Affiliate Success

Affiliate Interviews: Jaume Lopez of Rahapelit-Netissa.com (Epicorns)

Published

1 year ago

June 26, 2017

GAV: Hello Jaume, could you fill out the short form below so our readers can imagine your profile?

Name: Jaume Lopez
Age: 29
Hometown: Viladecans, Barcelona – Spain
Living in: Andorra la Vella – Andorra
Favorite Food: Spanish cusine
Must Read Book: I won’t recommend any since I am not into reading books
Profession/Job title: Online Marketing/CEO at Epicorns

GAV: Hi Jaume, first of all tell us and our readers as well a little bit about yourself, we want to know who Jaume really is? How did your career start in the industry? Since when are you active at rahapelit-netissa.com?

JL: I am born in the metropolitan area of Barcelona, where I studied and got the title of Senior Technician in Administration and Finance. Afterwards I started studying online but at the age of 23 the crisis hit very hard in Spain and it was very difficult to get a good job. I then decided to move to Malta and there is where I started working in the Igaming industry. First, I started working for a very well-known poker/casino affiliate within the Spanish market. 2 years after that, I moved to Cyprus to work as a Head of SEO, where I was working and living for almost 2 years. In Cyprus, I met my better half and we decided to move to Andorra, where we then started doing consultancy and creating affiliate sites, and that’s how our company started.

GAV: We know that you also have an international online marketing company, tell us all about it?

JL: At Epicorns we do a lot of services like SEO, web development, content writing.., but we don’t focus much into selling the services, since our main income nowadays is affiliate marketing and lead generation. We currently have over 150 websites in 11 different languages.

We are growing fast, and now we are in total 9 employees, plus more or less same number of freelancers (mainly for content). All of us work from home in different locations: India, Spain, Finland, Sweden, Andorra, Colombia..

GAV: Since there are thousands of websites and portals in this niche out there, where do you think rahapelit-netissa.com stands now and what is that plus that the other portals don’t have?

JL: With no doubt, I will say the variety of the content, we talk about betting, lotteries, casinos, poker and basically whatever that is considered gambling. That makes rahapelit-netissa.com a site for all kind of gamblers.

GAV: Which markets do you target with your site and why?

JL: We target mainly Finland since the site is just in Finnish at the moment.

We created the site since we saw that there was a gap. The market either targets betting, poker or casino.. all by separate. Since Finnish people are “gamblers by design” they basically like all kinds of games, and that’s where rahapelit-netissa.com stands out.

GAV: How do you see the online casino market/industry at this moment?

JL: It is still a quite new industry, especially in some locations and markets. In places like UK or Sweden the market is more mature and you can see that the game is very different.

What I noticed, is that there is a lot of new casinos, every time more, which is making the value player way lower and the quality of the support, CRM.. it’s every time lower and lower.

I think that this is happening because the big players in the industry makes money from TV ads, sponsors and so on, and they don’t take care much about the affiliates, that’s why so many new casinos are coming to fill this gap.

GAV: In your opinion what are the strong points of rahapelit-netissa.com and what makes it stand out from the other niche websites?

JL: The variety, you can find everything in one place and that makes it unique.

GAV: We have surfed your website and found some great quality content. Are you writing it by yourself or do you have a team of people writing for you?

JL: Thanks for noticing! Yes, we have a small team of freelance content writers, in addition to that my partner Nina Sparv is also writing and over checking that all content is properly written and placed in the website.

GAV: How about the online marketing and SEO of your websites, how many team members do you have, let us in on a new trend that you guys are following?

JL: In the marketing part of the company we are 3 people, and we basically divide our job by markets or countries. We don’t follow any strategy, we´re just focusing on to keep growing the sites with good content and get links from reliable sources. Like this you will always grow progressive, and with less risk than when using more aggressive techniques.

GAV: How do you manage to keep all the websites fresh and relevant, when a lot of fluffy and nonsense appear on the Internet non-stop?

JL: We have content writers. Before they were not experts in the area, but after writing tons of content about our industry they already became experts. Which is very important to keep the site fresh and with interesting content.

GAV: We are pretty convinced that you receive messages from Affiliate Managers on a daily basis showcasing their best products. You, of course select them by the brands they work with. What are your thoughts on how a real Affiliate Manager-Affiliate relationship should be built, and how not?!

