GPWA Times Magazine - Issue 35 - June 2016

You’ve been a member for 10 years, but have only just recently become more ac- tive on the forums. What prompted you to get more involved in the forum dis- cussions at the GPWA? I’ve been more involved lately because I have more time. Reading and posting in forums doesn’t feel like work, so I’ve often avoided it. However, that’s probably the wrong way to think about it. Hanging around on the GWPA forums can really save you a lot of time and money. What do you like about the industry? The barriers to entry are small, so anyone can give it a go and if you’re good you can make a decent living at it. If you could change one thing about the industry, what would it be and why? If you look at the professional SEO commu- nity, they’re much better at getting togeth- er regularly and sharing ideas. I’d like to see the affiliate community become more like that. What do your family and friends think of your work as an affiliate? They think I spend 364 days of the year gambling and one day working on that Grand National site. This couldn’t be further from the truth — I’m already working on the 2017 Grand National. Do you gamble online? If so, what do you play? At one time I played poker — badly, I might add. These days it’s mostly foot- ball and horse betting. How do you manage your to-do lists? Do you use any special software to help you out? I’ve used all the major “time- saving” apps or software programs over the years. The only one I’ve stuck with is Wunderlist, a very simple to-do list that syncs over all devices and PC/Mac. I have designer and developer friends who rave about Slack. How much time do you devote to SEO and social networking to drive more traffic to your sites? Not that much any- more. At one time it would be 50% SEO and 50% content. Now it’s more like 80% content and 20% SEO. What’s the most difficult thing about running your sites? Our servers need to handle traffic spikes, which can peak at over a million visitors a day. As I come from a design background, I’ve found it difficult to get my head around server configuration. I discovered CloudFlare, a content de- livery network and distributed domain name server service, three years ago. We now push 99% of our traffic load onto CloudFlare for a few dollars a month. It’s a great service that does all the complicat- ed techy stuff for you. What’s the best thing about running your sites? As a designer, I really like the initial design and build stage. What do you do to stay in shape — both physically and mentally? Physically, I stay in shape with my SUP (stand up paddleboard). Mentally, I self-medicate with alcohol. I try not to combine these two activities. What do you do with your spare time? Haha — good one! What did you dream of doing, both pro- fessionally and personally, when you were a kid? Astronaut — hopefully I will live long enough to see the price of space tourism drop to a point where I can afford it. If someone from out of town were vis- iting you, what’s the one place you’d definitely take them to see? I live in Chester, so I’d probably take them for a walk around our Roman amphitheater. In the evening we could shoot Welshmen with our longbows; technically, this is still legal within the confines of the city walls after midnight. When you need to get as far away from work as possible, where do you go? Iceland. When the plane touches down it feels like you’ve landed in Tolkien’s Middle-earth; amazing food, friendly lo- cals and beautiful scenery. What’s your all-time favorite movie? Ice Cold in Alex . If you could invite any five people, liv- ing or dead, to dinner, who would they be? Sir Alex Ferguson, Jennifer Lawrence, George Best, Mark Twain and the race- horse Arkle! Name three things that people reading this magazine don’t know about you. 1. I can wiggle my ears like Stan Laurel. 2. I crossed the Sinai Desert on a bicycle. 3. I have a share in a horse who’s going to win the 2018 Grand National. GPWA AFFILIATE INTERVIEW SERIES The directors of Eddison Media (Paul, left, and Simone, right) getting managerial advice from Sir Alex Ferguson (center) GPWA Affiliate Interview Series