Affiverse is hosting their first sports betting Bootcamp event on the 21 March at Stamford Bridge. The event is geared for affiliates who are serious about growing their business and accessing expert digital insight. We caught up with industry veteran Pierluigi Buccioli , co-founder of MatchedBetting.com and BookmakerList.com to understand why he’s taking the time to attend this year’s Affiverse’s Bootcamp.
Why are you attending this year’s Affiverse’s Bootcamp, and what do you hope to get out of networking at this exclusive affiliate event?
There is no shortage of affiliate conferences within igaming, but all other events are too generic and often dispersive. There’s a lack in depth of content to really detail what’s happening in the digital arena to keep ahead. Affiverse’s Bootcamp offers detailed learning and this year, is also running in association with Betting on Football and that means that smaller affiliates have the opportunity to network with those that are at the top of their game within the sports betting vertical. That’s simply too good an opportunity miss and a good use of time!
Tell us bit about your experience and background and why you think affiliates entrepreneurs should attend these conferences? What is the benefit of networking and hearing digital experts and does it impact your business?
PL: I belong to the first generation of sports betting affiliates, who started a website as a hobby or a side project because they were passionate about sports betting, while these days we see an increasing number of second generation affiliates that are first and foremost lead generation experts who invest into sports betting as part of an overall investment strategy. Ten years ago, we were all content generating passive income, while now everyone’s ultimate goal seems to be to “have an exit” by selling to one of the super affiliate groups. Attending Affiverse’s Bootcamp, you get to know who these guys are and have the chance to start build relations for future dealings.
What have you found are the biggest challenges that small entrepreneurs or solopreneurs like iGaming affiliates face in terms of understanding how to drive traffic in online channels and grow their business to keep up with future trends?
PL: The days when all you needed to do was write some good content and with very little extra effort rank on search engines, driving traffic to your affiliate site, are over. Nowadays, creating quality content is no longer enough as everyone, from the operators to the service providers, seem to have some sort of content strategy. Add to that, regulated markets and even mainstream publishers are active within the sports betting sector, so competing for top spots in search engine rankings is now extremely challenging. This means link building, in all its shades, is now more important than ever. Learning to build links, that drive traffic and not just ranking, is and for the time being will remain the main challenge that as igaming affiliates we all have.
What do you think the future of Affiliate Marketing looks like and what can the delegates attending the event expect to find answers to – what trends are you seeing?
PL: So far this year, the main trend in the UK market has been the frenzy to make affiliate websites compliant with both the Competition and Markets Authority and Gambling Commission rules that recently came into place and the upcoming GDRP regulation which comes into force in May. More in general, the trend seems to favor new and upcoming markets like South America and Africa. Both of these are covered at the bootcamp which is what makes valuable. The topics are on trend and valuable to affiliates operating in this space.
How is your affiliate business currently bucking the trend to expand and innovate current digital marketing trends
PL: As anyone else who remembers the US market pre-2006, I’m looking forward to seeing more and more US states introduce some form of sports betting regulation. If that happens it will create a regulated online sports betting market igaming affiliates can profit from remains to be seen. Dreaming of the rich US market aside, I look at certain markets within Africa and South America, where affiliate marketing is in its early days which means opportunities are broad, but precisely because of that, I believe they offer solopreneurs and small entrepreneurs like myself, the best opportunity for expansion in the near future.
If you’ve not yet registered to attend this year’s Sports focussed Affiverse Bootcamp, you can still get a FREE affiliate seat. Join the conversation and get the latest digital insights to help your affiliate business grow.