JL: In here I think the volume and the size of the affiliate influences a lot. It´s not the same, a relationship with a startup than with a big corporation.

In our case, we love the affiliate managers that help us grow, check how to improve conversions, how we can bring more traffic…

GAV: How do you see the future of the online casino/gambling industry? For instance, will it become a truly global phenomenon?

JL: I think it will always exist, and every time I think it will be more regulated in the countries.

Regarding global.. I think it is already, and most of the world still didn’t even start gambling online, so in few decades I am sure it’s going to be truly a global business.

GAV: Tell us one change that you want to see in the online casino industry?!

JL: There are a lot of things, especially regarding the regulations. But the one I am going to say, is “trust”. Nobody trusts the business fully yet, we look like a bunch of scammers that do weird things, banks don’t give you credits, countries check what you are doing because it can be “suspicious”, most of online casinos are located in countries where gambling is illegal so you have to hide that you work on that…

I don’t think our business is what the rest of the world thinks, but that will take a lot of time to change.

GAV: Do you have any advise you would like to offer to newbies who are looking to venture into this majestic industry!?

JL: Take it easy and learn on the way. At the beginning invest in time, not in money and when you have a better understanding, then start investing in it. It’s not rocket science, but it needs patience and knowledge.

GAV: How about iGaming/online casino or affiliate conferences, do you attend any of them? If so, which one is your favorite and what is your most fun experience?

JL: I start going to conferences last year, so I didn’t go much. Since I don’t have much experience I can’t say which one is the best, probably in 1-2 years I will be able to answer that question better.

GAV: What do you think the chances are for Eastern Europe to become a potential gaming hotspot in the near future? Where do you think the region must improve upon?

JL: I think it will become a gaming hotspot, now everybody is in the Nordics and UK, once these markets are completely saturated, people will start looking more and more into the opportunities in other countries, especially in Europe.

GAV: Where would you like to travel in Eastern Europe, any favorite country or region?

JL: I would like to travel to Romania since I’ve never been there. My favorite country (from where I´ve been before) would be Poland, and my favorite city is Budapest.

GAV: Where you wouldn’t want to travel in Eastern Europe 🙂 ?

JL: Since I love travelling I would love to travel everywhere!

GAV: How about a favorite celebrity or a mentor, do you have one?

JL: I don’t have a favorite celebrity, but mentors fortunately I had a lot, so I can’t mention just one.

GAV: Tell us your opinion about the Gambling Affiliate Voice?

JL: I think it’s a great online magazine, the industry is growing and we need more sources to be aware of what’s going on in the market and thanks to GAV we are always updated.

GAV: Jaume, thank you for your time and interest, we wish you guys all the best!

If you would like to suggest subjects for future affiliate interviews, send your suggestions to: george@gamblingaffiliatevoice.com

Up Next

Matching Visions Ltd and Betting Gods Ltd. form strategic partnership

Don't Miss

Affiliate Interviews: Håkan Klingén of NicerOdds.co.uk

Click to comment

Affiliate Success

AffiliateINSIDER delivers practical skills to complement ‘on the job’ training

Published

6 days ago

October 18, 2018

George Miller

AffiliateINSIDER delivers practical skills to complement ‘on the job’ training

The launch of the bespoke Affiliate Manager Coaching Academy from AffiliateINSIDER means that affiliate managers in the iGaming sector now have an opportunity to access over two decades of affiliate marketing strategies, tactics and expertise.

Founded by Lee-Ann Johnstone, the CEO of news, training and events business AffiliateINSIDER , this new academy aids skills development for affiliate managers and graduates entering the digital marketplace.

Delivered in exclusive training venues to provide bespoke and tailored classes, it is built around proven strategies for helping affiliate programmes grow. Only up to a maximum of 10 delegates are permitted to enable significant 1 on 1 time within an intense learning schedule.

The advanced one-day program is tailored according to a pre-course questionnaire designed to customise content delivery to the delegates in the room. It is then backed up with a 90-day action plan from the tactics learnt on the day and includes a 30-minute personal Skype coaching call, while a detailed workbook and course notes are available to take away.

