Relationships

The Importance of Transparency in iGaming Affiliate Programs

When affiliates are interested in joining a new program, they often look for basic information that will help them make an informed decision. Unfortunately, many iGaming brands, whether regulated or not, are not providing the necessary information that affiliates seek. This lack of transparency can be concerning for potential affiliates who want to know exactly what they’re getting into before promoting a program.

Here are the three basic pieces of information that affiliates want to know before joining an affiliate program:

Affiliate Commission Offerings & Calculation

Affiliates receive customized deals, which is why some programs do not show their commission offerings. While this approach may make sense for experienced affiliates, it may not be motivating for new affiliates who are visiting the affiliate program’s website to learn about the program’s details.

In addition, not many programs show the formula for calculating commissions, such as the percentage of administrative fees, license fees, software platform fees, processing fees, and other overhead expenses that are deducted to obtain the actual net profit. It’s also important to know about negative carry-over and the high roller policy, as they can affect commissions. If the affiliate program has many brands, affiliates need to know whether earnings are bundled or calculated separately, as it affects how commissions are calculated.

Affiliate Payment Methods

Another crucial piece of information that affiliates want to know before negotiating a deal is the payment method and currency used to pay them. Some programs do not offer a payment method that is suitable for the affiliate’s business. For example, there are some e-wallets that are not accessible in specific countries. This type of information is essential, as some affiliates might not be comfortable receiving their commissions in cryptocurrency.

Duration of Affiliate Commissions from Referrals

The primary message for affiliates to promote online casinos was that they will get paid as long as the player plays at the casino, a commission that is not common in other industries. Therefore, it’s crucial to inform affiliates whether they will receive commissions for a specific time or for the player’s lifetime. Some programs have an activity quota that affiliates need to reach for new customer sign-ups to continue receiving commissions from existing players. Usually, this information can be found in the program’s terms and conditions. If not, affiliates should ask their affiliate manager.

Affiliates can benefit from creating a list of questions related to commissions, payment frequency and methods before starting to send traffic, so it’s all clear for both ends. They can also negotiate other terms that are tagged to the calculation of those commissions, such as negative carryover, high roller policies, and activity quotas.

Here is a list that is still growing:

• Negative Carryover
• High Roller Policy
• Activity Quota
• Player baseline for CPA calculation
• Active Player
• Minimum Player Deposit
• Player Network Validation
• Payment Frequency
• Payment Method
• Payment Currency
• Payment Minimum
• Cookie duration
• Cookie overwritten
• Commission Formula
• Stats Updates
• Commissions Bundled
• Player Lifetime
• iGaming Brand Overhead Fees (admin fees, processing fees, licensing fees, tax fees, software platform/game provider fees)

Overall, transparency and clarity in the information provided by affiliate programs can help build trust and foster a mutually beneficial relationship between affiliates and the programs they work with. By understanding the basics and asking the right questions, affiliates can make informed decisions about which programs to join and how to negotiate their commissions.

The Importance of Reading the Terms and Conditions in Long-term Affiliate Relationships

The i-gaming affiliate business is so competitive these days with so many offers from all kinds to get that one player to sign up at the casino. However, have you ever thought about the overheads for a casino to operate that smooth player cycle from the moment of the sign up? There are so many things involved, starting with software royalty fees, KYC fees, credit card/e-wallet processing fees, compliance fees, taxes, license fees, personnel (designers, copywriters, developers, administrators, customer service, etc.), which are fixed operating costs that casinos need to cover monthly.

To ensure a sustainable, long-term partnership, it is recommended that affiliate managers discuss commission packages with their partners that are affordable and reasonable. Additionally, it may be beneficial for affiliates to test the commission structure for a specific period of time to gauge the audience’s interest in the casino’s products and offers. Some affiliates may prefer short-term relationships, and that is also acceptable. However, it is important to keep in mind that certain offers may be short-lived if the return on investment is not there for both parties.

It is crucial for affiliates to thoroughly understand the terms and conditions of any program to ensure that there are no surprises or misunderstandings at the end of the month. The most important thing is to ask questions so everything is plain clear from the beginning. For example, ask the formula on how the commission is calculated, the percentage on admin fees, activity quotas, payment currency, commission payout request, etc. Basically, all the terms considered to get a commission payment at the end of the month.

“Cuentas claras, amistad larga” is a Spanish expression which means that if everything is clear from the beginning, the business relationship will last for a long time.

How To Keep A Long Term Relationship With Affiliates

It has been more than 20 years ago, but it still feels like yesterday when I was asked to manage an online selling team, aka affiliate program, that opened my eyes to a rising industry that changed my career. 

