Q&A: Steven O'Shaughnessy, GabCon Media
eGR DM speaks to O’Shaughnessy about the future of online bingo affiliation and offers his top tips for new market entrants
eGR Digital Marketing (eGR DM): Why did you decide to become an egaming affiliate?
Steven O’Shaughnessy (SO): Back in 2007 I was running a business in a totally unrelated industry and it was going through tough times financially so started looking online for ways to earn a little extra cash. I literally stumbled upon a thread about bingo affiliates on the old Affiliates4u forum I knew absolutely nothing about the industry but was captured by the idea of player lifetime rev share. I had a bit of self-taught Dreamweaver knowledge so went about building my first portal âbingobus.netâ which launched in January 2008.
eGR DM: How many portals do you own and what makes them stand out from the crowd?
SO: At the moment my main focus is on mobileslotsites.co.uk, bingoformobile.co.uk and bingositesmobile.com though I have about a dozen more sites sitting around waiting to be worked on. As far as standing out from the crowd is concerned Iâm not trying to reinvent the wheel, the objective is exactly the same as what it was when I started out. Giving visitors an honest and informed choice through quality up to date content.
eGR DM: What is your assessment of the online bingo market? Is it in a healthy state?
SO: New bingo brands are launching at a phenomenal rate and the fact they are means it is still a very strong market. I look at new brands as new opportunities to make money. On the flip side Iâm not sure this kind of saturation is sustainable and it will be interesting to see how things unfold in future.
eGR DM: What trends are you seeing in bingo affiliation?
SO: With so many new bingo brands to choose from affiliates have to be a lot savvier with who they choose to promote & decide if they want to make a quick buck out of a brand or build a long term relationship. I find a little of both works well.
eGR DM: What advice would you give to future egaming affiliates?
SO: First of all, believe in yourself and believe you can do it. The biggest thing that held me back when I started out was not believing I could make a decent living from sending players to bingo sites. Network on forums and events and get to know your peers, most are happy to offer up advice and you will learn a lot from them and believe it or not they will learn from you. Get to know your Affiliate managers & let them know you are human and have bills to pay. Listen to SEOâs with a pinch of salt & do your own tests to confirm what they are saying and never listen to anyone who calls themselves a Guru.