Promoting online bingo programs is a great way to diversify your casino affiliate marketing program while nailing down some very steady revenue streams.
The biggest barrier in front of all that bingo cash is simply getting your head around how bingo player acquisition differs from poker or sports betting. Bingo is a different world but once you’ve adapted your strategies to its subtle nuances, you’ll bet set up for some sweet, long tail revenue action.
Here are a few strategies for cracking the online bingo market.
Know Your Players
Put simply, online bingo players are not like other online gamblers in their attitudes and demographics.
For starters, around 80 percent of all online bingo players are women between the ages of 30-50 years old. That means that the bikini clad babes you use to promote your sports affiliates are probably not a good fit in this market at all.
“Take a look at some of the bigger online bingo sites and you’ll see that fun, not sex appeal, is the biggest draw,” Cindy Greco of GWages told us recently. “This isn’t a market segment that’s going to respond to a hard sell at all.”
Successful bingo affiliates tailor their sites to an audience that’s looking for a lighthearted distraction from the chaos of the everyday world. In this regard, they are the polar opposite of the hardcore poker demographic who simultaneously play five or six hands on multiple monitor setups.
Get Social
If you asked most online bingo players if they gamble or not, they’ll probably tell you they don’t. Bingo, in their eyes, is a social activity far removed from the games you’ll find in a standard casino.
“It’s hard to understate the importance of the social component for online bingo affiliates,” Greco said. “Real money bingo players love feeling like they’re part of a community and are more responsive to Facebook and Twitter campaigns than other demographics.”
Remember, a lot of these real-money players started out as fun money players at social bingo sites. That means they’ll definitely be expecting not just a social component, but an active social component.
If you’re chasing after bingo players, you’ll be expected to interact with them on social media or they won’t be sticking around for long.
Stay Grounded
If you’re hunting whales, online bingo probably isn’t the market for you. If you’re looking for players who will reliably bring smaller revenue streams over the long haul (think long tail) bingo is exactly where you want to be.
Unlike a lot of other online gambling niches, bingo offers extended play for just pennies (or more likely pence) per game. While these small-time players don’t drop tons of cash every month, they’re very reliable and are less susceptible to the boom and bust cycles that cripple other gambling demographics.
Pick the Right Partners
“Picking the right bingo program is an absolutely essential element for converting players,” Greco said. “If you aren’t presenting them with a reliable, and fund, product like Bingo Knights, there’s really no reason for them to stick around.”
Greco goes on point that Bingo Knights offers frequently updated game choices, high end deposit bonuses and responsive customer support. “Programs that don’t offer live chat and toll-free customer service numbers, should probably be avoided,” Greco added.
Because bingo players are not hardcore gamblers, they might need a little more hand holding than your standard poker player. If your perspective bingo partner isn’t big on customer service, you’ll have a devil of a time hanging on to players for the long haul.
Finally
Converting bingo players is all about understanding who they are and how they play. If you treat them like traditional gamblers, and ignore the more social aspects of their play, you’ll miss out on some seriously long term revenue streams.