Affiliates!!! The Good!!! The Bad And The Ugly

[LaurieJim]

Have you ever wondered what an Affiliate can do for you and just whats in it for them, after all no one does all this hard work without getting something out of this.

I myself have used a few when clicking on banners for no deposit bonuses, to check out a new casino. I used to believe that if you used an affiliate you would most likely lose, this is not the case infact.

It seems we are bombarded with emails, left and right, some of them just to stupid to understand, i would define them as the Ugly, someone not knowing or having the hard work and time invested, but merely buying email addys and sending , well crap is crap imo.

The bad seem to be the ones that send out old promos and do not keep up with the latest in the gaming world, they send out not a few but many daily and use my all time favorite one i recieved "Our Casino Is Pregnant With Bonuses" good greif, how lame or just down right stupid or desperate will one become, well it did get my attention, i just hope no poor fool fell for it, so which brings me to the Good Affiliates..........

How do we know we can trust them, is it by the gaming sites they have set up for us to veiw? I pretty much know who i can trust that are decent Affiliates on ths forum, some have invested alot of time and hard work and will take care of a player when in need of help, i have seen this happen on this very forum to often.

So what makes a good Affiliate? I would love to hear from some of those great Affiliates, maybe a few Bad and Ugly Affiliates will tell why they promote some of these rogued casinos, but that may be reaching a bit to far.

laurie

 

[vegetagirl2008]

For one a good affiliate will not promote rogue casinos in the first place. Second the affiliate has to take great care of their players if they themselves want to be treated the same way. For affiliates who promote rogue casinos are going to expect alot of hassle from players with non-payment issues and the like. Also some affiliates spam their promoted website a affiliate that does not promote rogue casinos will not.

 

[dominique]

This is my view of what an affiliate should do for you:

1. Provide current information for you in one spot that lets you compare such things as bonuses, softwares, individual games, strategies and whatever else is of interest to you. Different players enjoy different aspects of playing, and somewhere there is an affiliate who thinks the same way you do. S/he will have your favorite site.

2. Provide support should you encounter issues with a casino you signed up with through their site. That automatically causes the affiliate to only list good sites that s/he trusts to treat you right. A good affiliate has few if any player complaints to deal with because they don't promote dodgy places.

3. Update information all the time. This is an easy task for a new site just starting out since it's small. For a big site, it's a full time job or maybe requires staff to help. For such big sites, this can only be maintained if it offers lots of interesting information - it takes a lot of consistent player support to generate enough funds to make this into a full time business or add staff. Affiliate income fluctuates right along with your winning and losing. So unless there are a lot of players happy enough to consistently support the site, winning and losing doesn't balance out and there will be many months without any income.

4. Affiliates need to not only spend time researching the casinos and their offers, but they need to constantly monitor player message boards and affiliate message boards to identify rogues. Usually casinos that cheat one group will eventually screw the other one too, it's a character trait of the operator and not confined to players or affiliates. A crook is a crook.


The bad and the ugly:

When affiliates who have little experience build websites, they are lost. There is too much information to absorb all at once, and they often advertise rogue casinos without being aware. The lucky ones get called out at Meister or someplace and get a fast education. These new affiliates may mean well but just lack knowledge. More often than not this results in baptism by fire (like I said above, rogues are rogues and affiliates are screwed on a daily basis also) and the new sites die as fast as they are created.

Then there are spammers, these folks could care less about individual players. They are in it for some quick money and players should NEVER click on an ad in unsolicited mail.

And you have blackhat affiliates who are only in it for the quick buck and use any means to get to the top of the search engine. Usually that entails hurting everyone who gets in the way.

How to tell a good site from a bad one, ask yourself the questions:

Is the information here what I am looking for, and is it up to date?

Is the site just a collection of ads (billboard site) or does it show that time was spent on researching and presenting facts?

If I have an issue, can I find the owner for support?

Does the site have a rogue section/blacklist?

If all this looks good, bookmark the site and come back at a later time to check on updates to see if they have been made.

Players can control which affiliate sites survive and which don't. A click is like a vote as to whether the site should be in business or not.

The affiliate works for free always for the player, using an affiliate is positive for players if they find what they want on the site, and if the affiliate supports them. There are no drawbacks.

The affiliate also works for free for the casinos until someone clicks on a link, so the bad ones tend to go out of business quite soon, only to be replaced by newer ones. There is an incredible turnover, many many people try their hand at it thinking it's easy money and soon realize it's hard work and quit. What players often don't know is that bonuses are deducted from affiliate revenues, as well as other operating expenses.

If players use links at useful info sites and avoid clicking on links in spam or billboard sites the situation cleans up all by itself.

Casinos don't put food on the affiliate's table, players do. Affiliates who don't get that soon go under.

Another thing that affiliates often don't realize is that one needs to watch closely for winners. Casinos that don't have a good percentage of winners should be dropped even if not rogue. Who wants to play at a place where they can't win? In the long run places with lots of winner do better anyway, because everyone enjoys playing there.

