Affiliate Interview Series | Olga - lkxzpowq

[GPWA Dan]

Age: Can it be a secret?
Hometown: Moscow, Russia
Living in: Malta
Favorite Food: Asian
Must Read Book: A Brief History of Time, by Steven Hawking

Sites:

www.onlinecasinoworld.ru
www.youwinner.eu

When did you launch your first site? How long did it take before you received your first payment from an affiliate program?

I launched my first website three years ago, in August. The first payment was in December the same year.

Are you a full-time affiliate? If not, what else do you do for work?

I am a full-time affiliate. I have a degree in psychology and a master's in psychotherapy, so I see clients as a self-employed psychotherapist, but my main sources of income are my websites and it's been this way for almost three years.

Talk a little bit about your professional background. How did you get into the business of running an online gambling portal?

I live in Malta and, as you know, there are a lot of iGaming companies and affiliates here. I became friends with some of them and got interested in what they do and in their cool lifestyle, and one day I just gave it a try and it worked.

You promote online casinos, sportsbooks and poker on your site. What gaming vertical is responsible for the biggest percentage of your revenue?

Definitely online casinos. I have been working harder to promote them, but I plan to dedicate a website specifically to online sportsbooks in the future.

What search terms does your site rank highest for? How much time do you spend on SEO?

My website has very high rankings for "best online casinos," "online casino rating," "online casino," "best Internet casino," "European online casino," etc. I spend most of my time on SEO since it is the only way I promote my website.

OnlineCasinoWorld is a Russian-language site. Do you have any plans to branch out to new jurisdictions or to launch sites in other languages?

A few weeks ago I launched an English-language site so I am currently working on it a lot. I would like to have more websites in different languages in the future, but I will have to hire people for that.

How concerned are you by the recent news that Russia may block citizens from accessing online gambling sites?

I am concerned. It is happening already, so online casinos have to change their domains from time to time. This is one of the reasons I started working on an English-language site recently.

When did you move to Malta? What do you miss most about Russia?

I moved to Malta nine years ago. I am quite settled and love living here. I miss my family and friends who are in Russia the most.

What are some of your sites' unique selling points? How do you stand out from the crowd?

I don't think my websites really stand out from the crowd, but I try to think about players first — about what they want to see on my website, what will help them to make the right choice, and I provide that content.

What do you think is a better strategy for affiliates? To launch numerous sites, or to be laser-focused on creating great content for a small number of sites?

I definitely go for good content. It seems unrealistic to me to have 20 or 30 websites and keep good standards for all of them. But I admire those affiliates who can do it. At the same time, you have to have more than one site because you can face problems with your site, and it is good to have other ones so your business does not stop working. So you should not "put all your eggs in one basket."

Are you a one-person operation?

I do everything myself.

How often do you get to see and interact with other people in the industry? Do you attend any industry conferences?

As I said, I have friends who work in the industry. The first conference I attended was SIGMA last November. I had a great time there and made some good contacts, so I intend to attend as many conferences as I can in the future.

What traits do you look for in an affiliate manager? How about in an affiliate program?

I appreciate a unique approach to every affiliate, when a manager tries to build good and trusting relationships with affiliates, making special deals and offers and informing affiliates about updates personally. From an affiliate program, I just like to get paid on time.

What's your preferred method of communication with affiliate managers?

Skype messages.

What prompted you to join the GPWA? How has it helped you?

I joined because I wanted to get a GPWA Seal. The GPWA helps me stay updated with important industry news, plus I like reading the interviews.

You've been a member of the GPWA for almost three years, but are one of our many "lurkers." What might prompt you to join a discussion on our message boards?

This is just my personality. I never participate in any forums; I simply don't like to do it. But I like to read them every now and then.

What do you like about the industry?

Everything.

If you could change one thing about the industry, what would it be and why?

I would make online gambling legal in all countries — that way we would have more players.

What do your family and friends think of your work as an affiliate?

