GPWA Times Magazine - Issue 17 - September 2011

is now the CMO at Rummy Affiliates. He knew I had experience in marketing. One thing led to another and here I am today, living in Israel and working in a job that I love. How much about online gaming did you know before joining the industry? To be honest, I did not know too much. I knew it existed, but I had no idea just how large and successful the industry was. Now that I know, I try to stay informed about all the current news and changes in the industry. It has been around for a while, but it’s always evolving – that’s one of the qualities I like about it. Now that you’re in the industry, what do your friends and fam- ily think about it? I don’t think many people are familiar with affiliate marketing, so it’s eas- ier to say I work in marketing. But I like to teach and explain things, so when the opportuni- ty arises, I am happy to explain what it is. Most people I know are casual gamblers, so being from Califor- nia means they just go to Vegas or to one of the local casinos on the Indian reservations. Affiliates and affiliate program managers have several things in common. One of them is their e- mail inboxes are always full.How long do you give yourself for responding to e-mail? And what e-mail management tips can you offer? I definitely spend lots of time going through e-mail. The first thing I do each morning (after making coffee, of course) is to sort through and mark all the e-mail that needs a response. I will reply to the time-sensitive e-mail first and workmy way through the rest. I don’t like to leave anything pending in there. I immediately get back to affiliates, answering questions, recommending and supplying them with materials. I find that grabbing the materi- als and sending them myself is the most time-effective thing for both of us. Most of the affiliate managers we talk to say building trust with their affili- ates is critical to success. How do you go about building trust with your af- filiates? The best way to gain trust is by establishing real and personal re- lationships with affiliates. I prefer to have direct contact with each and every one. Speaking on the phone is ideal, but since most affiliates spend much of their day on the computer, it gives us the opportunity to chat and get to know each other. This is actually my favor- ite part of being an affiliate manager – I really enjoy these personal con- nections, such as knowing when an af- filiate has a baby, speaking about their weekends and holidays, and knowing them outside of their affiliate job. From a technical standpoint, Rummy Af- filiates is very strict about making pay- ments on time. We pay by the fifth day of the following month, and our affiliates know exactly when they will get paid. This punctuality builds trust and is extremely important in any partnership. Besides trust, what are the keys to build- ing successful relationships between affiliates and affiliate programs? It’s all about reliability and being relatable. I try to be as available as possible for my affili- ates via e-mail, phone and messenger. And again, the most important thing for me is the actual relationship with the affiliate. It is a professional relationship, but I try to be as friendly as possible, and I have made some really nice friends along the way. Do you gamble yourself? If so, what games do you like to play? Were you an online player before getting into the in- dustry? I’m not into gambling myself; I think it takes some guts. I got into this industry from the marketing side, and it opened my eyes to an entire new world that I didn’t know existed before. The closest I get to gambling are the poolside lounge chairs in Las Vegas! If you wish you’d known one thing about the industry before you entered it, what would it be? Truly how big and lucrative it is, and just how many differ- ent opportunities there are for affiliates. If I knew how to cre- ate websites, I would probably be an affiliate myself. What advice do you have for someone just starting in the industry? To keep up! There is so much going on and a lot is changing these days, so people in this industry really need to stay in the know; ask good ques- tions and keep informed on in- dustry news. What’s the best movie food? And why? Peanut M&M’s. Do you really need to ask why? If you could have dinner with three other people, living or dead,whowould they be? Leon- ardo da Vinci, since it would be an honor to meet such a genius; Woody Allen, because he intrigues me; and Be- yoncé. I wonder what that dinner conver- sation would be like . . . What is the last book you read? Did you enjoy it? I tend to start books over and over again and never find the time to fin- ish them. Currently, it’s The Innocents Abroad , by Mark Twain. I am sure I will finish it . . . eventually. The last book I read that I could not put down was Water for Elephants , by Sara Gruen. Now I need to watch the movie. What is your favorite movie? It’s a triple- tie: Forrest Gump, The Shawshank Re- demption and Shrek . They explain all of life’s biggest lessons. 53 Affiliate Manager Interview Series