 

[love2winalot]

Hiya: I used to be an affiliate a long time ago when USA players could play anywhere. I only supported 1 Casino, that being Captain Cooks. I had no expierience prior to this, only having played online, and mostly at this same Casino. I chose them for 2 reasons....

1. They had no Chargebacks, or negative income balances. Either you made money, %30, of players losses, or you made/lost $0 on players winning. imhop, It is kind of hard to promote a Casino, and say, "Good Luck to you, i hope you Win", When you will not make any money unless they lose, and would actualy lose money if they did indeed win.

2. imhop, and i did, the Affiliate needs to be playing at the Casino they are promoting. So it becomes, "Do as I do, and not just Do as I say".

Saying, "They pay out fast", is one thing. Posting a winner screen shot, the withdraw banking screen shot/w date of request, and posting the picture of the Check in your hand and the date it arrived, IS A MUCH BETTER THING. A Picture really is worth a thousand words.

Also, the more information you provide, the better. To many affilates, ASUME. They think everyone is only a slot's player, and knows all the deposit/withdraw methods, and all about bonuses, and all they need to do is point them to one of their Casino's.

The worst thing you can do is just flat out LIE. On my main e mail account, some Affilate sends me e mails a few times a week. They are all pretty much the same.
Hi, I am on my way out the door, but.....................
"I" got the Casino to give you this Bonus.....but you must hurry...........
Look at all these bonus offers...........they wont last long..........
The Bonus was cancelled, but, I, got them to reinstae it for today only.....
and so on.

It is kind of like the old tv commercial of the guy in his studio apartment, by the railroad tracks calling you and saying, "Hi, boy do i have a Hot Stock for you".........If it is so damn hot, WHY DON'T YOU BUY IT"....hehehe

In a few months i will be moving oversea's, and will become an affiliate again. I will be spamming.........ummmm i mean bombarding your e mails...........ummmmmm i mean trolling message boards...........ummmmm i mean ......?????????? hehehehe, Weeeeeeeeee.

 

[mojo]

Dom pretty much covered it all.

The way I see it, affiliates should always be reachable. They should have a contact button and/or forum for players to go to. If a player needs help, it should not matter whose banner they loaded the casino from. An affiliate worth their salt will go to bat and at least get to the bottom of an issue and not be concerned with whose banner you are from.

Another thing to note is that affs point of contact is the Affiliate Manager, not the casino manager. This is the first place we go when a player issue arises. We can usually sort it out there. If not, we can certainly take it further. If I've done everything I can to no avail, then it's time to get the big dogs in so I recommend CM. If a player is right, we never quit.

Personally, I think it helps if an aff is or has been a player too. They know what the norm cashout is, and can spot problems pretty quickly.

Bottom line is affiliates that care about their name and fair gaming last through everything thrown at us. An affiliates good name is really all we have in this tough TOUGH biz.

 

[LaurieJim]

This is my problem with the Bad and Ugly Affiliates, we have so many new forum members here who may be new to online gambling, they might get an email one day from one of these Rogue Promoting Affiliates and bing bang boom, they end up playing at some of those Rogue casinos and then they soon end up here on casinomeister, not knowing whom to turn to and how to get their winnings.

Thanks for the awesome posts so far Affiliates, i didnt really expect any of the ones that promote the Rogues to come on here and post, but did you either?.................laurie

 

[mojo]

This is my problem with the Bad and Ugly Affiliates, we have so many new forum members here who may be new to online gambling, they might get an email one day from one of these Rogue Promoting Affiliates and bing bang boom, they end up playing at some of those Rogue casinos and then they soon end up here on casinomeister, not knowing whom to turn to and how to get their winnings.

Thanks for the awesome posts so far Affiliates, i didnt really expect any of the ones that promote the Rogues to come on here and post, but did you either?.................laurie

Good thread btw lauriejim.

There is a way to fight the spam. Affiliate programs have a strict no spam policy we all agree with when we sign up. Spam can be reported there. You can forward your email to whichever casino is being promoted and they can get the affiliates account name by the banner tag in the mail. Then the norm is to write the affiliate and tell them to knock it off. If the affiilate still receives complaints, they can get their affiliate account shut down.

Some of the less desirable programs won't care but it could certainly fill up their mailbox.

 

[BingoT]

Thank You Laurie great post to ask.(The Affiliates)
I think Dom,Mojo,Love2winalot,Vegetagirl2008 summed it up here.
But I have to say some players have told me some Affiliates ask for a % of the money the casino owes them.
I think that is crazy for anyone to ask someone.
Just help them out for nothing.
I even helped people that never joined anything by me.
It like my saying "People Helping People"
Never put that nasty word of Greed on your mind and help all that needs it For Nothing.
If you tell me this or that is no good I will pull it in a heart beat.Just like that last eposode of that shady thing Irish Luck pulled on the players.
That spam email all I have to say to them go &%$# off
We all have to work together.
~T~

 

[RobWin]

Have you ever wondered what an Affiliate can do for you and just whats in it for them,

Think of Bryan (Casinomeister), a lot of peeps don't actually realize that he is also an affiliate, and I'm sure a lot of you have signed up to casinos thru his banners and links here as well. I know that I have several times, along with other affiliates on this board as well. I feel if I am good enough to sign up thru their affiliate link then they also will look out for my best interests as their player. At least I would want to expect that as a minimum service from the affiliate that I signed up under.

