Spotlight Reviews

[Jeremy]

You may have noticed the new box in the upper right of the site called spotlight reviews. We are adding this feature and section based on the feedback we have gotten from members and partners. Here is how it will work.

I am going to add a new forum under this one labeled "Spotlight Reviews" or something similar. I haven't come to a decision on how long rooms will be spotlighted, maybe 3 days or so, please share your thoughts on this..

But whenever a new partner is spotlighted I will make a thread like "TowerGaming Spotlighted Review -(4/20 - 4/23). In this thread, the partner program will have the opportunity for a few days to post the highlights of their programs, any special offers, or really anything they want. This will be the one area of the site where programs are encouraged to sell us on why we should be promoting with them and I think it would be great to increase the dialogue here at PAL/CAL between affiliates and operators.

Likewise this will give the members here the opportunity to correspond with these programs, learn more about the spotlighted room, and have the opportunity to ask any questions in this thread.

I think this will add a great deal of value to both members and operators. And these spotlighted reviews will provide an opportunity for us as affiliates to get know the A.M.'s and programs here.

Please share any thoughts you may have about this, it's still a work in progress! Thanks in advance!

[Satya]

Nice feature J!

I think it would be also worthwhile to add a few polls to rate the new program based on certain parameters (TBD). This way the affiliates who are already working with the program can rate it and the new ones can have a fair picture of what to expect. Also if there are any issues the program will get an opportunity to review and rectify. This will also facilitate the communication between the new program and the members.

WIN-WIN for all!

What do you think?

[Jeremy]

I love that idea Satya, we can definetely implement a poll with the new threads for the spotlighted rooms. Thanks for the idea and feedback.

[Gydian]

In regards to the parameters:

1. Payout Efficiency (Are they on-time? Do they offer a variety of options?)
2. Promotion Quality (Do they have a lot of media for promoting them? Do they have a lot of incentives?)
3. Quality of support (Are they quick to respond? Easy to get a hold of? Professional?)


Just a few things off the top of my head.

[KevinMcC]

Great idea Jeremy, it will be a good chance for us to ask any questions we have about the room or the affiliate program, instead of e-mailing which I sometimes don't receive a reply.

[Satya]

I love that idea Satya, we can definetely implement a poll with the new threads for the spotlighted rooms. Thanks for the idea and feedback.

No problem mate! Does that mean that you would grace us with your presence at Amsterdam?

Also a few things that affiliates should check before joining a new program. Actually quite a few, a full check list which is generic and will work for poker, casino, sports or bingo. J, the following may help you with deciding on parameters for the polls.


Affiliate Commissions and Payments

1) What is the payment date for affiliates?
2) What are the payment mechanisms for affiliates? Is there any extra cost for certain payment methods?
3) How commissions are calculated?
4) How transaction fees are accounted for?
5) How charge backs are accounted for?
6) Is it possible to get a special non standard deal?
7) Do they offer extra incentives for affiliates who can deliver volumes?


Contract and resolution of issues

1) How malleable is the affiliate contract?
2) Do they offer life time revenue at the same rate of commission at which you started from day one? It is understood that with better performance the commission will go up, but it is better to check if there is a chance that the program may reduce your rate of commission on existing players if you don’t perform.
3) Is the program a member of any independent affiliate forum or body where you can go for help if your issues have not been resolved after negotiations with the affiliate program

Other good to know stuff -

Player Acquisition

1) Guidelines (if any) for affiliates – dos and don’ts
2) Target audience (if any) for the brand
3) % of conversion of different sources of traffic
4) Player values (expected/projected/approximate) from different sources of traffic

Deposit and withdrawals for players

1) Deposit and withdrawal options and limits for various payment providers
2) What happens when a deposit is declined? Is there an automated process or a transaction support team which contacts the players and suggests them alternative payment solutions?
3) Daily/weekly/monthly limits for deposits and withdrawals. What can a player do to get higher deposit limits?
4) What happens if a player wins a big (e.g. $500K)? Is he allowed to withdraw his winnings at one go or in one month? If the casino has a per month withdrawal limit, get an explanation in detail how it works with big wins. A few of you work with casino traffic and some casinos do have a monthly/weekly withdrawal limit. Good to check it out first.

Player Retention

1) Ask for a list of retention promotions that the program does to increase player value.
2) How the VIP program works?


Hope this helps.

[Unknown Webmaster]

I would really like to see a video of what the room has to offer.

The spotlight reviews will probably be getting the room a lot of extra attention, but I highly doubt that a lot of people will actually go to their site or download their software.

In contrast I think a lot of people would watch at least a part of a video about the website/software. I would personally love to see a 20 minute demonstration video. It could cover things such as the sign up process, a couple of hands of poker, some casino play/sportsbetting, the affiliate backend and how to get started as an affiliate.

I'm fairly sure that something like this wouldn't take more than a couple of hours to make for someone who is already familiar with the room fx the AM, and I would personally be much more inclined to look closer at a program if I had an easy way of getting to know their product.

Basically, text is booooooring. I want video

[Greg]

I would really like to see a video of what the room has to offer.

The spotlight reviews will probably be getting the room a lot of extra attention, but I highly doubt that a lot of people will actually go to their site or download their software.

In contrast I think a lot of people would watch at least a part of a video about the website/software. I would personally love to see a 20 minute demonstration video. It could cover things such as the sign up process, a couple of hands of poker, some casino play/sportsbetting, the affiliate backend and how to get started as an affiliate.

I'm fairly sure that something like this wouldn't take more than a couple of hours to make for someone who is already familiar with the room fx the AM, and I would personally be much more inclined to look closer at a program if I had an easy way of getting to know their product.

Basically, text is booooooring. I want video

I agree with you here UW. Since TowerGaming is the first Spotlight Program I guess it's up too me to come up with something clever for the month. I'll see what I can do for you guys to make it interesting

[TheShortStack]

Can we add "Communication regarding Promotions" to the list of parameters we can vote on?

I find it really frustrating when an opportunity to write some new content about an up and coming promotion goes begging simply because a program hasn't emailed its affiliates, or doesn't have a blog feed etc etc.

[Jeremy]

Thanks for all the feedback so far guys. We'll discuss this on the radio a bit today, and I'll get it sorted and live by Monday at the latest.