GPWA Times Magazine - Issue 29 - July 2014

topromote it, and aprogramgettingneg- ative reviews that will discourage other affiliates frompromoting it. Are you a one-person shop or are you part of a larger organization? I’m a one- manband.Havingworked in this industry for 14years, I’m fairlyexperienced inmost aspects of running an online affiliate busi- ness. However, I do tend to outsource a great deal ofwork such as creatinggraph- ics,Webdesign, articlewriting, videopro- ductionandanyother jobs that I’munable todo, ordon’t have time to complete. Describe yourworkenvironment. Do you work fromhome or in anoffice?Howof- ten do you get to see and interact with otherpeople in the industry? Iwork from a home office so unless I’m attending a conference or have plans tomeet upwith someonewho is in the area or in a nearby city, I rarelyget to seeanyone in the indus- try. For this reason, the forums and e-mail aremy primarymeans of interactionwith fellowaffiliatesandaffiliatemanagers. What’s your preferred method of com- munication with affiliate managers? Do you like to talk on the phone, by e-mail or via Skype? I personally prefer to com- municateviae-mail for twomain reasons. First, I keepvery irregular and strangeof- fice hours. Sometimes I work from early morning to midday, and take the rest of the day off, while at other times I might work frommidday tomidnight. Second, if anaffiliatemanagerwould likeme topro- moteaparticular affiliateprogramorgive a particular brandmore exposure, then I would need time to research the affiliate program or brand, and think carefully about the offer before I reply. For these two reasons, Ifinde-mail tobeaverycon- venientmeans of communication. What prompted you to join the GPWA? Howhas ithelpedyou? I reallywanted to bepartof anonlinecommunity thatkeeps me up to date with all of the latest news anddevelopments in the industry, where I can interactwithand learn from someof the industry’s top affiliates and that puts me in touchwith some of the top affiliate programs in the industry. The GPWA is definitely that community. You've been fairly active on the GPWA forums since joining about a year and a half ago. What advice can you give to ourmany"lurkers"who read the forums but don't get involved in the conversa- tions? If youare serious about improving youronlinebusiness, then join theGPWA. You have absolutely nothing to lose and everything togain. TheGPWA forumsare full of very experienced and knowledge- able peoplewho can give you some great adviceonanything fromWebhosting ser- vices to affiliateprograms,marketing and muchmore. What do you like about the industry? There are many factors that I like about this industry. I love the huge variety of brands, games and promotions that, as an affiliate, I can offer to my visitors. I enjoy recommending reputable online properties tomy visitors, while trying to steer themaway fromdisreputableones. I would alsohave to say that this is, by far, one of the most lucrative and financially rewarding industries online. If you could changeone thing about the industry,whatwould itbe? I’d like to see more nations legalizing and regulating it. Apart from the tax benefits that the gov- erning bodies would gain, online players would alsobenefit byhaving access to le- gal, and safer, onlinegambling sites. Whatdoyour familyand friends thinkof yourworkasanaffiliate? Allofmy family members, includingmy brothers, mother and wife, are affiliates themselves. It’s great becausewe regularlydiscusswhich sponsors have the best conversions, new SEO techniques, the latest search engine updates, etc. Sometimes when a sponsor is late to send payment, I’ll call up my mother and ask her if she’s receivedpay- ment yet. Doyougambleonline? Ifso,whatdoyou play? I enjoy placing the odd sports bet whenever there’s a big sporting event. However,when it comes to casinogames, I prefer to visit a land casino and place a fewbets on the roulette table. How long do you give yourself for an- sweringe-mail?Whate-mail tipscanyou offer? It depends upon whom the e-mail is from, andwhat it relates to. I answer e- mail from persons that I knowwithin 24 hours of receiving them, while ignoring e-mail from unknowns who are trying to exchange links, sell me a domain or ask- ingme to joinanewaffiliateprogram. The e-mail tips that I can offerwould be to (1) add important and trustede-mail address- es to your contact list so that they are not sent to the junk folder, (2) never reply to spam, (3) bewaryof phishing and scam e- mail/offers and (4) use a throw-away free GPWA AFFILIATE INTERVIEW SERIES GPWA Affiliate Interview Series