Poker Affiliate Tips
3 Cool Tools For Tracking Visitors On Your Website
Oct 1st
Reading Justin Goff’s latest facebook status update kind of inspired me to write this post…. So without further adieu, here are 3 cool tools for affiliates to use for cyber-stalking the visitors of your website that you might not have heard of:
ClickTale – Last week my friend John told me about this cool tool. Basically you add a couple of lines of code to your pages that allow you to see everything people do when they come to your site. By everything, I really mean EVERYTHING! ClickTale creates a video for you that tracks what every visitor is doing on your site including mouse movements, heatmaps and when they are scrolling down on the pages. This allows you to determine how effective your pages are at driving a sale and what aspects of the page are actually getting the visitors attention the most leading them to click (or not click) through on to your offers. There is a very small delay in the time it takes to create the videos (probably like 5 minutes) but it is pretty much live data. The free version allows you 100 free recordings per week or you can pay like $80 per month for the bronze package which allows multiple sites and something like 20,000 recordings.
HitTail – This is another live stats system that allows you to see how people are getting to your site from referral sites or search engines. It shows you exactly what they searched to get there or the specific page where they clicked a link to your site. I know most of this information is available in Google’s Analytics but its nice to have this info live so you can see what is causing traffic spikes on your site. It also helps you understand where the visitors are coming from (ie. Google.com/Google.es/Google.ca etc.) to reach your site.
Woopra – This is a cool tool that allows you to track the people on your website live. You can see what pages people are on, how they got to your site, and how they have moved about while on your site. One of my favourite features of Woopra is it even allows you to send a message to the people on your site if you want to “help them out” or ensure that all their questions have been answered to help drive the sale better. (Shout out to Cheryle for telling me about this one)
Of course Google Analytics is also one of the best, but I left it out of the list because I assumed everyone already was either using it, or knew about it. Hope this helps and if you have any other great tools you want to share post a comment below.
You Can’t Be Serious
Feb 26th
Okay, so I got an email today that made me think… “WTF!!”
Here is the first few lines of the email:
“Hello,
My name is Virginie and I am the Affiliates Manager for www.a-winning-hand.com…”
Did she actually just say that they entered a multi-billion dollar industry and the best thing they could come up with was THAT DOMAIN??? Holy crap they must have thought they hit the jackpot when they found out it was still available! Are people really this retarded?
That is all for now 
This Blogging Thing Is Harder Than It Seems…
Oct 14th
So, its been ages since my last post and a lot has changed/happened. Thanks Giorgio for the reminder that I need to get back on this thing with an update on what is going on in my life. To celebrate this new post, I thought I would change the theme on the blog to something that I didn’t hate as much. The old theme was really getting to me and I think I need a change.
I think part of the reason for the lack of updates, has been a lack of motivation overall from me over the past few months. So, in an effort to combat this, I am gonna get some things off my mind in this blog post.
I, like many other affiliates I know, am falling into ‘the trap’ and becoming very lazy. Part of the reason for this is because when I was at IBM my job was a complete joke and 95% of my time was spent sitting around doing nothing. Funny enough, with the remaining 5% of the time when I actually worked I managed to get the highest promotion levels and reviews from my managers… go figure. This wasn’t because I didn’t want to work, there just simply wasn’t any work to be done. Could you imagine what they would think of me if I really busted my ass the whole time I was working putting in 100%!!!
To some people this would be the dream job, but I’ve never been like that and have always appreciated a good challenge. In fact, this could be partly why I am getting lazy lately, because I figure if I do nothing or very little work, things will get harder for me and I will have to start busting my ass again…. WRONG!
In fact, being lazy is actually having an opposite affect and it seems that every month keeps getting even better. I guess I am riding the fruits of my labour in the past as they are starting to pay off, but I know this won’t last forever so I really am making a strong effort to turn this bad cycle around.
I’ve tried taking vacations, breaks, getting up earlier, excessive drinking, but really nothing seems to be working. The reality is, none of these things are gonna change anything and I am the only one that can do that. So, going forward I am really going to make an effort to change this. I am going to make more goals and set more targets for myself. I think that will help. Anyone got any suggestions on staying motivated?
Hell, I’ll do 2 back to back blog posts now to prove that I am trying to break the laziness!
Additional Shout Out / Poker Affiliate Tip
Shout out to Chris from Poker Affiliate Solutions (or PAS for short). Chris told me tonight that he had my blog in his blog reader (Google reader is my choice) and was also hinting that I should do an upate. I am just glad that I finally know who the other RSS reader is beside me 
JK… i know there are a few of you out there and appreciate that you care what I have to say. Anyway, PAS provide services to affiliates such as the ability to create a rakeback section on your site and offer deals that you wouldn’t be able to get normally without knowing someone. I have created a rakeback section on my site using their software and so far it has been great, though I am sure Chris is thinking it would be greater if I sent them more players They have a really cool admin back-end and it makes things really easy. All you have to do is bring the players, so if you haven’t checked them out I recommend dropping them a line today if you are looking to offer something like this on your site. Chris also has a blog over on PAS which is even more overdue for an update than mine! You should get on that Chris
BrandonBerndt.com Re-launches!
