Professional and college athletics generate billions of dollars in revenue every year, though not very much of that total goes to the fans. But for dedicated fans that are willing to put in some work, sportsbook affiliate marketing can turn that passion into cash.
Getting Started
Success in affiliate marketing is based on driving visitors to your websites and getting those visitors to make a purchase, or deposit, once they’ve arrived. Remember that you only make money when players have actually deposited money with a sportsbook. (That’s what’s called a conversion.)
The key to getting those conversions is creating a site that’s worth visiting.
Building a Sports Content Website
The world of sports is so broad that you’ll want to find a niche where you can actually compete with established sites. That means focusing your content on an area that isn’t getting mainstream coverage.
In a blog post titled, Five Reasons to Pick a Niche Before Starting a Sports Blog, points out that a content heavy, niche site can easily outdraw its big time competitors. Newbies should keep repeating, “Content is King,” until they can’t stand it anymore.
Building Traffic
Getting traffic to your sports site is tough, but there are plenty of venues for sports fans that aren’t available to, for example, a poker affiliate.
Every team, no matter how obscure, has a fan base that communicates over the Internet. Between Twitter, fan forums and Facebook, getting in touch with these folks is pretty simple.
Just keep your tone positive and informative when using these outlets and you’ll slowly start building an audience.
If you’re a hardcore sports fan, you should really just write the type of content you want to read yourself. Once its up, get on Twitter, or the boards, and find those like-minded fans.
Diversify
While sportsbook affiliates are going to be your bread and butter, don’t be afraid to diversify with other sports-related affiliate partners. Here are a few that work well sports blogs.
- Ticket brokers – Sports fans are always on the lookout for ticket to see their favorite teams, making this an easy affiliate program to promote.
- Jerseys – Pushing authentic jerseys and other apparel through a sports blog is another no-brainer.
- Travel – Write ups about big road games are the perfect places for promoting travel affiliates.
Choosing an Affiliate Operator
When selecting an affiliate operator to work with you’ll want to choose one with a good reputation, high revenue share, and good deposit bonuses for players. Here are a couple that come recommended by CAP.
Sports Interaction Sportsbook – Sports Interaction offers a 100% bonus on deposits up to $125 for players and a huge selection of gaming products. Affiliate partners get a 25% revenue share and no negative carryover.
InterTops Affiliates – CAP readers can take advantage of a 40% revenue share for their first three months and 25% thereafter. InterTops players get a 25% bonus on their first deposit (up to $100).
What advice do you have for sports fans looking to get into affiliate marketing? Share them in the comments section below.