Affiliate Interview Series: Andy Beach - casinogod

**GPWA Dan** · 23 November 2010, 1:08 pm

Name: Andy-Beach-casinogod-Banner.jpg
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Age: 33
Hometown: Hull
Currently residing in: Cranfield, Bedfordshire
Favorite food: Fish-and-Chips
One book everyone must read: The Magic of Thinking Big, by David J. Schwartz
Sites: Way too many to list so here are a few of them: Slotsjam.com, freeslots4u.com, freevideopoker4u.com, onlineslots4u.com, slotmachines247.com

How did you become interested in the online gambling industry and why did you decide to get involved in affiliate marketing?

My business partner, Adam, and I have been friends since I was 15 or 16 and we both always wanted to become millionaires. We went our separate ways but would meet up from time to time to compare how we were doing. He was investing in shares and I had bought a house which I rented out. But he had also figured out how to make Web sites rank well in Google and had spotted a gap in the market for an affiliate business (not gambling related), which he had paid a lady to make for him. I basically said, “What are you paying her for? I could do that” (I couldn’t, but I had been able to program as a kid so figured I could pick it up fast). That is exactly what I did, and our business was launched.

It wasn’t long before we spotted that casinos paid more on Google for ppc ads than any of the terms we ranked for (and we had some stonkers), so I created a casino site and we soon started making more money from gambling-related sites than from any of our other sites.

Not long after that we dropped (and sold off) our other sites and focused on gambling portals, and the rest is as they say history.

How long did it take before you started earning money?

We generated some income in our first month – a whopping $25. Our income at least doubled every month for the first seven months so it didn’t take long before we could both work full time on the new business.

In December 2002 you launched online-casinos-poker-blackjack.com. What happened to that site? Did it morph into one or more of your current sites?

That site is still live. I actually created it whilst I was on holiday and within just eight months after launching it we had got some really good Google rankings with it. For example, back in the day (mid 2003) it ranked number 8 for online casinos, 2 for online blackjack and 2 for online poker. It could really use a revamp as it looks very dated now.

You operate many sites. Is Slots Jam the most successful of the bunch? Please talk about why or why not.

We currently have over 130 active Web sites. We have sites for most casino games as well as bingo and poker. Slotsjam.com is the most successful of the bunch, but then I had to make sure it was because I put my name and face to it. To be fair, a lot of work has gone into Slotsjam.com. We (myself and Adam) worked on it full time for six months before we even launched the site and there is a now a small army of people involved in running it in one way or another. I believe the slots reviews on the site are second to none. For each and every slots review one of our slots reviewers will play the slot being reviewed (long enough to get into all of the bonus features at least once) before writing a review. That makes our reviews expensive but it also helps ensure they are factually correct and I think players appreciate that. They can read a slots review on Slotsjam.com, look at the screen shots and have a really good idea about whether they would like the game or not before they even download a casino to play it at.

What do you wish you knew when you started in the industry that you know now?

Ha ha – that would be telling.

What advice would you give to someone just starting out in the industry?

Ask lots of questions and be persistent. If you do not know something. ask. Remember, the only stupid question is the one you do not ask.

If you had to pick five keys to success as an affiliate, what would they be, and why?

1. Know how to get large amounts of good quality traffic.
2. Funnel or filter that traffic so that visitors end up at a place offering a product they want or are looking for.
3. Ensure that the venue you send a visitor to converts well, so if it is a casino keep an eye on how well it converts visitors to players.
4. Constantly work to improve all three of the above aspects so you are continually improving.
5. Do not work with any companies that do anything you disagree with (from a moral viewpoint). If you don’t like it your visitors probably won’t either, and you cannot afford to lose the trust of your visitors, so be sure you only send them to places that you have checked out properly and trust will treat them well.

The reasons are pretty obvious. If affiliates can achieve 1 to 3 of the above key attributes they will make good money. If they manage to also add in point 4 they will make even more money, and if they also manage to keep in line with point 5 they can be assured of a very long and lucrative career.

What traits do you look for in an affiliate manager and what features do you look for in an affiliate program?

Affiliate Manager Traits:

1. Be available on MSM.
2. Be easy to communicate with. << This is the most important trait by far!
3. Have a fast turnaround on banners.
4. Do not simply ask for more exposure or do the old classic and just request (or demand) that your casino’s banners be put on the affiliate’s main page. Instead ask what you can do to earn more exposure. I cannot talk for other affiliates but on our sites everything is in place for a reason. If you understand the reasons you might be able to get yourself more exposure.

