Affiliate marketing or affiliation, as it is often called, has been around for a long time now. In fact, the idea of affiliation has been out there since the first web-based shops and pages offering various services. The concept is really simple – you spread the word about a particular product or service, you get the people to use it, and you get paid for your efforts.
In the world of online poker (and online gambling in general), affiliate marketing has been one of the strongest driving forces of the industry. Many poker sites rely almost exclusively on affiliates to drive their business and bring in new players. It is a model that works for everyone, for several reasons:
1. Sites get new depositing players.
2. Affiliates get paid for the players.
3. Players get better deals and more favorable playing conditions.
Now, many people think that the whole affiliation thing is reserved for big websites and large operations that do these things around the clock and have means, resources, and human power to do everything that needs to be done. This is true, but only in part, because affiliation is something everyone can do in order to earn some extra income (or even make a really good living!). And, for a number of reasons, 2018 is exactly the right time to get involved!
What Does it Mean to Be an Affiliate?
If you’ve been around the internet, you’ve probably at least heard about affiliation and affiliates. However, many people don’t really know what it is all about or they have certain wrong ideas about the concept. So, before we proceed, let’s clear the air.
An affiliate, simply put, is an intermediary between the business (in this case, an online poker room) and the potential consumer (i.e. a player).
The role of an affiliate is twofold:
1. Look for new players to get into the room.
2. Negotiate with the room or other parties to get the best deals for your players.
This may seem more daunting than it actually is. For the most part, affiliates are provided with all the tools they need to attract new players, from promo materials to custom-tailored deals. It is up to you if you want to take your game to the next level and become more proactive, seeking to create even more value for your players.
Where Would I Even Start?
Another thing that seems to deter players a lot from the idea of becoming an affiliate is the fact they are uncertain as to where they would even start. Sites like this one (PAW) actually offer their users ready-made deals and various attractive promos that are easily accessible.
But how do you get the word out?
The thing is, you don’t have to start with anything huge. If you’re already an online poker player, the odds are you have a few friends in real life, in your Skype contacts, and on Facebook, who are also interested in the game. This is a great starting point. You can try and sign up some of your friends to a new room.
Some people feel like there is something shady about doing this, but in reality, there isn’t. If you can offer players a better rakeback deal than they have currently, for example, you’re actually doing them a favor. The fact that you’ll earn something in the process doesn’t’ hurt them since your money proceeds will not be taken out of their cut.
And, if you are still uncertain about it, we recommend trying to be completely open with your potential sign-ups. Tell them you are an affiliate and disclose the fact you’d be making some money from the deal as well. An overwhelming majority of players will wither know about the business or simply not care. In the bottom line, it doesn’t hurt them at all. Those who do take issues with the fact you are making money with this job probably don’t really understand the industry and you will surely be better off without them.
What’s in it for Me?
The affiliate marketing is a business after all, so you will be looking to make some money from it. Spreading your affiliation network will take some time and effort (which we will discuss in a moment), so the money you make from it should cover for this.
In poker and online gambling, there are typically two affiliation models:
- CPA (Cost per Acquisition) - PAW CPA DEALS
- Revenue Share (Rev Share) - PAW REV SHARE DEALS
CPA deals are the ones where you get paid a certain amount of money for every player you get signed up. The player needs to sign up, deposit, and meet certain requirements before the CPA triggers. Once he or she does, you’ll get paid the agreed amount, after which you have nothing to do with this player’s play.
The Revenue Share deal is the one where you get paid based on your player’s play. With online poker, you’ll get paid a certain percentage of the generated rake. With gambling and sports, you’ll receive a share of their losses every month.
The main difference between these two models is that CPAs are one-off. Revenue share deals don’t typically have an expiry date, so you’ll be making money for as long as your player continues to play and generate rake or place wagers.
So, CPA or Rev Share?
For someone new to affiliation, choosing between CPA and revenue share can be a bit of a dilemma. If you’re looking to become a serious affiliate with a stable stream of income, then Rev Share is probably what you’re looking for. It will also motivate you to keep working on creating better deals for your players to keep them playing, which is eventually good for everyone.
If you see affiliation as a side-gig to make some extra income, you might want to stick to CPAs. However, a problem with the CPA model is that you’ll constantly need to find new players because the ones you had signed-up aren’t doing anything for your bottom line after the one-off payment.
