Newbie: A Space Worth Entering?

[Wracked]

Dear Affiliate Dogs,

I am investigating whether this is a space that is still lucrative to enter or whether the train has already left. The way in which I got introduced to the space is through a guy that I met who seems to be making c. $2m p.a. – Not sure how common that is after spending quite a few hours researching on the web/this forum.

Background: I have been working in finance, making c. £250k p.a. (the classic 12-14h per day kind of jobs) but was recently made redundant, and am consequently investigating other career paths. The two alternatives I want to investigate: (i) gaming affiliate marketing full-time, otherwise; (ii) c. 1h per day whilst working another job in finance.
Unlike a few others that I have come across here, I do have savings that I am willing to invest.

My understanding of the space in short: Affiliate marketers operate e.g. blogs, comparison websites, news/articles websites targeting different specialised niches and Geos, generating new customers for the operators, through which they get compensated (CPA or RevShare).

For anyone who has time and a beautiful soul – I have written a few questions below that I would be incredibly appreciative if someone wanted to shed some light on – even if just one or two of the questions! Any other interesting information / books / primers that can be recommended would also be of interest of course.

Separately, in the event someone would be interested in any type of collaboration / JV – please let me know.

--- // ---

Questions:

1. Any strong recommendations wrt to full-time vs 1h per day? Is the latter for example absolutely impossible?
2. Any other types of affiliate websites common than those listed above (blogs, comparison websites, news/articles websites)?
   1. For each affiliate marketer – Do you usually run a single website or a network of websites? If the latter, are we talking 10+ websites?
   2. How do you gain intel on your traffic (i.e. the individuals) and ensure that they are good quality for the operators?
3. Aff. marketers invest in SEO and purchase links and Google Ads to market their own sites, and not their customers/operators directly – Is that right?
   1. Any other tools (apart from good organic content) that they use/invest in to drive traffic?
4. If an Aff. marketer has e.g. 8 different operators in its Operator Comparison table, I would assume that such marketer has affiliate agreements with all 8 operators then?
5. Somewhere, I saw posts/data on what looked like project-based marketing campaigns – Where someone invested e.g. $1k in a campaign (e.g. an Ad I guess) and generated $1.5k worth of traffic to the operators (50% ROI). Is this how Aff. Marketers work? If so, roughly how much of your traffic is generated by these inorganic campaigns?
6. Are the compensation levels similar across categories (betting, casino, poker etc.)?
7. Is it really hard for a non-gambler to enter into the space?
8. What is a standard CPA amount?
9. As an example, say I set up a blog with WP – Are there any ‘must have’ plugins/functionalities? Or do I just register at an operators affiliate program and log into their portal to see what traffic I have generated?
   1. Or do I monitor this on my own website? If so, how do I most easily manage this if I have a network of websites (e.g. 10+)?

 

[NDG]

I will answer some of your questions .

1. Your best option would be a couple of hours per day until you make enough to consider this a full-time business.
It's not something that is going to take off from the very beginning. It will likely take months before you see any income
and that income will come slowly and gradually build-up. Always keep your day job until you know you don't need it.

2.1 You should start with one website, then you can move on to building others if time permits. A website or two will
take up a lot of time. Building too many websites will spread yourself too thin, when you want quality over mass quantity.

3. They would be marketing their own websites.
3.1 Nobody is going to tell you their good traffic source.

4. Yes, agreements with all brands on the website.

5. Some affiliate marketers are buying ads, but that is tricky in this industry. Some countries don't allow gambling ads,
some casinos don't allow you to promote their brands through ads, etc.. Most affiliates are getting organic traffic.

6. Casinos tend to offer a better revenue share percentage.

7. You should have an interest in gambling. If you don't have any interest, its going to be hard to churn out quality
content and know how to properly promote the casinos. It's hard for everyone to enter this space because it is
super competitive. If you have the desire, the willingness to keep going through the ups and downs, and the ability
to learn and properly build a website that players will find interesting, then it will be hard but it will get easier.

8. Much better to go with revenue share. You will make more in the long run.

9. You can monitor the traffic through the affiliate program. You can setup analytics on your own website to
see where your visitors are coming from, which affiliate links that they are clicking on, etc. You will only
find out about the sign-ups and depositors directly from within your affiliate account at the program.

