GPWA Times Magazine - Issue 6 - September 2008

GPWA Affiliate Interview Series 66 GPWA Times | Andrew Mason | Continued from page 33 at adding skill games to the site at present, once I have finished updating it. I always have a massive task list for changing the way the site looks and works. You’re blogging on your site now. Why did you start the blog? Have your expectations been met? What’s surprised you about the blog experi- ence? The software that I am using for managing my site has blog functionality built in, and due to the fact that I run other successful blogs I pretty much started blogging from day one with Findabet. Search engines love blogs and I find them a great way to get topical stories out very fast that are linked to pages on my site and to current promotions. Not all of the traf- fic converts as well as people hitting your main pages, but for the increase in visibility from search engines, blogging is an area which will only grow on Findabet. I try to update the blog with at least five posts a week and I always utilize the latest social networking tools to bookmark and promote the posts. How long did it take for you to start earning money? Finda- bet.co.uk started earning me money after around six months. I have a nice little net- work of sites so I was able to get it ranking pretty well very quickly. Some of the providers I promote earn real well and others do nothing at all. I have had the luxury of a few high rollers on revenue share casi- nos that have lasted a good few months. I just need to court a few more of those and get them to stick. I have a long-term plan for Findabet, which I think is the only way to look at running a site in this marketplace. Com- petition is fierce, and steady pressure on the site over time will hopefully pay dividends in the years to come. Sure, it can be disheartening when you bust a gut and not get many returns but the main point is that I enjoy the challenge and tinkering with the site. This is the attitude that is needed as too many people expect quick returns and get dismayed and give in. What do you wish you knew when you got started in the industry that you know now? Well, finding the GPWA was a great move as some of the ad- vice I have picked up from it has been superb. I found a lot of the affiliate and gambling terminology a bit hard at first until I learned the differences between CPA and rev share, etc. I attended a few A4U events in the U.K. and also the Amsterdam Casino Af- filiate Convention courtesy of Pierrick from Virgin. It really helped to meet fellow affiliates and also get my face and name out in the industry. I really believe in the power of meet- ing people face to face; it also shows that you are committed to what you are doing. What advice would you offer someone who has just started in the industry? Well, reading the GPWA forums is a good start. Anybody new faces a real uphill battle. Getting good con- verting traffic is very hard and the rewards take a long time to come. The key is to create good content, build constant good quality links to the content, and then do it all again. Google and other search engines do eventually reward good qual- ity sites, so keep wearing the white hat when it comes to SEO and stick with it. It takes a lot of time and hard work. There are a lot of gambling af- filiates who start but never fin- ish. However, it appears to be the same names that you see on most forums and these are the people who stick at it, and no doubt will rise to the top in this very hard industry. If you had to pick 5 keys to suc- cess as an affiliate, what would they be and why? 1. Build good content 2. Build good links to the content 3. Build more good content 4. Build more good links to the content 5. Repeat What traits do you look for in an affiliate manager? How about in an affiliate program? I like affiliate managers who make contact and try to build a relationship. There are a few who do this but they are not that common. Getting good creatives from affiliate manag- ers plus getting them onboard with content delivery mecha- nisms such as AffCAFF makes the life of an affiliate easier. In an ideal world, how would you divide the efforts you put into your site? What percent- age would go to marketing, updating content, managing your books, and other tasks? I probably spend 50% of my time marketing and the other 50% updating the site and con- tent. I outsource everything else. Ideally I would like to to- tally outsource the content and then spend my time marketing the site. Eventually, I would like to outsource the whole lot and count the coppers while enjoying life. What prompted you to join the GPWA? I do a lot of competitor research. I found the GPWA through a competitor website and then started to read the forums. Pretty soon after I ap- plied for the seal and have not looked back since. If you could change one thing about the online gaming in- dustry, what would it be, and why? There seems to be an issue with black hat SEOs stealing content and shall we say affiliate networks turn- ing a blind eye as long as the revenue is coming in. It would be nice to see a better way of controlling this so the content that we work long and hard to create is protected. In your GPWA profile, you list Wing Chun as one of your in- terests. What exactly is Wing Chun? Wing Chun is a form of Kung Fu. It is the style which Bruce Lee studied in his early years before he turned his Kung Fu to the cameras. I have done many martial arts since the age of around 10. I settled on Wing Chun around 15 years ago and have been in- volved in it ever since. It is a brutally effective no-nonsense style that is great to train as it takes your mind off the daily stresses and helps you focus. What’s your favorite vacation spot? And why? In England I love the Lake District. Great scenery, clean air, and nice mountains. I also like Las Ve- gas, having visited quite a few times on conferences, etc. It is a city where you can get any- thing, with great outdoor ac- tivities only a few miles away. If you could have one “super power,” what would it be? Right now, I guess the power not to sleep and to have limit- less energy. There is so much to do and enjoy and so little time to do it in. Do you follow Leeds United? Do you have a prediction for the season? Yes, I am a Leeds United supporter and they have had a torrid few years. I think it is make or break for the club this year and hope- fully they will be out of League One and into the Champion- ship en-route to where they belong in the Premiership. And finally, what are three things that nobody knows about you? Well, I have four children, I am a director of three companies, and I have written seven books – two for McGraw Hill and five for Cisco Press.