CAP Community Member of the Month Spotlight: byebyebaby

We are excited to spotlight CAP’s Community Member of the Month for September 2012…
Congratulations byebyebaby! byebyebaby, also known as Ralph Tijssen, is a senior member here, joining us back in May 2007. He’s always participating in forum conversations, and has recently started some excellent threads. What’s even more great is that he’s so positive and willing to ask thoughtful questions.
Thanks for always being such an amazing part of our community! You are so appreciated! We caught up with byebyebaby to learn more about his years in the industry!
How did you get started as being an affiliate in iGaming?
I loved to play online poker and casinos for a couple of years. After awhile, I started reading up about being an affiliate and that I could make a nice income. So, because I had played a lot myself, I knew which providers where bad and which where good. And I started building my own, at first free, website.
What are your top traffic drivers, and how did you learn them?
I must say that Google brings the most traffic for me. Figuring out how all this SEO stuff works has been hell, but I did get a lot of help from all members here at CAP and all the blogs that are posted here. After some time I started understanding all terms and what I should do. It’s still and probably will always be a work in progress.
What factors do you look at when deciding on an operator?
I think any operator should have no negative carry-over and also have a low minimum amount to get paid. When I started out, I used some programs that had a minimum payout of at least $200 or more, for me as a starting webmaster that was way to high and I never got paid because of the threshold. That really made me question if I should carry on. Luckily I did, but for me that is still a reason not to use a program.
I also have to say I love programs that give a hybrid deal.
What are your thoughts on legal standing of the online gambling industry?
I think that every country should legalize online gambling, provided they do protect people from becoming addicted. There is always ways for players to gamble, legal or not. So I say, legalize it so the government can keep an eye out and make sure it does not get out of hand. Also, I think if countries legalize it and monitor it, rogue casinos and poker rooms can be handled with better.
What was the biggest lesson you learned in your years of being in this business?
My biggest lesson is to be patient. This is not a job to make a quick buck. You have to spend time and energy and endure. After a while you will see results and for me personally I hope I see even more results, I still believe I can do much better and hope to discover how. But with all the great help I get from all CAP members I know I will be fine!