I myself have used a few when clicking on banners for no deposit bonuses, to check out a new casino. I used to believe that if you used an affiliate you would most likely lose, this is not the case infact.

laurie

Surely you did not think that of the Meister now did you..

By the way, Great post and questions Laurie...I know a lot of peeps in the affiliate industry now and it absolutely blows me away with amazement that they can promote a casino that they don't actually play at or never have played at themselves and tested the casinos systems, meaning game play, depositing and withdrawing options etc.

How in the hell can anyone consciously promote a product or service that they themselves do not use? There are a hell of a lot of new affiliates that enter this business everyday that literally don't know a damn thing about an online casino but yet the programs will simply let them promote away. That is the main issue that I personally have a hard time swallowing as an affiliate. That needs to be tightened up by the programs for sure, but most likely never will be as they are in the market to convert as many new members as possible.

Dom summed it up purdy well here. As for me, I would have never even considered becoming an affiliate if I had not been playing at all of these online casinos over the past 13 years and had that player experience behind me. I've experienced the spectrum in that time frame of the good, bad and ugly affiliates and casinos. How can new affiliates with no player experience know which ones are the good casinos and which ones are the bad ones?

One thing for sure is the fact that it is not easy at all earning money in this business, I can guarantee you that. It requires a hell of a lot of dedication and due diligence and long hours to be a good affiliate. Then you get to the day before the end of the month and look at your stats and think, great...I'm going to make a couple of dollars this month, WRONG...you log-in the next morning just to find out that one of your players has turned your account upside down for possibly the next 3 months now by cashing out a big win. Of course you are happy for them but in that same respect you, the affiliate, are now broke for the next month. So you can never rely on a definite steady income.

IMO, a good affiliate will test the deposit and withdrawal structure, time-lines, etc., of a casino before offering it to their visitors. Sure you can talk to them and they will paint you a rosy red picture of how great their casino is but if the affiliate has not personally tested it themselves then how can you legitimately offer it to your website visitors, that is, if you really give a $hit about your visitors and players that sign up thru you.

Now a GREAT Affiliate like the Meister and others here as well for instance will go to bat for a player and try to make sure that the casino does right by them if they happen to have an issue, even if that player did not sign up thru them by way of a link or banner. Maybe the player will remember that free service the next time they want to download and sign up to a new casino and then go back to that affiliates site that helped them out.

So in closing this, I urge everyone that is a player to seriously consider using a good affiliate as your go to person when you have an issue or you are looking for a new casino to sign-up at!
____
____

 

[dominique]

Great post, Rob!

The best affiliates are players who decided that they cannot find the type of info online that they feel they would benefit from most. So they went about creating a site around it.

I remember when I started playing I was grateful to find a site that sorted their banners by software. At least I could figure out what the games would be like. The site was nothing but banners....

There was hardly any info available on anything back then. Things have come a long way since then - one can find answers to most any gambling related questions online and there are sites organizing things in all kinds of different ways, so one can always find one that is centered around one's own personal interests.

You have to consider that all the info out there is put up by affiliates - and no one can afford to do all that work for free. If affiliates all went out of business, there would be no one but the casinos providing info - and there would be no way at all to tell who to trust and who is rogue.

 

[mojo]

Great stuff!

I would like to take it one step further for my fellow affiliates.

What happens when a great casino comes along with no affiliate program?

For example, a new casino comes out called THE BEST EVER CASINO IN THE WORLD. And it is. Would affiliates put them on their sites? Even though they can't make a dime. Players should know right?

I have asked myself this question recently because my partner brought it up and I didn't have an answer!

 

[chuchu59]

Thank You Laurie great post to ask.(The Affiliates)
I think Dom,Mojo,Love2winalot,Vegetagirl2008 summed it up here.
But I have to say some players have told me some Affiliates ask for a % of the money the casino owes them.
I think that is crazy for anyone to ask someone.
Just help them out for nothing.
I even helped people that never joined anything by me.
It like my saying "People Helping People"
Never put that nasty word of Greed on your mind and help all that needs it For Nothing.
If you tell me this or that is no good I will pull it in a heart beat.Just like that last eposode of that shady thing Irish Luck pulled on the players.
That spam email all I have to say to them go &%$# off
We all have to work together.
~T~

Hey Bugger,

I dont have too much experience with affiliates. However,is it inappropriate in this field to have a structure where players actually get a cashback or something like that for the losses incurred at the casinos they signed thru the affiliates?

 

[mojo]

But I have to say some players have told me some Affiliates ask for a % of the money the casino owes them.

