Can a local newsletter run dating profiles?
Short answer
I think it could work. Dating apps frustrate people, and a local newsletter can put one single person in front of 10,000 mostly normal locals. Never publish contact details: use a 'click here if you're interested' link and pass messages along yourself. Speed-dating events get lots of clicks too, so there may be a brand in it.
A local newsletter in Milwaukee ran a dating profile, and I couldn't stop thinking about it. I haven't run one myself, but I think there's something real here.
Why would a dating profile work in a newsletter?
"if you really break it down, Tinder, whatever, all these apps are broken. Nobody meets anybody. But you still need an audience, right?"
Everybody says go meet people in person. That's fine, but it limits you to the grocery store, the bar, wherever you happen to be. You can only get in front of so many people that way.
A newsletter changes the math. If you've got 10,000 subscribers, you're putting a single person in front of 10,000 people who are hopefully mostly normal locals. It gives someone an audience to be out there.
How do you keep it safe?
The same way you handle leads: you control where it goes. You never put the person's email or phone number in the newsletter. The profile says "click here if you're interested," and you act as the intermediary that passes things along.
- No contact details in the issue, ever.
- Interest goes to you first, not straight to the person.
- You decide what gets forwarded and to whom.
That keeps the person featured protected and keeps your brand's name clean if something goes sideways.
Who should you feature first?
Alec Kremins suggested on my podcast featuring men first and letting women show interest.
Is there a business in it?
Maybe. Another newsletter operator mentioned on Twitter that whenever he shares speed-dating events, they always get a ton of clicks. That tells me demand is there.
"is there a business opportunity there to be a local newsletter operator who also owns a speed dating brand? I bet you there is."
I could see a world where this becomes its own company. Speaking of asking what your asset is: a dating brand built on top of a trusted local newsletter starts with something the apps don't have: thousands of locals who already read you every week.
How could you test it?
Start small. Run one profile as a feature, route every response through you, and see how readers react. If it lands, try a speed-dating night and treat it like any other event. The money side of events is covered in how a local newsletter makes money from events.
Answered by TJ Larkin. From Local Media HQ podcast conversations, client and partner calls and my own notes, 2024-2026. Last updated .