 

[baldidiot]

1. Any strong recommendations wrt to full-time vs 1h per day? Is the latter for example absolutely impossible?

Depends on your knowledge and skills. If you have never run a site before and know nothing about the industry, then an hour a day is going to take you a long time to get to where you need to be to even have a half decent site set up. At the same time even going full time it can take a while for a brand new site to make money, and people normally make mistakes along the way, so I'd say it's better to not go gung ho into it full time either.

It's also a lot harder than it used to be as well and there's significantly increased competition compared to 5-10 years ago. The regulation of a lot of markets has made things harder as well because a) you have to follow specific rules which vary by geo and b) once the markets became regulated it meant bigger players entered it. There are some huge affiliate companies now (we're talking at companies valued in the hundreds of millions).

Essentially 10 years ago all you needed to do was chuck up a site that listed some brands, add some articles and bung a few links at it and you'd be generating sign ups within three-six months. These days it's a different ball game.

1. Any other types of affiliate websites common than those listed above (blogs, comparison websites, news/articles websites)?
   1. For each affiliate marketer – Do you usually run a single website or a network of websites? If the latter, are we talking 10+ websites?
   2. How do you gain intel on your traffic (i.e. the individuals) and ensure that they are good quality for the operators?

Some people run a single website, others will have hundreds. There's pros and cons to each method.

Rather than what other people do though, I'd suggest just looking at your own situation - one site is plenty if you've not run an aff site before and not familiar with the niche.

• Aff. marketers invest in SEO and purchase links and Google Ads to market their own sites, and not their customers/operators directly – Is that right?
  1. Any other tools (apart from good organic content) that they use/invest in to drive traffic?

Generally speaking, yes, you're promoting your own site. Some PPC affs may have a deal to send direct, but I think most send via a landing page on their site. SEO based sites obviously have to be your own (ie: helping a casinos site rank isn't going to get you anything).

• If an Aff. marketer has e.g. 8 different operators in its Operator Comparison table, I would assume that such marketer has affiliate agreements with all 8 operators then?

Yes, although some are part of a group. So those 8 brands may be 5 programs (or whatever).

• Somewhere, I saw posts/data on what looked like project-based marketing campaigns – Where someone invested e.g. $1k in a campaign (e.g. an Ad I guess) and generated $1.5k worth of traffic to the operators (50% ROI). Is this how Aff. Marketers work? If so, roughly how much of your traffic is generated by these inorganic campaigns?

For me, zero, we're all organic traffic. Some affs buy display ads or PPC, but I can't comment on that. I'm sure others can chime in.

• Are the compensation levels similar across categories (betting, casino, poker etc.)?

Casino > Sports > Bingo/Poker

You'll get variation between them - ie: you may get a low value casino player or a bingo player that drops £10k - but roughly speaking it'll be something like that in the long run.

• Is it really hard for a non-gambler to enter into the space?

Yes, because you a) don't know what you're talking about and b) won't know what the users are looking for.

Having said that, hard doesn't mean impossible, you just need to do your research. I started as a poker player/affiliate and now somehow the bulk of our business is sports (via a brief stint with a portfolio of bingo sites). I'm not a sports fan at all so had to figure it out as we went (we also hired an ex-bookie to help with that side of things).

Tbh, I still couldn't give a toss about sport, but the content suits our strategy a bit better and we found it much easier to get organic links compared to casino/bingo.

• What is a standard CPA amount?

Depends on the product, geo, brand etc... Also depends on your traffic and it's value. One person might get a £50 CPA for brand whilst another could get £200 for the same brand.

Tbh as a new affiliate you probably won't get many CPA deals and if you do they'll be low. Rev share is more common at the start - it'll start around 25% and you can get deals up to 50%. That's after admin fees and taxes are deducted though (eg: if someone loses £100 and there's a 30% admin fee then your deal is based on the net £70).

• As an example, say I set up a blog with WP – Are there any ‘must have’ plugins/functionalities? Or do I just register at an operators affiliate program and log into their portal to see what traffic I have generated?
  1. Or do I monitor this on my own website? If so, how do I most easily manage this if I have a network of websites (e.g. 10+)?

You're talking about two different things here - the site is yours to set up how you want, the affiliate program will give you a tracking link to send them traffic.

You can monitor traffic and clicks on your end, but it's the affiliate programs side that counts.

 

[AussieDave]

The simple answer, to your question is this... The igaming industry is NOT the cash-cow it once was. If you were say asking these questions 10+ years ago, and were prepared to commit 14 hour days, and do that for at least 6 months straight, with little to no return, then I'd say you had a fair chance.