Jun 27th
DISCLAIMER: The following blog post is intended as a joke only. Regardless of what is said in this post Brandon really is a hard worker, is not gay, and is a close friend of mine.
The highly anticipated re-launch of BrandonBerndt.com is finally here! After over a year of no updates and many emails from fans yearning for the latest “Brandon Gossip”, Brandon has finally done it and re-launched his Blog.
One of the reasons for the new site Berndt told one of our reporters is, “people google my name a lot”. He is considered somewhat of a celebrity amongst his fellow Poker Affiliate Managers.
The new blog gives you a real insight into what Brandon does all day as a Poker Room Manager / Affiliate Program Director (at least when he is not gambling online during company time, out for a day on the golf course, or questioning his own sexuality). But after all, its not all glamour and fun. There is some hard work* (seen here on his BlackBerry during a dinner in London) involved and the hours are long.
Brandon is by far one of my favorite affiliate managers to work with, and I am glad that I have had the opportunity to meet and work with him on various projects. If you aren’t already working with him, I suggest you check out the Chan Poker affiliate program.
The most recent post is an article about how to run an affiliate progam (something many affiliate programs NEED to read….hint, hint, spin32).
As mentioned before, many people have been waiting for this relaunch. John Goldie of FiveSomething.com told us, “I can’t really breathe, Brandon’s blog is one of the best things I’ve ever seen. He is like the affiliate manager equivilant of a Japanese Ninja Master. Congrats.”
I look forward to the future updates on Brandon’s new blog and if you haven’t done so already I suggest you bookmark this one. Nice job Brandon!
* Thought it looks like he might be working, we really cannot confirm that he is actually doing anything. For all we know he is just playing Brick Breaker.
Cool Way To Get Free Poker Links
Jun 3rd
Just got back from a nice week long vacation in Jamaica. It was lots of fun, and I really needed the break. I got to see Bob Marley’s birthplace, and climbed Mt. Zion, went to Dunn’s River Falls (see below) and just hung out on the beach eating lots of Jerk Chicken and other good food. Here are a couple pics:
Dunns River Falls
Our Resort at Night
Anyway, back to work now
I was talking with beanie today about possibly doing some link exchanges with his awsome poker blog. Beanie being the nice guy that he is, said I don’t even really need to give him any links as I could just post my own stories on his site myself when I create an account. In my head alarm bells rang off: FREE LINKS!
So, I registered an account, added an article from my site and it was up instantaneously on the homepage. If this isn’t a great way to get free links, I don’t know what is. The site kinda works like a poker digg, and anyone can submit stories which can be voted on by the users of the site. So, if you just wrote an excellent peice of content and want to get it out there fast, why not submit it on his site. This can be a great way to help your SEO efforts as it will get your story on one of the best poker blogs on the Internet and a PR3 site right away.
But PLEASE! If you are going to use this service, don’t abuse it. Try to submit only your best stuff, and not your latest review of xxxx poker site. I am sure Beanie would also appreciate it if you gave him some link love back also 
Thanks Beanie!
Respect – It can get you farther than being a dick!
May 21st
I decided to write about the topic of respect because there are far too many children getting into business that seem to lack basic people skills entirely. Let me tell you a story of what happened last night with an affiliate that I thought I got along with pretty well (for the sake of identities lets just call him SNAPS – because snapping in a situation is completely retarded, especially if you are trying to get something resolved)…
So its late, I am about to go to bed, when suddenly this message pops up:
21/05/2008 2:51:08 AM SNAPS : you are a total douche
21/05/2008 2:51:49 AM Graham : ?
21/05/2008 2:51:58 AM SNAPS : think before you talk
21/05/2008 2:52:32 AM Graham : whats the matter?
21/05/2008 2:53:07 AM SNAPS : you’re an absolute twat
21/05/2008 2:53:15 AM SNAPS : why don’t you think before you post bullshit on PAP
21/05/2008 2:53:18 AM SNAPS : and mention other peoples domains
21/05/2008 2:53:21 AM SNAPS : that can land them into trouble
21/05/2008 2:53:22 AM SNAPS : idiot
21/05/2008 2:53:34 AM Graham : what domains?
21/05/2008 2:53:50 AM SNAPS : bye graham
At this point I honestly had no idea what SNAPS was talking about, but figured it had to do with something that I posted in a thread that I had been heavily involved with on PAP (and had actually defended in the thread without mentioning names). In the thread I had randomly listed off a bunch of domains as examples (ie. xsitebonuscode.com, xsitereferralcode.com) not really pointing fingers at the owners of those sites, just making things up off the top of my head. It was then that I realized that one of the domains I had used as an example redirected to SNAPS’ site.
Sure, I screwed up, but it was completely unintentional. But, after being called an idiot, douche and twat by this individual I also wasn’t too eager to go back and fix the post either. All this person had to say was “hey man, that site you mentioned in the post is mine, can you please remove it”, and it would have been gone immediately. Instead, this person thinks that it will be more effective to talk to me in a condescending and disrespectful tone to get the problem resolved…. WRONG! I find it funny that people can have such big mouths when hiding behind their computer, but I guarantee they would not say these things face to face. Anything I post online I would gladly back up in person.