I have to admit I am completely lost on this. Huh? I hope that doesn't mean what I think it does. Otherwise name the aff an we will go kick their azz!

 

[love2winalot]

Hiya: What about on the other hand? Instead of an Affiliate asking for a % of your winnings, has anyone ever heard of an Affiliate giving back a % of a players losses?
Deposit $1000. Lose. Affiliate gets 30% = $300, and gives $100 back to the player. And if they were part of an Casino that does the same thing, gives back 10% if you lose your bankroll, now the player would end up with 20% back.

This would, in the long run, end up being more profitable for the Affiliate.

 

[spearmaster]

By the way, Great post and questions Laurie...I know a lot of peeps in the affiliate industry now and it absolutely blows me away with amazement that they can promote a casino that they don't actually play at or never have played at themselves and tested the casinos systems, meaning game play, depositing and withdrawing options etc.

How in the hell can anyone consciously promote a product or service that they themselves do not use? There are a hell of a lot of new affiliates that enter this business everyday that literally don't know a damn thing about an online casino but yet the programs will simply let them promote away. That is the main issue that I personally have a hard time swallowing as an affiliate. That needs to be tightened up by the programs for sure, but most likely never will be as they are in the market to convert as many new members as possible.

You would be surprised how many affiliates will promote anything they can make a quick buck on. For example, pharmaceuticals - I would be willing to bet that less than 1% of these affiliates actually use the products they promote!

I daresay that less than 10% of online gambling affiliates really know the products they promote - so it is important for a player to get second opinions on any recommendation, except for a few very trustworthy and well-known sites (cough cough!).

On the other hand, I also daresay that less than 10% of online casino operators have a clue what they're doing. And very few actually deliver top-notch service (ahem ahem!).

 

[ultra100]

Hiya: What about on the other hand? Instead of an Affiliate asking for a % of your winnings, has anyone ever heard of an Affiliate giving back a % of a players losses?
Deposit $1000. Lose. Affiliate gets 30% = $300, and gives $100 back to the player. And if they were part of an Casino that does the same thing, gives back 10% if you lose your bankroll, now the player would end up with 20% back.

I haven't heard for the others, but I have recently launched cashback program, where I (as an affiliate) give back % of players losses.

This would, in the long run, end up being more profitable for the Affiliate.

It's a win-win situation for both affiliate and players. Its a great insensitive for the players as they get extra $$$ for their bad months. On the other side, affiliate could attract more players and reach higher players base.

 

[BingoT]

I have to admit I am completely lost on this. Huh? I hope that doesn't mean what I think it does. Otherwise name the aff an we will go kick their azz!

If the persons that like to give the reasons why they want a % back from the player please tell us all.It's not my business what they do.and the player has the right to say No Thank You to them on them terms.I myself would never pay for that kinda help.
On that cash back I say all should offer it
Nothing wrong with that.If the casino's do it why not the affiliates.
~T~

 

[Poker Keep]

Important thread for my first CM post...

I only promote poker and have been doing so for several years. I stick to poker cuz that's what I know, I was a player long before becoming an affiliate. It's my policy to only promote rooms I've played on.

Education
Although this is my first post on CM, I'm pretty well known in the affiliate community. Search GPWA, PAL, AGD, and the other webmaster forums, you'll find I'm quite active. I spend several hours a day on the forums, mostly reading up on the latest news, views and complaints about casinos and poker rooms. In fact, I drop into CM on a regular basis even though I don't participate regularly. I feel that an educated affiliate is a smart affiliate! Keeping my players informed and up to date on the good and bad things going on in the industry is part of my job. I want happy players!

Kickbacks
Someone earlier in this thread discussed giving some of our commission back to the players. In poker, this is commonly done through "rakeback". Rakeback is a touchy subject among affiliates because it cuts profit margins and some say it promotes abuse by affiliates and players. I won't get into that discussion here but suffice it to say that some networks allow and police this type of player incentive while others don't allow it. I do offer rakeback when It's allowed, I believe it helps my business to retain higher value, long term players. I'm not sure whether casinos even allow this type of promotion...?

What makes a great affiliate?
I believe a great affiliate is one who puts the player first.

A great affiliate:
* Only promotes sites with player friendly T& C's.
* Researches and only promotes sites that have a proven track record.
* Lists sites that offer safe deposit and withdrawal options for all players, regardless of which country they're from. It's ridiculous when a player can deposit but can't withdraw!
* Acts as an advocate for the player regardless of what affiliate site the player signed up under.
* Provides value for the player through bonuses, rakeback, or some other means.
* Provides educational materials. Either strategy articles, blog posts or editorial comment that helps the player make informed decisions either in game play or casino/poker room selection.
* Provides a black list of rogue sites and is willing to add a room to that list even when it hurts the profit margin!

I could go on forever....

BTW - it's good to be here and finally making a contribution.


Terry aka "Poker Keep"

 

[dominique]

Hiya: What about on the other hand? Instead of an Affiliate asking for a % of your winnings, has anyone ever heard of an Affiliate giving back a % of a players losses?
Deposit $1000. Lose. Affiliate gets 30% = $300, and gives $100 back to the player. And if they were part of an Casino that does the same thing, gives back 10% if you lose your bankroll, now the player would end up with 20% back.

