GPWA Times Magazine - Issue 6 - September 2008

Affiliate Manager Interview Series 42 GPWA Times | It says on your home page that Red Returns boasts one of the most experienced affiliate teams in the industry. What is it about your background and the people you work with that helps you make this claim? I knew that would come back to haunt me; it’s a bold statement tomake! But I thought about it at the time and between Kate [Garber] and myself, we have over six years experi- ence in the online gaming industry. I have been in an affiliate manager role for nearly six years in total including a previous life. How do you and Kate com- plement each other as af- filiate managers? Kate has great relationships with a lot of people in online gaming, both with affiliates, other affiliate managers and various levels of staff in other companies, and she knows how to get the best out of promotions and the like. We complement each other very well as we both know the affiliate game and un- derstand just what affiliates need, in order to make their campaign with Red Returns successful. Al- though we both work remotely we are in touch every day and are able to give our affiliates almost round the clock support. What areacoupleof thingsyouknownowabout this business that you wish you knewwhen you got started? 1. Leave the door open. What I mean by this is if you want to help out as much as possible and be there when the affiliate needs you, you need to be contactable. Communication is one of the ma- jor hurdles affiliates face in my opinion. In the early days there wasn’t as much competition as there is now, so respect and response time is everything. 2. Utilize forums. Forums are in my opinion a handy tool when it comes to communicating with affiliates. As you know I do like to get involved and try and bring a bit of humor (bad humor mostly) to the boards. How do you build trust in a relationship with affiliates? To start with I am completely open and I just try to be myself. I’ve been around a few years, and people get to know who you are through dealing and meeting me, through other people’s experiences of me and through general chitchat on the boards. I try to treat everyone the same, and more importantly, how I would like to be treated myself. There’s no secret to it, really, just a case of being upfront and honest! What are the three most important attributes an affiliate manager must have in order to be successful? Wow, there are loads! Apart from hav- ing a good team behind you, and a bald head… 1. Knowledgeable about product and industry 2. Response time/communication 3. Trustworthy and honest What is the best part of your job? The best part about my job is dealing with people that you like. It’s a funny industry, and you develop many new busi- ness partnerships that turn into people you chat with almost every day. I get enormous job satisfaction with seeing the affiliates I deal with earn lots of cash as it also means that I am doing something right. I also like the traveling involved; I have been very for- tunate to visit some of the places we go for confer- ences without denting my wallet! Cheers, boss. What hobbies doyouhave? Other thanweb things I enjoy sports, mainly lacrosse, in which I played at a good level before my knees gave up. My garden is becoming a bit of a hobby, and you can catch up with its progress on my Facebook pictures (Garden Make- over). I like fishing, going out with friends and BBQs, I’m a big fan of BBQs. The GPWA should do one at a conference somewhere nice – it would be a treat! Do yougamble yourself? Not really, I have the odd flutter on horses when my tipster calls with some hot tips but nothing really much anymore. All my cash is spent by the wife on my 21-month-old daughter, Macey. My online poker play, though, was my en- try ticket to the world of gaming affiliate marketing. It gave me some good knowledge and a decent base to start in the industry, where I developed it further into casino and bingo and some sports. If you could change places with anybody for one day, who would you choose? It has to be Big Mike (Corfman). I would love to see two things: 1. What it’s like to have awesome hair 2. I’d love to see his photo collection from conference events. While others struggle with their digital zoom cameras, Big Mike has his three-foot lens in some special places for some unique shots! If you were going to be stranded on a deserted island by yourself for a month, what would you bring with you (other than food and water)? I reckon it would be my iPod and my daughter (and her bucket and spade). Both bring hours of enjoy- ment and drown out the wife’s nagging! “There’s no secret to it...I try to treat everyone the same, and more importantly, how I would like to be treated myself.” MARTYN BEACON | Red Returns