Affiliate Interview Series | Kajsa - oddsfantasten

[GPWA Dan]

Age: 30

Hometown: Varberg, Sweden

Living in: Varberg

Favorite Food: A good steak, potato wedges and a nice sauce

Must Read Book: The Art of Happiness, by the Dalai Lama

Sites:
oddsfantasten.com
freespinsonlinecasino.com
allascasino.se
mobiltcasino.nu
free-spins.se
kasinobonus.me
casinosverige.me
svenskacasinon.me
freebonus.se
sveafreespins.se

. . . among others. In total I run 20 different affiliate sites.

When did you launch your sites?
The first site I launched was a blog in 2009. The year after, I turned the blog into a website and slowly started to launch more sites.

How did you become involved in the industry?
When I ran my first blog, which mainly focused on horse racing, one advertiser wanted a casino link on my site. I then realized that there was an industry in this segment. Also, for some time I’d been fascinated by the Internet casinos that were starting to pop up.

How long did it take for you to start earning money?
It probably took more than a year. At first the sites were mainly a side hobby and my goal was never to earn any money. I thought it was fun since I had an interest in games and casinos, and I felt that I wanted to share that interest with others. The years passed by and when I had finished my bachelor’s degree in public health the income from the sites had grown so much that I decided to start a company and devote myself to this on a full-time basis.

Most of your sites are built around connecting players with sites offering free spins and free bonuses. Why did you decide to go in that direction, and how often do you update your free-spin and free-bonus information?
I started out with free spins because I had seen a couple of free-spin sites that influenced me. I believe that what is free also easily attracts an audience and I saw potential in leading my sites in that direction, too. Even though it would have been more profitable to go with a pure casino site from the beginning I don’t think that it would have had as big an impact as Oddsfantasten had. When I started with free spins it wasn’t such a widespread phenomenon like it is today.

My main sites, such as Oddsfantasten.com, I update daily. Considering that many free-spin offers are time-sensitive and the competition is very strong I need to update these sites daily. Oddsfantasten.com has been updated on a daily basis since 2010, including all Christmas Eves and other holidays.

Many affiliates who promote free spins and free bonuses will have a great click-through rate, but fewer real-money conversions. Has this been your experience? What can affiliates who focus on these offers do to improve their conversion rates?
Of course the value of the players isn’t as good as on sites that focus on casino bonuses or casino reviews. I see this in comparison with other sites I run that have another focus. On the other hand, just because of my focus on the free spins I have been able to get massive sign-ups which even out the numbers. Even if a player’s intention is to play for free he or she could turn into a real high roller anytime. Affiliates that focus on these kinds of offers should keep a dialog going with the players. Write daily posts and interact with your visitors. Sooner or later they will make a deposit if the offer comes at the right time.

Are you a one-person shop or are you part of a larger organization?
I managed my sites on my own until recently. A couple of months ago the workload became too heavy, and therefore I now have a freelance copywriter who writes some of my content. She is really talented and ambitious and I am glad I found her! I still write all the “daily posts” myself and aim to continue with it. Since I have expanded I have also taken in some other help. For instance, my brother is a big asset when it comes to server issues and technical aspects. My sister-in-law, who is employed at my brother’s company, has started to do some design work for me, which is another great help. I realize that I can’t handle everything on my own anymore with my company continuing to expand.

Describe your work environment. Do you work from home or in an office? If you work from home, how often do you get to see and interact with other people in the industry?
I work from home, and I’m always working. This year I set up an office and lately I’ve also tried to establish some normal work hours. Previously I sat in my armchair and worked from early morning to late night, which wasn’t sustainable. I interact with other people in the industry on a daily basis through Skype. In real life I’ve had the time to meet just a couple of affiliate managers. I’ve never attended any conferences but hopefully I will be able to do this in the future.

You posted recently that SEO is your preferred traffic-building method. Have any other methods/strategies produced positive results for you?
Frankly I’ve mainly focused on on-page SEO. The focus has always been on my content and I find it important to give the visitors what they want, which hopefully is good, interesting, updated and unique content. Besides that my preferred traffic-building method is off-page SEO, with all that implies. I think the combination of these two factors is a must to keep your positions in Google these days. The social networking is there but it’s nothing I have put too much time or effort into.

