"Никакого тильта" - А. Фоменок, Already Media

Alina Fomenok, CEO of Already Media, joined a new series of affiliate interviews on Affiliate Grand Slam

Alina Fomenok, CEO of Already Media, talks about the qualities, skills, traffic, lifestyle of a C-level iGaming manager, and the necessary skills needed to succeed in a C-level position – read the full interview below.

How did you first get into the iGaming space?

When I was 19, I came across a poker video on the internet. I started watching it and I wildly liked the game. I liked him for his intellectuality and multifactorial nature. I started learning different strategies and watched some tutorial videos. Then, about five years ago, I got a job as a website editor at a poker education company. After working there for two years, I learned not only how to play poker, but also how to manage a team and set up business processes. Then I realized that I needed to expand my knowledge. Only poker was not enough for me, and I began to develop and explore the world of sports betting.

What can you tell us about the lifestyle of a C-level manager in iGaming?

You must constantly evolve and be on the crest of the wave: You must be in the loop and understand the industry and the market. You need to be aware of management and psychology. You should try to develop your technical knowledge. You need to be constantly involved in your work. And you have to be passionate about it and love what you do because work and work environment take up 80%+ of your time. And the other 20% you have to make sure you have enough motivation and drive to move yourself and your team forward.

What skills are needed to succeed in a leadership position?

You will have to combine the incompatible: multitasking and concentration on the most important. On the one hand, you need to see the big picture and keep a thousand tasks in mind, focusing and prioritizing.

The ability to quickly find a common language with different people is crucial. Without personal empathy, it is impossible to build a large team and set up business processes with several departments. After all, it is more about human interaction, which is indispensable.

Duty. If you are a manager, you are responsible not only for yourself and your tasks, but also for everyone you directly or indirectly manage. Any decision you make will have a result, and you should be able to look three steps ahead.

Of course, this is positive. You have to balance the ability to manage and control. At Already Media, we understand that the main resource and the key to the success of any business are people. For this, we love and respect them.

There is a lot to be said about the qualities that a manager should have, but I would like to emphasize confidence. You have to break through and lead the team forward with your confidence and competence.

What qualities and skills are needed in an affiliate team/business in the iGaming sector? What skills are most in demand?

Flexibility, stress resistance and thirst for conquering new heights!

Search traffic is really stressful! Look at how many updates Google has had over the past year! In addition, there are many factors such as unfair competition and website spoofing. In the gambling niche, unethical teams can copy your websites. Unfortunately, Google has not yet come up with effective and quick ways to combat them. However, I sincerely hope that the situation will change soon, and we will work in an honest field.

At Already Media, we understand: no tilt. After any ups and downs, you need to pull yourself together and continue to ensure quality!

Of course, the most sought-after qualities are the ability to learn quickly, to be an expert, not to be afraid to experiment and try, try, try! Who else but us to invent new mechanisms to get even more volumes and better traffic quality for our partners!

How did Already Media start? Is iGaming your only vertical?

The company has a long history and ten years of experience in the CIS region. We started with online poker, became market leaders and entered the international market by applying our extensive experience.

At some point, we realized that markets and new geographies were being conquered, we had excellent results, we already had more than 50 employees in our team, and we were well aware of our goals – we just had to formulate all this and bring it to a new brand. The whole world should know about us! This is how Already Media was born.

At the moment, iGaming is the only vertical. But we plan to expand soon. All in all, growing and challenging ourselves – whether it’s a new market or a new monetization mechanic or improving our products – is our favorite thing to do at Already Media!

What do you do at Already Media?

Every year, finding the right information on the Internet is becoming more and more challenging. We help iGaming customers make the right decisions when searching for and comparing iGaming brands. Already Media processes and analyzes huge amounts of data from hundreds of sources. Along with our unique technology and our reliable team, this is how we can demonstrate cutting-edge performance in the market.

Tell us a little more about your vision, culture, and mission.

The iGaming industry is still in its infancy. To reach its full potential, it must be led by active and competent leaders and supported by cutting-edge technology. Already Media is dedicated to research and education, so we can make a meaningful contribution to transforming and reimagining this promising new field. We believe that the iGaming business can thrive and grow through expertise and technology. The media can already play an important role in achieving this goal. That’s why we’re here. Our formula is simple: great team + great technology = success.

What sets you apart from your competitors?

We are young and brave. We are not afraid to experiment, make mistakes and use this knowledge for good. We have considerable experience and strong technical knowledge. My company employs great people, our team is close-knit, and we know where we are going. We know how to achieve large volumes of high-quality traffic, and we are already doing it successfully!

How do you generate quality traffic for iGaming brands and ensure their sustainable growth?

We analyze a lot. We study the audience, behavior, and the specifics of the markets in which we operate. We believe that quality and the technical side of the issue are everything. We study user behavior on Already Media resources and adjust our work based on the data obtained. We communicate closely with our partners, take information about the users we attract, run it through ourselves and improve our products. We always work for the future and understand how important it is to play for the future and how valuable our reputation is.

What role does technology play in your daily life?

Technology is one of the key and defining points for Already Media.

For example, we take a technological approach to things like content writing. Despite the fact that people write content for our resources, we make every effort to analyze this content from the point of view of collecting semantics, creating the correct structure of the article, based on how the user behaves inside the site itself. We do analytics of various heatmaps to improve conversion rates.

