GPWA Times Magazine - Issue 14 - October 2010

One way to keep affiliates happy is to pay them on time. What steps has your pro- gram taken to ensure that they’ll be paid on time? And when do your payments go out? Our payments go out on the 15th of each month by wire transfers. We are working on integrating more payment options as we speak in order to make our affiliates happier. The casino got off to a bit of a rocky start. Some affiliates were upset that you had some incorrect information and logos on the site. Can you talk about what hap- pened, and what you did to resolve the problem? We had some incorrect infor- mation on our site due to a miscommu- nication between our designer and man- agement. Most of the things were fixed instantly, but there is some text on the site that still needs repairing. Since 7Red is a new brand it takes time to get to it all done, as we’re trying to combine adjust- ments with new development. I believe we’ll get to it all soon and that the affili- ates who were upset understand now that this was an honest mistake and that no one tried to manipulate them, especially due to the fact we’re talking about a new brand, with such high standards of ser- vice and games, that wouldn’t intention- ally take any risks of starting off on the wrong foot. There was recently an issue with a spam- mer promoting a number of operators,in- cluding 7Red.What do you do in response to spammers? How do you deal with af- filiates who violate your anti-spamming policy? When we find out an affiliate is spamming we give him a warning and the opportunity to show us opt-in records of the recipient that complained. When the affiliate provides us with proof of opt-in we try to resolve the case with the recipi- ent. If an affiliate gets two complaints we simply terminate his account, as we have zero tolerance for spammers. Affiliates and affiliate program manag- ers have several things in common. One of them is that their e-mail inboxes are always full. How long do you give your- self for responding to e-mail? And what e-mail management tips can you offer? I try to respond to e-mails within 24 hours during workdays. Since there are times you just can’t reply to everyone on time, I browse through my e-mail and flag items that are more urgent than others. I like having my inbox full as it gives me no dead moments during the day. How do you manage your “to-do” lists? Do you use any special software to help you out? In the past six years, since I started in Internet marketing, I don’t think I’ve ever been able to clear my to-do list. There are always new things coming up while you’re dealing with older ones. In order to complete as much as possible I use an Excel sheet to manage all of my tasks and a paper sheet for my urgent tasks, which I update on a daily basis. Do you gamble yourself? If so, what games do you like to play? I gamble mostly on 7Red. I love playing Mr. Vegas 3D slot machine and on our new heads- up 3D poker platform. I also play Texas Hold’em with friends and sometimes in casinos. What advice do you have for someone just starting in the industry? I’d advise a new affiliate to choose carefully who to work with, focus on niches with low com- petition and create high-quality content on his Web site. People in the online gambling industry have been known to party. What’s your best party story? My best party story took place in Amsterdam but I can’t discuss it here in order to protect your readers’ innocence. What’s the best movie food? Sushi. It comes to your doorstep, fresh, tasty and healthy. What is the last book you read? Did you enjoy it? Why or why not? The last book I read was about the Theory of Games. I loved it as it gave me new perspec- tives and encouraged thinking outside the box. What is your favorite movie? My favorite movie, as of now, is “Inglourious Basterds.” I love Tarantino’s movies – they’re light, funny and have great casts. If you could change one thing about the online gaming industry, what would it be? I’d change the regulations and make it legal everywhere. If you could have dinner with anyone, liv- ing or dead,who would they be and why? I’d have dinner with my father, who died years ago, because I miss him. If someone is visiting you, what’s the one place you have to take them to see? I guess I’d take them to the promenade to see the ocean. What are three things that no one knows about you? I have no skeletons in my closet and I’m a sharing person so I can’t even name one… 35 Affiliate Manager Interview Series