This would, in the long run, end up being more profitable for the Affiliate.

An affiliate has to get special permission from the affiliate program for that, and it is rarely given. Most T&Cs state this to be forbidden.

The reason is that this can easily be a base for affiliate fraud - I won't exlain how that works because doubtlessly someone will read it and pick up on the idea.

Both player fraud and affiliate fraud hurt all of us and are the reason for all these silly WRs and a lot of convoluted T&Cs.

BTW the math above isn't quite right - if the aff were to get 30% it would be minus bonuses and casino operating expenses... affiliates pay for the bonuses already. Then you add in server costs, bandwidth, domains and software fees and what have you. In most cases there is precious little left to pay a nominal fee per hour of work for the aff. Additionally, aff payouts take pretty much a month these days, so most affiliates would have to pay incentives long before they get paid themselves. Hell breaks lose if the aff doesn't have the money... and the aff has zero control over that.

In poker that has been done for a long time in the form of rake back. Most of this is handled through the poker room now and not the affiliate. The Room just deducts it from affiliate pay when payday comes around. That is much more manageable.

In any case, the great majority of casinos will not allow affiliates to incentivise play.

 

[love2winalot]

Devil Advocate

Hiya: I will try to answer the question of How/Why an Affilate would ask for a % of a players winnings be given to him. I am going to use a very old example, as it is easier to explain.

Player joins a Casino, Get Bonus, learns how to protect the Bonus, and makes a Profit ALMOST ALL THE TIME.

This same player now becomes an Affilate, builds a website, and creates a Walkthru on another url, on how to do what he did, and where at, and so on.

The Affilate charges a FEE for this Information, and knows that asking for the Fee upfront will just be a waste of time, and so instead charges a % of the almost always guarenteed profit.

Old Example: "This no longer works". %100 match deposit Bonus, up to $500. All Games can be played to meet the play thru requirements. Play Roulette, Bet $250 each on Black, and Red.

Or, flat bet xxx$ in BJ, unless you lose 3 in a row, and drop to table Min bet until losing streak ends, and go back to the large flat bet. and so on.
Simply Put, the Affilate is Selling the Information on how to be a Bonus bagger, and make a steady profit from the Casino's.

If the player Wins, he makes money off the Fee. If the player actually lost, he makes money from the Casino, via his affilate %. I have never actually heard or seen this done, but assume someone somewhere used to do this.

 

[lots0]

IMO, the biggest problem with casino affiliates is that we are a loosely associated group without any real leadership or goals. Combine that with the mass of incoming newbies with dollar signs in their eyes that don't have clue about the business and that will promote anything that 'looks' good... and you get the situation we currently have in the business.

The big question is..... What are we gonna do about it?

I'd like to suggest we think about organizing a REAL professional organization of affiliates. This would mean the organization would NOT promote ANY casinos and avoid any appearance of conflict of interest and only operate off of member dues...

Are we professional enough to accomplish something like this?

 

[The Dude]

Great thread! Thanks to all those participating!!

Just a few quick comments:

Good thread btw lauriejim.

There is a way to fight the spam. Affiliate programs have a strict no spam policy we all agree with when we sign up. Spam can be reported there. ...

Actually, I've saved you some time by listing points of contacts for each aff program here:
https://www.casinomeister.com/how-to/fight-online-casino-spam/

This is linked to every page on the main site

One thing that many people forget is that affiliate is being used interchangibly with the term "webmaster" - I've always tended to consider myself a webmaster. Casinomeister predates most affiliate programs, so I never really got too involved with them. I steered away from affiliate message boards, and when it comes to conferences, I'm mainly involved with the industry focused ones. My mission was/is to provide information and a community that supports the needs of both player and operator. Maybe the term should be changed to "advertising webmaster". But anyway...

Great stuff!

I would like to take it one step further for my fellow affiliates.

What happens when a great casino comes along with no affiliate program?

For example, a new casino comes out called THE BEST EVER CASINO IN THE WORLD. And it is. Would affiliates put them on their sites? Even though they can't make a dime. Players should know right?

I have asked myself this question recently because my partner brought it up and I didn't have an answer!

Most new casinos come online with massive marketing budgets. This is about the only way to stay competitive in an extremely volatile environment. If a casino came online that was trying to break the mold as mavericks - no marketing budget - then that would be a massive red flag in itself. But if they were truly walking on water, sure I'd recommend them here. Why not?! Welcome "Casino Jesus"!

Actually, I've given a number of entities free advertising on the site - most of this was non-casino oriented though.

Personally, I feel that to be a good webmaster/affiliate, you need to subscribe to a Casinomeister-like philosophy.

Be helpful, accessible, and get involved with the gaming community. It's really quite simple.

