“Consistency is key in this business” – Jay Desmoort
Jay Desmoort, Co-owner of GuiasCasinos, joins the latest series of affiliate interviews on Affiliate Grand Slam
Jay Desmoort from GuiasCasino says that the most important resource they are putting into Guiascasinos is their time, which is priceless. With this project, they are determined to stand the test of time. They are focused on LatAm which, he says, rhymes with patience and perseverance. At GuiasCasino they strongly belief in consistency, patience, and commitment – follow his story below.
How did your affiliate business take off? How much are you willing to commit to it?
We started GuiasCasinos a little bit over a year ago. The first objective was to build a simple, easy to read, and modern affiliate website. We mainly focused on off-page and on-page features of the website such as content creation, overall readability, graphics, and mostly how easy it is to understand the branding and information we are promoting. The website requires daily work, little improvements here and there, but consistency is key in this business. GuiasCasinos is our baby and we want to see it grow and thrive. The most important resource we are putting into Guiascasinos is our time, time is priceless, this is how committed we are to our projects.
What do you know now that you wish you knew when starting out?
My associate and I have two decades of combined experience in the gambling industry. Needless to say, we have seen a lot of things come and go. As far as Guiascasinos, the key to success for us is to make sure we are in harmony with our marketing products and the Latin American market. Let me give a hint to your readers, the LatAm market likes to take its time, but it is very rewarding in the end.
Our patience was definitely tested many times, but we are determined to stand the test of time with this project. Daily updates (on/off page) are absolutely necessary to build trust with readers. They see us providing exclusive high-quality content and ultimately; the readers keep on coming back.
What were your biggest challenges when first starting?
If you ever have conducted business in Latin America, you’ll learn that it rhymes with patience and perseverance. There is definitely a learning curve there. It is definitely different from North America or Europe, so hammering or forcing things might not have the desired effects. It is a cultural thing; it takes a little longer to do things there but the foundations are definitely more solid.
What incremental value do you provide?
We have been living and breathing South America for more than a decade now. We have seen the growing interest from the people towards gambling in general but also from the same industry by sponsoring sports teams or other investments by pushing new products or brands in this fairly new market.
Concretely, we have direct feedback from the players, and not from an online form or blog post. We are in the streets of Colombia; we hear and see what works and what doesn’t. We can move and act very fast, there is no red tape or a boardroom to go through. We make the call to action and we move forward.
What importance do you give to responsible gaming?
We are taking this issue very seriously and right now we are working on an extensive guide to educate and offer solutions to our readers when it comes to responsible gaming. Needless to say, responsible gaming is one of the most important aspects of playing online. Responsible gambling is not a simple process and involves many things, including educating oneself on what problem gaming involves and its symptoms. Gaming responsibly involves keeping your gaming to an acceptable and safe level, so as not to put yourself at risk to the dangers of problem gaming.
What helps make your performance successful? What are the main challenges?
There are no ways around it, we live in a content and marketing era. Content creators and the content creation platforms are the kings. From Only Fans to Twitch or SEO writing, content creation (for better or worse) is what sets you apart from other players. The quest for high quality content in our niche market can be challenging but it is necessary to keep on pushing the boundaries in the gaming realm. For example, the recent explosion of cryptocurrencies can easily be combined with content in regards to responsible gaming.
Which markets are you targeting and why? Do you see any potential in the emerging markets?
At GuiasCasinos, we are targeting Latin American countries such as Peru, Chile, Colombia, etc. We strongly believe that LatAm countries are the new big players in the industry’s future. LatAm people are extremely passionate about sports, from the champions league to the NBA playoffs, they are huge consumers of North American sports as well as European football leagues for example, which is great because we can provide great quality content to satisfy the thirst for new things.
Which niches work best for your affiliate marketing, and which are the most profitable?
We do offer promo codes to get free-spins or other types of bonuses, but we decided to surf on the cryptocurrency trend, based on Google keyword trends. We are working closely with gaming brands to offer more specific crypto bonuses to our readers since we are already having great results.
Do you create all the marketing material you need to promote in-house or do you out-source it?
When it comes to marketing materials, we are extremely proud to say that we are producing all of it in-house. Our twenty years of experience comes handy in this business. We have all the tools at our disposal to offer great content. From relationships with brands to Photoshop Design and even IT web servers, we can do it all at home. We are very efficient and know the approach that needs to be taken. That being said, we are also extremely open minded to new or better ideas. We don’t leave anything on the table if it betters GuiasCasinos, or our other projects in the long run.
Which qualities and skills are essential in an affiliate team/business?
Commitment and discipline are key. Being capable of focusing not only on short or mid-term results but being able to see the big picture as well as long term achievements is what has been motivating us for the last year.
What does it take for an affiliate business to thrive?
Consistency, patience, and commitment.
How do you choose your operators and how do you manage relationships with multiple operators?
We first choose the operators based on their reputation, how long they have been in the business, how serious they are when it comes to customer service, then we focus on their offer and targeted countries.
Most of the relationships with the different operators we work with are smooth, friendly, straight to the point, and we value time optimisation on both sides.
Have you ever been to SiGMA? SiGMA Europe, Africa, Asia, or Americas – which of these four expo shows would you likely book in your diary for 2021, COVID-19 permitting?
The last conference I could attend was just before COVID-19 at LAC/ICE London. Ideally, we would love to go to a SiGMA Americas gathering in 2022, if it is possible due to the ongoing sanitary crisis.
Tell us a bit about yourself – after all, business is done with people, not just companies! Your hobbies, favourite book, favourite quote, whether you are into Gaming yourself, etc.
I am Belgian, 45 years old, living in LatAm since 2010. I love to hit the gym on a daily basis and socialise with the beautiful people of Medellin. It’s hard to choose one favorite book but I will mention the life changing The Ants trilogy by Bernard Werber. Same applies for the quotes, based on my living experience I will mention this one from Jim Rohn: Formal education will make you a living; self-education will make you a fortune.
I do not gamble in general, but I enjoy playing some live poker while on holidays abroad twice a year.
For the first time ever SiGMA Group is bringing its 4 leading shows together for the mother of all conferences. From the 15th to 19th November, SiGMA, alongside AGS and AIBC will bring the best in the business to a first-class meeting point at the Malta Fairs and Convention Centre (MFCC). Malta Week is a chance for investors to leverage the significant crossover potential for multi-faceted business deals and to double down on opportunities to connect with some of the leading affiliates, policymakers, thought leaders, suppliers, and operators in the industry. Register now!
