GPWA Times Magazine - Issue 8 - April 2009

40 GPWA Times | By Andrew Mueller (Affiliate Guard Dog) The variety and breadth of affiliate pro- grams in the gambling industry are truly astounding. There are programs with barely enough banners to make an adequate selection and programs with so many banners that you spend hours finding the right one. We have programs with simplistic stats views and programs with more detail than you ever thought you wanted. There are af- filiate managers who take a “hands-off” approach and those who hound you in- cessantly until you finally give them that coveted spot on your home page. From theminimalistic to the overdetailed, affiliate programs differ not only in their marketing offerings, but, more impor- tantly, in their approach to the industry. With so much to look at, it is surprising that affiliates ever find the right program and gaming properties to promote. There are some features of affiliate pro- grams that I truly want to see when I sign up for an affiliate program. So before you sign on with your next affiliate program, here are 10 attributes to look for. If the program you’re thinking of doing busi- ness with is lacking in any of these 10 ele- ments, proceed with caution. 1 Adequate payment methods I am sure most will agree with me when I say that we market casino properties in order to make money. The first thing I look for is a way that I can get paid by the affiliate program. As an affili- ate located in the United States, I prefer QuickTender or wire payment. Checks were an option, but the sheer number of bounced checks has jaded me from that specific payment method. If a pro- gram has no way to pay me, there is no reason I should promote its properties. 2 Trusted casino properties There are so many online casinos today that are worthy of promotion, there’s no reason to get caught up promoting an un- ethical, shady property. Do your home- work before you sign up for an affiliate program. Google, Yahoo, and Casinomeis- ter are excellent resources. Find out what players are saying and, whenever possible, sign up and play at the casino yourself. By signing up and actually playing at a casino you can see what it’s like to be a player. That way you will know: If a casino is willing to treat its players poorly and leave themunpaid, it will do the same to you. If a casino lies to its players, it will lie to you. If a casino cheats players out of money, it will scrape players from your affiliate account. If a casino recruits spammers, it is stealing from you and other affiliates. If a casino allows spammers to persist without repercussions, it is stealing your players. Again, I stress: Do not promote rogue/ shady casinos. 3 Timely affiliate communications WhenIfinallydecidetosignupforanaffiliate program, after doing my due diligence men- tioned above, I contact the affiliatemanager. What I find is that an affiliate manager who responds to the e-mail within 24-48 hours is the type of AM that will always respond in a timely manner. If the affiliate manager does • • • • • not respond at all, the program will not get my attention. While we as affiliates do not need to be cod- dled, we do need a modicum of attention in order to start promotion. We need details and we might need guidance. A good affili- ate manager will provide both, and this is a requirement if I am to work with a program. 4 Minimum payment under $150 The minimum payment is the amount of commission that an affiliate must accrue prior to being paid. For example, if you run Google AdWords campaigns, Google requires you to have made $100 USD before it cuts you a paycheck. The same goes for affiliate programs. One of my early struggles was promoting too many properties and, as a result, not being paid for a long period of time. Had I promoted five or less properties (instead of 20 or more), I would have received a small paycheck within my first couple of months. Any affiliate program with a minimum payment over $150 USD is also one I will typically not promote. 5 Affiliate program terms and conditions Terms and Conditions are your contract with the affiliate program. This is the docu- ment that outlines both the responsibilities of the affiliate program and the affiliate in relation to the promotionof its gaming prop- erties. Before you check the box “agreeing” to the Terms and Conditions, check out the T&C Analysis at AffiliateGuardDog.com. If Affiliate Guard Dog does not have the pro- gram listed, contact us and allow us to read through the contract and give you an analy- sis. There are plenty of affiliate programs out there that have terms in their contracts that will STOP payment if you do not send them enough traffic or players. There are those who have termination clauses that allow them to terminate your contract and keep your commissions. An affiliate program MUST have “affiliate friendly” terms and conditions or I will not promote it. 6 Timely affiliate payments Not all affiliate programs are created equal. Affiliate programs should have a history of paying their affiliates on time. It’s another easily researched fact. Search the GPWA forums for affiliate payments, check the Af- filiate Guard Dog home page to see which affiliate programs have paid recently, and Things to look for in an affiliate program The official watchdog of the gambling affiliate community provides 10 essentials you need to look for the next time you go affiliate program shopping TOP 10 Top 10 things to look for in an affiliate program