"私たちの個性は私たちの強みです" - Erik Joelsson, Joelsson Media Group

Erik Joelsson, CEO of Joelsson Media Group, joins the latest series of affiliate interviews for Affiliate Grand Slam.

Erik Joelsson talks about Joelsson Media Group, about the two brands About Slots and Casino Daddy, and what sets them apart, as well as their community – follow his story below.

When did you start thinking about affiliate business as a career?

As soon as I graduated from high school, I started working as a B2B salesman. My two brothers, Mathias and Anton, joined the Malmö company and worked in the IT field for some time. When we moved, we decided to start a business together. We started doing a lot of work in lead marketing and got out early on on with social media, Twitch, YouTube, and keyword optimization.

He founded Joelsson Media Group in 2016 because he was passionate about online gambling and was an expert when it came to casinos and slots. We wanted to do business to spread our knowledge and make it easier for gamblers to find bonuses and casinos.

What is Joelsson Media Group? How did Joelsson Media Group succeed? What does Joelsson Media Group do?

Joelsson Media Group was born as a family business in Sweden. Our brothers and I have always shared a passion for the casino industry. And after longing for their own business, they embarked on this adventure. It often feels like a hobby, despite the fact that it involves a lot of hard work.

It works with affiliate marketing and owns two brands: AboutSlots.com and Casino Daddy.

AboutSlots is a website that features casino reviews, slot reviews, and the best bonuses available online, and CasinoDaddy is the name of the YouTube and Twitch channels where we stream while playing slots and interacting with our viewers.

Joelsson Media Group has continued to grow over the years as its community, team, and services have expanded. Success has been challenging, but we have been able to add many new services and features to the platform, and we plan to expand to new markets and countries in the near future.

Our job today is to manage and work with our staff. In addition, we stream almost every day and do business with new partners. Our goal was to share our industry knowledge with the public while staying steady and having as much fun as possible. And that, along with transparency and trust, is one of the main pillars of Joelsson Media Group.

Tell us a bit more about your business model, concept, and culture.

Joelsson Media Group is an affiliate network company focused on the iGaming industry, providing high-quality traffic and long-term good relationships with game providers. Our business is a combination of YouTube and Twitch channels, as well as AboutSlots.com informative website.

Our goal is to focus on the most efficient way to promote quality partners to end users. As we grew, we became an established source of high-quality, valuable leads to our business partners, thanks to the communities we created on Twitch and YouTube with high traffic to our AboutSlots.com.

We’ve found innovative ways to attract more leads and retain them thanks to their passion for iGaming. We are currently partnering with hundreds of amazing casinos that can meet the expectations of our users.

As influencers in the iGaming industry, we feel a responsibility to our end users and take great pride in treating our customers and partners with the attention and quality they deserve.

What sets us apart from other affiliates? Also, what are the characteristics of your traffic suggestions/traffic sites?

I think our business model is what differentiates us. With its unique approach, it provides a lot of information to its audience. We show them the best bonuses, give them exclusive deals, review casinos and slots for them, tell them the latest news in the gambling industry, teach them how to gamble, offer massive giveaways, and most importantly, stream on Twitch and YouTube where we can cover online gambling from all perspectives.

We’re all about entertainment and fun, and we always try to keep that in mind with our website and channels. Users can enjoy it in complete safety on the partner’s platform. Whether it’s a chat or a forum, it’s easy to get in touch. You can also do your best to solve the problem.

What added value do you offer?

While many of our employees are committed to managing and improving AboutSlots.com, our difference is that we are paired with Twitch and YouTube channels that are becoming increasingly popular. Both channels attract a large number of viewers, who then visit the website. This will help you generate a lot of organic traffic.

Tell us about AboutSlots.

AboutSlots is a one-stop-shop for online gamblers. We offer special casino bonus deals, casino reviews, slot reviews, and freebies and all the important information about the world of iGaming.

We offer the latest services to ensure that users are always up to date with the latest information in the industry. We work closely with gaming companies to ensure that users always get high-quality information. In addition, AboutSlots offers an easy-to-use environment and UX design that meets the expectations and needs of its users to provide the highest quality experience.

At present, AboutSlots.com has more than 200 B2B customers. However, our website is more than just a landing page for affiliate links. AboutSlots offers an endless variety of features and content, including reviews, offers, news, promotions, competitions, videos, and more.

Tell us about CasinoDaddy.

CasinoDaddy is home to the world’s largest online casino streaming community. If you’re familiar with casino streaming on Twitch, you might know the CasinoDaddy channel. On this channel, you can watch your favorite games, exciting bonuses, jackpots, and more almost 24 hours a day.

Our streamers offer their viewers table games such as roulette, blackjack and Caribbean stud, as well as entertainment from several well-known slots. In addition, our community is open to everyone, whether you are new to the world of iGaming or an experienced gambler. Twitch streams take place daily and are completely free to watch. In fact, you can win cash without any risk by simply watching and participating in a few competitions.

Along with streams and giveaways, you’ll also find information about online casinos, bonuses, and promotions to help you decide where and how to play. The channel’s streamers and experienced viewers also provide insights and advice on all online gambling topics.

Regardless of your level of experience, Casino Daddy is the place to be. Whether you want to see games played in real time, chat with others about casinos and non-casino topics, or just want someone to help you decide where and what to play, you’ll find it all on our channel.