 

[dominique]

Devil Advocate

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Hiya: I will try to answer the question of How/Why an Affilate would ask for a % of a players winnings be given to him. I am going to use a very old example, as it is easier to explain.

Player joins a Casino, Get Bonus, learns how to protect the Bonus, and makes a Profit ALMOST ALL THE TIME.

This same player now becomes an Affilate, builds a website, and creates a Walkthru on another url, on how to do what he did, and where at, and so on.

The Affilate charges a FEE for this Information, and knows that asking for the Fee upfront will just be a waste of time, and so instead charges a % of the almost always guarenteed profit.

Old Example: "This no longer works". %100 match deposit Bonus, up to $500. All Games can be played to meet the play thru requirements. Play Roulette, Bet $250 each on Black, and Red.

Or, flat bet xxx$ in BJ, unless you lose 3 in a row, and drop to table Min bet until losing streak ends, and go back to the large flat bet. and so on.
Simply Put, the Affilate is Selling the Information on how to be a Bonus bagger, and make a steady profit from the Casino's.

If the player Wins, he makes money off the Fee. If the player actually lost, he makes money from the Casino, via his affilate %. I have never actually heard or seen this done, but assume someone somewhere used to do this.
__________________

I have heard of this frequently over time, and it is usually some bogus strategy being sold that way.

 

[RobWin]

IMO, the biggest problem with casino affiliates is that we are a loosely associated group without any real leadership or goals. Combine that with the mass of incoming newbies with dollar signs in their eyes that don't have clue about the business and that will promote anything that 'looks' good... and you get the situation we currently have in the business.

The big question is..... What are we gonna do about it?

I'd like to suggest we think about organizing a REAL professional organization of affiliates. This would mean the organization would NOT promote ANY casinos and avoid any appearance of conflict of interest and only operate off of member dues...

Are we professional enough to accomplish something like this?

How would the affiliate make a living under a program like that Lots0? Or do you mean as a whole that the organization would not promote any casinos but yet the individual affiliate still would?

 

[cpdnd31]

I just started my website trying to become an affiliate. My #1 rule when I started was I only posted gaming sites that I played on, enjoyed & got paid quickly. My #2 rule they have to have toll free numbers and or live chat. I'm in the USA and it seems like more and more sites are out there everyday grabbing our money knowing there really is nothing that can be done. That's why I am proud to be a Casinomeister member. It's a group of caring individuals trying to stop the scam as well as the spam.

 

[Consultant]

I have not much experience as an affiliate, but I think a good affiliate is like a good business man (or woman):

1. Action oriented
The best 1 word business plan: Improve. Many people have ideas and visions that could make them rich. Nobody has ever planned not to be a succes. The key is to get going. A good day is one where you realized part of the plan. You should always be selling, not strategizing about selling.

2. Make meaning
Profit should be an incentive, a desired by-product, but never your guideline. The goal of your business should be to make meaning. It's really quite easy: Solve a problem or make something good better or last longer.

3. Be unique and customer centric
Your goal should be to provide value to the customer (players) and be unique in doing so. There is no point in ranking casino's by the color schemes of their homepages, nor is it useful - let alone profitable - to clone a leader.

Many internet concepts are network related. Only one affiliate can dominate every niche. It offers zero value to start a small copycat network of an existing big network (e.g. casinomeister forums), and it's pointless to clone an unsuccesful network.

4. Polarize but never compromise your integrity
Good brands have lovers and haters. Your goal should be to ignite passion. Some people love Ryanair, others hate it. Some people love the Virgin brand, others think Richard Branson is overrated. You can give countless examples. What they all have in common is that people talk about them.

There really is no such thing as bad PR, as long as it's reversable. If people think your site is ugly or stupid, no problem, let them and learn from it. Certainly don't block those people! Engage with them, but keep 80/20 in mind. What you should avoid at all cost, though, is losing your integrity. If you commit fraud, send spam or operate a scam operation, people will find out and you lose your reputation forever. Those things are irreversable.

5. Incorporate and put the company first
If you are serious about business, you should incorporate. Get a job on the side if needed to pay for those costs. Making it all more official gives your trading partners confidence and forces you to work harder and be more professional. You might get stuck with higher costs if your business doesn't go well, but burning your own ships is a good way to make you fight harder. If you feel incorporating is overkill, maybe you should question how serious you are about this entire affiliate thing.

Also, put the company first. You are an entrepreneur, not a CEO. Your goal should be to build a great business, to realize the business vision, not to remain 100% owner. Few people, if any, manage to become billionaires without sharing equity and surrounding themselves with a great team. Equity is like shit. If you pile it all up, it starts to stink. If you spread it around, nice things start to grow.

6. World domination in theory, niche by niche in practice
Rome wasn't build in one day. Microsoft didn't start out as the operating system giant, and Google didn't have dozens of features from day one.
As soon as you know what you want to realize and how this is unique and value adding, you should start splitting up the master plan in short term goals. Determine milestones and make assumptions. This should lead to clear tasks. Test and learn. Rinse and repeat.

