Affiliate Manager Interview Series: Rakesh Karan - Lion Slots Affiliates

**GPWA Gary** · 6 May 2009, 3:43 pm

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<o></o>
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Age: 31<o:p></o:p>
Hometown: <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:city w:st="on">Brisbane</st1:city>, <st1:country-region w:st="on">Australia</st1:country-region></st1:place><o:p></o:p>
Favorite food: Fruit<o:p></o:p>
<o:p> </o:p>
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You’ve had an interesting journey through life. You were born in <st1:country-region w:st="on">Fiji</st1:country-region>, before migrating to <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Australia</st1:place></st1:country-region>. And now you live in <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Singapore</st1:place></st1:country-region>! OK. Please walk us through this journey. How old were you when you moved from <st1:country-region w:st="on">Fiji</st1:country-region> to <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Australia</st1:place></st1:country-region>? Why did you move? Why did you leave <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Australia</st1:place></st1:country-region>? <o:p></o:p>
I left <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:country-region w:st="on">Fiji</st1:country-region></st1:place> when I was 10 years old. The coup worried my folks, and I think they wanted a more certain future for their kids. Leaving <st1:country-region w:st="on">Australia</st1:country-region> for <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:country-region w:st="on">Singapore</st1:country-region></st1:place> was purely motivated by work reasons. I travel back home every 2 months to see the girl, the dog, the family, and the friends. <o:p></o:p>
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What’s the best thing about living in <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Singapore</st1:place></st1:country-region>? What’s the worst thing about living in <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Singapore</st1:place></st1:country-region>? And besides family and friends, what do you miss most about <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Australia</st1:place></st1:country-region>?<o:p></o:p>
The best thing? Oh, that’s easy, the food. They really do have it all here, Your taste buds get a good workout! The worst thing about living in <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:country-region w:st="on">Singapore</st1:country-region></st1:place> is the insane rent; other than that I am pretty adaptable!<o:p></o:p>
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The name of your brand, Lion Slots Casino, indicates that slots players make up the majority of your customers. Is that true? What percentage of your players are slots players vs. table game/card game players?<o:p></o:p>
It’s a touch over 97%.<o:p></o:p>
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What are the demographics of your current players? And what are the demographics of the players you’re trying to attract?<o:p></o:p>
Demographics: slots players, plain and simple. Men and women who enjoy slots are going to enjoy Lion Slots. We tailor our promotions around slots play as well. I think you’ll find more and more online casinos come out targeting slots players, over a general attract-all brand.<o:p></o:p>
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In addition to traditional slots, Lion Slots Casino features a special category of games called I-Slots. What are I-Slots? How different are these games from regular slots? What makes I-Slots better than regular slots for players, affiliates, and the casino?<o:p></o:p>
I-Slots are fantastic story-based slots games. They have mini movie clips and mini games. Players can choose the path in which they want the story to go. I-Slots has been a part of the Rival Software lineup since day dot, and it still continues to be one of the most popular slots on Lion Slots. <o:p></o:p>
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You’ve done some SEO work before. What are three common mistakes that all affiliates should avoid? <o:p></o:p>
Who have you been talking to? Haha. Webmasters are a lot more savvy these days, but I’d say three common mistakes to avoid are, <o:p></o:p>
1.Don’t overextend yourself by trying to build 5+ sites at one time. Start off with 1, work on it, develop it, grow it, push it, and then start on the next site. Once you’re comfortable enough to handle developing a couple of sites at once, go crazy. <o:p></o:p>
2.Don’t just focus on your content, get links to your websites. You’ll hear this consistently from the big affiliates. <o:p></o:p>
3.Keep your ears open, read, and interact with other webmasters. Read, persist, learn, and implement. Engines are forever changing, and there are always new techniques, ideas, and concepts to learn. <o:p></o:p>
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What differentiates your statistical reporting package from those of other affiliate programs?<o:p></o:p>
We show advertisers details about their players: Firstname, Deposit, Method, Date/Time. And we also show Banner Performance.<o:p></o:p>
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What are some unique things that you've seen work for some affiliates that you would like others to try?<o:p></o:p>
Increase the professionalism of your websites. Homepage-style websites used to work well, but nowadays you see a new breed of websites where the graphics are slick, with web2.0 layouts and newsletter systems. The owners of these sites have great conversions, and make themselves accessible to their traffic. A great way to build trust, and get return traffic.<o:p></o:p>
<o:p> </o:p>
In an industry where everyone's inbox is always overloaded, e-mail management and organization is a critical skill. How do you manage your e-mail? What tips can you share?<o:p></o:p>
Blackberry is my friend here. I also have a daily routine which I follow as soon as I step into the office; it helps to make sure that everything that should be done is getting done!<o:p></o:p>
<o:p> </o:p>
Trust is often cited as one of the critical components of successful relationships between affiliates and affiliate programs. How do you go about establishing trust with your affiliates? And what do you expect out of your affiliates in return?<o:p></o:p>
Just like meeting someone in the real world, introduce yourself, make yourself easily accessible, and keep in touch with your advertisers. Be upfront on what you can and can’t offer; it is business, but it doesn’t have to get in the way of what could possibly be a great friendship in a tight-knit industry. Affiliates know their traffic better than anyone else. All we expect is exposure to Lion Slots. Once the players come in; leave it to us to convert them. When everyone is making money, everyone is happy!<o:p></o:p>
<o:p> </o:p>
Besides trust, what are the keys to building successful relationships between affiliates and affiliate programs?<o:p></o:p>
Honesty, communication, standing behind and representing a solid product. <o:p></o:p>
<o:p> </o:p>
If someone were visiting you in <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Singapore</st1:place></st1:country-region>, what's the one place you would definitely take them to see? And why?<o:p></o:p>
The Night Safari; it has fantastic nocturnal animals. The Lion exhibit is fantastic!<o:p></o:p>
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What songs are currently on your iPod (or MP3 player)?<o:p></o:p>
Rammstein and Michael Bubl?<o:p></o:p>
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What's the last book you read? What did you like about it?<o:p></o:p>
Gone, by Jonathan Kellerman. Easy read, with characters which continue onto future books.<o:p></o:p>
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What’s your favorite movie and why?<o:p></o:p>
Tropic Thunder ?it’s ... well, probably Tom Cruise’s finest hour. <o:p></o:p>
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What was your favorite subject in school? And why was it your favorite subject?<o:p></o:p>
History and Geography, the past and the environment interest me.<o:p></o:p>
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How did you get started in the online gambling business?<o:p></o:p>
Back in the day when Party Poker first started out, I worked with a couple of guys running a Party Gaming casino skin, I’m not sure how serious they were about it, but I saw the revenue potential, and became an affiliate. Three to four years later, a friend of mine mentioned that Adriches was looking for an affiliate manager, I applied on the closing day, and got the job the next day. The jump to the operator side was an eye opener and exposed me to another side of business logic. I haven’t looked back since. <o:p></o:p>
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What’s the first concert you attended in person?<o:p></o:p>
Bruce Springsteen?<o:p></o:p>
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What's your favorite board game?<o:p></o:p>
Risk.<o:p></o:p>
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What are three things that no one knows about you?<o:p></o:p>
I am an open book; everyone knows something about me! But what people might not know about me is that <o:p></o:p>
1.I love the peace and quiet.<o:p></o:p>
2.I am a Trekkie.<o:p></o:p>
3.I met Mr. T when I was a kid!<o:p></o:p>
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**Renee** · 6 May 2009, 7:35 pm

