The casino affiliate business is nervous. Because of the recent legal action against the online gambling industry in the United States, it’s important for casino affiliates to think more seriously about developing a plan on how to reach non-English speaking markets.
Before you develop a plan, it’s essential to know more about your casino operator and how they deal with their international customers. A casino sponsor might already have their casino website translated and localized in different languages for specific countries. However, before you focus on language, make sure to find out if the payment and withdrawal methods available through the operator are easily accessible within a country promoted on their website.
Once you know the operator’s cashier works for your audience, you should continue asking more questions to the casino/s about their operations:
- Does the casino offer friendly customer support via email, chat or phone with representatives who can speak/write the language of the casino/s promoted on their site?
- Do they have a local phone number for specific countries?
- What are the currencies that the casino/s offer for promoted countries either for making a deposit or withdrawal?
- What type of marketing tools and information can your casino affiliate program offer you to support your marketing efforts to acquire international players?
After getting all of this information and analyzing it, it’s now time to start developing a plan on how to reach non-English speaking potential customers. Before you prepare your plan, make sure your analysis covers:
– Cultural Analysis: It’s very important to consider on your plan to make sure that your time and money is worth it for the country you plan to reach. Your casino partner may share information on the player’s value and/or conversion rate for a specific country.
– Competitive Analysis: Find out who your competitors are with specific keywords within a country. This information will allow you find out more about your niche.
While preparing your plan, you might find out that you need to develop a mini-site or landing page to cater a specific country. (This will be the case for affiliates who have been catering to U.S. customers.) Provide as much information as possible about what a casino has to offer this country, such as language, currency, withdrawals, or other benefits. Certainly always invite them to sign up from your banner/link. Also, make sure that tone of the content on the landing page or mini site is plain. Include some selling pitches but don’t overdo it. It’s a better way to get your message across without cultural barriers.
If you are ready to “sell to the world”, using all of your existing skills to generate web traffic for your website, then you should go for it. With the support of your sponsoring casinos – remember they are also in need of international customers and affiliates — you will succeed.
Connie Burstin has been an affiliate manager since 1999 and have helped various gambling affiliate programs to start up and help grow their affiliate channel. She currently offers consulting and outsourced affiliate management.