laura@digital-footprints.co.uk – Affiliate Marketing Programs

Affiliate marketing is a big part of the iGaming industry, but there is also a lot of jargon being used. Some commonly used affiliate terms can now be outdated or insensitive. Being aware of your language and how it’s being perceived ia a big part of keeping marketing authentic. Tailoring your language to the affiliate demographic you’re aiming to attract, is important. You also need to ensure your brand is avoiding alienating terms that might negate building rapport with new partners.

Choosing more thoughtful language as an operator or affiliate can make partnerships stronger. Take a look at the terms, and perhaps even tones that you might want to avoid and consider the suggestions to replace them with.

Why does it matter?

Your tone and language will matter in any marketing endeavour. Not only do you want your audience to relate to you easily to build trust – but you also want to avoid dehumanising or exclusionary language that your audience might be put off by. Using thoughtful, inclusive language shows respect for affiliate partners and their audiences. This helps build stronger, lasting relationships between operators and affiliates. For example, using people-first language shows respect for your audience and partners. This fosters better relationships. Inclusive language reflects well on your brand’s values and corporate social responsibility. Removing outdated affiliate jargonist terms gives your program a modern, progressive image.

Old language terms to consider refreshing

So, what are the most common outdated terms that you should strike from your vocabulary?

“Traffic” reduces people to statistics rather than human business partners. Affiliates are more than just the traffic they deliver. Going forward with this tone of looking at your audience as a collective, and as suppliers with the additional implication of herding cattle that “traffic” gives, makes for a de-humanizing and impersonal experience with your outbound affiliate account management and service teams. Stop asking affiliates if they have “traffic” – ask them instead about their businesses and how you can collaborate with them to target new customers – together.

Avoiding terms that objectify or dehumanize players demonstrates corporate social responsibility. It might give the impression of real people in a real business rather than some unseeing corporate overlord. This, in turn, suggests access. If an affiliate has a problem, can they turn to you for advice? The language would suggest that someone is just a phone call away. This reflects well on an operator’s brand values as affiliates want to work with responsible brands.

Consider alternatives like “audience”, “visitors”, and “players”, which offer a much more friendly tone.

“Conversion” sounds robotic and transactional. Outwardly speaking about “conversions” should be limited and kept to its literal meaning internally. A conversion is a piece of data and should be handled as such. Referring to a player doing an action as a “conversion” implies you’re not thinking about the person behind the action and are only thinking about the bottom line. This implies greed and a lack of care for customer experiences.

Consider using alternatives like “sign-ups”, “deposits”, “sales” and purely in internal conversations.

“Depositors” is quite an outdated tech term. On top of defining players by transactions and not humanity, it gives an impression of a brand that is behind in tech terms. That’s particularly important to iGaming companies who want to express being at the forefront of tech advancements with their language.

Affiliates want to represent brands that feel current and aligned with where the industry is headed, so switch to “customers” to appeal to a wider audience.

The term “bonuses” carries a connotation of trickery. Much the same way we wouldn’t refer to a loyalty program as a loyalty scheme anymore, you want to avoid any manipulative language in your affiliate program. Affiliates know that transparency is the name of the modern affiliate game, and their content should reflect it. Additionally, they’re going to be hyper-aware if affiliate managers are using language like this to get one over on them.

You might want to think about using terms like “rewards”, “incentives”, or “credits”.

Conclusion

Small language changes like these can make a big difference in how affiliate partnerships are perceived and started. The word “affiliate” may now in some cases start to become archaic as affiliates are now considered more as partners because of the diverse traffic sources they bring to your program. The lines between affiliate and other channels are blurring based on the fact that affiliate deals now traverse a number of different payment models but all based on performance.

Choose your language wisely, and treat affiliates with the respect they deserve and they’ll maintain your relationship and loyally bring you sales. The bottom line is that affiliates value operators who respect theme and their audiences. Clarify your program’s value, and reflect socially conscious language. The terms operators use can attract or deter new affiliate partnerships from ever happening so consider updating the way you speak and present your program to your affiliate partners and value relationships over transactions.