Hopefully you have learned something from this experience that it is better to treat your fellow affiliates with respect than treating them like a dog. Don’t be so quick to overreact as a lot of the time people may not know what they are doing that is so wrong. People will be much more willing to accommodate you when talk to them like normal human beings rather than a piece of shit!
What Are You Selling?
May 13th
Whether you believe it or not, the affiliates role is very similar to that of a salesperson but looking at many affiliate sites you wouldn’t think so. Many new affiliates focus so much on the content, that they forget to actually promote the product at hand (whether it be a poker room, poker software, books, or whatever).
When you look at your site or any article on it, you should be working to close a deal in every peice of content. Whether it simply be a banner on the side, or a link to a poker site in an article. Look at your site from a visitor’s point of view and if you don’t see any reason to sign up under one of your offers, then you probably aren’t doing a good job.
Since I have really been lacking on tips for poker affiliates, let me end this post with a great link to some really good videos. I suggest you watch them all, but if you don’t want to use up 5 hours, watch the one on conversions. Its called the stompernet scrutinizer and there is a link in the bottom right corner to pull up the playlist of videos.
Good luck!
21 Suggestions for SUCCESS
Apr 21st
Sorry for the delay in my Monte Carlo trip report… I am planning to write it in the next few days. For now, I thought that I would share this with the readers of this blog.
Every time I go to get my haircut I see this poster hanging above my head when I am getting my hair washed. I think this is a great poster and something everyone can take something from.
21 Suggestions for SUCCESS – By H Jackson Brown Jr.
1. Marry the right person. This one decision will determine 90% of your happiness or misery.
2. Work at something you enjoy and that’s worthy of your time and talent.
3. Give people more than they expect and do it cheerfully.
4. Become the most positive and enthusiastic person you know.
5. Be forgiving of yourself and others.
6. Be generous.
7. Have a grateful heart.
8. Persistence, persistence, persistence.
9. Discipline yourself to save money on even the most modest salary.
10. Treat everyone you meet like you want to be treated.
11. Commit yourself to constant improvement.
12. Commit yourself to quality.
13. Understand that happiness is not based on possessions, power or prestige, but on relationships with people you love and respect.
14. Be loyal.
15. Be honest.
16. Be a self-starter.
17. Be decisive even if it means you’ll sometimes be wrong.
18. Stop blaming others. Take responsibility for every area of your life.
19. Be bold and courageous. When you look back on your life, you’ll regret the things you didn’t do more than the ones you did.
20. Take good care of those you love.
21. Don’t do anything that wouldn’t make your Mom proud.
Source: http://www.21suggestions.com
Also, shout out to my homie John Goldie… he started a great new blog about business, check it out!
Capture Your Visitors’ Email Address!
Jan 10th
One thing that I see a lot of affiliates missing out on is capturing their visitor’s email address. For example. I was looking at a thread on PAP, and wondered how this guy was gonna make money, if he was giving everything away for free.
This is one of the best things you can do with your traffic, because this gives you a chance to continuously sell to your visitors over and over again.
Otherwise, if you don’t capture their email, they may never come back! Chances are they found your site doing some random search on Google, which they are unlikely to search for every again.
I am sure many affiliates don’t do this, because they think this is something hard to implement. WRONG! If you use a software such as Aweber, you can set up a nice little autoresponder (basically this means a program that automatically sends an email when one is sent to it) similar to the one that Kyle and I have set up on the homepage of FuzionPoker.com.
Here is a graphic for those of you that don’t want to click out:
There are a few different autoresponders available, but Aweber is the most well known. Their Unlimited Autoresponders plan includes:
- Unlimited Autoresponders, Unlimited Follow Ups, Unlimited Broadcasts, Stores 10,000 Leads Free, each additional 10,000 is $9.95, Unlimited Campaigns, Unlimited Customer Support via 800#, Live Text Chat, and Email
All for about $170 for the entire year! I used to think this was a lot of money, but now that I am using it I realize it is worth every penny.
If you would like to try it out, they will let you sample the product before you decide to buy it. Just click here for the FREE demo.
I suggest giving some incentive for their email (such as a free book, or special poker strategy video). That way you ensure that they are giving you their main email address, and you are both getting something in return. By capturing your visitors e-mails you will be able to let them know about your latest promotions (whether it be a freeroll, or new bonus code) making your job 10 times easier and allowing you to sign them up over and over again!
PAP Contest – Time is Almost Up!
Dec 30th
Time is almost up for the PAP contest to win a FREE trip to London for CAP Euro, plus a bunch of other goodies. All in all, I can’t really say that I am impressed by many of the entries thus far. There is still some time, so be sure to get your entry in ASAP.
I have to say that my good friend John has definitely upped the ante with his last minute submission. John says he will wear a dress if he loses in a contest of the judges’ choosing. I was thinking we could get Jeremy to race him, but he isn’t a very fast guy. I would love to see him in a dress though… LOL!
Friendship aside, I promise I will judge this fairly and pick the best entries only.
So get those last minute entries in today, there is still a good chance you could win this thing!