Johnstone commented: “ The affiliate coaching academy is an extension of the strategy and skills I’ve learnt working in this industry for almost two decades. It’s about helping promoting best practice and continued skills development coupled with a practical implementation of affiliate marketing techniques.”

She continued: “Our course content gives candidates the skills they need to grow their affiliate programme reach, negotiate the right commercials and build successful affiliate relationships.

“Affiliate marketing is an exciting constantly changing digital medium, but one that has predominantly been led by on the job training, which means skills are passed down and can become dated. It’s therefore vital that we create content and course structures that promote skills development and digital learnings for affiliate managers to remain at the top of their game!”

Rasmus Sojmark is the founder and CEO of SBC , a leading news and events company for the sports betting industry that joined forces with Johnstone in November of last year to launch the AffiliateINSIDER.

Sojmark added: “The Affiliate Coaching Academy is a natural extension of the AffiliateINSIDER ethos to promote skills development and knowledge sharing in the affiliate space. For this reason, launching this exclusive academy made sense on so many levels.

“Our clients and partners can now benefit from tailor made learning opportunities and access a level of skills development not offered anywhere else. Lee-Ann has a vast amount of experience working across a wide range of industries, which is what makes this opportunity so unique.

“We are very excited to offer this service to both individuals and companies who wish to grow their affiliate business and improve their affiliate partnerships .”

For more information about the course content and booking dates, please contact AffiliateINSIDER sales team: sales@affiliateinsider.com

Affiliate Announcements

Meet the first four speakers of Kyiv iGaming Affiliate Conference!

Published

2 weeks ago

October 11, 2018

George Miller

Meet the first four speakers of Kyiv iGaming Affiliate Conference!

Speakers of Kyiv iGaming Affiliate Conference: discussion of gaming affiliate programs and traffic in Russian and foreign networks

On November 15, Kyiv will host iGaming Affiliate Conference. The industry representatives will discuss the latest gambling and affiliate marketing trends as well as take an opportunity to establish new business partnership within the networking area. Meet the speakers of the event that have already confirmed attendance. They are e-business professionals and world-class experts on affiliate marketing.

The event will gather representatives of iGaming business and affiliate marketing. The platform consists of a conference, an exhibition, and a networking area. It will take place at Vsi. Svoi D12 (12 Desatinna St.), a popular center of cultural and business life in the city’s old town section.

Conference: space for expert’s presentations addressing affiliate marketing and iGaming.

Exhibition: a venue for iGaming representatives from across the globe. The companies will present software and hardware products.

Networking: business representatives will enjoy the enjoyable atmosphere with a VIP zone available to special guests.

Conference speakers and their presentations

iGaming is a highly competitive niche, which has to be taken into account while developing marketing strategies. Vladimir Luchaninov, Head of Acquisitions at Firelink Media, will tell about the pitfalls of eSports affiliate programs and provide the criteria of affiliate program choosing. He will also touch upon the challenges of risk assessment as well as advise on how to reach the highest profit from an affiliate program.

Kostiantyn Novofastovsky, Head of ClickFrog, will also cover the peculiarities of gaming websites. In his presentation titled ‘Buying traffic in gambling. How to avoid bots’, the speaker will feature the popular resources and compare CPM banners with ClickUnder.

Dmitry Petrenko, Head of SEO at Edu-cash.com Ukraine, will dwell on promotion in foreign networks. The speaker took part in website promotion to top positions in the U.S., Canada, Germany, Austria, and the CIS. He will reveal the secrets of leadership on foreign competitive websites emphasizing on grey promotion and organic traffic.

Myroslav Liaskovez, Founder at LeadMarketing and an author of the online course ‘Facebook Without the Fluff’, will shed light on traffic arbitrage techniques in social networks. The attendees will have a chance to find out about the frequent mistakes made by beginning arbitrage managers and effective advertising strategies for Facebook.

New speakers are coming soon! Visit the website Kyiv iGaming Affiliate Conference to follow the announcements.

Register to keep up with the trends of gambling affiliate marketing.