Super competitive is an understatement. And, someone with NO gambling experience etc., etc., I'd say your entering this market ALL because some random-guy told you he's making BIG bucks.

100 folks who commence a gambling affiliate site, after 12 months, only 1-2% remain.

Veterans like myself, with decades of exp, are finding it tough. Once I could get 200 - 300 new players per month, those figures, have dwindled. Now, if I get 30 NDP across the board, I'm happy.

Can you make it? I'm not the one to answer that question, instead, only you can answer that

If your that 1% great.

It's more likely, going on you lack of gambling exp, and it seems your false idea that this is a huge cash-cow. Well, my friend, I'd say your in the 99% bracket, and will likely throw in the towel, within 3 - 6 months.

Quoting Steve Jobs:
If you don't have a passion, you'll give up.

It's hard to tell with these Internet startups if they're really interested in building companies or if they're just interested in the money. I can tell you, though: If they don't really want to build a company, they won't luck into it. That's because it's so hard that if you don't have a passion, you'll give up.

 

[Wracked]

Thanks very much friends for the lengthy informative responses. It is quite beautiful how you spend such long time helping a complete random and possible future competitor...!
That said, based on what you have said, it might be that this is not for me and that it makes more sense with a return to finance - perhaps that is why you took the time, and vastly undersold the space

I will speak to the contact in a few weeks and ask a bit more about his strategy etc. now that I have a bit of a better understanding of the space (thanks to you).

 

[FictionNet]

I think the advice you've been provided with has been outstanding and extremely honest. I'm proud of everyone who took the time to give their lengthy opinions.

Take the advice. If you're 'into' gambling and have the time, feel free to go for it. If you're not passionate about gambling and/or don't have a LOT of time to devote to a new project, it's probably best to stick to finance.

 

[KasinoKing]

Thanks very much friends for the lengthy informative responses. It is quite beautiful how you spend such long time helping a complete random and possible future competitor...!
That said, based on what you have said, it might be that this is not for me and that it makes more sense with a return to finance - perhaps that is why you took the time, and vastly undersold the space

I will speak to the contact in a few weeks and ask a bit more about his strategy etc. now that I have a bit of a better understanding of the space (thanks to you).

All the advice given by other replies above is 100% spot on.

Yes, there are vast amounts of $$$ to be made in this industry - but you have to be competing with the very best (and probably very big) affiliate marketing power-houses. As a newbie working alone or with very little help, you probably won't get anywhere.

I was extremely lucky that I sort of "fell into" affiliate marketing back in 2006... and that was probably already a little too late.
But by 2008 it had become my full-time job and I have had a very comfortable life from it, without making millions.
I worked entirely alone and replied solely on informative websites.

If you're very passionate about it and have a few hours a week to spend on it, then have a go as a "hobby". That's exactly how I started, and you'll never know unless you try...

All the best,
KK

 

[danieldan]

I think, of course, you have opportunities. However, you should approach it with your head, you have the means to invest that's good, but you need to devote your own time at the beginning. I will add what recommendations I would have based on my experience.


- I would start with nothing more than creating a solid product, i.e. a website, and only then promote it.

- Choice of niche. This is very important. Some time ago I tried to break into a very crowded niche for strong keywords, but being on my own and not having a huge budget I only lost time. If you want to make a site along the lines of "Online casinos" "Bitcoin sportsbook" and the like, basically there is no chance without a huge budget and/or more people. However, if you make a heavily niche site, for keywords with moderate popularity and long tail keywords you have a chance. In this situation you can exhaust the topic, be an authority, spend less time on content. Choosing the right niche is very important.

- Don't lose hope if you've already started. Even in a narrow niche it takes time. You need to set yourself up for a long time, e.g. a year, often more work without results. Do not think about conversions at first. Some time ago I was browsing through old topics on forums where people give their sites for assessment. The vast majority of people who had posted a year before were no longer active and their sites were not working. This shows how quickly people give up through lack of results.

 

[AussieDave]

@danieldan - dannyx from GPWA? Your writing styles, exp and advice are very similar...

 

[edgarf76]

I will answer some of your questions .

1. Your best option would be a couple of hours per day until you make enough to consider this a full-time business.
It's not something that is going to take off from the very beginning. It will likely take months before you see any income
and that income will come slowly and gradually build-up. Always keep your day job until you know you don't need it.

2.1 You should start with one website, then you can move on to building others if time permits. A website or two will
take up a lot of time. Building too many websites will spread yourself too thin, when you want quality over mass quantity.