A lot of the affiliate managers I work with I consider good friends. We don’t just talk about work-related things and I will often ask their advice about things that will not even benefit their specific casinos and they give it freely. In return I make sure I give their casinos good exposure.

Affiliate Program Features:

1. Be GPWA, APCW or Affiliate Guard Dog approved.
2. Have no negative carryover.
3. Have campaign ID trackers you can set up to see how well banners and links are doing from individual sites (or even specific locations on the sites).
4. Clear, comprehensive stats (the Rival Casinos I am affiliated with all seem to have a great system).
5. A decent LONG-TERM commission rate, not a silly high intro offer after which you’re dropped down to nothing.

One thing that is definitely true about most affiliates is their e-mail inboxes are always full. How long do you give yourself for responding to e-mail? And what e-mail management tips can you offer?

Lol, what a great question! I have never really timed myself. I go through phases of trying to limit the amount of time I spend doing e-mails. Sometimes I can spend all day doing e-mails and other days I can get away with 20 minutes. My top tip is to use Spam Arrest to get rid of all of that crap you get sent every day.

How do you manage your “to-do” lists? Do you use any special software to help you out?

I love to-do lists; it is a bit of a standing joke, in fact. I really do have lists for everything. I have tried all kinds of methods including using Outlook’s notes, but the method I prefer currently is writing things in my diary for the day I intend to do that task. I actually have a to-do lists book (which has sections for different types of lists (e.g., Slotsjam Jobs, Home Jobs, etc.) where I write any jobs or ideas I have that I cannot schedule in for any time in the next week or two. Then whenever I am short of something to do (a very rare occasion) I can take a look in my to-do lists book.

How much time does it take to keep your sites updated? Do you use a content management system to manage your site?

A lot of time! Some of our sites have full-time webmasters working on them. In terms of time required, updating Slotsjam.com is the monster and has a number of people working on it to ensure its information is always up to date. Some of our sites have Joomla! and I believe we have a couple with WordPress, too, but most are Web sites we have developed in Dreamweaver.

Time management is one of the biggest issues facing affiliates. What time management tips can you offer your fellow webmasters?

I am somewhat of a workaholic and tend to work very long hours each week, something my lovely wife (Lara) has graciously put up with. I do try to be as productive as possible and feel I have some good methods to achieve that. I cannot claim credit for thinking up any of these systems but these are things I have copied from books or other people that I find work for me. Here goes:

1. Write yourself a to-do list of everything you need to do (if it is a really big list keep it in a book so you can add to it at any time, maybe even think of it as your wish list rather than your to-do list).
2. Now go through your to-do list and make a note next to each task estimating how long that particular task will take you to complete.
3. Next decide what is urgent and needs doing in the next week, open your diary (I prefer the appointment style week to a view format) and plug in when you will do those tasks. Decide a start and end time (you need to follow this through and stick to this to get these things done).
4. Now apply the ABCDE system (Google it) to the remaining list. Basically A is for things that are VERY important and NEED to be done, B is for things that will have an impact if you don’t get them done, C is for things it would be nice to do but that would have no real consequence if you didn’t, D is for things you can delegate to someone else to do and E is for everything you can eliminate (that really shouldn’t have been on your list anyway).
5. In your remaining time in your diary you can now plan in any A’s and if you run out of A’s then add in the B’s. However, I suggest keeping 10 to 20 percent of the time free in your diary for unforeseen things that will crop up; you may not know what they are but you can be sure they’ll appear. The more you use this method the better you will get at predicting what will come up and at planning your time.

A few other affiliate-specific tips to help you avoid time-wasting distractions include:

1. Don’t waste time on spam e-mail. Get a really good spam filter, ideally one that requires the sender to enter a CAPTCHA to get the e-mail to your inbox. I prefer Spam Arrest for this – you really don’t need all those automated time-wasting e-mails and you can then blacklist time wasters so you never have to see their e-mails again.
2. Get a telephone screening system (or use your answer phone for this) so that you’re not interrupted during the day with sales calls or (and this happens once you have a few sites) affiliate manager calls from guys you have never met, usually from casinos you have never heard of, who seem to think you have over an hour to talk to them even after you have told them to send you an e-mail with their offer. After 26 such calls in one day (a combination of estate agents, window sales, “you have won this holiday”-style calls and about 50 percent from affiliate managers I had never met) I had to invest in a call-screening system, and it has been the best investment I ever made!

