GPWA Times Magazine - Issue30 - October 2014

Describe your work environment. Do you work from home or in an office? As the waters of affiliate earnings are a choppy sea, I like to be able to fall back on something more stable, and as such I have another job: I’m a fruit, slot and gaming machine technician for a large U.K. gaming company, and with the ma- jority of my time spent sitting in an of- fice waiting for something to happen, I am able to do most of my affiliate work at “work.” What traits do you look for in an affili- ate manager? How about in an affiliate program? An affiliate manager must com- municate properly; it is a two-way rela- tionship, and if they can’t be bothered it is unlikely that I would work with them for long. I’ve only ever dropped one program due to their lack of communication. I’m currently very happy with everyone I am working with. As for an affiliate program, I like a brand my readers will recognize that has good creatives and pays within three weeks of the end of the previous month. 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 generally favor Skype; for the most part the responses are quick. I prefer e-mail for enquiries that are more general or for a response that isn’t needed too soon. What prompted you to join the GPWA? How has it helped you? I can’t remember how I initially came across the GPWA, but as I was new to the affiliate indus- try, I researched and discovered this lively community. The GPWA has helped with almost ev- erything; as a complete newbie to affiliate gaming I was unaware about everything from cookie length to cross-product reve- nue share, and so much more in-between. Most of the brands are fair, but there are also a considerable number that target us- ers who may be less knowledgeable, and the GPWA and its readers help to high- light those that may have less favorable terms than others. The GPWA allows us- ers to make a more informed choice. You recently created a coffee cup with an ad for your site and posted it on the GPWA forums, offering the template to any affiliate who'd like to use it. Where did you learn your Photoshop skills? And what prompted you to offer the tem- plate to your fellow affiliates? I’m self- taught with Photoshop and video editing, and it is something I like to play around with to break the tedium of writing con- tent. The coffee cup was an editable tem- plate that I found online, with my logo overlaid on the surface. I couldn’t find too much productive use for the coffee cup, but I thought maybe someone else could. As far as I know, it has been used to pro- mote at least one site on Pinterest. You have referred to the GPWA as “the U.N. of the gambling world.” What prompted that comparison? The GPWA brings together people from both sides of the industry and often works to resolve disputes in an open and fair manner. What do you like about the industry? I like the fact that anyone can come into this industry and if you work hard enough, you can make a real go of it and earn good money. If you could change one thing about the industry, what would it be? Affiliate pro- grams need to face legal repercussions for the way they behave sometimes. Retroac- tively changing terms, tweaking the term “lifetime revenue” and skimming play- ers when they change software platforms are underhanded practices. I’m lucky in a way that I’m not aware of experienc- ing any of those issues, but they certainly seem more frequent than they should be. What do your family and friends think of your work as an affiliate? At first they were skeptical, but once the money be- came more consistent, they warmed up to the idea. I don’t think they actually appre- ciate how much work I put into it. Do you gamble online? If so, what do you play? I used to play poker many years ago, but haven’t played for a long time. The last slot I played was Plants vs. Zom- bies (on £1 a spin), which is a good game. I play so rarely, it’s probably once or twice a year. How long do you give yourself for an- swering e-mail? What e-mail tips can you offer? I usually respond within an hour, but it depends on the subject – or the person! My e-mail comes through to my phone, so it’s rare that anything im- portant is ignored for long. AGE: 36 HOMETOWN: Isle of Wight LIVING IN: Devon, England FAVORITE FOOD: A full English breakfast MUST READ BOOK: The Mysterious Stranger , Mark Twain’s unfinished novel SITES: GamblingJoe.com SlotsInYourPocket.com 49 GPWA Affiliate Interview Series