How many of your sites are mobile responsive, and how important is a site’s mobile responsiveness in attracting players?
Only a few of my sites are mobile responsive even though all of them work just fine on different platforms. I think what is most important is that the site is user friendly regardless of the platform. I find some of the mobile responsive sites too simple, which I don’t really like.

How many languages do you speak? And how many different languages are represented in your sites?
I only speak Swedish and English. These are also the languages used on the sites I run. I tried to run a German site at one point but I just couldn’t manage it!

What traits do you look for in an affiliate manager? How about in an affiliate program?
The most important thing for me is that the affiliate manager is available and is not too pushy. Another thing that I appreciate is when I get information about current or upcoming campaigns. Too many affiliate managers are just interested in getting a higher position on your sites. I would say that you get high positions automatically if you have a strong brand, pay out good rev share and provide affiliates with loads of campaign info. The same goes for the whole affiliate program. I prefer the programs that run most campaigns for their players. If the affiliate doesn’t get any information about a campaign or a promotion, it’s hard to promote. My favorite affiliate manager is Bruno Berlafa at Thrills. He has all the traits a good manager should have. He is humble, always available and always looking to maximize your potential along with that of your sites.

What’s your preferred method of communication with affiliate managers? Do you like to talk on the phone, by e-mail or via Skype?
I prefer Skype; I find it easiest that way.

What prompted you to join the GPWA? How has it helped you?
It was actually an affiliate manager who recommended that I join the GPWA. At that time I had some problems with a guy copying my content so the affiliate manager told me about the GPWA and the help that you can get through the forum. So I joined and was impressed by all the good information that was available there. I also like the GPWA seal, which I have on some of my sites, which shows that the sites follow GPWA guidelines. The GPWA has also helped me to get insight into the industry with everything that is going on. Another thing that I enjoy is the newsletter, which I always read. The GPWA makes me feel like I am part of a larger context, which is important when you work from home and run a company all by yourself.

What do you like about the industry?
I love the industry since it has opened a lot of doors for me. For people outside this industry it might look very confusing, but for us inside it has been a real game changer. Sometimes the feeling is the opposite, though, like when you feel mistreated by Google and when you rely on your rankings you don’t exactly love the industry, but it is what it is. The competition is hard, and hopefully hard work is what pays off the most in the long run. Another thing about the industry that I dislike is the money-hungry hyenas. There are lots of spammy affiliate programs and third parties that don’t respect a no.

If you could change one thing about the industry, what would it be and why?
As I am a true content gal I believe that genuinely interesting content for the visitors is what’s going to give your site a good push in the long run. About the industry in general I don’t have much negative to say. I would like to see less spammy operators. There are too many of them and they are destroying the business by giving this industry a bad name. An online casino is fantastic when it’s operated by trustworthy operators. I want more people to discover it. By making less space for the bad ones, the customers, operators and affiliates will benefit from more inexperienced players who want to try it out for the first time. Maybe it’s also appropriate to wish for more women to join the industry. I don’t know any other female affiliates, but I would like to see more on board in the future.

What do your family and friends think of your work as an affiliate?
First of all, to be honest I don’t think many of my friends understand exactly what I do. But from what they do understand they are glad that I’m doing so well. My family thinks it is cool that I started this from scratch and that I am where I am today. Some have pointed out some moral aspects since it’s all about people losing money on gambling. I understand their thoughts and concerns although I think people have an individual responsibility. People who visit my site would have played anyway.

Do you gamble online? If so, what do you play?
When I have time I enjoy gambling online. When I do I usually try one or two new slot machines from the Swedish game producer Net Entertainment. I used to bet on horse racing but I no longer have the time to sit down and analyze the races.

How long do you give yourself for answering e-mail? What e-mail tips can you offer?
I find it hard to read an e-mail if I know that I can’t answer immediately. Nowadays there is so much spam from affiliate programs that I no longer answer all e-mail anymore. A tip is to not answer e-mail from an affiliate program you don’t like to work with. If you answer and tell them that you are not interested they will just keep on sending e-mail and try to convince you to give the affiliate program a go. And they will not stop until they have you!

