Words by Giannis Koutivas, KingBet Media
There is no one-size-fits-all approach to affiliate marketing. In fact, I’m sure that you have already read many different perceptions on how to be successful online!
I’m not going to try and convince you that this article preaches the *only* truth.
This is my personal view on the skills that one needs to excel in affiliate marketing, as well as the knowledge that you need and how much time is required for this.
How easy is it to be an affiliate marketer?
It’s both easy and hard at the same time.
The good thing with affiliate marketing is that you do not need any previous experience or special knowledge to start. But the bad thing is that, in order to master it, you’ll need to acquire a lot of knowledge, patience and great time management skills.
How much money does a successful affiliate marketer make yearly?
Unfortunately, there is no straightforward answer to this question. And that is simply because there are so many factors that affect the answer. Some examples are below.
- What is your target audience?
- What is the selling product?
- Do you do it alone or in a big team?
So, having mentioned only some of the factors, I can tell you that numbers range from a few hundred up to millions each year. For me, the average guy who runs a humble website from his room deserves the same respect as the manager of the big affiliate network with dozens of websites. If you convert, then you are successful and the only thing missing is the scaling factor.
Which are the most important skills that you need for affiliate marketing?
Know the product that you’re trying to sell. This is by far the most important factor of all. We all know so many examples of computer geniuses, whose websites do not generate any FTDs whatsoever. On the other hand, we all have met some people with no technical background – but manage to run some of the most successful affiliate websites in the world.
You need to know all the bonuses, casinos and games far better than your users. They visit your site to learn from you, not to teach you. Hence, this is the hardest of the skills to acquire. Trust me – it takes years to master this.
Be aware of your target audience. If you want to run a successful affiliate business and turn a profit out of your sleepless nights, you definitely need to know the people you are selling to.
If it wasn’t for GDPR and other compliance regulations, I would have advised you to know their names! But since this isn’t possible, you need to know their behaviours and preferences. You need some technical skills here. It’s important to install mechanisms to your website such as Google Tag Manager, Analytics and so on. Then, you can discover what these people love clicking on and from which pages and calls-to-action they convert.
A frequent walk to the fora of iGaming won’t hurt, either. There, you will know what these people are looking for in order to choose their brands and games.
Do I need to know how to build a website?
If you have no idea about building a website, I recommend you start learning some WordPress. You need to learn how to open a new WordPress website and then install a theme. There are many for iGaming affiliates – choose one and start playing.
If you want to reach the next level, you can start learning HTML, CSS, JS and then PHP and – in the end – WordPress theming. This way, you will know how to make a website from scratch – the way you want it to be. But again, the first two skills are more important than this. You can skip it, even forever.
You may find that you don’t even need a website at all. I know a lot of one-man-show affiliates who make money from Facebook, Instagram, Twitch YouTube and even email marketing. If you’re working on your own and don’t want to create a website, consider exploring these.
Do I need to master different affiliate platforms?
Yes! You definitely need to know what each affiliate platform does in detail and better than what the affiliate managers know.
iGaming affiliate marketing isn’t that modern when it comes to tracking. You must learn the variables for each platform.
If you want to sell casino sign-ups to one million people, then you’ll need more than one tracker! This is what a sub-campaign does. You can ask the affiliate manager to open a sub-campaign for you.
Don’t, however, let affiliate managers build the trackers for you. While this sounds like the easier choice, you need to make everything yourself. You know your own business better than anyone.
What other skills must I have?
SEO. You must begin learning how you will appear in the highest-possible position on Google. There are hundreds of guides and great websites to help you with this.
Facebook advertising. You’re going to need it – trust me. Facebook has guides to help you get started.
Google Ads. Master the Google guides and get the certificate too. If you fail as an affiliate, it will help you to find a job!
Paid media buying and campaign optimisation. If your campaign isn’t optimised to match your goals, then you’re going to walk down a blind alley and fail.
Mental traits that affiliates need
Be passionate. Affiliate marketing is sometimes a lonely sport, so you need to be both passionate and disciplined.
Get comfortable with longer days. You’re going to spend a lot of time in front of a laptop, both at home and on-the-go. Most of the time, you’ll be learning new stuff. This is not only fascinating, but also gets you out of your comfort zone each day.
Be persistent. Affiliate marketing is NOT a get rich quick scheme! You need to keep plugging away, even when things aren’t going your way.
Final thoughts
Performance Marketing is a great way to earn some extra money from your home, or even make a fortune and achieve full financial freedom.
Countless factors can determine whether you succeed or fall short, but much of it is in your control.
The journey towards becoming a successful affiliate is productive and will reward you with some great experiences.