Apparently I know too much about you!

LOL

Great interview Caramel Bear!

**Chips** · 6 May 2009, 9:05 pm

Good read my friend!

**Daera** · 6 May 2009, 10:43 pm

Yes, great interview!

Trust and communication is so important. And Rak has these things down.. as one of the affiliate managers I trust the MOST.

Keep up the good work Rak!

**lionslots** · 7 May 2009, 12:39 pm

Thanks Guys, I had a lot of fun going through the questions - actually found out a few things about myself along the way.

So ... Renee... you know the movie came out last night!
I am so excited.

I can't wait to see it... but but.. I'm not sure what to wear?
And what session do I catch?
Do I buy one ticket.. or multiple session tickets and watch it 2-3 times during the same day?

Live long and prosper people.

**Renee** · 7 May 2009, 6:31 pm

Originally Posted by lionslots

Thanks Guys, I had a lot of fun going through the questions - actually found out a few things about myself along the way.

So ... Renee... you know the movie came out last night!
I am so excited.

I can't wait to see it... but but.. I'm not sure what to wear?
And what session do I catch?
Do I buy one ticket.. or multiple session tickets and watch it 2-3 times during the same day?

Live long and prosper people.

OMG I AM HAVING THE EXACT SAME DILEMMA!

OMG OMG!

Ok ok .. OMG.

Argh! Too much excitement... excitement overload.. I can't wait to see the movie. Next weekend. I would say, the midnight session would be best, then you can go straight home and sleep on it, dream of the movie and make a decision on how much you like it, then wake up and go straight back and watch it again..

I think you should definitely hire a costume for the occasion. And you should tattoo your face to look like a freak. Oh and you should make your ears a funny shape.

OMG, so many things you could do with so little time.

I WANT PICS!

You need the eyebrows too...

**GFPC** · 7 May 2009, 7:10 pm

Excellent interview mate. I really enjoyed reading it.. Hope we get to chat some day. You sound like a great guy!!!!!

Steve

**Renee** · 11 May 2009, 7:46 pm

Rak you ready mate?

Late Show Top Ten
(Presented By Leonard Nimoy)
10. Warp factor 8! Arby's closes in 10 minutes
9. We're entering a breach in the space-time continuum or a wormhole or some crazy crap like that
8. Set phasers to fabulous!
7. Welcome aboard the Starship Enterprise ?today's in-flight movie is "Big Momma's House 2"
6. We've been hijacked by Somali pirates
5. Sir, I'm going to need Saturday off to attend my nephew's bar mitzvah
4. My baby-daddy is a Vulcan ?on the next "Maury"
3. The Enterprise just hit a goose ?we're gonna have to land in the Hudson
2. Live long, prosper, and keep on hangin' and bangin'
1. I find your choice of hairpiece highly illogical

I love number 2...

**bonustreak** · 11 May 2009, 11:14 pm

Hey my Freak seen the movie with my boys Sat evening

Great interview but hey I knew all that already about you!

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