Affiliate Managers

Janine at Referback is also incredibly helpful and always easily available

Mike Rivera from Refer Income is a very good guy, so are Bobby and Steven from that group. Liz Peters who use to be with PartnerGaming was very cool and I really liked Travis from BetUS. The two that will always stick out in my mind though are Marty Davis who I think is with WagerWeb now and Simon Eaton with BetOnline. There great ppl and very helpfull.

I have to say Marc Yott with Bovada/Bodog is really involved with his program and seems to be giving it a good shot.

the ones who don’t shave players

Chris at Focal Click. If this guy was with a bigger program, I bet he would win a ton of awards.

Marcela who just left Doyles Room (previously at Chipleader) was always so helpful. Alexandra (previously at Chipleader and now at Party Gaming) worked incredibly hard as well.

I could post these all day I think. Most affiliate managers are overworked, underpaid and under-appreciated.

As a follow-up to this great thread… CAP created a shortlist of iGaming’s Top Affiliate Managers and what makes them so incredible.

Way to GO AM’s!

iGaming’s Top Affiliate Managers

Hi guys,

I’ve been a poker affiliate for 2 years (MD Poker | Poker online com mais rakeback e coaching exclusivo), so here goes my favorite ones:

Betfair:

Daniela Attard
Anthea Sciberras
David Cortés

You can always count with great work and attention from this manager

I had a really good think on this one and thought to myself, “I do not want to single anyone out” but then figured hey this is a good learning experience for both affiliate managers and affiliates and the industry as a whole. If affiliates and affiliate managers can develop great relationships all things are possible to make it a hugely profitable business relationship.

I have in the last year had some good talks with some affiliates – some really big ones and also new ones and we have discussed many of the qualities we look for and need when working with an affiliate manager. Now some of this would be a rehash of what some have said all along but also some of it I think is new which I am not sure many think about.

I tried to think what makes the perfect affiliate manager? Is it the most popular ones? – You know the ones who post the most on the forums and befriend everyone? Is it the ones who offer the best percentages on your players so you make more immediate profits? Is it the ones who answer your emails within minutes and do everything they can to get you set up?

What really is it that makes a true affiliate managers shine from the rest of the field? I mean all affiliate managers have some of the qualities we all want – some lack in a few areas – but overall what are the things we really need?

Let me start by sharing who I feel fits the bill as one of the most dynamic, trusted, caring, and driven affiliate managers I have ever met to date. Of course I have others I feel come close and some sure are my favorites but this particular affiliate manager has made me feel really comfortable in knowing we will have a long term relationship together.

Sandra Nivaro – Uaffiliates (888) !

Communication: – Well let me say with every single email contact we have I know 100% for sure she will read it and understand it fully before making a reply. So many times when we send emails to AMs at least in my experience – they skim it to get to the meat of it and reply often missing things and with this you have to continue to communicate to get more answers on things. With Sandra she reads it and replies to every single question or concern brought up. Often times volunteering more useful information than was requested. If I send an email I get a reply almost always the next day. I do not have to wait weeks or days – I always know what to expect and will get answers to my questions.

Tools: When I say tools – I mean what can the affiliate managers offer in order to aid us in increasing our targets – and that is “RMPs” – lets face it that is the name of the game – getting real money players – deposits. So many programs have generic banners and all sorts of things that are flashy but really not all businesses (websites) use this method to promote. What I love about Sandra – when i ask for anything – I GET IT! Any co-branded banners – promo material I need I get. All special sizes no matter what it is, I get it and this goes for any language I need. So many times I have had different ideas I have wanted to test and I have emailed her saying “Hey I have an idea on how to get more players”. Anything I ask for I get – and it gets done within a few days. Any custom made banners from their graphics team – she will get done. This to me is a fabulous thing because all so often we see sites with all the same banners and promotional material. I always try and have something A little different and each time I ask – I get whats needed to test.

Relationship between Operator and Affiliate: An affiliate manager to me facilitates the relationship between the affiliate and the operator – be it the Affiliate Coordinator, Affiliate Team leader – whatever you want to call them. Affiliate Managers try and bridge the gap and keep things running smoothly. Well let me tell you! Sandra has done this to perfection.
Any concerns I have had in the past – she as brought them to the attention of the superiors and not only has all issues been resolved – she has put me in contact with the head of her team which is super super helpful. Now I have another communication outlet in case Sandra is away or not available and its her (for lack of a better word) boss who i get to speak to.
The communication lines are always open and information is always past on from one person to the other and never once has there been a miscommunication this way.

