Hey Guys,
I am now an operator, but I was actually an affiliate prior, in several verticals, so I will try my best to also answer the questions, hope it helps!
1.
What tools do you prefer and like to use, that an affiliate program offers to help you promote poker rooms and casinos?
I like a program that invests time into their banners and promotions. I like when a program has both hard sale and soft sale promotions, as well as promo's both offering the player either % or a $ value offer. As of late I am getting into RSS feeds, I think if a casino/poker room is really on top of their marketing and uses these feeds to their advantage, it will be advantageous to the affiliate who markets them.
2. What are your favorite back end affiliate systems for grabbing promotional tools and why? (Ease of use, simple to navigate, can just grab code, etc.)
Well, I am a bit biased here as my affiliate program uses it, I have to say without a doubt NetRefer. I have been working with NetRefer, on implmentation with my software and I am just really impressed by their professionalism, both in implementation and training us in the admin. From the affiliate side I think it is a really good software ESPECIALLY if the program has multiple brands and multiple verticals!
I will definitely note Playtech's backend, CTXM's backend and actually even though a competitor of mine C-planet's backend.
3. What type of commission structure do you prefer? A tiered revenue share based on Net Gaming or on the amount of players sent during the month? Why?
I personally have always liked Rev. If the program is trustworthy and has got a professional support and retention then Rev si the way to go. With Rev, it ends up being a game of
Whale Hunting. Now, when I worked on Rev there was always the worry of shaving, but with the more reputable companies, this should not be a concern (hopefully
).
4. What sub affiliate deal would encourage you to refer other webmasters to the program? Or what would encourage you to refer other webmasters to the program?
Well to be honest, I never was a master affiliate, BUT if I was going to refer someone to a program I would work on a rev of 5%, I think only 1 tier is fine. What I would look for when referring is how well the operators support and retention works - ie: they convert better, I earn more. I have a few master affiliates who I work with and they have been fine with 5%.
5. What are the most important things you look for when signing up for an affiliate program?
Conversion, Conversion, Conversion. Ok that is the mantra, but on a serious note I always liked programs that paid on time, had many different payment methods to pay me, dedicated support, were not rogues and spoke to me like I am a human being and not a sucker.
Guys, I hope this helped, these were my 2 cents.
Cheers,
Bruce