When you first step into the affiliate marketing ring, you can feel like you have a very tough fight on your hands. We’re not taught how to run a business at school, unless we choose a particular college degree – so it’s natural to feel this way.
Luckily, everything is remarkably simple when you break it all down into simple steps. We should note, though, that simple does not mean it’s easy to put into practice; you’ll still need to put in the effort to launch an affiliate business and especially in the iGaming and online sports betting sector.
In this article, you will learn about the affiliate marketing process from establishing yourself to receiving payments.
Before We Start: What Is Affiliate Marketing?
If you’re simply in the research phase of affiliate marketing, it’s a good idea to get a quick overview of what the practice is. In simple terms, affiliate marketing is where you promote someone’s services or products from an online channel. This could be an online casino or sportsbook.
You need to join an affiliate program for that brand and you will typically receive an affiliate link; if a player clicks on it and deposits with a betting site, you’ll receive a commission base on the commercial agreement you are working to.
Affiliates typically have multiple revenue streams, and when done correctly, it can be quite lucrative.
Now that you have a basic understanding of what affiliate marketing is, we’ll outline the key phases of the practice below.
Step 1: Start Promoting Your Product(s)
Once you have established your website and brand, the fun stuff can begin. With your site up and running, you can start promoting products, services, and partners.
You can promote all of the above in several ways. One of the most common ways to do so in iGaming is through banner advertising, and placements will vary depending on multiple factors such as pricing. The company you’re promoting will usually provide you with the necessary materials, such as visuals and tracking links.
You can also use simple affiliate links, which you can later embed in articles or on your YouTube videos.
As an iGaming affiliate, it’s a good idea to diversify the number of brands you promote. Relying on a single source of income can be risky, so make sure you focus on building solid partnerships that last for the long run and with several different programs.
Step 2: Users Find Your Website
In the early phases of your website’s creation, you should have put a significant amount of effort into your search engine optimization (SEO). Once you begin pushing out valuable content and growing an audience, users will begin to find your website.
Ideally, you’ll be able to retain a significant number of those players and continue earning money from them over the long run. Once they find your site, the person will typically – if they think the offer is tempting enough – click through to the casino or sportsbook’s website, sign up, and deposit.
To really succeed at this stage, it’s crucial that you know what your audience does and does not like. That way, you can ensure you are working with brands that offer what they are looking for.
Step 3: Tracking Conversions
When you’re more established in the iGaming affiliate space, you should hopefully have a steady stream of traffic coming to your site. Needless to say, keeping track of everyone can quickly become difficult if you haven’t prepared accordingly.
From the affiliate manager’s side of things, conversions will usually be tracked and they’ll have a clear overview of how many players you’re driving to their website. These conversions, which you can see via a tracking link and a portal/back office for each brand, will be monitored and attributed to the affiliate.
Step 4: Payday!
Once you’ve put in all the hard work, you’ll want to receive the fruits of your labor. Getting paid is the fun part, and it’s pretty rewarding when you see your efforts pay off.
How you get paid will depend on the casino or betting website you’ve partnered with. In some instances, you’ll receive a monthly payment; the structure will depend on your contract. Meanwhile, others will dictate that you need to meet a minimum threshold before receiving a payout.
It’s also important that you choose the appropriate way to get paid; bank transfer works well, and you can also usually choose one of several digital wallets.
The Affiliate Marketing Process Is Pretty Straightforward When You Break Things Down
That’s a quick breakdown of the affiliate marketing process; all that’s left for you to do is put in the work to make things happen. You’ll probably have to try multiple things in the early days, but you’ll find something that works if you’re persistent enough.
If you want a head start for promoting your products as an iGaming affiliate, Casino Affiliate Programs has a huge directory. Join us to gain access.