What does your family think about your chosen profession?

They seem to approve, and some of them work for the company. For example, Rob (my brother) is now our operations manager, Martin (my dad) is the webmaster for freeslots4u.com and Tony (my uncle) is our bookkeeper. My wife thinks my job is great and loves going to all the conferences; she would have me attend every one and take her to them all if she had her way.

I know when I first started as an affiliate, I was asked what I do all the time, and no one really got it. My mum would tell people, “Oh, Andrew – he plays on his computer all day and casinos pay him for it.” So I suspect all her friends thought I was a professional gambler.

You’ve been a GPWA member for over eight years. How has the organization changed since you joined? Has being a member helped you in any way? Explain.

Wow, it has changed hands a couple of times. When I first joined I remember Cindy ran the show. I also remember that membership was a bit of a kudos factor and some webmasters used to put “GPWA Member” in their siggys on e-mails. It has been a great source of help for me. In the early days when I was more involved in the link-building side of our business it really helped me find great link partners. It is also a great source of knowledge and can help keep you up to date with industry news and goings-on.

I also feel very strongly that affiliates should stick together, and organizations like the GPWA help that to be possible, and in my opinion that is why the GPWA was formed in the first place, so that affiliates could get a fair deal. If one or two affiliates leave a program because the program has done something that negatively affects the affiliates, the company may not notice. But when a hundred leave and some of those are the company’s biggest affiliates they tend to sit up and take notice. Thus it acts as a great incentive for the programs to treat the affiliates properly, which as an affiliate suits me very well.

Aside from repealing the UIGEA, what one thing would you change about the online gambling industry, and why?

I love the industry; it’s fast paced and great fun. I think I would like to see more regulation of where casinos are licensed. Wouldn’t it be nice if all of the casinos were licensed in British Gambling Commission Whitelisted regions, or if all adhered to a set standard and were all independently audited by a reputable third party?

Seriously I am struggling to come up with anything to complain about. We get to go to great events, get comped for all sorts of things, get paid well and have a lot of fun. There are some guys out there selling ball bearings for a living and stuck in traffic jams. So I’m a happy camper and I honestly think that licensingwise things are going to get better.

You posted recently that you have a difference of opinion with several program managers as to how to distinguish good conversion rates from not-so-good rates. How do you decide which casinos should get more exposure and which should get less?

I look at a number of factors when deciding to increase or decrease a casino’s exposure on our sites. These include:

1. The casino’s current performance in terms of conversion rate.
2. If there is an affiliate promotion on that I particularly would like to win or that will increase my earnings above what I would normally earn from that affiliate group.
3. What percentage commission we earn with that casino. Obviously if another casino from the same software type converts the same but is giving us 5 percent more commission that is the casino I will be increasing exposure to.
4. I also factor in how long a player generally stays a member at that casino (based on the information I have available) and what the average player value is to me (this is not always better with higher commission rates – some casinos really are better than others at attracting higher rolling players), but generally it is the casinos you have higher commission rate with, where you will get a higher player value.

You correctly picked Spain to win the World Cup earlier this year. Are you a big football fan? Who is your favorite player? And who do you root for in the EPL?

I cannot really take the credit for picking Spain, although we got the prize money (thank you, SlotoCash). I e-mailed Adam and asked who he thought would win as I had no idea. wHe said he had no idea either but the favorite with the bookies was Spain, so that is who we picked.

No, I’m not a big football fan at all, I only watch the World Cup games and even then usually only the England games (although I did watch all the Spain games too this year).

So I don’t have a favorite player, and teamwise I don’t really support any particular team. When I was a kid I supported Man United, because when we moved to the south of England (when I was 10) in my first lesson I was sat next to a boy whose first question to me was, “So what football team do you support?” At the time I didn’t support any team but saw he had a Man United pencil case so figured I would say Man United just to make a friend. He then proceeded to talk about Old Trafford and a whole bunch of other related stuff. I had no idea what he was going on about, but I had made a friend.

Also, if a magic genie gave you the choice between being the best poker player ever, the best cricket player ever and the best football player ever, which would you choose? And why?