We use SmartTracking technologies to understand where users are coming from, from what devices, where to redirect them, and what they need on the page. We use multiple TDS to maximize the conversion rate of an iGaming brand. If, for example, people from 10 countries spend time on a large trusted website, we try to determine where they came from in order to send them to the correct version of the website, and then we send them to the right page in iGaming. Brand website.

In general, at Already Media, we devote a lot of time to analytics, analyze user behavior, LTV, user quality for search queries, pages, sites, etc.

What do you think about emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence and big data and their impact on the affiliate industry?

In my opinion, it is too early to talk about the overall impact of AI and big data on the world of affiliate business, because the technology is still very young and is not at the peak of its development even in such large industries as e-commerce. and medicine.

Of course, as a modern company, we take a close look at this technology, study it and are generally confident that sooner or later it will find its application. However, it is too early to predict and assess the consequences.

Data analysis is one of the potential cases where we can use this technology. For example, to analyze and compare millions of user visits at the same time. A simple example: Google Analytics already uses big data to better understand user behavior on pages, and we all use Google Analytics.

Which markets do you see as a priority and why? Do you see the potential of emerging markets?

As partners who work primarily with search traffic, we try to adapt to markets where search engine competition is minimal. It is also important for us to understand that in the markets we are targeting, there is a volume of user searches, there is user demand, and iGaming brands are mastering the niche of sports betting in this region, thereby creating frequency and interest among locals.

Usually, when choosing a market, we pay attention to the analysis of user behavior and LTV. This is important because we focus on the Revenue Sharing model and long-term cooperation with iGaming brands.

In terms of market examples, we are targeting three important regions: Africa, South and Southeast Asia, and the Americas (for the most part, we operate in Latin America, but we are already starting to move into North America because we see a lot of potential in this region).

Moreover, as a large company with a lot of experience, knowledge and technology, we believe that this region will give us good results. What criteria do we use to select our markets? Already Media is focused on long-term partnerships with brands; That’s why we’re working on revenue sharing, and user activity time is important to us.

How is the Asian market for affiliates formed?

Partners play an important role in the user’s decision-making funnel. Typically, users from Asian markets make decisions based on tips and tricks. They like to study reviews and cases. They rely on the advice and opinions of their friends. Accordingly, we are right there with our review sites, comparison sites, honest and open reviews. Asian users, unlike Europeans, treat these sites with great respect. They read articles, study the pros and cons, analyze recommendations. Therefore, affiliate programs will come in handy in Asian markets.

Recently, the Asian market has been experiencing rapid growth. Internet penetration has reached a good level, and everyone has mobile internet. We see that the gambling market is growing, as is the affiliate industry, and we believe that one of the main regions in the world where affiliates should focus is Asia.

It is also worth noting the huge loyalty of Asian users. They really stay for a long time if they are happy with the service, loading speed, product, and customer support.

That’s why we need to work with brands that can provide quality. The key to mutually beneficial and long-term relationships is a high-quality product and our qualified users who stay with the brand for a long time.

What is your approach in the initial stages of a new partnership? How do you manage relationships with multiple operators?

We make it simple. In general, I believe that simplicity and openness are the key to excellent and long-term relationships with partners. At the initial stages, we take a standard deal, show excellent results, and then improve the conditions. It works perfectly.

What ensures long-term partnerships?

First of all, this is, of course, high-quality traffic and good payouts for it. There is nothing more motivating. Relationships should be mutually beneficial. In addition, I believe that it is necessary to exchange information. We have a good tradition of sharing important data about users and their behavior with our partners, working together to improve the product and help each other earn even more.

Have you ever been to a SiGMA event? SiGMA Asia, Americas, CIS or Europe – which of these four exhibitions are you likely to have attended in 2022?

Now, in such a protracted and difficult situation with the coronavirus, it has become more difficult to attend conferences than a couple of years ago. Therefore, during this period, we focused more on building internal processes. But since the main market for us right now is Asia, of course, I’ll put SiGMA Asia in my diary, and chances are we’ll be there. I’m sure I’ll be delivering the keynote speech at the SiGMA conference in person throughout the year. I think we can become good friends!

Tell us a little about yourself – after all, business is done with people, not just companies! Your hobbies, favorite book, favorite quote, whether you are into gaming yourself, etc.

You are right. Business is done with people. I love people! I love my team! I think they’re the best colleagues I’ve ever had! We’ve already done so much together, and I know we’re going to conquer the world!

I play poker myself. You can even say semi-professionally. The main thing is that it is profitable! My colleagues and I also bet on our favorite teams for entertainment during significant international events.

But my main hobby is my job! I’m passionate about it! That’s why I can spend 10 to 12 hours working in an office or continuing at home.

Another 20% of the time I do sports, dance and squash. I think it’s very important to unload my brain and distance myself from work with other things. I love spending time with my friends and my cat, who is 17 years old!

One last question: If you could go back in time and give yourself 21-year-old career advice, what would it be?

Try as much as you can, even things that don’t feel like the route you’ve chosen, because your “chosen” path will change. Your intention in life will find you when you grab opportunities.

Find out more about the SiGMA Affiliate Grand Slam here.

SiGMA Asia 2022:

After the fascinating set of conferences that Malta Week 2021 has become, SiGMA Group plans to take the world by storm by visiting the golden domes of Kyiv and the snowy city of Toronto, where they will bring together the best and brightest representatives of the iGaming world. Our next exhibition will take us to the ultra-modern metropolises of the United Arab Emirates, where we will organize three days of networking, group discussions and celebrations. Stay up to date with the latest SiGMA News.