Interview with Clark Sloan, Founder of Single Christian Network

Q: We know that Single Christian Network is one of the oldest dating sites. Please tell us a bit more about your history.

A: I wish I could say I had the most altruistic motives for starting Single Christian Network (www.singlec.com). In reality it just happened.

I was an out of work computer programmer. My dad published a singles newspaper for Christians. He wanted to create a computer matching program for them and gave me a call. I needed the money. I agreed to write his program.
What happened is that it worked too well. He got overloaded with trying to publish his newspaper and run the matching program at the same time. Instead of paying me for the work, he asked me to take it over. I did. The rest is history. It was called Christian Computer Match back then.

What I did was put ads in singles newspapers all over the country. I posted full pages ads in some of them. The ad was an actual application. A new member would fill out the application and mail it in. I would key that information into the computer and once a month I would mail out matches to all the subscribers. Remember now -- this is before the internet. I didn't even have an email address back then. Everything was postal mail.
Once a month I would run the matching program, print thousands of matching reports and spend the weekend printing, folding, stuffing and licking envelopes. It wasn't the funnest job in the world. My house was filled with envelopes, paper, stamps and lots of neighbor kids helping fold and stuff.

In 1995 I heard about this thing called the World Wide Web and thank goodness! I bought a book on how to create a web page and create a "website." The site was a single page with a phone number. But it was online! I do think I probably have the very first online dating site. I'm not sure how to prove that, but it will be close. If anyone was online before 1995 let me know.

Soon after that a brilliant idea popped into my brain. "Why not let them type in their own application? Why do I have to retype all of these things?" So, that one page site got bigger with an online application form. I just downloaded that information and imported into my matching program. Yes, I still mailed out the monthly mailings. It was a few more months until I realized that I could let that happen online. Remember, I was as new to the internet as the internet was new. I was learning as I went. It was a fun, wild time the next few years in watching things grow.

Q: How do you differentiate your site from other Christian dating sites?

A: Single Christian Network differentiates itself from many other Christian dating sites by being more personal. We are not a big corporate conglomerate. You'll often find me online chatting in the chat room or posting on the forums or emailing many of our members. We are a big family. We have very supportive forums where members get advice and give advice and just share together. It is a very homey atmosphere. There are bigger sites and sites with more bells and whistles, but no "better" sites. :-) I think of us like the old Avis commercials: "We try harder. " I hope that never changes.

Q: How do you promote your resource?

A: SCN is promoted the same way most dating sites are. PPC, SEO, ads and affiliates. We have a great affiliate program. Affiliates earn commissions for the life of the member. We have affiliates that have been with us for 10 years. We hope to see them for 10 more! And we want to invite any affiliate that is working with other dating sites to join ours.

Q: Could you share some tips on how to stay afloat in online dating industry for so long?

A: We stay afloat and have been around this long simple because we are personal. We take care of our members. Our members are members, not customers. They are part of a big family. We have members who have gotten married years ago, but stick around for the friendships. I hope that never changes. Single Christian Network truly is a wonderful, happy community. To keep afloat, pay attention to your members. Listen to them. Accept complaints for what they are - a chance to grow. Apologize often, and make things right. Do that, and things will work and you'll grow. source>>>

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