Your biggest tip to a newbie?

[TheWaiter]

What would be your biggest tip to a newbie just starting out?

Mine would be to never underestimate the amount of work it takes to get your website off the ground and to never think of it as a way to get rich quick, the only rich quick method is becoming a player rather than a affiliate.

[baldidiot]

I have a few:

- Start small and focus on a niche you know a lot about (eg: if you're a UK player who loves slots, make a slots site aimed at the UK).
- Don't spend too much time worrying about fancy designs and layouts, focus on the content. A relatively plain site with a decent logo is sufficient.
- Don't be afraid to ask questions
- Don't go overboard with banners - text links and buttons covert better anyway.
- Research brands before you promote them, and start off with a small number.

[Voids]

Don't worry about getting it wrong and not getting anywhere, it's all experience and as long as you learn from it, your just setting yourself up for success in the future.

[-Shay-]

Be selective in which programs you work with.

Search forums like this one to find actual opinions and commentary from forum members. This does not mean look for who the Platinum Sponsors are. This means read through and find out if there are any issues with that program those who are working with them and learn what concerns people have who refuse to work with those programs. My experience tells me that when there's "smoke", there's a good chance that there is also "fire". Even if there's not fire, my policy is that it isn't healthy to breathe "smoke", so if there appears to be current issues or concerns with a program, I stand a better chance of avoiding being "burned" if I just don't work with that program until at least the "smoke" clears.

Sift through player-oriented forums to see if there are any issues with payment or any recurring claims of unfair treatment. If there are, avoid the program.

With a "fine tooth comb", go over the affiliate terms and conditions. If there's any hint of a quota or nonsense about being able to close your account without cause - AVOID.

There's a ton more to consider in this area but that is a good platform to give a new affiliate an idea of what to look for in deciding who not to work with.

[Planet Mark]

When I first started the tip I took on board was to create at least 1 piece of new content each and every day... amazing how it adds up after a while.

[Sergej_AGR]

- Do not care about the affiliate stats in the beginning. I know guys who check their affiliate stats 3-5 times a day and look for new players/deposits on their accounts every few hours. But does it help to be more successful? Obviously not. Just focus on the users and targeted audience and do not think too much about how you can get rich within 6 months.

- Imho design is absolutely overrated. If your users find what they are looking for, nobody cares about the design. Look at ugly successful websites like drudgereport.com or craigslist.com. I think there is no need to spend too much time in design -especially in the beginning. Content is king. Design is not.

[Nick.RevenueJet]

-Be relentless. Only one in a million makes money from month #1. But 100% of those who never gave up managed to make ends-meet.
-Study hard. Only the HTML start and end tags remained the same. Everything else changes all the time.
-Don't afraid to ask questions.
-Remember that what you're struggling with for 5 hours was already solved in 20 ways by others dealing with the same obstacle. Go to forums, introduce yourself nicely, and ask away.*
*Make sure to search the forum you're asking in before - your question most probably was answered 5 years ago!

[robertmedl]

This page, which I authored, may be useful for new affiliates.

Seven Tips for Choosing an Online Gaming Affiliate Program

[casinovegas]

Read a lot (forums, ebooks etc), work hard, ask for help, listen to advice, don't give up, give yourself some time off, use social media and be patient.

[thebookiesoffers]

avoid anyone that promises the earth SEO wise, if it seems too good to be true, then without a shadow of a doubt it will be

[SlotsAff]

I would say to just write content and promote reputable programmes - in time, things will happen.

Don't expect it to make money straight away - it takes time (in my opinion) and growing organically is what it's all about for me.

I try to create websites as a slots player in my case - hopefully, others will find them interesting enough to visit.

[MattPrice]

Don't over do it on banners. Instead, focus on providing useful, share-able content. Put your audience at the front of your priorities, not your profits.

[RacingJim]

Don't become paralysed with fear - I used to read so many 'gurus' about how hard it all is, about how Google will kick you out for doing x,y,z wrong with your SEO, about how much competition you face to get a decent ranking. I ended up doing nothing for a long time, then I just gave it a go and you realise a lot of it is just hot air. The idea you have, just go for it and give it full effort, don't let what you read put you off giving it a really good go.

[kristal_cm]

Treat your affiliate site like your shop. Content would be your new stock. The structure of your website would be the layout of your shop. Where do you want people to go first? Label each section in your shop properly as you would with each of your website pages. Understand your customers and what they want and give them a reason to use your site. Invest in marketing. Don't obsess with links but with relevant, seo optimised content.

I also like looking at my Google Analytics Stats on Qunb. If you don't use, try it out. Qunb is a free tool you can link up to your GA account or Sales Force account and it tells you a story (data visualisation). If you want to read more about it I blogged about it on CAP.

[Storebuilder]

Never Ever Give Up.

[BountyPkr]

I believe that it's important to stay a person when communicating with other people.

[TravG]

My biggest suggestion would be to take the time in the beggining to do things right the first go around. While this is everchanging and there is always "tweaks" to the whole process, when I started out I did a lot of things the wrong way just because I didnt know better and wasted a lot of time going back through then and correcting things. Read up on SEO and proper site structure before even buying a domain name.

[gaffg]

Focus on adding value to your users. Work really hard. Network with other affiliates and some might even offer advice. Focus on niche markets if you want to see results faster.

Design on the surface might not seem important but it can be. As long as your user can find what they are looking for, or help them navigate your content then this is the most important. Sites like craigslist might look ugly but they are easy to use and people trust it. A nice design can be more of a luxury but a nice design won't do you any good if the users struggle to navigate your content.

[RacingJim]

My biggest suggestion would be to take the time in the beggining to do things right the first go around. While this is everchanging and there is always "tweaks" to the whole process, when I started out I did a lot of things the wrong way just because I didnt know better and wasted a lot of time going back through then and correcting things. Read up on SEO and proper site structure before even buying a domain name.

Very good advice and I agree, a bit of time invested at the start to actually learn things properly is definitely a wise move.

[Doolally]

the only rich quick method is becoming a player rather than a affiliate.

I see where you're coming from but I'm not sure being a player is the best way to get rich either - if it was, there wouldn't be any affiliates!!

My tip would be to read up on everything, actually play in the sites you review and to keep trying different things to see what works for you.