7. Understaff, but outsource
You are constantly selling by now, and the next part of the master plan is always around the corner. Avoid the temptation to overstaff. You should remain agile. Comfort is the enemy of creativity. If you don't know how to fill your day, something is wrong. Your organisation should remain agile. So keep on going, but outsource selectively. Succesful people often demonstrate the ability to be maniacal in what they do best, and outsource all the rest to reputable people. Pay for value if you outsource. Building a business is a group effort. The quality of your business depends more on the quality of the weakest link than on the greatness of the best man behind it.

One area where you should not understaff is customer service. Your clients (players) put the food on your table, so there is no excuse not be available to them. You can outsource in fractions of FTEs using sites such as oDesk.com, elance.com, guru.com and rentacoder.com.

8. Have fun doing it!
Life is a marathon, not a sprint. Building a semantic search engine might be a billion dollar opportunity, if you don't see yourself doing that, it's a zero dollar opportunity to you personally. Warren Buffet rightly says life is a snowball. Find a place you like with a lot of snow, find it early and let your little snow balls turn into an avalanche.

This is how I see being an affiliate, or doing business in general. In short, the key is to get going, make meaning, add unique value, ignite passion, incorporate, niche thyself, stay agile, work with the best and - most importantly - HAVE FUN!

I honestly believe that if you live life like this, you will also find yourself admired by your peers, loved by your friends and family, and without regret later on in life.

Now, please excuse, I have to get going!

 

[TOC]

OH MY...

I tried not to respond to this thread but it's SO SELF SERVING I had to jump in. Most of the senior posters here run portal casino's, yes the one with banner after banner trying to get you to click the link. And yes they make money if you lose. I know of NO affiliate program if your winning TONS of money, you the player that affiliate gets paid. I agree with several posters that there are good portal affiliates at this site but from my experience many of these webmasters attack white label casino's such as mine and we promote the same system. Even though our casino is supported by CM's accredited casino the attacks fly. Do I need proof, OK heres the link.

https://www.casinomeister.com/forums/threads/need-advertising-spots.32427/

So, in short if you click a link or enter an affiliate website remember the the money is spread around. If you enter the casino directly, the casino gets it all. I do support affiliates but I don't like the portal vrs. white label, it's the same!

 

[dominique]

. And yes they make money if you lose. I know of NO affiliate program if your winning TONS of money, you the player that affiliate gets paid.

In many cases this is true, but for instance at Casino Rewards one is paid by wagering and win or lose is irrelevant (and they have a ton of casinos), and Slotland pays a percentage of deposit regardless of win or lose, and almost all programs have CPA which pays per player sent and win or lose is irrelevant.

And in those programs where the affiliate chooses revenue share and win or lose does impact revenues, it is still financially advisable for the affiliate to choose casinos with LOTS of winners. If you don't realize that happy players are the most important asset to an affiliate you are missing the point.

Re. white labels, I am not all that versed in them but there are many variations that demand different degrees of responsibilities from the person running them. There are those that are simply premade websites looking like a casino, but any and all things are handled by the issuing casino. In that case, the issuing casino is what needs to be trusted, and the affiliate is irrelevant to the player. Unless of course s/he engages in spamming or blackhat techniques to promote the place.

Others are full fledged licences and the person running them has huge responsibilities financially.

And I assume there are a lot of others operating in the area between those two extremes.

 

[lots0]

I tried not to respond to this thread but it's SO SELF SERVING I had to jump in. Most of the senior posters here run portal casino's, yes the one with banner after banner trying to get you to click the link.

That is insulting and just not true.

 

[lots0]

How would the affiliate make a living under a program like that Lots0? Or do you mean as a whole that the organization would not promote any casinos but yet the individual affiliate still would?

The affiliates would be members and run their business as normal. The Organization would not promote casinos or have any appearance of conflict of interest and only operate off of member dues... much like many professional organizations.

 

[RobWin]

The affiliates would be members and run their business as normal. The Organization would not promote casinos or have any appearance of conflict of interest and only operate off of member dues... much like many professional organizations.

That sounds like something that may be a worthwhile consideration then..

 

[TOC]

what ever

Join the crowd, sorry I look outside the box!

That is insulting and just not true.

 

[The Dude]

I tried not to respond to this thread but it's SO SELF SERVING I had to jump in. Most of the senior posters here run portal casino's, yes the one with banner after banner trying to get you to click the link. And yes they make money if you lose...

You are making assumptions since there are many ways to advertise casinos. Besides, this thread was started by a player trying to get some interesting responses - so it's not really self-serving. Yeah sure, many of the senior members and above become webmasters or affiliates. That seems to be the nature of the game. I'll bet you a beer that 90% of affiliates begin as players many of whom have been members here for years.

Join the crowd, sorry I look outside the box!

Whatever this is supposed to mean - I have no idea.

By the way, you should join the Webmeister user group - you'll have access to the Webmaster's section. Just let me know.

 

[BingoT]

I'll bet you a beer that 90% of affiliates begin as players many of whom have been members here for years.