After setting up the affiliate program, lots of emails, online messages and phone calls from all around the world started coming from people contacting me to coach them on how to make money online with my casino brand.

Some of my customers were online casino players themselves, others were brick and mortar entrepreneurs who wanted to be a part of the new tech generation trend of making cash by building sites right away!

Technology has allowed new business opportunities like these to become more advanced, the building and maintaining a healthy relationship with affiliates has not changed – just like it is with a marriage 🙂

In this way, a relationship with each one of my affiliates started; as I learned about their own strengths and personalities to provide them a special customized service. So, how do you specifically keep a relationship with your affiliates for a long time? Take a look at the following tips:

• Keep an open mind
• Discuss, but do not argue
• Keep your word
• Be flexible with your ideas in order to reach your goals
• Keep a positive attitude at all times, even in the hardest situations
• Find common connections (hobbies)
• Be open minded with new ideas
• Talk their language (i.e formal/informal)
• Find a time just to talk about life
• and more…

Besides ensuring affiliates receive their commissions on time and accurately, what do you think are other important elements to keep a long lasting affiliate relationship?

Qualities of a Great Affiliate Manager

More than anything, affiliate marketing Is about keeping long-term partners!

For more than 20 years, Jeff and I  have been building relationships with the top affiliates, meeting a lot of them when they were just starting out. We keep things real as we are both very down to earth, no nonsense, business minds, and have experienced all the ups and downs in the iGaming industry since the beginning. We are also both parents so we have developed a lot of patience over the years.

A while ago, I had a discussion at a popular iGaming forum called GPWA who opened their doors to me in 2002 to interact with some of my affiliates. I asked, “What qualities do affiliates look for in an affiliate manager?” We made a list and I wonder how or if anything has changed with everything the industry, world and economy has gone through.

Here is the list:

• Trustworthy – above all else, there needs to be trust.
• Pay on Time – Affiliates are running a business. They are counting on payments to keep things running smoothly.
• Easy to contact – Affiliates are busy and when the time comes to work on your brands, you need to be available to them.
• Don’t be too pushy or demanding – Be patient. Things take time to develop. 
• No endless e-mails and questions – Get things settled quickly. Don’t waste time with too much back and forth.
• Be to the point and transparent – In other words – be honest. Even if something negative happens, put it on the table. It will get sorted.
• Be realistic and fair – Affiliates are people and they are open to compromise and fairness, especially in iGaming.

Since these are qualities partners look for in any industry, we expect they hold up pretty well and are just as important today.

What do you think?

Affiliate Marketing Is Building Relationships

Ever since I started interacting with affiliates, I made the decision to keep that interaction in my own style. Growing up in a business environment, I learned from my parents that customer service is such a high priority for maintaining long-term business relationships.  

They told me that if you give them good service and treatment, nothing matters if there are changes in your business.  They will always follow you.  Your customers will look for you anywhere because of the treatment you give them.  So, with that concept in mind the service that an affiliate should get from a program should always be VIP.  I learned to never judge them by the amount of business they bring. I give each of them the support they need to grow their business from day one. Remember – small businesses today can be large businesses tomorrow.

The most important thing for me is to have open communication and always make room for discussions and compromise. Give them the tools they need for their audience. Prepare promotions where all affiliates can participate. The connection you make today will surely follow to continued success with partners for the long-term.

Over the years, there are affiliates that I have personally met. Some of them were casino players looking for business opportunities. Some were my program rep at large affiliate businesses. Others were just young business minds that just needed the guidance and support to make affiliate marketing an established business for their families. But no matter who they are or what background they enter the industry from, I am always ready to support them and help them build their business through open and honest communication. This has paid off for me personally and professionally and is evident by the friends and colleagues I have been working with for over 20 years.

I’m so grateful to read testimonials like from Greg who I have known since the early 2000s and with whom I am still working with even today. 

“I have had the pleasure of both meeting Connie Burstin and getting to work with her since the early days of Online Casinos.  In that time period, I have become a committed follower of Connie for a number of reasons which I will expand on below.

I have mainly worked with Connie in the Online Gambling sphere where competition is cut-throat. Connie is an intelligent Digital Marketeer. Whatever project she works on is inevitably supercharged due to her digital skills. I have always managed to convert & obtain excellent ROI with limited effort on my part due to her eye for detail in this niche. 

What I like most about her is the manner in which she treats her marketing partners. Initially when I was not sending much traffic, Connie found the time to make suggestions to improve my business and to take it up a level.

I would recommend Connie Bustin for any Digital Marketing role simply due to the advice and help she has provided me with over the years in growing my web-based gambling business. There is without a doubt in my mind a wealth of experience and transferable skills lying in wait for a Media Company”.

Connie