There are many successful affiliate stories out there and we certainly want each and every individual to share them to inspire all newcomers. Meet Sam Mirand, Chief Marketing Officer at RightCasino.com
- Name: Sam Miranda
- Age: 26
- Hometown: Sheffield
- Living in: London
- Favorite Food: Thai
- Must Read Book: To Kill a Mockingbird
EEG: Tell us a bit about yourself, we want to know who Sam Miranda really is, the main person behind Rightcasino.com. Where were you born? What was the key idea of developing this great review website for top online casino games and reviews?
Sam: I was born in Oporto, Portugal, before moving to the UK and settling there at the age of five. After completing a degree in history, and playing / writing about poker during my studies, I went to work for PokerStrategy.com as an editor. This inspired me to create a product and community driven site in the casino niche, available in multiple languages.
EEG: Since there are thousands of casino game review websites out there, where do you think Rightcasino.com stands now?
Sam: It’s only been live for 15 months, but it’s got a solid foundation and is growing nicely. The major USP is the international content – we’re live in 10 languages, including Japanese, Mandarin and Turkish, meaning we’re well positioned to target emerging markets. Long-term, over the next 3-4 years, I’d hope we can scale to the size of Ask Gamblers or Latest Casino Bonuses through a combination of great content and UX, community and user rewards and incentivisation.
EEG: What are the strong points of Rightcasino.com and what makes it stand out from the niche websites?
Sam: Well first of all, RightCasino.com is anything but niche, it covers the whole spectrum of casino! The strong points are the clean design, diversity of content (reviews, game tutorials, embeddable games etc) and the ability for a user to find their right casino based on their gambling preferences. Take the casinos page, for example. Users can filter for their favourite games, software, and payment methods, and be presented with matching casinos. We’ve recently installed a loyalty and rewards program for our users. Players receive points and badges for completing certain actions, such as leaving casino reviews, submitting bonuses and referring friends. These can be exchanged for funky items in our shop. These kind of features keep players coming back to our site – something I think a lot of affiliates struggle with.
EEG: What were the bumps on your road when you got started and how did you overcome them?
Sam: Translation was challenging, as you have to truly localize content, rather than simply translating it word for word. You also have to understand the idiosyncrasies of each international market, and adapt your content accordingly. For instance, players in Germany love to deposit via Paypal and play Novomatic games such as Book of Ra. Scandinavian players are massive Netent fans, and love free spins associated with Netent slots. Meanwhile the customer adoption path in places such as Asia and South America is a lot less developed – players need to be taught the basics about how to find, register and deposit at online casinos. You learn about market subtleties by talking to affiliate managers, and developing good industry contacts.
EEG: You have a vibrant ‘Beat the experts’ page and a very informative page for Learning. How does your extreme focus on knowledge sharing on casino come about? Was it something on your mind when you started or was it something you acquired on the go?
Sam: Education is important as it reassures players before going to a casino and making a deposit. It establishes trust and positions your brand as an authority, meaning people are going to come to YOU to find their right casino. I also see so much misinformation about casino on the web. It’s important to dispel myths and tell users to stop following bogus roulette strategies!
EEG: We have browsed your website and found some high quality content. Are you writing it by yourself or you have a team of people writing the reviews? How many reviews are there on your website?
Sam: We have over 150 casino reviews on the English section of the website alone. If you count all the reviews across the various languages, it comes to over 300. I oversee a 3 man content team – one person responsible for the reviews, one for the educational content, and another for the news, bonuses and promotions. Then, of course, we have multiple freelance writers and translators to deal with international content.
EEG: How do you keep the content fresh and devoid of clutter when a lot of fluff and nonsense appear on the Internet on a daily basis?
Sam: It’s about getting a process in place that ensures content CAN be kept fresh. I’d recommend getting all casino partners to deliver bonus and promotional news to a dedicated inbox which your writers can access.
EEG: We are sure that your receive daily messages from Affiliate Managers showcasing their products. You of course select them by the brands they work with; but what are your thoughts on how Affiliate Manager-Affiliate relationships should be built?
Sam: These relationships are built on mutual respect, and efficiency. The perfect scenario is: affiliate delivers high value traffic, affiliate manager ensures this converts and that payments are delivered promptly. I’m open to trying out new casino brands, as I think players really enjoy new casinos, and conversion is strong. The only thing I can’t stand is late payments, in particular lame excuses for late payments!
EEG: How do you see the future of the gaming industry? For instance, will it become a truly global phenomenon in the near future?
Sam: Absolutely. I think there are two big trends in particular – social gaming and gamification. The former applies more to betting, where you get a lot of tipsters and the option to ‘follow’ someone else’s bet. In casino, there’s an increased focus on missions, unlockables and rewards for users – things you’d usually associate with a video gaming. I see operators such as Casumo, Casino Room, Kaboo and Casino Heroes at the cutting edge of gamification, which helps pique the interest of the casual player.
EEG: Can you name one change that you want to see in the casino affiliate ecosystem?
Sam: I would like to see the end of the ‘closed book’ policy when it comes to linking. If an affiliate creates a great piece of content, such as an infographic, video or interview, then you can link to it! It’s important to reward hard work and good content. If you don’t, it just encourages affiliates to spam, which is bad for the industry as a whole.
EEG: What advise you would like to offer to the new affiliates who are looking to venture into this great industry?
Sam: Unless you have a big startup budget, pick a niche and go with it – i.e. free spins, mobile casino etc. Don’t spread yourself too thin – focus. Then, ensure you have good tracking in place, so you can attribute every player you send to a certain marketing source, i.e. SEO/PPC/Email etc. This will help you figure out which channel gives you the best ROI.
EEG: Now, who is your favourite celebrity?
Sam: In terms of celebrity entrepreneurs, it would be UK business man and Dragons Den star Peter Jones. His business portfolio is really diverse and impressive – BT, Reggae Reggae Sauce, MoneySuperMarket.com and more.
EEG: If you would just open your Youtube search bar, what would you search for?
Sam: Paul Scholes greatest moments video.
EEG: Back to work. Do you attend any igaming conferences? If so, which one is your favourite and what is your most fun experience?
Sam: I attend LAC every year, and I’m planning to attend Sigma this year. My favourite conference would be anyone that doesn’t have binary option brokers attending. Their sales reps are pushy to say the least.
EEG: How do you rate the chances of Eastern Europe becoming potential gaming hotpot of the future? Where do you think the region must improve upon?
Sam: Really big, for several reasons. 1) Employee outsourcing – salaries are cheaper and there’s a lot of talent, particularly in technical and development areas. 2) Casinos are getting licenses from Montenegro 3) More and more operators, such as Energy Casino, are investing in Eastern European markets. The region would grow faster if governments could clear up the actually legality of online gambling – at the moment a lot of the legislation is very vague.
EEG: Alright, here comes the fun part….favourite food, where would you like to travel in Eastern Europe, some part of the region maybe that you haven’t visited yet and favourite destination around the world.
Sam: I would like to travel to Serbia and Croatia – I hear the summers are great there and the scenery is beautiful. And also Sunny Beach Bulgaria to party!
EEG: Where you wouldn’t want to travel in Eastern Europe?
Sam: Ukraine, for obvious reasons.
EEG: What is your opinion about EEG (Eastern European Gaming – eegaming.org)?
Sam: I think it’s a very informative portal. It’s good to hear from both sides of the story – at EEG you get to hear from affiliates and affiliate managers.
