In this three part series, our team spoke to four of the industry’s top affiliates to gain insight on how they grew from one site to an entire affiliate business.
In Part 1, the expert affiliates explained the driving force behind their decision to expand into new verticals. Today we look at some of the challenges these affiliates faced and how they used previously acquired skills to overcome them and successfully establish themselves in a new vertical.
In Part 2, we ask:
What were the challenges of moving from one vertical to another? How did your previously acquired skills aid you in this process?
Roxana Blaj – 2iVentures
When moving into a new vertical, as we did when adding sportsbook and lotto to GamingZion, the obvious challenge was understanding the intricacies of the product itself. Resources had to be prepared in order for us to fully understand the vertical.
The skills that helped us make the move were a good research process and an open dialogue with the future partner programs. The affiliate conferences also set a good frame for constructive dialogue as part of research.
Simon Jones – Focus Online Management
Moving into slots from bingo wasn’t as challenging as you might think. Sure, there was a whole host of different platforms, vendors and games, but the principals of being a marketing affiliate remained the same.
Our model is flexible enough that we could be reviewing anything really. WhichSocks, anyone?
Jocelyn Wood – Rakeback.com
Investment priorities became more complex when we added FindCasinoBonuses, RealFantasyFootball, BinaryBrokerSearch and FXBrokerSearch to our portfolio. We had to ask the important question: where should we allocate resources – in a business that might be profitable in 12 months, or into a business where we can get more cash now?
It’s no good being fuzzy about these things, you have to make tough decisions.
Jesper Søgaard – Better Collective
It’s always a challenge to start something new, but we knew that sports betting was a natural extension for us. This connection made it easier for us to make the leap to acquire BettingExpert. Plus, we were already users of the existing platform and have a personal passion for sports betting.
Having a personal understanding of the industry we were entering was a crucial skill needed for us to move forward.
Next: Landing your Vertical Jump: Affiliate Diversification Series Part 3
After reviewing the challenges faced and the considerations that must be made to move into a new vertical, our affiliates share their final tips on making a smooth transition in the final installment of our blog series.
Part 3
What advice would you give existing affiliates looking to expand their businesses into new verticals?