How do you manage your “to-do” lists? Do you use any special software to help you out?
I just make simple Excel schedules where I write down everything that has to be done.

What’s the most difficult thing about running your sites?
The most difficult thing is to always be hunting for new promos. Since I write on some of my sites a daily basis with around 7-12 unique offers a day, I am always on the lookout for new free-spin offers. To produce so much content every day can also be quite exhausting. Sometimes I wonder why I started out with that strategy. It's difficult to find the time to do it.

What’s the best thing about running your sites?
The best thing is to see that the visitors keep coming. I know that many of my visitors have visited some of my sites since the start and that is really nice to know! And I would be lying if I didn’t say that one of the best things is to wake up in the morning and go through yesterday’s income. I’ve also started out making WordPress sites, which is new for me, and I really like to sit down and build up these sites from scratch with reviews, articles, etc. During my time with my sites I’ve also gotten to know lots of people and some of them have become good friends.

What do you do to stay in shape – both physically and mentally?
Well, when I have time I like to go out for a walk. I live on the west coast, which has long, nice boardwalks and other beautiful features. This fall I also started to train in yoga, which was good for me both physically and mentally. I have a membership card at the gym, but unfortunately I haven’t been the most active member this year!

Tell us a little bit about Varberg. Is that where you grew up?
I grew up in Bua, which is a small fishing village 1.8 miles north of Varberg. When I was 18 my mom and I moved to Varberg, and this is where I live now. In between I tried to live in both Gothenburg and Glasgow. Varberg is a beautiful city near the ocean and it is famous for both its fortress as well as its perfect surfing environment.

If someone were visiting you, what’s the one place you’d definitely take them to see?
I would definitely take the person to the boardwalk and go for a walk along the ocean. Also the fortress is also an interesting attraction, as is the so-called “Bockstensmannen,” a unique discovery of the remains of a man’s body from the 1300s that was found in a bog about 15 miles east of Varberg.

When you need to get as far away from work as possible, where do you go?
I spend time with friends who have no insight into this industry. Sometimes I pick up my little friend Lou, 3, at preschool and spend some time with her. When I do that I have no time to think about work. Then it’s all about jumping on the couch and playing at the playground. At the moment I am waiting for a new car to arrive, and I’m looking forward to just getting in, turning up the volume to max and driving. That car will probably be my new sanctuary.

What’s your favorite vacation spot?
Since I have animals I haven’t been able to travel so much lately. A couple of years ago my mom and I went on a cruise in the Mediterranean which I really enjoyed, and I would love to do something like that again. I’ve also visited Glasgow a couple of times and I lived there for a couple of months when I was younger.

What’s your all-time favorite movie?
It’s too hard to mention just one. But I must say that I enjoy easy, feel-good movies such as The Holiday, Love Actually and Sex and the City. When you work hard on your sites all day you appreciate movies that don’t require too much thinking.

If you could invite any five people, living or dead, to dinner, who would they be?
I would like to start with inviting my grandfather since I didn’t get the chance to meet him. He died when my father was 17 and lately I’ve been looking at lots of old photos of him and he seems like an interesting guy. The second person I would invite to the table would be the Dalai Lama. Maybe he could give me some of his calm and some valuable words along the way. The third person to get my invitation would be Zlatan “Ibra” Ibrahimovic. From him I could learn about purposefulness and how to never give up. I also think he would make the dinner guests laugh a lot! Mark Zuckerberg would also be an interesting dinner guest. He would get to tell his story about how he changed the world with Facebook. Maybe he would share some magic tricks that I could use on my sites. The last person to be invited would be Hans Rosling, professor in International Health at Karolinska Institute. He is a really inspiring person and knows how to get an audience's attention!

[sweetbet]

Managing 20 affiliate sites is pretty amazing. I can barely manage a handful of sites. Well Done !!

[Miles_FTA]

Yes Agree with Sweetbet well done 20 sites is impressive .. its good to see that your so passionate about this industry keep going you good thing ..

[thomasandreas]

very nice interview!

[Alex_PlayAttack]

It's a pleasure to work with you Kajsa! Will you attend AAC?