Being an igaming affiliate is both exciting and lucrative. However, if your a gambling industry newbie, there are pitfalls. For example, educating yourself about dodgy affiliate programs, will help stop you being scammed. Like any new business, researching your intended market is a smart move. A simple Google search such as: “program’s name affiliate warnings” or “casino name and player warnings”, is a great start. But I’m an affiliate, not a player. True. But if an igaming operator is cheating players, they’re probably shaving affiliates, too.
Affiliate programs you partner with hold all the ‘Aces’. If an igaming program cooks-the-books with bogus statistical gamblers data, usually there’s nothing you can do about it, except drop them. Research every igaming program, first.
Succeed With Smart Affiliate Choices
Being friendly and conducting your business with manners and a polite attitude, is a positive step. However, try not to fall into the trap of allowing affiliate program managers to treat you like your ‘mates’. Because frankly, your not. Familiarity, is fine when you are actually socialising with friends. Best to keep those ‘mates as mates’, and affiliate managers as igaming business associates. The reason behind this advice is simple. When hard business decisions need to be made, and they will, it easier making these choices when it’s purely business.
The saying, “It’s nothing personal it’s just business”, will be exactly how most affiliate managers will treat you, when, the gloves come off. Keep igaming business affairs as business, and you’ll maintain industry respect and prosper.
Reiterating, igaming affiliate knowledge is power. It allows you to make educated decisions based on facts, your own perceptions, or opinions from other igaming peers. Apart from using search engines to garnish valuable insight, you can also join online affiliate communities. These forums usually provide great resources; especially for newbie igaming affiliates. Though, be mindful most industry-forums, will likely put their profits, ahead of their member’s welfare.
Affiliate forum sponsorship money holds the forum or organisational host hostage. Then, the forum owners and admin serve their master, rather than stepping up and defending the affiliates they’ve sworn to protect. – doch.fyi
Hustle Hard and Stay Frosty
Words are cheap, in the igaming industry, they’re mostly always empty, too. Get every single affiliate program agreement in writing. A written agreement needs to cover your backside, if anything goes pear shaped. If a program is paying you a bespoke commission percentage, then make sure you’ll be paid that exact xx%. Because these days, once GGR fees and what not are deducted, that 40% commission might not look so shinny and bright.
Skype, discord, Whatsapp etc., etc., are fine for shooting the breeze but are not suitable for making affiliate agreements, with igaming affiliate programs et al. In these cases, it’s email-only. Again, if anything goes pear shaped, you’ve got records of what was said, by who, from both an email, IP, and email headers. FYI… screen captures of typed chats are not proof.