AffPapa Interview – Podcast Ep.008 of Gamblineers Crypto Casino Interviews

You have been chatting with a bunch of industry players so far (having your interview series called iGaming Voice by Yeva), but this time the roles are reversed. We’re the ones asking the questions. We would like to start by knowing a bit more about you and AffPapa.

What does your role as Head of Commercials at AffPapa look like, what do you do?
So my responsibilities as the Head Of Commercials range from onboarding clients, doing market research, developing and evaluating pricing, taking care of client retention and so much more. I love the complexity and the never-ending opportunities to learn about the industry, its new developments and just being in sync with the world of iGaming.

How did you end up in this position and in this industry? Are you a gamer yourself?
It was actually very unexpected for me 🙂 I never thought I would be in this field let alone working at AffPapa as the current HOC. I was done with my studies and as any young individual wanted to get a job, build my career and excel at it. It’s then when I found a job posting for a Communication Manager at AffPapa, which I applied for right away. I was unfamiliar with the industry, its infrastructure, the ins and outs. But my curiosity was bigger than the lack of my experience. I grew to love it once I started accumulating knowledge, interacting with clients hands on, and started to represent the company as a Sales Manager which led me into landing where I am now. Seeing where our hard work has gotten us from being a start up and now being the ultimate hub for affiliates and operators is truly amazing to witness.

I read an interview with you about women in iGaming. Are the times changing or is it still weird that two women are having a chat about the igaming industry? What is your experience working with so many different industry stakeholders?
It’s so NOT weird to me. If anything but normal, exciting. But because the industry has been heavily influenced with man being on the forefront the shift is quite visible. Our excitement as a collective of women is a vivid representation of that too. It’s liberating to see so many wonderful, skilled and full of expertise women who are leading big companies and setting the path for the next generation of young aspiring women who want to start a career in the industry and need someone to look up to. Three years ago the scenery was definitely much different if we take a look back.

How is AffPapa helping connect players through affiliates with operators, specifically online casinos? What are the requirements for a successful partnership?
We created a superb system where everything is one click away. We made sure to provide extensive information on each user, be it an affiliate or an operator. Having a built-in filter bar where both parties can specify their needs and narrow down the exact partners they want to work with has been a game-charger. No more countless hours spent on surfing the world wide web in hopes of finding someone who matches your criteria to the T. AffPapa made it easy, accessible and most importantly time efficient. 3 of the top requirements for a successful partnership I would say are mutual trust, good communication and a long-term vision. If you have those 3 checked then you have your foundation sorted.

You started your own awards last year. How is that going? Why did you decide to do so and what are the benefits for everyone involved?
Thanks for the question, I love talking about our Awards!! 🙂
Working with so many amazing companies for the last three years, seeing their hard work, input in the industry and overall work ethic we thought of creating our own Awards where we could give affiliates/operators credit and a chance to be acknowledged by other industry members on a much bigger scale. This years event on the 20th of July in Malta was a huge success and it was great to see everyone in person. Having a well-respected platform also comes with a lot of responsibilities, and one of them is giving a voice to others, shedding light on those who work backstage day in and day out. This is going to be a continuous venture of ours, each year offering better, bigger exposure to the ones who matter.

As mentioned before, you interviewed quite a few affiliate managers so far. What are the main takes from those interviews? Anything that specifically stood out to you?
The biggest aspect that stood out to me is that everyone has their own unique approach when it comes to working with affiliates, the way each manager establishes long-term partnerships, the time they invest into getting to know the affiliates, doing research, and assigning personal affiliate managers for each affiliate. Also putting big emphasis on helping the affiliates grow as companies as well and not viewing them as yet another marketing tool. I love how everyone has catered their own “community” and is managing them accordingly. Speaking to Affiliate Managers who are relatively new to the industry compared to those to who are seasoned veterans definitely shows that the interviews are quite a helpful resource for those who want to start their career in affiliate marketing or those who are looking into perfecting their skills and learning more about how others manage this complicated yet fun side of the business.

Do you have any experience working with crypto (and hybrid) casinos and what is your stand on crypto in this industry?
Yes actually, we work with a number of casinos who chose to run their business focusing on crypto and it doesn’t really affect AffPapa on any levels. The number of crypto casinos is growing day by day and all we can do is accommodate them to our highest standards. Which also means having affiliates on board with us who can have them listed and if the terms and conditions work for both parties – then I think it’s a win-win for all of us.

Our role is to provide the best possible experience to players (offering non-biased reviews, industry insights etc.), so in that regard, we are wondering if you can advise on what are some things to look for (as a player) when you search for info online and come across affiliates?
A good affiliate in my opinion is someone who delivers exactly what has been promised to their partners. Someone who bases their operation on high-quality traffic, has an overall good reputation and possesses outstanding communication skills. Maybe I can better answer this question by showing how to detect if an affiliate is trustworthy by directing you to our very informative article on “How to AVOID* iGaming Affiliate Fraud as Operator” article. We cover everything from how to detect fraudulent affiliates – to how to avoid them. Watch out for bot traffic, do a “background check” to see if there has been any scam related discussion involving the set affiliate, make sure the domain is authentic and doesn’t imitate another well-known company etc etc. So definitely check the piece out.

Speaking from the players’ perspective, besides being honest, affiliates must be brave and tough enough to depict the true picture of brands’ ratings as well as complaints about those brands and their real offers. It is a very tough mission, however if you want to succeed as an affiliate you will have to let go of some of your most lucrative deals in order to gain loyalty of players which in the end leads to overall better conversion, traffic and profit.

You’re talking a lot about gambling traffic obviously, but what is it really that gets the players’ interest and how can this be improved – on the affiliate site, on the operator (casino) site?
As a continuation to my previous answer, only fair reviews and ratings can attract loyal customers to a website. By saying this I mean literally every single information on your website must be up to date and “in touch” with reality so to say. Especially when it comes to bonus offers, where many affiliates conceal some important facts about those bonus requirements – what are the true conditions to gain those bonuses. Sometimes it can be the operator who conceals true requirements, however affiliates have to dig deeper and take that extra step to check and verify if those bonuses are granted as declared.