January 17, 2025
Affiliate marketing has always been a dynamic and evolving industry, with constant shifts in technology, consumer behaviour, and market trends. To gain deeper insights into the current state and future of affiliate marketing, we spoke with John, a seasoned expert and key figure at StatsDrone.
In this interview, John shares valuable perspectives on the significant trends shaping the industry, the challenges affiliates face today, and practical strategies to thrive in an increasingly competitive landscape.
From discussing emerging niches with untapped potential to emphasizing the importance of transparency and trust in affiliate relationships, John provides actionable advice for affiliates looking to stay ahead of the curve.
With a focus on empowering affiliates through innovative tools and fostering long-term partnerships, this conversation is a must-read for anyone involved in the affiliate marketing space.
1. What are the most significant trends you are seeing in the affiliate marketing industry right now, and how do you see them shaping the future?
I am seeing both positive and negative trends in affiliate marketing. The negative trends I think will somehow iron themselves out in the next few years. So, let us start with the bad before I focus on the good.
The negative trends right now are that opening up brands is almost too easy. At StatsDrone, we are closing thirty affiliate programs per month like clockwork. This is not good for anybody, especially affiliates.
Most of these brands will not survive so they are taking away traffic from other brands that deserve attention which has some negative chain reaction of leading to more closed brands.
On the positive side, I think there is a growing awareness for being better with data and understanding things like player value and having analytics to understand the positive and negative trends in any affiliate’s business.
I think the disruption in Google is causing affiliates to focus on less sites with more quality approach versus more sites with less quality.
I also see more affiliate networks coming in to connect affiliates with operators in a way that makes more money for all parties.
2. What are the biggest challenges affiliates face today, and how does StatsDrone help address these challenges?
Simply put, affiliates need to be good at 2 things in their business.
- Driving and creating traffic
- Being a tech company
We try to make point two less of a worry so you can focus on point 1. If you are good at generating traffic via SEO, we want to empower affiliates so they can focus on what they are good at. It is not easy trying to be great at three or more things and this is why being a top affiliate in this industry is incredibly challenging.
3. What strategies would you recommend for affiliates looking to diversify their program portfolio while maintaining strong relationships with existing partners?
Affiliates need to look at their business and know what worked 5 years ago, is not working as well today. So, the answer to this is by productizing their business and affiliate sites.
Examples of products today?
- Forums
- Casino complaints
- Betting apps
- Player analytics tools
- Video
- Streaming
- Podcasts
Products are what are being rewarded in Google today.
I believe products will lead to better player values, which will in turn lead to better relationships with affiliate programs.
4. How important is transparency in affiliate marketing, and what role do you see platforms like StatsDrone playing in fostering it?
Trust is everything in this industry. That said affiliates need to look at their player values and things like earnings per click as well. We try to make this easier for affiliates to spot when their accounts are healthy and when revenue is not where it should be.
5. What emerging niches or industries do you believe have the most potential for affiliate marketers in the next few years?
I personally think influencers will become a major part of the affiliate marketing and iGaming space.
People buy from people, so the attention is already moving from Google onto more social media platforms. This is streaming, video and audio too.
We see many large affiliates branding themselves as media companies. I am trying to position StatsDrone as a bit of a media company within iGaming as well. I am doing this intentionally because this is how I believe I can win trust. I think the same applies in the B2C space in trying to get players to subscribe or convert on offers.
6. How can affiliates maintain long-term relationships with programs in an increasingly competitive industry?
What must change is affiliates need to understand the inner workings of their partners. If affiliates start to care about the ROI of their traffic, then they will start to care about how operators are working to increase this.
For example, if I were an affiliate today, I would want to know a casino is hiring products and services like WarriorLab for VIP, Greco for bonus abuse and Fast Track for player CRM.
Knowing this can build confidence that the brand is not another white label and that they have a long-term plan to build a quality product and experience for players.
I see this as the future of affiliate marketing within iGaming.