GPWA Times Magazine - Issue 5 - May 2008

51 Andy Follin | Continued from page 20 justify a chunk of time on insert- ing new casinos etc, but harder to explain the peripheral stuff like article writing, forum posting and general research – the everyday necessary things that have no im- mediate reward. So my tip is to treat the work as a long-term project – divide the work into (a) essential, time-critical things, (b) things to do as soon as time permits and (c) things you’ll do if you ever get the chance. And for married affiliates and those with families, always re- member who you really work for – you can always start again with a newWeb site, but you can never get back or redo those first few years with your kids. No amount of money can ever be worth los- ing those. Howoldareyourkids?Whatdoes your family thinkabout your side business? Christopher is 9 (and showing signs of real promise in his rugby) and Emily is nearly 2 (and showing signs of real atti- tude in her personality!). I always laugh with Catherine (my wife) when the site makes any money as she once described it as a ‘pie in the sky’ idea. She’s fully on board with the project now and she can see why I’m so commit- ted to it. To be honest, she’d have to be – I couldn’t do this without her support. Going back to the time-management question, she’s the one who gets ‘squashed’ most. We’ve had many ‘interesting’ dis- cussions about the amount of time I spend on my site, but we seem to have got the balance about right. Sometimes, it’s a matter of just shutting down the PC and pour- ing out two large Gins and Tonic – the casino reviews can wait un- til tomorrow! How far away are you from be- coming a full-time affiliate? I wish I knew! At the current rate of growth, it’ll be about another two years before I can even con- template going full-time. The site made enough to pay the mortgage last month, which is a significant milestone, but it will have to do that consistently for six months before I trust it. How long did it take for you to start earning money? The site earned a decent chunk of money after only two months, but then almost nothing for another year. If you’ve read The Alchemist, you’ll understand why! What’s surprised you the most about the industry? Initially, I thought the problem would be getting traffic to the casinos. I’m surprised at just how many clicks the site can generate. You’ve mentioned in the GPWA forums that you’re currently re- designing your site. What’s the driving force behind the rede- sign? The driving force is to make it convert better! I’m always re- designing it, tweaking things and testing. I had a big redesign last summer when I went from the old dark (gold on black) site to the current black on white. That was a big decision to make – and a lot of work – but I don’t regret it. I know Fortune Palace doesn’t look like most sites, but I couldn’t fully commit to it if I wasn’t happy with the way it looked. At the moment, I’m caught between two stools. I’m not sure if the site doesn’t convert well or if I’m just not getting the right traffic. I’m sticking with the layout and con- tent and now focusing more on getting the right pages indexed in the search engines. That side of the business fascinates me, and it’s where I’ll be spending most of my time in the coming months. What advice would you offer someone who has just started in the industry? Spend a lot of time on researching the market before you dive in. Make sure you’re designing a site that has an audience. You could have the world’s most beautiful, content- rich site, but if no one wants that information, you’re wasting your time. If you had to pick five keys to success as an affiliate, what would they? 1. An acute sense of what’s re- quired in the market – see above; 2. Self-motivation – you’ll be working long hours without di- rect reward; 3. Design skills – although old, established sites can do well de- spite their appearance, I think new sites have to be visually striking in order to stand out in a crowded market; 4. Patience – Google seems to act in three-month cycles; 5. Persistence – as with anything in life, the race goes to the ones who finish, not the ones who start quickly. What traits do you look for in an affiliate manager? A sense that they care about the smaller af- filiates. I need to feel that I can approach my manager with any problems and concerns and that they’ll give me their attention, despite the fact that I’m not yet earning them a fortune. What prompted you to join the GPWA?Andhowhasithelpedyou so far? I’d been a member on a number of forums before, so when I came across the GPWA I realized it was different. Many forums are clearly set up for the benefit of the administrators/owners and their business associates. The GPWA wasn’t like that. Things like the Seal of Approval program and the system of rewarding active posters show that it’s more of a communi- ty, and run for the benefit of all its members. I was also impressed by the quality of the posts – not just the usual self-promotion and con- gratulation, but some really erudite and informative articles. The infor- mation available in the private fo- rums is an amazing free resource and I urge everyone to use it. I re- ally feel at home at the GPWA and have come into contact with many decent, ethical and hard-working webmasters through it. What’s your favorite vacation spot? For our honeymoon, we went to the very North of Scot- land, to an old fisherman’s cot- tage that was quite literally at the end of the track. Beyond, there was only sea. No one around for miles, just untouched sands and clear, warm water. Completely silent, except for the lapping of the waves and the wind in the heather. If Heaven exists, it’ll be very similar to that. If you could have one “super power,” what would it be? The ability to fly. Imagine going from two dimensions to three. It would quite literally change your per- spective on everything! Andfinally,whatarethreethings that nobody knows about you? 1. I can’t swim. 2. I ‘air conduct’ music when I’m alone in the house. 3. I want to discover a comet and have it named after me (I’m still looking!). GPWA Affiliate Interview Series | GPWA TIMES