If you thought that getting into casino and sportsbook affiliate programs was about technology then think again. It is about marketing. You can build the best site with flash animation, fancy javascript and more, but if no one knows about it, then no one will visit it.
Traffic is important but targeted traffic is more important. You are not being paid for banner impressions or page views so you need to get gamblers to your site. Always think about this when trying new marketing initiatives.
You need to provide content that will attract people in the first place, and then get them coming back for more. Test the casinos yourself, document your likes and dislikes and write some reviews. Remember, easy on the sales pitch. Check out the Affiliate Resources page for sources of free and paid content.
Go easy on the banners. People don’t want to wait too long for a page to load and written text links often perform better. You may have the latest processor and a T1 connection but the majority don’t.
The best target audience is those that subscribe to a newsletter. People on these mailing lists want to see what you have to offer. Get a subscription box on every page. There is a move away from single opt in to double opt in lists. The former requires just an email address to be entered where as the latter requires them to also reply to an email once they have entered their email address. Whilst the number of sign ups will be less with a double opt in list, it will be more targeted and that’s the aim. Check the Affiliate Resources page for free and paid services. Try to avoid those free services that attach their own ads as this detracts from the news you have to tell.
When you are starting out you may need to use some types of traffic generation such as banner exchanges, pop ups, pop unders and exit traffic. Once you get established though, I suggest you dump them. Many are scams and cheat you on the statistics so that your banners are never seen because they are so far down the page, or they run scripts to make it appear as if your site or banner has been displayed but it is invisible to the visitor.