Some rooms offer so-called hybrid deals and these are your best option when just starting up. If you can get a hybrid, this will mean you’ll get some money for signing up the player, but you’ll also get a (smaller) percentage of their rake or lifetime play, so they will keep generating passive income for you as long as they continue to play.
Why 2018 is the Right Time to Become an Affiliate?
Now that we have some of the basics out of the way, let’s talk about why 2018 is a great year to get involved with affiliation. If you’re familiar with online poker, you might know that the game has actually lost some of its popularity over the years, so why is 2018 better than, say, 2014 or 2015?
It is true that online poker isn’t as big as it used to be and there aren’t as many players out there looking to sign up and take advantage of rakeback deals. However, at the same time, you’ve never had more tools at your disposal for reaching new audiences without having to invest anything except for some of your time. This actually means a lot because the job is now much cheaper and easier to do than it used to be before.
For example, if you don’t know about it, Twitch is a streaming platform where people stream various activities – predominantly video games. However, there is an entire section of Twitch dedicated to online poker, and this is a great place for you as an affiliate to stand out.
For example, you might be new to affiliation but are a good poker player who plays regularly and has some nice results. You can combine the two by streaming your play live and use this opportunity to advertise your deals. You’re not really losing anything as you’d be playing as it is; at the same time, you’re growing your affiliation business as your Twitch channel will gather more and more viewers over time.
Even if you aren’t that good of a player but enjoy playing occasional sessions of various jackpot sit & go variations, this could be a great stream material. People will enjoy the thrill of it and if you happen to win a big one while streaming, this will boost your viewer numbers quite significantly.
Is it hard to Get Started with Twitch?
It’s not hard at all! You’ll find plenty of great resources online to set up your stream properly and some people already involved with Twitch will also gladly give you a helping hand. From a technical standpoint, streaming on Twitch isn’t particularly demanding.
As for the rest of it, it is really up to you. People browsing poker streams look for two things: entertainment and learning opportunities. You can offer one or the other, whichever suits you better. If you can combine both, you’ll have no problems growing your channel. The more people there are visiting on the regular basis, the more potential players interested in what you have to offer.
Expanding Your Affiliation Business (Casino and Sport Betting)
Once you get into the affiliation game, there is really no reason to limit yourself only to online poker. There are other connected opportunities you can branch out to as well, and online casinos and sports betting are the first things that come to mind.
Online Casino
The online gambling industry has really been booming as of late and there are many people who enjoy occasionally trying their luck playing slots and table games online. Some of them are just looking for entertainment while others are more serious and are seeking ways to make money. However, both groups have one thing in common: they love free spins and nice deposit bonuses.
As a casino affiliate, you’ll be able to offer these things and give players exclusive deals they won’t be able to get going straight through the casino page. This means that as an affiliate you’ll be offering them straight-up value, which is really hard to refuse.
Once again, 2018 is just the right time to get involved because casino bonuses are drying up. Once upon a time, players could easily get big bonuses with great wagering requirements straight from the casinos. These days, however, it is getting harder and harder to find really valuable offers and if you, as an affiliate, can actually make this happen, this alone will help bring potential players to you.
Another upside of being involved with casino affiliation is the fact that, unlike with online poker, you’ll have a rather wide potential audience. While online poker requires people to actually learn the game and have some patience to play, online casinos are available to everyone and everyone can win playing at them, even if they have no experience whatsoever.
Sports Betting
Everything we said about online casinos pretty much applies to sports betting as well. As an affiliate for a sports betting site, you’ll be able to give your players special bonuses and exclusive offers not available on the main site. Improved betting odds and cash boosters will help you get sign-ups.
Like with the casinos, sports’ betting has a very large potential pool of players. There are serious bettors and there are casual bettors, but almost everyone who enjoys sports also enjoys an occasional punt, if nothing else to support their favorite team or player.
There are some very nice and rewarding betting affiliation deals you can get at PAW so take advantage of these and get involved. This one might actually be a good starting point because you’ll have no problems finding interested players among your closest friends, many of whom probably enjoy placing a bet here and there.
Kick Start Your Affiliation Business in 2018!
As you can see from this blog, there are many ways you can get involved with affiliation and many of them require just a minimum effort. Once you do get started, things will eventually become easier, as you’ll also learn what the most effective affiliation strategies are and what it is that players are most interested in.
Equip yourself with multiple options alongside online poker and get some nice casino and sports betting deals as well. More often than not, same people will be interested in everything you have to offer.
Take that important first step and start building your affiliation business today. It won’t be long before you’ll start seeing returns on your efforts!
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