figures also reflect that young people have a strong desire for marriage and love.

On the other hand, as mentioned earlier, Generation Z, which has become the main force in the marriage and dating market, has diverse interests and hobbies, and their demand for marriage and dating services shows an attitude of "strong social interaction, weak marriage and dating".

A post-00s generation told DoNews: "The blind date model we are willing to accept is to make friends first, and only after getting along to a certain extent can we say whether it is possible to talk about marriage. The premise of making friends is to have something to talk about. A boring and awkward atmosphere is definitely not acceptable."

This has created a huge potential market for live blind dating. Some entrepreneurs, like Kathy and Fengche, have "gotten" the psychological preferences of young people and quickly increased their sales in a short period of time. They can then make profits through red envelopes, product promotion, membership fees, etc.

However, the matchmaking market is also in a mixed state. Scams such as marriage brokers, information falsification, and information leakage have always been the hardest hit areas for complaints. The complexity of the Internet makes live blind dates risky.

Previously, at the Wang Po matchmaking events that were monitored by the entire network, married men would appear on the stage for blind dates, but in the more niche live broadcast rooms, there is no guarantee that there will not be people with bad intentions.

Love is precious, but safety is even more precious. Friends who want to try live blind dating, please remember that the Internet is risky and you need to be cautious when entering the game.