Adding a "Casino Whoring" section - good or horrible idea?

[tommyb]

I myself was once a bonus whore (played every BJ bonus I could find lol).

But my point of this thread is to ask one thing - is it good to list how to bonus whore on your affiliate site?

We all know its an easy (ish) kind of way to make a few quick bucks, but everyone can back me up when I say this, we want to make money.

If I show people good bonuses to "whore" and how to do it (assuming they have no clue what it is), would this be a bad move?

It would be a good way to drag people into my site, but I don't want them there to specifically take advantage of some bonuses and then never deposit again.

Any thoughts?

[Renee]

If you actually want to make a living from being a casino affiliate, I would suggest against this.

For starters, it doesn't make you look good to the affiliate programs. You will tarnish your own reputation, the affiliate managers will never take you seriously because they will think you are only there to make a quick buck as you said, and most of your traffic will not be worth taking. If the casinos lose money on your players, they will not be interested in having you as an affiliate.

On the other side, you then also make it harder for the other affiliates because where there are bonus whores, there are rules, and the casinos don't want players who are just looking for free money.. they want players who are interesting in playing longer and depositing their own - the bonus is there essentially to offer something extra for choosing their casino. After all, a player who only takes a bonus doesn't make you any money either in the long term. You will see that the casinos start implementing more and more rules for players, which doesn't help anyone.

These are my two main reasons for advising against...

[TrishOZ]

I have to agree with what Renee has said.

I wanted to add that while I think that there's nothing wrong with advertising the bonuses on your site (they do make good marketing tools) I would strongly advise against providing your customers with ways to take advantage of the sites you're promoting.

I suggest that it would be far better from an affiliate marketing perspective to promote the properties you are interested in and build a base there, then if you are looking for more to promote - talk to your affiliate managers about exclusivity on deals and see how things work out.

Cheers.

[tommyb]

Hey Renee,

Thanks for the reply.

I totally agree with you on that but I was just making sure hence why I asked. (maybe thats why any bonus whoring site you may find is no longer running or very out of date)

My site is geared towards bonuses and having a friendly appeal to it (not the most visually stimulating), while my main goal is to make profit while making making my visitors happy and pleased with their experience at my site.

My goal is not to be the top casino site out there (even though I strive to be the best in everything! lol), but a very solid one.

Thanks again for the reply and I look forward to having more conversations with you/everyone on here.

Tom

[tommyb]

Thanks for the reply Trish,

I totally agree with you and Renee.

Just looking to provide a solid site, and in the long run (very long lol) make a living out of it.

Thanks guys for the input!

[matted]

I have two thoughts:

1. You should present the bonuses and tell players how to properly use them. I encourage users to take bonuses as long as they are willing to play by the rules (playthrough req., allowed games, etc).

2. Folks looking for something for nothing probably not good from a performance marketing standpoint. Even on CPA I suspect you wont get many happy partners if your player value is excessively low.

Just my two cents...

[tommyb]

Thanks for your reply,

I am implementing exactly what you said (how to use them, the rules: wagering,games allowed, etc.)

Great replies guys. Thanks!

[casinojack]

You will have weird stats, like 750k in coupons and 10k in deposits..
I stay away from any term that does not convert...

[tommyb]

Hey Jack,

I totally agree with you and everybody else who has replied.

Thanks again,

Tom

[JeterForHOF]

It seems pretty fair to provide your visitors with all the information available, so go for it!

On the other hand, if you know of poorly conceived bonus schemes (I mean, really bad!), then perhaps you can offer your services to the casino! They would be interested, I am sure.

Ultimately though, be sure to only deal with rev share on these players. Most likely they will be low value, and any CPA you earn would tarnish long term partnership potential.

Good luck!

[bb1web]

I don't want them there to specifically take advantage of some bonuses and then never deposit again.

I think you answered your own question if you read between the lines my friend.

Renee's wisdom is as sharp as she is pretty.

Nobody wants a leach involved in any part of their existence, so especially not in gambling.

Here's the thing, putting aside the fact the casinos have created the monsters with their approach to marketing and instead of spending money on retaining the players they have ... they constantly look over the horizon for that next Michael Jordan-sized gambler

that the quite simple truth is the bonus whores as you term them ... are a pain in the azz. Everybody knows they've no intention of risking any of their own money or certainly none of it more than the very minimum necessary in order to get that free chip ride.

They're big time whiners/liars/fraudsters who fully are aware that their kind aren't wanted by the casinos. They aren't appreciated by legit players either because every dime the whore takes ... is a dime that won't be retuned to a legit player.

Much of the red tape that players now have to endure ... can be traced back to some BS an advantage player tried or did successfully use against the casino.

Oh and finally. They are in large numbers. All it takes is one of them to hit a nice size jackpot and any earnings you have for that month will be wiped out.

There's no upside to them as I think you'll be unpleasantly surprised at just how truly worthless this kind of traffic will prove to be.

[JeterForHOF]

bb1web --- well said!

[smathe77]

I guess it would be counterprodutive for the casinos, which would lead to no player loyalty and almost 0 long term value.
I know having players who redeem their bonuses and leave sucks in poker. I imagine it's about the same over at the casinos.

[Players Luck - Jamie]

Bad idea, If you would like to make money in this industry then you need to worm out bonus whores and attract high roller depositing players.

These type of players hurt this business

[gamblingbutler]

Although all the cons mentioned here are absolutely logical and plausible, I know at least one example of an affiliate who started with this very angle and became pretty big. Runs a large network of sites now, if he was honest to me.

Be it as it may, I would personally also not recommend to do it on your main site.

[tommyb]

thanks for all the replies guys!

been a couple days since i worked on my site, school is killlling me lately (hopefully receiving my bachelors degree this may '10)

doing this affiliate thing for a hobby, hopefully make something out of it!

thanks again for all your input!

Tom