Tell us a little bit about yourself. Who are you and what do you do?

I am Neil Mitchell, former UK Account Manager of William Hill Casino in the UK. These days I run 15 gaming review websites including www.casinosaurus.co.uk, www.bingosaurus.co.uk and www.pokersaurus.co.uk. I also consult for www.easyodds.com and work with 2 or 3 other affiliates on web based projects.

What is your day to day role?

I start each morning at 7.30. Working from home means that I can get a lot more done in the day without any ‘water cooler moment’ distractions. My day consists of checking stats and analytics, writing content, tweaking SEO, learning to program (I currently outsource all programming) and keeping up to date withwhat is happening in the market. For consultancy I research new markets and opportunities, conduct userbility studies and generate new revenue by introducing operators to the company.  For the other projects I work on with other affiliates it will purely depend on the work split – we utilise each others strengths to build the best possible sites.

What was your previous job and was it related to affiliate marketing?

I have been in Affiliate Marketing for around 8 years now, and have worked at SEO companies, Affiliate Networks and, in my role, as a Merchant running the UK Affiliate Management arm of William Hill online. I had a portfolio of around 5500 UK affiliates and would work with them to increase their conversions, provide new offers and to help them with any problems that they would have.

What do you love about affiliate marketing?

I love the fact that this is a 24 hour a day, 7 days a week industry. Even when you are asleep, you can potentially make money. I also love the fact that Affiliate Marketing is at the forefront of the retail economy – over the last couple of years merchants and Agencies alike have realised that using the Internet allows for maximum ROI and maximum targeting, leading to smarter through the line campaigns. Online is constantly evolving and there is always something new to learn, and always someone innovating. The other thing about Affiliate Marketing is that pretty much anyone can do it – this is a career that doesn’t depend on you having a degree, or access to vast sums of money to allow you to get a foothold – get a good idea, work hard and you can make a living on your own terms. The freedom to choose my own hours means that I also get a lot of quality time with my family.

What do you hate about affiliate marketing and what would you change if you could?

Hmmm…there’s not a lot I would change to be honest. I think any problems that exist are as a result of a lack of understanding between merchants and affiliates. Not everyone at a merchant understands how an affiliate works, and vice versa. This causes friction when terms and conditions are changed, or a program is pulled or amended. Maybe because I have worked as a Merchant, an Account Manager and now as an Affiliate I can see a more holistic view of all sides. Having said that, there are just as many affiliates that pull sharp practices as there are merchants – I guess thats endemic in any industry – even in areas like restaurants and garages there are more reputable people than others, I guess that because we work in an online space its easier to verbalise these niggles and grumbles anonymously!

List your top 5 resources that help you with your day to day job?

I use the usual websites – Affiliates4u, GPWA, CAP etc, but most of my knowledge is learned by talking to other people in the industry – sharing best practices is n my mind the way forward. Why work against another affiliates to get to position 1 in Google, when you can work *with* them and attain positions 1, 2 and 3?

If you were an affiliate how would you help someone in your role?

All Affiliates work different ways, at different speeds and with a different amount of outside input. There is no ‘wrong’ way of being an Affiliate (well…there are a couple!) but I think that more understanding of an AMs role and the pressure they can be under, and the limits they have within the role would make for a smoother relationship. When I was an AM, I would have Affiliates msning 5 times a day about a bonus code, or a missing player. Neither of which were actively done by myself – I would have to feed the information up to the relevant department for them to sort. After that I could feed back to the Affiliate. I realise that as an AM I am the focal point for the Affiliate, but now I am an Affiliate myself I realise what my AM can do immediately and what they have to refer. Pretty much all problems between Account Managers and Affiliates are just down to a lack of communication and understanding. There aren’t too many AMs who are also affiliates, so they don’t necessary understand the implications of their actions and vice versa.

In your opinion what is the future of affiliate marketing and how can affiliates take advantage of this?

I know what the future of Affiliate Marketing is in my particular sector, and I aint telling . However, as I say all the time, Look East. Look at the developing trends and products coming out from Asia – they are technically forward thinking and innovative, and almost all the products that are developed normally end up in the UK market about 12 months later. Look at mobile phones, computer games and TVs – all massively developed from China, Taiwan and Japan. So what have they got over there that will come over here? 3d TV anyone? A little bit of research and playing the long game (ie buying a domain with the understanding that you may not get anything from it for 12 months until the product is available over here) could mean that you pick up the premium domain for that particular sector.

What is on your Ipod?

Oddly enough I don’t have an iPod – I think I would lose it, so I tend to have all my music on my phone! I listen to all kinds of music, and in a previous life was in quite a few bands (I was signed to 4 different record labels both in bands and as a solo artist), but I got stagefright and so had to give it up. I like a lot of bands like Midnight Juggernauts, the Presets, Grandaddy and other similar sounding bands, but also have a soft spot for Indie, Rock and Metal – essentially anything written from the heart that has a pulse I can appreciate. My favourite band of all time is Nine Inch Nails – musically and sonically they are 10 years ahead of anyone else.

How can people get in touch with you?

Easy peasy – neil.mitchell@sohorocks, TheBoyMitchell@hotmail.co.uk, Twitter me – TheBoyMitchell, call me – 07815293507, and I have finally got round to starting a blog (even though there isn’t anything on it yet!) – can you guess the name? Yep – www.theboymitchell.com If anyone wants to contact me about working together on a project, doing some consultancy or just need help and advice with contacts or anything, then feel free to get in touch