GPWA Times Magazine - Issue 38 - July 2017

#5 FictionNet 28 March 2017, 1:55 p.m. Private Member Excellent advice. I’ve been in the affiliate business for 18 years and still feel like I’m always playing catch-up. Let’s examine KasinoKing’s points: “Don’t work with operators who jerk their players around.” Originally Posted by KasinoKing Here is my Top 5: 1. Don’t work with operators who jerk their players around. 2. Don’t work with operators who have negative carryover. 3. Don’t work with operators who have quotas. 4. Don’t work with operators who are not transparent with the stats and figures. 5. Be very, VERY careful about working with any operators from Israel. 100% hell yeah, and I’m glad you listed this first. Money is lovely, but our players HAVE to come first. I know you operate this way, KK. “Don’t work with operators who have negative carryover.” This is the only recommendation I have a (tiny weeny) issue with. I get it. NCO can, in theory, wipe out your revenue forever in the event of a big win, but it’s never happened to me. Never. I’ve never had such a big loss at a casino that I’ve been unable to work my way out of it within a few months. Which seems weird, I realize, because I’d have expected it to have. “Don’t work with operators who have quotas.” To repeat myself, 100% hell yeah! “Don’t work with operators who are not transparent with the stats and figures.” Once again, good advice. I also recommend checking and comparing your stats regularly. Keep a record of your results for each page, which means creating and monitoring lots of campaigns in lots of affiliate back ends, but optimizing for performance is worth it in the long run. Working out what performs and doesn’t can take several years for a new site and even a new page on an established site. “Be very, VERY careful about working with any operators from Israel.” I hate that this is true. This is also very true. I could lose my top three earners now and still be OK because I usually get paid by 20+ different programs every month, and probably 75+ programs throughout a year. But it took time to build up that diversity, and I don’t think there is a quick route to getting there. So yeah, spread your risk/revenue. “ Reply With Quote Originally Posted by sweetbet One thing that I’ve learned the hard way is never to put all your eggs in one basket. #4 wolfie 28 March 2017, 8:10 a.m. Private Member Here are some things I have learned: • One big player can wipe out your hard-earned commission on the last day of the month. It is like the ground opening up and swallowing you. • Some affiliate managers don’t have realistic expectations, and think that moving a casino up a position or adding a banner will magically turn a non- converting brand into a brand that generates at least 30 new depositing players per month. • Sometimes it is better to ignore spammy e-mails than to make the mistake of politely saying you are not interested. • Checking stats can be very addictive. • It can be extremely helpful to reach out to other affiliates. • You should never sit still and be satisfied. Are my sites perfect? Hell no. Not even close. But I know I am improving them every day and adding great content. • Sometimes you have to let go of brands that don’t convert, even if you like the brand and/or the affiliate manager a lot. You are running a business, after all. “ Reply With Quote In my 10+ years I have learned hundreds , even thousands of things , yet I STILL don’t know everything . 31 w w w . g p w a t i m e s . o r g Image by Tashatuvango/Shutterstock