Affiliate Interview Series: Thodoris | betarades

[GPWA Aaron]

Age: 29
Hometown: Τhessaloniki, Macedonia
Living in: Thessaloniki
Favorite Food: Moussaka, souvlaki
Must Read Book: The Da Vinci Code, by Dan Brown
Site: Betarades.gr

When did you launch your site?
In August 2013.

How did you become involved in the industry?
I myself used to bet in the past.

How long did it take for you to start earning money?
A few months after the site was launched.

Which segment of your site traffic brings in the most revenue – sportsbook, casino games or poker?
The major product of Betarades.gr is the match previews of all sports events: football and basketball games, tennis tournaments and F1 races. Therefore sportsbooks bring in the most revenue.

Greece is a regulated market. What are the advantages and disadvantages of market regulation, in your opinion?
The current situation regarding the legislation about gambling is not quite clear. The market is not completely regulated as on the one hand there are 24 temporary operating licenses being granted, while on the other hand there are efforts to establish a monopoly or to abolish these 24 temporary licenses and proceed to a notice of new permanent licenses aiming at the replacement of the old temporary ones. The regulation of the market, as long as it is done properly, may bear benefits for all sides involved: The government would be in a position to collect the expected taxes and the gamblers would have the security of betting with companies that are legally established in their country.

It has been predicted that tablet and smartphone users will account for more and more of the online gaming market because “the smaller the screen, the more addictive it is.” Has this observation proven to be true regarding traffic that comes to your site?
Yes, this observation has by all means proven to be true. Smartphone and tablet users are differently addicted in comparison with those using a computer. I believe that with time the mobile percentages will be constantly increasing.

Your site offers links to live streams of many sporting events. How important is live streaming to the sports betting industry?
Live streaming is extremely important for every gambler who bets. The percentages of prematch and live bets are now reversed. The gambler bets more live while watching the match rather than betting before it has started.

Are you a one-person shop or are you part of a larger organization?
We are a group of people trying to provide the best possible result. Occasionally, and when necessary, we may of course employ externals.

Describe your work environment. Do you work from home or in an office?
Our workplace is a minimal office in the heart of Thessaloniki in Macedonia.

What traits do you look for in an affiliate manager? How about in an affiliate program?
Affiliate managers have to know how to read every partner’s results in order to constantly follow up – in cooperation with the affiliate – on the promotion of the company they represent and see for themselves if and to what extent the expected conversion rate is obtained. They should at all times be available to solve any potential problems.

Likewise, an affiliate program has to provide detailed information to the partner and must be solvent and reliable, while the navigation into the program must be user friendly.

What’s your preferred method of communication with affiliate managers? Do you like to talk on the phone, by e-mail or via Skype?
The choice of Skype is quite good as it is the most immediate one. However, when the working schedule is quite heavy and there is no time available for a conversation via Skype to take place, communication with the manager via e-mail is preferred.

What prompted you to join the GPWA? How has it helped you?
We believe the GPWA is a great meeting place that provides affiliates the opportunity to exchange views. It is a place where affiliate managers have to visit in order to check out the comments on the companies they represent and to deliver help when possible.

What do you like about the industry?
The most interesting thing about it is the possibility one has to do many different things if of course one wishes to get seriously involved in it. You can make multiple trials and tests in order to understand the way every visitor to your site thinks and acts.

If you could change one thing about the industry, what would it be?
Regulation of gambling should be more explicit and clear. We would like to see the issue with the regulation of the Greek market tackled in order to be in a position to define our future steps.

What do your family and friends think of your work as an affiliate?
They believe I deal with a special sector which demands quite a lot of working hours.

Do you gamble online? If so, what do you play?
I usually gamble on sports betting, mostly football and tennis. I also join poker tournaments quite often.

How long do you give yourself for answering e-mail? What e-mail tips can you offer?
The time needed for answering e-mail on an everyday basis is considerable. One has to be pretty prudent as far as each e-mail’s style and content are concerned and to always take into consideration the person to whom an e-mail is addressed, a reader or a manager.

How do you manage your “to-do” lists? Do you use any special software to help you out?
Apart from Excel, which helps to organize oneself and to save numbers, a piece of paper and a pen are usually necessary to make notes of things that come to mind throughout the day.

You’ve posted that you use social media – especially Facebook – a lot. Is that still the case? How much traffic do you drive to your site through social networking compared to traditional SEO?
Social media are quite important in our field. We have already surpassed 15,000 fans on Facebook and the list goes on. About 10 percent of our site’s visitors come from social media. This percentage is certainly lower than its counterpart for those coming from search engines. Nevertheless we estimate that the potential of social media will increase in the future.

What’s the most difficult thing about running your site?
Time availability. There are a lot of things that have to be done simultaneously and there’s never enough time.

What’s the best thing about running your site?
The fact that we are self-contained. Every member of our team works on equal terms; there are no bosses. Our group is characterized by lively team spirit and what we call in Greek “filotimo,” which signifies a keen sense of decency and social virtue; it’s so hard for me to translate this word into another language.

If someone were visiting you, what’s the one place you’d definitely take them to see?
If someone were to visit me, I would definitely take them to see the Parthenon in Athens. The specific monument dramatically reflects the importance of the ancient Greek civilization 2,500 years ago.

When you need to get as far away from work as possible, where do you go?
I take a walk along Thessaloniki Bay and head toward its port.

What’s your favorite vacation spot?
Every single one of the Greek islands. Everyone has to visit the Greek islands.

What’s your all-time favorite movie?
Seven. I find that movie exciting.

If you could invite any five people, living or dead, to dinner, who would they be?
Plato, Aristotle, Alexander the Great, Mahatma Gandhi, and Steve Jobs.

What are three things that nobody knows about you?
We all have secrets to be left unrevealed!

[Maria F]

Γεια σας από Κύπρος!

Nice interview. Seven is also one of my favorite movies, Morgan Freeman was so good on that movie.

All the best