GPWA Times Magazine - Issue 9 - June 2009

57 on what you say you will do, and being flexible. The affiliates I look after range from theU.S. toEurope and theU.K., so bymakingmyself available when the af- filiateneedsme tobe isalsoabig factor in the trust gamebecause it shows that I am willing togo that extramile tohelp. Besides trust,what are thekeys tobuild- ing successful relationships between affiliates and affiliate programs? As I mentionedabove, following throughwith what you say youwill is the biggest one I think. Ifyouarereliable,peoplewillknow they can count on you. Being flexible is also another biggie and being yourself is another one. I think another key is not to take things to heart. It’s hard to do in this industry because everyone is so passionate about it, and that’s what makes it such a great industry to be in. I think some people do take things toheart though, andobvious- lybecauseweare inan Internet age,most communication is not in speech these days, so a lot of text gets misinterpreted and this can causemassive issues. I think another HUGE one is to be per- sonalwithyouraffiliates!No Idon’tmean that – get your head out of the gutter! What Imean iswhen you talk to your af- filiates, don’t just be all business. People have a life outside this industry (yes you do!) and it’s nice to just chit chat about what youdidon theweekend sometimes. Takes that pole out of your straight day, it shows that you’rehuman too anddon’t just live under your desk in the office, even if sometimes itwouldbeeasier! I think at the end of the day you should beable tohavea laughwithyourbusiness partners as well as be professional with them. All work and no playmakes an af- filiatemanager avery cranky lady! How long have you been in the online gambling industry? I first entered the in- dustry in2005asa rookieaffiliatemanag- er forRewardsAffiliates (whichback then wasknownasCasinoRewardsAffiliates). I used to be a self-taught web developer andstudiedcomputerscienceatuniversity when thecompany Iworked forwasgoing down the shitter. So I decided toapply for abunchof jobsand seemy luck. For this particular role, I didn’t even botherputtingacover letteronmyCVbe- cause I didn’t think Iwouldget it judging on the things they were asking for in the jobdescription (mostly coding stuff). WhenRyan calledme and toldme I was in the shortlist I thought “WTF?!” and when I walked out of the interview I was sure I didn’t have the job. Turns out my social skillsdidmegood that dayand I’ve beenhereever since. When I started I actually had no idea whatsoever what my job was, or what I wouldbedoing. Ihadneverevenheardof an affiliate before. About two weeks in I realized that peopleactuallymakemoney fromadvertisingonline casinos.WOW! So Ryan basically taught me everything I know and the rest is history. I’ve been an affiliatemanager now for almost four years for a fantastic company and I’ve never looked back. The people I’ve met since joining the Rewards group are amazing and I can’t wait to meet even morepeople. I think it goes to show thatwhenyou love something youwill excel in it. Somy ad- vice for other people whomight want to get into this industry, or anyother indus- try, is tobepassionateabout it.Younever knowwhereorwhat itmight get you. In- sert boast about two awards in a row for best affiliatemanagerhere. AffiliateManager Interview Series | GPWA Times Renée (far right) says shedressedupasa nurse forHalloweenbecause“mostpeople endupneedingoneby theendof thenight.”