I think your going to get that beer too CM
The old days of Planetluck & Starluck & Party Bingo & Party Poker The very first one's I did.

A great player at that started it too "Lauriejim"

 

[lots0]

That sounds like something that may be a worthwhile consideration then..

The response has been Luke Warm at best. I think most affiliates are kinda cynical when it comes to being organized.

There has never been a non-profit/non-aligned professional association of casino affiliates. But IMO it is just what we need...

 

[TOC]

CasinoMeister's reply

Your probably correct about the 90% being players before an affiliate, you've been around this biz a lot longer than me, I respect that so I won't take that challenge.

I also appreciate the invite to the webmasters section but it appears someone has stopped me from posting new threads on the CM site since the RTG Rocks thread, maybe recently, not sure.

>>TOC, you do not have permission to access this page. This could be due to one of several reasons:

Your user account may not have sufficient privileges to access this page. Are you trying to edit someone else's post, access administrative features or some other privileged system?
If you are trying to post, the administrator may have disabled your account, or it may be awaiting activation.<<


I thought that thread rocked and brought a bunch of posters out of the woodwork! Just my opinion. So in short hope there was no hard feelings but like I said I do like to look outside the box. Basically I like to look at things somewhat differently than normal assumptions inside the box and explore alternative rationalization outside the box. That sometimes bring on strong debate.

BTW - I'll drink a beer for you tonight, how about that? Cheers!!

 

[jetset]

The response has been Luke Warm at best. I think most affiliates are kinda cynical when it comes to being organized.

There has never been a non-profit/non-aligned professional association of casino affiliates. But IMO it is just what we need...

It's an interesting thought that could help bring affiliates together on a range of common purpose initiatives.

What would you consider to be the 5 main functions of such an organisation, Lots0, and the level of subscriptions?

 

[The Dude]

@ TOC - not being able to post new threads could have been from a couple of reasons - perhaps you were in the "less than zero" user group, or you were trying to post in a thread that has been closed

But you're out of the neg zone, and I'll add you to the Webmeister clan. There is a webmaster newsletter as well that you should subscribe to.
https://www.casinomeister.com/newsletters/

 

[lots0]

It's an interesting thought that could help bring affiliates together on a range of common purpose initiatives.

What would you consider to be the 5 main functions of such an organisation, Lots0, and the level of subscriptions?

Organizing groups and setting group goals are both way outside my comfort zone.

However, I'll bet you have some ideas about this...

 

[GamTrak]

Personally, I think the idea is viable and could be a possibility with the proper folks behind it with an organized plan.

The response has been Luke Warm at best. I think most affiliates are kinda cynical when it comes to being organized.

There has never been a non-profit/non-aligned professional association of casino affiliates. But IMO it is just what we need...

 

[dominique]

It is something I have been tossing around...

 

[The Dude]

It is something I have been tossing around...

And unfortunately, it's an idea that just won't manifest itself. If viable, it would have been done by now. We've had CAP, we've had different flavors of the GPWA. We have AGD, APWC, and a number of smaller webmaster get-togethers. If an organization is to be strong with dedicated staff, it will need to be well funded. So who is going to do the funding?? Members working on a strictly volunteer basis is fraught with complications and potential pitfalls. The aspect of this being a global enterprise is also seeped in problematic situations. If it was a plausible solution, it would have been done by now.

At the moment, this is about the best as we're going to see it. Too bad CAP is flaccid, but the GPWA seems to be well organized and connected, AGD seems to be monitoring terms, APWC is doing their webcasts...and <ahem> there is this place keeping tabs on such. I'm afraid this is about as good as it gets.

 

[lots0]

And unfortunately, it's an idea that just won't manifest itself. If viable, it would have been done by now. We've had CAP, we've had different flavors of the GPWA. We have AGD, APWC, and a number of smaller webmaster get-togethers. If an organization is to be strong with dedicated staff, it will need to be well funded. So who is going to do the funding?? Members working on a strictly volunteer basis is fraught with complications and potential pitfalls. The aspect of this being a global enterprise is also seeped in problematic situations. If it was a plausible solution, it would have been done by now.

At the moment, this is about the best as we're going to see it. Too bad CAP is flaccid, but the GPWA seems to be well organized and connected, AGD seems to be monitoring terms, APWC is doing their webcasts...and <ahem> there is this place keeping tabs on such. I'm afraid this is about as good as it gets.

The problem is that CAP was not just flaccid it was corrupt, the gpwa while not corrupt has an inherent conflict of interest between affiliates and casinos.

The APCW is owned by gpwa so it has the same conflict of interest problems that the gpwa has.

The AGD (from what I've been told) is run on volunteer basis and is in fact non-profit.

The funding would come like like all professional non-profit organizations from the members dues.

Bryan the problem has ALWAYS been that groups like CAP, gpwa and the APCW have a financial interest that creates a conflict of interest. These groups were NOT created or started to help affiliates, they were started to make the owners of the groups money.

We as a group NEED an organization that we can ALL trust, and that just does not exist right now.