The Twitch channel has been running for more than 5 years and has grown to become the number one casino streaming channel on the internet. Many viewers join the channel, and new viewers join every day.

The CasinoDaddy community is very strong and is a meeting place for many like-minded people. Many of the people who regularly stream have become friends, so this bond goes beyond just watching the slots spin on the screen.

How big are Twitch and YouTube channels compared to traditional SEO sites?

Our Twitch and YouTube channels are some of the most well-known iGaming communities available online, thanks in part to the amazing users that AboutSlots is thriving. In fact, many of our viewers follow AboutSlots.com and enjoy the content offered on our website.

What will help your performance be successful? What are the main challenges?

Starting your own company can be a lot of fun, but it also requires a lot of hard work. Our main challenge was to build a structured business. Over the past few years, everything has grown rapidly for Joelsson Media Group, and we’ve had to adapt to change. Because all components in the company are harmonious, continuous planning and structuring are required to achieve the desired results. This is also the charm of this industry. No two days are the same, and there is always the opportunity to learn something new.

In the beginning, everyone goes through the process of finding their niche and differentiating themselves from the competition. When we started, we had no experience as a streamer and the affiliate world was completely new to us. We didn’t have the same confidence with the camera, but our experience grew with our audience.

The more we streamed, the more we learned that our individuality was our strength. People like to look at us, and we like to interact with users. We have built a beautiful friendship with our audience and share great trust and loyalty. They trust us to provide us with the best information, and we reward their loyalty as much as we can.

What markets are you focusing on? And do you see potential in emerging markets?

Our main markets are the United Kingdom, Europe and Canada. We see a lot of potential in many regulated markets, but our current focus is on the United States, where we have just licensed our promotions.

What are the essential qualities and skills of an affiliate team/business?

Our main goal is to always be transparent and helpful to our users. We don’t think of readers and viewers as profits or numbers. If you’re using our links, you’re one of our friends and we’ll do everything possible to make your iGaming experience the best it can be. In addition, we consider such a relationship with the end consumer to be a guarantee to our partners.

There will also be dedicated live support and email communication with all users associated with the AboutSlots.com. When it comes to the iGaming experience, we make sure that no one is treated or abused.

What role does technology play in our daily lives?

Technology plays a huge role in everyone’s life, especially when it comes to iGaming. We mostly play online, and thanks to technology, we stay in touch with communities that distribute streams and other types of content. Without technology, AboutSlots and CasinoDaddy would never exist.

What does it take for an affiliate business to be successful?

I think the most important thing is to focus on quality leads, not quantity. The easiest way to succeed in your affiliate business is to always put your users first. We constantly engage with our audience and find the best service providers that we can recommend.

Strictly speaking, my advice to anyone interested in this business is to focus on conversion rates, not commissions. Instead of pursuing high commission rates, you should focus on promoting high-converting brands.

How do you choose an operator and how do you manage relationships with multiple operators?

Select an operator based on their rating and performance. Casinos and game providers carefully analyze a variety of factors, including security, gaming performance, banking methods, and UX-friendly websites. All of the casinos and game providers recommended by either AboutSlots or CasinoDaddy have been thoroughly vetted and are performing at their best.

We also listen to our users and readers. Who better than them to know how these providers are performing? We always follow up on complaints to ensure that our users always feel at ease in responding to them.

What approach do you take in the early stages of a new partnership?

The partnership between affiliates and managers is a two-way street. If there is clear communication and effort to understand each other’s needs, it is beneficial to both parties, and both parties should benefit from it.

The quality of management is important, especially when dealing with a new brand. If our players encounter any issues at the casino, it is important that we can talk to their team and be able to resolve the issue directly for them. This kind of communication and helping each other is probably what we value the most outside of our brand.

How do you see your future?

We have grown with that plan and our dreams, and we aim to expand more than ever. We plan to offer more services in the near future, and we have even more plans for AboutSlots and both Twitch and YouTube channels.

One of our dreams is to one day cooperate in the development of slots. It’s really interesting to see how our experience translates into a final product that users can play on. We will see what the future will bring us!

Have you ever been to SiGMA?

I went to a SiGMA event in 2017 at the Malta Trade Fair Convention Centre in Tarkali, Malta. Being in an environment full of passion for the world of Ige was a truly unique experience. We hope to be a part in the future, but now it depends on what AboutSlots and Casino Daddy prioritize.

Talk a little more about your personal life. All business will be done not only between companies, but also between people! Your hobbies, favorite books, favorite quotes, whether you’re interested in games, etc.

Most of my gambling happens while streaming on YouTube and Twitch. Other than that, my friends and I like to build up the excitement of the game with sports betting.

I am also the father of two wonderful boys and love spending time with friends and family, exercising and traveling. It is also vulnerable to ultra-high-speed cars!

My favorite book, I’m sure, is Moby-Dick. This is the first time I remember a book my father read to me as a child. And the quote I live with is “sooner than later”.

Learn more about SiGMA Affiliate Grand Slam here.

Join us at SiGMA Americas (Toronto):

Toronto is the perfect hub for SiGMA’s growth in North America, and is the center of network and business development in the region when it comes to land-based, iGaming, sports betting, and more. As the hub of the large-scale iGaming industry, Toronto will be the hub of SiGMA Group’s initiatives, bringing together industry trailblazers from across the continent for three days of networking, workshops and awards. For more information about sponsorships, talks, or to enquire about attending the event, please contact Sophie at [email protected].