3. They would be marketing their own websites.
3.1 Nobody is going to tell you their good traffic source.

4. Yes, agreements with all brands on the website.

5. Some affiliate marketers are buying ads, but that is tricky in this industry. Some countries don't allow gambling ads,
some casinos don't allow you to promote their brands through ads, etc.. Most affiliates are getting organic traffic.

6. Casinos tend to offer a better revenue share percentage.

7. You should have an interest in gambling. If you don't have any interest, its going to be hard to churn out quality
content and know how to properly promote the casinos. It's hard for everyone to enter this space because it is
super competitive. If you have the desire, the willingness to keep going through the ups and downs, and the ability
to learn and properly build a website that players will find interesting, then it will be hard but it will get easier.

8. Much better to go with revenue share. You will make more in the long run.

9. You can monitor the traffic through the affiliate program. You can setup analytics on your own website to
see where your visitors are coming from, which affiliate links that they are clicking on, etc. You will only
find out about the sign-ups and depositors directly from within your affiliate account at the program.

Good Advice!

 

[preditor]

If I were to start in the casino niche from 0 today, I would not do it my self but rather try to collab with some veteran, splitting the income from the site/project.

The benefits of working with somebody who has expert - knowlage in casino affiliating, combinated with slightly better connections and deals with casinos - would be a win-win for both you as the veteran affiliate.

Ofcource you can run the show on your own, but even with a budget to spend, there is more doors open for success with an other person, who has came to a point in the carrieer where he/she gladly would be looking to help some new into the business and earn a % of the revenues coming in.

This would work as an carrot for both parts and in the end: what would you have to lose on it in the long run?

I'll bet there are good affiliates, that can be trusted to a point where they can help you set up affilite accounts and deals both with or without the usage of subaffiliating ( sign-up and promote a casino via the superaffiliate, who can earn 5-10% of the proffit generated to you, mostly not even covered by you, but paid from the casino).

I know many affiliates, including my self, that has gotten some new affilates under their wings working as mentors and specually in the start. This does not allways mean a % for the rest of the life but rather s 24m, 36m or longer periods of collsb for a sertain %, and in return the new affiliate can enjoy RS, Hybrid, CPA and other deals, that even after a cut to the "mentor" means better deals and conditions for baseline and other terms.

As mentiond, there are really high skilled affiliates here who all are glad to help you with general questions and quidance no matter if you want to run the show on your own or not!

Keep us updated how you progress and hopefully some day in the future, you got some advices for affilistes who just started in this business and were in the same position as you are now. AGD is a great forum for this type of threads and topics!

Welcome to the forum and hopefully you get an smooth, nice and profitable carrieer as an casino affiliate!

 

[AussieDave]

If I were to start in the casino niche from 0 today, I would not do it my self but rather try to collab with some veteran, splitting the income from the site/project.

The benefits of working with somebody who has expert - knowlage in casino affiliating, combinated with slightly better connections and deals with casinos - would be a win-win for both you as the veteran affiliate.

Ofcource you can run the show on your own, but even with a budget to spend, there is more doors open for success with an other person, who has came to a point in the carrieer where he/she gladly would be looking to help some new into the business and earn a % of the revenues coming in.

Being cashed up when entering this gig, can certainly help with development and building one's SEO/Social Media footprint. However, cash only goes so far. Aside from the pitfalls, which ALL newbies hit these walls, it's knowing which programs to work with and those to avoid.

You make some good suggestions @preditor, certainly option to think about.

In this game a lot rides on not what you know BUT who you know

 

[Kadabra]

suggesting a different question for you: you are coming from finance niche. Maybe you should also think "how can i make money online, affiliate marketing or not, by using my experience and knowledge? what are the things i know that i can share or speak about.

who said that in your case it needs to be gambling?

 

[mashed]

@Wracked
I have worked in aff. Since 1999, I have made it pretty big in hard niches (non-iGaming). I started my iGaming project in 2021, and now, 3 years later, the network is starting to grow. So imagine this crazy timeline (High SEO/technical knowledge included!).
If you are a team player, then build a team and be the analytics/financial brain behind it, and leave the tech side to other people in your trusted team. Expect to invest 6 figures+ to grow to a size where things might start to make sense. And even with a serious investment, it might still fail entirely if your team isn't on the bleeding edge of everything.
Just my 2 cents

 

[danieldan]

@danieldan - dannyx from GPWA? Your writing styles, exp and advice are very similar...

Yes