Name: managerInterview_KateG.gif Views: 145 Size: 11.9 KB

Age: Let’s just say I still have a shelf life.
Hometown: Johannesburg, South Africa
Favorite food: Pasta

You’ve worked at a number of different programs in your career. What separates WagerProfits from the rest of the pack?
Its very difficult to say, as I have learned a lot from every company I have had the pleasure of working with. However, I would have to say the level of professionalism here at WagerProfits, the team work, and the loyalty exceeds any other I have experienced.

WagerProfits partners with both casinos and poker rooms. How does affiliate marketing differ for each type of property? What tends to work well for each category? And what doesn’t?
Well as we know casino and poker players are very different from one another. The same thing occurs with most poker- and casino-oriented affiliates. Customer treatment is the same, but the campaigns differ in the target market we look for with each property. We also use demographic and socio-cultural variables that vary for casino and poker affiliate campaigns. Our casinos are more oriented for recreational players and our poker rooms are oriented to serious players. We try to nurture them and assist them in increasing their abilities, so as to maintain the level of standard we achieve here.

In poker and casino marketing, it's also really just about knowing how to cross-market your brands. So for poker I would first test it's effectiveness on an existing website by doing the following;

1. Small target ads in hotspots on various pages on the affiliated casino website where I thought it most appropriate.
2. Start targeted poker landing pages to most effectively target primary poker key phrases, on my existing casino property. I do this because an existing web presence with a Page Rank is going to produce a quicker result in the search engines rather than starting an entire new web presence.
3. Look into starting a poker-specific affiliated website, obviously looking at content, etc.
4. And another one to add to that list for casino and poker would be blogging, writing about what you know is one of the easiest ways to market, an article every day or two. We have been getting some very good results with this as well, and of course Google loves it.

Perhaps a keyword buy... but that's the last on my list and definitely not my preferred method.

As far as what works for each category and what doesn't...I would say that obviously targeted landing pages, targeted SEO obviously produces better results than say, trying to promote POKER to customers that might be interested solely in SLOTS, or Video Poker.

Conversion ratios differ dramatically. In some cases when traffic isn't targeted you get conversion ratios of 1:1,000 or shocking stuff like 1:3,000.

PokerinCanada.com is one of your partners. How strong is the Canadian poker market? And what do affiliates need to keep in mind as they target Canadian players?
Canada is quite interesting. It's a market in bloom, and considering we have 1/40th of the Canadian population it is still pretty small next to the big guys, but solid and consistent. Mostly one would target Canada using similar strategies as the U.S., just on a more personal approach. They like to be recognized as Canadians and not as North Americans. Once you separate them from their neighbors you have the right starting point. Just keep in mind the same rules -- respect, availability, good loyalty program, honesty. Poker is now global, it's growing beyond the best expectations, and Canada is no exception.

What songs are currently on your iPod (or mp3 player)?
HAHAHA, that’s not fair, I have a reputation I would like to keep. Next question please!

What’s your next big purchase (personal)?
HHHHMMMMM, I think that would be the 6 bottles of alcohol on Rebecca’s table at Prive this Thursday. If I can manage to get myself out of that one I am going to visit my Family in South Africa in September, so that would be the plane ticket for sure.

What was your favorite subject in school? And why was it your favorite subject?
Most definitely English Lit., can you believe it? I guess I really enjoyed being given the freedom to express myself through writing and poetry. I had a lot to say in those days, much to my detriment.

What’s the key to building successful relationships between affiliates and affiliate programs?
Aside from having a successful marketing strategy in place that will create a mutually beneficial and profitable partnership, it's laying the foundation for a respectful, trusting, and loyal friendship as well. I definitely feel that any solid foundation is built up from Trust. And I truly feel blessed to have stumbled upon this opportunity to work with the team like Paul Art and Diego D. These guys are the by far a cut above the rest when it comes to perseverance and loyalty. And they have made dedication to affiliates an art form.

How did you get started in this business?
Actually my first opportunity was given to me by VPL, who occupied offices next to my family in Johannesburg. I befriended the staff there over a two year period, and then when an opening came up, much do my dismay they took me on and gave me my wings. I learned a huge amount from them and decided it was time to head back to my roots and move to Israel, and well the rest is history.

What’s the first concert you attended in person?
That my friends is Jethro Tull, I think I have the coolest parents out there.

What are your three keys to success for an affiliate?
Well, it's definitely all about content, no doubt about that, and inbound links by important and relevant sites.

Finding the right partners to be affiliated with, and knowing how to market them effectively on your website.

Knowing the hotspots.

AND, size doesn't matter. You get some very good returns from small text links.

On a more personal note:
Patience, some of the guys out there fail to achieve goals due to lack of patience. You won't get the same results in one month work as you do in a year. And believe me, once you get to that point it is more than worth it. Finally, I would say honesty. You can build a very respectable name and a huge monthly income out of your reputation. This business needs to step away from dirty hands, and build relationships out of trust. At the end of the day you will find yourself earning great cash, and winning new friends all over the world.

Please describe your ideal day off.
What’s that?

If you were throwing a dinner party with any 5 people throughout history, who would you invite? And why? What would you cook? And why?
I would invite Jamie Oliver so I wouldn’t have to cook. Then I think I would invite Rebecca as a party just wouldn’t be the same without her, and most definitely Paulo Coelho as he is a true inspiration to me. Tupac, as he is a great poet and it would have been an honor to have had the opportunity to have met him. Seinfeld because I am always up for a good laugh. And a paramedic, because I think Seinfeld, Rebecca, a naked chef, a gangster rap artist, and an exceptional author with a bad taste in women, in the same room, just may be the last of me.