iGaming is a multi-billion dollar industry and it is estimated to be worth over 61 billion USD in 2021. Forecasts suggest that the industry’s market size would continue to grow until 2028. But of course, the online gambling and betting companies aren’t just waiting for this data to come to life.
iGaming operators are also ensuring they do what they can for the projected data to be hit. This is where marketing comes in. It’s not enough that these businesses have the products and services. They simply also have to know how to sell what they offer.
Advertising can be one biggest expenses of any business. However, thanks to technology, companies now have cheaper alternatives to promote what they offer. Many gambling businesses would work with companies like https://igamingworks.com/. That said, it’s no longer just about TV and radio ads.
What is Affiliate Marketing?
When talking about affiliate marketing, it’s now mainly associated with online marketing arrangements between a business and online identities that are not part of the company.
To understand how this works outside the internet, a good example is how back then, door-to-door salesmen would knock on the doors of consumers to promote a product. These salesmen are the affiliates and they earn money based on commissions.
Since they are earning that way, businesses see this as a cheaper option to market their products compared to purchasing air times on TV and radio.
Until today, TV and radio ads are very expensive, but we don’t see door-to-door salesmen as much. Why? Because they’ve gone digital and they no longer have to keep knocking on doors to get leads or potential customers.
Typically, online affiliates are people or groups with a big enough following. An affiliate could be a person or an influencer, a blog, a YouTube channel, or a Twitch TV channel. Even celebrities nowadays would get into this gig because indeed, it can be very lucrative.
Think of one of your favorite YouTubers or any online personality. You’ve most likely seen them promote products by giving out promo codes or links that you can click on.
They don’t just give those codes or links away because they love the products they’re talking about. They’re affiliates and they do earn money if they were able to convince you to make a purchase.
A particular example is one of the biggest YouTubers today, Felix Kjellberg or more known as PewDiePie. Felix would promote certain brands on his channel like Opera GX, GFuel, or NordVPN. Typically, he would talk about these brands and how he likes using their products.
By the end of that promo, he gets to share a discount coupon or a link to be able to download or purchase a service. The businesses can then track how many sales or downloads Felix has been contributing and that’s how they get to know how they can pay their affiliate.
Common Affiliate Marketing Methods
Now, how an affiliate earns depends on the type of contract they have and what marketing methods they are using. Here are the different types of affiliate deals that are commonly used in the iGaming sector:
- Revenue Share – this is usually the lucrative way for an affiliate to earn money and this type of contract is usually given to online identities with a huge following. It’s a fixed deal that says what percentage of the sales will go to the affiliate and this could range from 20 to 45%.
- Cost Per Acquisition – For this type of deal, the affiliate will earn a flat fee for every successful lead they get. So, if you sign up at an online casino with a link or code provided by a streamer, that streamer will get paid. If the deal says the affiliate will earn $10 per successful lead and five of his followers used his code or link, then he’ll get paid $50.
- Media – This is more for affiliates with high-traffic blogs or websites. They can rent a portion of their site to a casino or bookie to use for ads. Businesses could pay an affiliate monthly or annually. In some instances, casinos would also pay blogs for write-ups or articles that could serve as an ad for their services.
Even if these are different types of deals, some businesses would offer contracts with mixed methods involved. Some contracts might have a blend of Rev Share and CPA. If the affiliate has a strong online presence with a website, the deal can be a mix of all three affiliate marketing methods.
This is a paid guest post.