A lot of them don't understand exactly what I do. At the beginning my family was not so happy about me being an affiliate for online gambling. It seemed almost criminal to them. But they are getting used to it and slowly changing their opinion.

Do you gamble online? If so, what do you play?

I don't gamble a lot online, but sometimes I like to play poker, roulette and blackjack.

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

I just write reminders in my smartphone.

What's the most difficult thing about running your sites?

Constantly working on improving site rankings.

What's the best thing about running your sites?

Personally, I think it is the best job you can have. You are free to work anytime, anywhere; you are your own boss; and you get a good income.

What do you do to stay in shape — both physically and mentally?

I power walk and run. I love walking next to the sea — it gives me energy and calms me down at the same time. I practice positive thinking. Also being a psychotherapist helps me keep balanced: I attend group seminars and workshops on a monthly basis.

How do you occupy your spare time?

Walking, reading books and scientific magazines, spending time with my loved ones, and traveling.

What did you dream of doing, both professional and personally, when you were a kid?

When I was a kid I wanted to be an astronaut, but at about 14 I started dreaming about becoming a psychotherapist — this dream came true.

When you need to get as far away from work as possible, where do you go?

I go to exotic countries.

What's your all-time favorite movie?

Forrest Gump.

Name three things that people reading this magazine don't know about you.

I am the only child; I am interested in astrophysics; I want to write a book one day.

[Moonlight Cat]

Hello Olga, nice interview. As i see, we, Russian affiliates, scattered throughout the world.
I am from Russia too, but live in South-East Asia.

[sweetbet]

Personally, I think it is the best job you can have. You are free to work anytime, anywhere; you are your own boss; and you get a good income.

I agree with you 100%

[BestNetent]

Hi, I'm from Russia too. Why www.youwinner.eu is offline?

[MMM]

Not to offend anyone but not sure why the recent interviews come from people who aren't here.


Personally, I am much more interested to hear from someone who gained my appreciation and respect than someone I haven't heard of. People that are actually active here. and there are plenty: thebookiesoffers, shay, Gooner, Wonderpunter, sweetbet, racingjym etc - just to name a few.

Dear Olga, in case you read this, hope i didn't insult you. My post is not actually related to your interview but a general comment. Best of luck!

[FruityJelena]

Nice interview
Youwinner is suspended?!

[GPWA Aaron]

Not to offend anyone but not sure why the recent interviews come from people who aren't here.


Personally, I am much more interested to hear from someone who gained my appreciation and respect than someone I haven't heard of. People that are actually active here. and there are plenty: thebookiesoffers, shay, Gooner, Wonderpunter, sweetbet, racingjym etc - just to name a few.

Dear Olga, in case you read this, hope i didn't insult you. My post is not actually related to your interview but a general comment. Best of luck!

I understand your critique and it's been noted. However, some of the folks you noted have been interviewed (see thebookiesoffers and sweetbet) while others you mention have been asked and either declined to be interviewed or did not respond. We typically get a positive response on 10-20% of interview requests, and we try to interview GPWA members that represent a wide spectrum of the affiliate experience. I hope we've been successful in doing that, though there is always room for improvement.

One thing that I have noticed in the last six years of doing these interviews is that just reaching out to ask people if they'd like to be interviewed can provide incentive for folks to feel more connected to the GPWA and spurs more active involvement on the forums. Obviously that's not the case for every interview, but it is gratifying to see folks increase their participation in the forums when they're part of our interview series.

And of course, if you want to browse through all the affiliate interviews we've done over our first 35 issues, you can see them all listed on the new GPWATimes.org site, https://www.gpwatimes.org/affiliate-interviews/. You can filter the interviews by country or by gaming vertical, and you can either read the interviews in the flipbook version of the magazine or find them in the forums by clicking on the "discussion" link.

[Miles_FTA]

Steven Hawking.. AstroPhysics wow and you picked gaming ..lol very very good interview