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.

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!

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!

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!

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!

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!

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!

As you may know, I have been asked to judge the PAP Contest where a lucky affiliate will win a trip to CAP Euro.  So far I have not been very impressed by several of the entries so I thought I would share some tips in my blog for those that really want to win this thing.

As a former affiliate contest winner, here are some tips to make it easier for you to win.

1) Stand out from the competition - Make yourself memorable.  When the judges are looking back on all the entries, if yours was very similar to all the others it may get lost in the mix.  Check out Jeremy`s entry for the Shoemoney competition.

2) Sell yourself - Tell the judges why they should pick you, and what makes you better than the rest.  Pretend its a job interview and let them know you REALLY want this job!

3) Make Use of Technology - Similar to the first point, why not make use of current technology.  Video is hot, and everyone likes videos… why not try that!  Some other things you could do is make a flash movie, a comic strip, a song, anything to show how bad you want this thing!

4) Go Overboard - When I won the Poker.com contest to go to the CAC I completely overhauled my site and put Poker.com as the main sponsor of the site.  I had their logos all over the place, and banners where appropriate.  This all goes back to showing how bad you want to win this thing!

5) Be Entertaining - If you make the judges laugh, then you are one step closer to getting their vote.

6) Use Pictures - The last thing the judges want to do is read a 1000 word boring essay on why you are so great.  Mix in some pics to keep them interested.

7) Easy to Read - Make your key points stand out.  I like the format of this list where I state a main point, then explain it in detail after.  It keeps the reader`s interest much longer.

The winner of this V.I.P. Challenge will enjoy the following:

• Free roundtrip airfare to CAP Euro
• Paid Hotel at the Olympia - Jan. 24th - 28th
• A killer dinner and night on the town courtesy of PAP (could get crazy)
• Entry to and Dinner at the prestigious 2008 CAP Awards Dinner
• Full Admission Pass to Affiliate Boot Camp 2008 by CanAffco

I will judge this thing very seriously as I have the power to essentially give someone a package worth between $3000-$4000!!!  Only those that truly make an effort will get my votes!

Good luck everyone!

Many affiliates are using squidoo lenses to rank very quickly for different terms and promote different poker sites.  Since Squidoo uses some excellent internal linking and their leneses come SEO optimized, you don’t really need any SEO or design skills to get started.  I was relatively new to the whole process but I finally thought I would give it a shot tonight (after being inspired by a post made by JohnH on PAW).

So, I went to Squidoo and created my account.  It took no more than 5 minutes to sign up, and I was already to start making my first lens.  I decided to keep it on topic with this blog, but yours can be about different poker sites, players, or whatever you prefer.

It took me about 25 minutes to create, but by the end I thought I had a nice page of information about poker affiliate marketing.

I am not sure it will even do anything for me at all, but I will try and keep an eye on my stats to see if it works.  Using these lends is a great way to drive traffic to your own sites, get free links, or even promote affiliate programs.  Lots of people are making a ton of money using these, so what are you waiting for!

Yesterday when I got home from work (aka Hell) I had a ridiculous urge to play poker.  Since it was payday from many of the sites, I did one thing that no affiliate should ever do, started to gamble with my commissions.  I started off playing some 8/16 Razz for around 5 hours.  It was a lot of ups and downs, but when I finished, my bankroll had dropped from around $450 to about $350.  I decided enough was enough, after all it was Friday night, and called up my friend to go out.

Sure enough, about 20 minutes later I was back at Full Tilt, this time in the 8/16 Limit poker.  I donked off the rest of the money in about 30 minutes (I got sucked out pretty bad on the river more than twice), and was now without a bankroll (or any money to pay some people that I owe for content writing) and furthermore, the money that I had worked hard all month to get.

I created this post in hopes that someone would learn from my stupidity and not gamble their hard earned affiliate income away.