Affiliate Success

Esports Entertainment Group Accelerating Affiliate Marketing Agreements With Additional 42 Esports Teams, Bringing Total To 176 Esports Teams

Published

4 weeks ago

September 26, 2018

George Miller

Fwd: Esports Entertainment Group Accelerating Affiliate Marketing Agreements With Additional 42 Esports Teams, Bringing Total To 176 Esports Teams

Esports Entertainment Group, Inc. (OTCQB:GMBL) (or the “Company”), a licensed online gambling company with a specific focus on esports wagering and 18+ gaming, is pleased to announce Affiliate Marketing Agreements with 42 additional esports teams as the Company continues to ramp up affiliate marketing activities in support of its recent launch of vie.gg, the world’s first and most transparent esports betting exchange.

SIGNIFICANT ACCELERATION IN ESPORTS TEAM ADOPTION OF P2P WAGERING MODEL

This announcement, along with the announcement of 36 additional esports teams earlier this week, signifies a significant acceleration in adoption of the company’s P2P esports wagering platform by global esports teams. Teams are overwhelmingly pointing to the P2P model as highly desirable for their fans due to the fact “at VIE.gg a fan always wins”, as opposed to pitting fans against the “bookie” in the traditional model where the odds are heavily stacked against fans.

The addition of these 42 esports teams brings the total number of esports team affiliates to 176 since the Company’s first announcement on April 5^th, representing a major milestone for Esports Entertainment Group. The Company anticipates many more Affiliate Marketing Agreements with esports teams throughout 2018.

NEWEST ESPORT TEAM AFFILIATES FURTHER EXPAND GLOBAL REACH INTO SOUTH AMERICA

The addition of the 42 esports teams below represents further significant geographical penetration into the South American market. The geographical distribution of our most recent esports team affiliate partners is as follows:

Brazil: 26
Peru: 6
Chile: 2
Venezuela: 2
Colombia: 1
Bolivia: 1
Mexico: 1
Guatemala: 1
Paraguay: 1
Dominican Republic: 1

Grant Johnson, CEO of Esports Entertainment Group, stated, “The acceleration of our esports team affiliates is quantifiable and unequivocal validation that our VIE.gg P2P model is best suited for esports teams and their fans. I want to thank these new esports teams for their support and I look forward to working with them as VIE.gg affiliate partners.”

ABOUT VIE.GG

vie.gg offers bet exchange style wagering on esports events in a licensed, regulated and secured platform to the global esports audience, excluding jurisdictions that prohibit online gambling. vie.gg features wagering on the following esports games:

Counter-Strike: Global Offensive (CSGO)
League of Legends
Dota 2
Call of Duty
Overwatch
PUBG
Hearthstone
StarCraft II

About Esports Entertainment Group

Esports Entertainment Group, Inc. is a licensed online gambling company with a specific focus on esports wagering and 18+ gaming. Esports Entertainment offers bet exchange style wagering on esports events in a licensed, regulated and secure platform to the global esports audience at vie.gg. In addition, Esports Entertainment intends to offer users from around the world the ability to participate in multi-player mobile and PC video game tournaments for cash prizes. Esports Entertainment is led by a team of industry professionals and technical experts from the online gambling and the video game industries, and esports. The Company holds licenses to conduct online gambling and 18+ gaming on a global basis in Curacao, Kingdom of the Netherlands and the Kahnawake Gaming Commission in Canada. The Company maintains offices in Antigua, Curacao and Warsaw, Poland. Esports Entertainment common stock is listed on the OTCQB under the symbol GMBL. For more information visit www.esportsentertainmentgroup.com
.
FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS
The information contained herein includes forward-looking statements. These statements relate to future events or to our future financial performance, and involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause our actual results, levels of activity, performance, or achievements to be materially different from any future results, levels of activity, performance or achievements expressed or implied by these forward-looking statements. You should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements since they involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which are, in some cases, beyond our control and which could, and likely will, materially affect actual results, levels of activity, performance or achievements. Any forward-looking statement reflects our current views with respect to future events and is subject to these and other risks, uncertainties and assumptions relating to our operations, results of operations, growth strategy and liquidity. We assume no obligation to publicly update or revise these forward-looking statements for any reason, or to update the reasons actual results could differ materially from those anticipated in these forward-looking statements, even if new information becomes available in the future. The safe harbor for forward-looking statements contained in the Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 protects companies from liability for their forward-looking statements if they comply with the requirements of the Act.