Football player, because it would mean I would be in very good shape, plus Money and Women – need I say more?

What’s your favorite vacation spot, and why?

This is a really tough question as it depends what kind of holiday I want. If I just want to chill out and relax I would say Kurumba in the Maldives. It really is paradise. You can walk round the entire island in 15 minutes, have massages every day, go snorkeling and scuba diving and just generally chill out in lovely surroundings. But most of the time my first choice would be the west coast of Cornwall. It’s safe to surf (no sharks here), Watergate Bay is my favorite beach, I am happy body boarding all day long, and the landscape is breathtaking. I love the ruggedness of it all and could very happily spend every evening just watching the waves crashing on the rocks. Plus you can get excellent fish-and-chips!

What’s your favorite movie, and why?

Any of the Rocky movies, it’s a great story line that fits well with my philosophy of life, which is if you stick at something and give it 110 percent you will come out on top in the end. Besides that I like the sound track and it always inspires me to get myself to the gym.

If someone were visiting you, what’s the one place you would definitely take them to see, and why?

It depends who was visiting and what they liked. I would try to choose something the visitor would enjoy. It would definitely include a good meal out, and if Lara had her way we would take them to the Shuttleworth Collection to see the aircraft.

If you could visit any five places in the world, what would they be, and why?

1. Australia – I would love to see the opera house in Sydney and see what life is like in other parts of Australia, too. People have said it’s a lot more laid back than in the U.K.
2. China – I would want to tour the country and see everything from the Great Wall to the Terracotta Army.
3. The Great Pyramid just so I could say I have seen it. I’d like to go inside it, too.
4. Dublin – to sample real Irish Guinness.
5. South Africa – to go on safari, see the sights and meet up with my Referback buddies, who have promised me a brai (a South African barbecue) when I go – and apparently I have to let Lara fly a Hawker Hunter at Thunder City (thanks, Cobus!).

And last but not least, what are three things that nobody knows about you?

Hmm, I think telling you three things that “nobody” knows about me would be very difficult, but here are three things not many people know.

1. I originally trained as a sports therapist.
2. If I ever have to wait for anything I have a habit of counting things, usually how many ceiling tiles there are, then wall tiles and lights in a room. I know – all very Rain Man, eh?
3. I played bass guitar in a rock band when I first met my wife.

**ironman2000** · 23 November 2010, 1:23 pm

What a wonderful interview Andy and you could almost be my brother M8

I also come from HULL (UK)

I also love Guiness and lots of it as Chips already knows!!!!!

I also am very much into sports as I am a competing Triathlete prepering to do my first full "Ironman Contest"

I also love the bass guitar when someone else is playing it..........

Cheers M8

Keith

**Renee** · 23 November 2010, 6:03 pm

Originally Posted by Digo

5. South Africa ?to go on safari, see the sights and meet up with my Referback buddies, who have promised me a brai (a South African barbecue) when I go ?and apparently I have to let Lara fly a Hawker Hunter at Thunder City (thanks, Cobus!).

I'm heading to South Africa on Sunday and will be catching up with Cobus and the boys. I'll have to mention this Hawker Hunter - I have no idea what it is..

If you came to Oz I'd be happy to show you around

**BishamonMedia** · 23 November 2010, 10:10 pm

https://www.thundercity.com/

**penny-slot-machines** · 24 November 2010, 2:25 am

Great interview, both inspirational and a really good read to boot

Love the fact you have your whole family in on the business!

Cheers

Bill

**Lee-Ann** · 24 November 2010, 6:52 am

Really nice interview Andy
If your favourite food is Fish and Chips - I'd encourage you to pop by and see me in Sunny Weymouth (Dorset) I'll take you out for the best "fresh" Fish n Chips you've ever had! I'll sport you a pint and show you my favourite "perch" on the harbour wall!

Alternatively you can sample my famous authentic "braai" chops in it's secret sauce right on the beach at sunset!

That's two of your favourite meal options for the price of one trip

Really good to get to know the person behind the "affiliate" business and to hear how it all started

**wagerjunction** · 24 November 2010, 8:25 am

Great interview.

In addition to being informative business-wise we get to know more about the various people we meet on the forum and this definitely helps strenghten relationships.

**LiveCasinoPartners** · 24 November 2010, 3:32 pm

Great interview. I like your organizational skills.
Thanks for sharing.