Attitude towards Affiliates: As i understand it AMs have sometimes dozen of affiliates and maybe even more so allot of the time they are over stretched and have to prioritize things based on some sort of criteria. This is where I feel Attitude comes to play. All affiliates are important event the small ones who are struggling. We all started from scratch. I often find AMs not spending quality time with smaller affiliates or affiliates who generate smaller numbers. Usually this can happen from the start of a relationship when things are starting out. Based on my observations – Sandra has treated us SPECIAL during our whole relationship together. Her attitude as always been super helpful. There has never been a time when we felt her attitude was poor – even when maybe at times we were upset about something – she always managed to ease our frustrations and fears 100% of the time. Each month as we continue to grow she is still so helpful and provides super advice to increase our awareness on affiliate marketing.

Negotiating: Well at every step of the way as business increases/decreases its always important to negotiate deals and numbers. What was valuable one day may not be so valuable the next day and its a fine balance to find the optimal deal that is both lucrative and profitable for both affiliate and program. I personally think this is an extremely important for AMs to exercise each month or quarter. A truly good AM who cares about their job, and their company they represent and the affiliates they support will monitor this all the time. Any business relationship must be truly 100% profitable for both the affiliate and Operator.
I have scene so many times when numbers have increased significantly where AMs will not even recognize it and not offer you incentives to continue to grow. In my case Sandra and her team leader have always been fair – I have had my deals edited/increased based on value because they know full well a happy affiliate doing well will in turn do them well. Affiliates are a LOYAL breed and we will push what sells and push harder and harder if we see the programs recognizing us for our efforts. In this regard she has went well beyond the call of duty!!!

Ethics: All to often in this industry we have come across some shaddy AMs and Programs and its hard to sift through the good, the bad (and the ULGY… haha). Well I certainly can feel confident Sandra’s ethics have not been compromised. I trust her 100% that whatever she thinks is right in terms of our relationship is best for both of us and that she has our interests genuinely at heart and will continue to do so. This to me is very important in today’s affiliate marketing as over the last few years we have scene some dramatic negative things going on with so many programs. I feel she always does what is ethically correct and is supported by her team which gives me great comfort.

Trust: Sort of similar to the above – as affiliates we have to trust our AMs and with online marketing most times we do not get to meet our AMs face to face. It makes it difficult sometimes to trust them or really know 100% things are going well. In my case 100% of the time I have trust in Sandra and that is another key attribute that is hard to come by.

Vision: Well what I mean by this is we all live day by day and think about what were going to do today to better our sites and business. Sometimes we base all our decisions on the past or the present and overlook the future. Of course we never really know for sure what the future holds but I feel its important to have VISION – similar to goals we set for ourselves and often times AMs are the same way and only look at “TODAY”. What makes Sandra stand out is she has VISION and I feel she has a positive vision towards us and feels we will develop and continue to be strong affiliates and improve over time to be even better. Having this vision to me is important and also hard to come by. An AM would have to have faith and trust in an affiliate to have this.

Last but not least:

Caring: I find this to be one of the most important areas where many AMs lack. Caring about the affiliate. In fact I would go so far as to say Caring for the whole industry as a whole. To really do well at something and love it you have care for it. Its not just a job, its a whole lifestyle – affiliate marketing online is an area that gives us lots of flexibility to do what we want, when we want. We certainly do not have great security in the present situations with online gambling and this is why its so crucial right now for AMs to care about the industry and affiliates. This is another area I feel she excels at .

Conclusions: I am sure i have missed some areas they others would find important but i have just tried to shed some light as an affiliate what I feel is important for me, and since the topic was on Favorite Affiliate Managers i thought I would give an idea what makes an AM special to us. I prefer not to call it “Favorite” but rather an “Example Affiliate Manager”. Sandra is 100% one of these types of AMs and they are a dime a dozen in this industry right now. She certainly fits the bill in this area.

Ok think I am done posting for another couple of months.. LOL – Cheers folks! Have a great end of March and best of luck in April