**casinobonuseslisting** · 24 November 2010, 10:38 pm

wow.. running 130 sites....thats a lot... anyways ...one needs to be devoted and indeed you are

**ecobika** · 25 November 2010, 2:56 am

great interview, very informative. Just visited a few of your sites you mentioned and what I found is great! I mean these sites are totally optimized for search engines, not for the users. Really great works!

**Ricko** · 25 November 2010, 3:26 am

Great interview Andy!

**ecobika** · 25 November 2010, 4:17 am

and great comments too! Excellent interview, excellent comments!

**casinogod** · 25 November 2010, 7:54 am

Originally Posted by Renee

I'm heading to South Africa on Sunday and will be catching up with Cobus and the boys. I'll have to mention this Hawker Hunter - I have no idea what it is..

If you came to Oz I'd be happy to show you around

Hey Renee,

I just got back from Cape Town this morning, we (me and Lara) had a great time. We had a wicked Braai at Richards house and Cobus was kind enough to take us on a day out on the Wine route and then another day we (Cobus, Lara and I) went down to Simons town to see the penguins and then onto Cape point (the most south Westly point of Africa).

We had a totally awesome time, the day we went to Cape point it seemed like we spent the whole day laughing, a few times I laughed so hard I thoughted I was gonna pass out or something (which as Cobus quite rightly points out is not the best idea when climbing a steep slope).

We had a totally awesome time, I will probably post all about it (and maybe even some pics too) but as you can probably imagine I have a big backlog of emails I need to work through now. lol the Joys of coming back after a little time away eh?

But for now I would like to say a BIG THANK YOU to all the referback guys but especially Cobus and Richard for helpping to make our recent holiday in Cape town so memorable and one we will never forget!

Thanks for the Oz tour guide offer Cobus was our Cape Town Tour Guide bless him and there are tales to be told there and pictures to be seen lol.

I will be sure to let you know when we eventually get to come down under as you can see it is on our list.

Cobus said you are coming to Cape Town soon, are you visiting on work or for holiday?

**casinogod** · 25 November 2010, 8:14 am

Bill - Thanks for the kind words, also thanks for the pm my friend much appreciated.

Lee-Ann - Tempting me with fish and chips is dangerous I just might turn up ya know!

Amy, Adrian, Casinobonuseslistings & Rick - Thanks for you positive feedback, I am glad you liked it.

Ecobika - Our sites are made for the users first and foremost, although we do pride ourselves on making them Search Engine Friendly too.

**universal4** · 25 November 2010, 11:42 am

Great interview Andy,

It's nice to get a bit of insight and a look at the lives of those we talk to on a regular basis....

Rick
Universal4

**Renee** · 25 November 2010, 10:39 pm

Originally Posted by casinogod

Hey Renee,

I just got back from Cape Town this morning, we (me and Lara) had a great time. We had a wicked Braai at Richards house and Cobus was kind enough to take us on a day out on the Wine route and then another day we (Cobus, Lara and I) went down to Simons town to see the penguins and then onto Cape point (the most south Westly point of Africa).

We had a totally awesome time, the day we went to Cape point it seemed like we spent the whole day laughing, a few times I laughed so hard I thoughted I was gonna pass out or something (which as Cobus quite rightly points out is not the best idea when climbing a steep slope).

We had a totally awesome time, I will probably post all about it (and maybe even some pics too) but as you can probably imagine I have a big backlog of emails I need to work through now. lol the Joys of coming back after a little time away eh?

But for now I would like to say a BIG THANK YOU to all the referback guys but especially Cobus and Richard for helpping to make our recent holiday in Cape town so memorable and one we will never forget!

Thanks for the Oz tour guide offer Cobus was our Cape Town Tour Guide bless him and there are tales to be told there and pictures to be seen lol.

I will be sure to let you know when we eventually get to come down under as you can see it is on our list.

Cobus said you are coming to Cape Town soon, are you visiting on work or for holiday?

My plan is to laugh myself silly too.. I really cannot wait. Laughing really is my most favourite thing to do.

This trip is a holiday for me (first one in 3 years) so I'm really pumped. Only a few hours left in the office

I look forward to seeing your photos and stories when I'm back from my holiday - I'm sure Cobus will fill me in too

Glad you had such a great time too!

**grem** · 26 November 2010, 1:54 pm

This is a long interview.

130+ affiliate sites and my head hurts thinking about just 10.

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