It's a big day for AskGamblers, and we've got none other but the brilliant Lee-Ann Johnstone to thank. Ms Johnstone will be joining AskGamblers as a guest writer, weekly sharing her expert views of the industry with our readers.
W-o-w! We are super excited to have the award-winning digital marketing strategist and founder of AffiliateINSIDER guest-writing for AskGamblers! What does it mean for you to write for AskGamblers, and what do you think about our brand, in general?
AskGamblers has been a stalwart of the iGaming industry for probably as many years as I've been around. I remember meeting the original founder at an affiliate conference many years ago. Since then and over the years, I have watched this portal grow into a leading affiliate partner for many brands and become the backbone of secure player gameplay, which it supports with integrity and service year on year.
This is a site that reflects a true partnership of the values that exist between brands and customers and referring publishers. The fact that I've been asked to give my thoughts on the affiliate industry and for this site is a sign that affiliates have come a long way towards realizing the value they add to the industry.
What areas of iGaming do you most lean towards in terms of news coverage? What can we expect to see on AskGamblers from you?
Anything related to affiliate marketing piques my interest, but more recently, I’ve been interested in the psychology behind marketing and the effect influencers and ambassadors have had in this channel.
As we move away from an affiliate model toward partnership economies, I’m keen to see how the world of affiliate marketing is going to progress in the iGaming sector and frequently look at how other sectors are changing their affiliate methodologies too. I guess you can say I’m an Affiliate Nerd - and I’m proud of it.
I’ll be looking at all angles of the affiliate industry, discussing best practices, and how brands can maximize their partnerships with partners like AskGamblers. I may talk about current trends, engagement and anything else that might be topical and relevant to your readers.
As a person voted one of the Top 10 Most Influential Women in iGaming in 2019, what would you say is the current situation in gambling when it comes to the inclusion of women?
Traditionally the iGaming industry has predominantly been a male-orientated business. However, over the past few years, I’ve seen a big push to get more inclusive and diverse skill sets funnelling into this industry.
It’s a fast-paced, growing industry that is more often than not pioneering new ways of marketing and engaging customers in digital marketing and strategy. As such, we need all businesses and business owners to be focused on expanding their diversity and inclusivity programs from within their corporate cultures to attract new graduates, skill sets and raw talent into the digital marketing ecosystems we employ.
I’ve been fortunate to have a stellar career in this industry, learning my craft (affiliate marketing) on the job and helping others learn and get the best from it.
What would someone of your calibre advise young people just starting out in the industry?
Find a mentor if you can, and learn from them!
Nothing you read in textbooks is going to help you in real life. Sure, you'll get some basic principles and tactics from traditional marketing learnings. Still, to be truly successful in this business, you must have a passion for ongoing learning and self-development to keep ahead of industry trends. This is a fast-paced industry that doesn't sleep.
Secondly, assume nothing. What you think you know and what reality is are two different things, so be open to understanding others' perspectives and be happy to learn new ways of doing things.
Another piece of advice is to read a lot. I spend hours each week consuming information and figuring out how it applies to the industry and to the future of how we will perform, interact and deliver ethical marketing campaigns, reach the right audiences, and meet our client KPIs. This is not a 9-5 job; the internet never sleeps.
How do you go about picking topics you'll write about? What piques your interest the most?
I read a LOT.
I look at industry trends, follow other experts, and listen to what the news and various industry publications are telling me. I consume this and consider how it impacts what I’m doing, how I can use it to get better results for our partners and clients and how it can be made relevant in the industries we support.
My interest is definitely in the future trends, new tools, games, products and how we will evolve this channel to dive deeper into matching consumer behaviours and serve their needs, wants and demands.
I also love the psychology of how online works, so I’ll probably look into these kinds of topics to share the insight and content I’m reading and learning about with all the regular readers of the AskGamblers news too.
About Lee-Ann
With over two decades of digital marketing and affiliate management experience, Lee-Ann Johnstone is an award-winning digital marketing strategist and affiliate performance marketer. In 2019 she launched AffiliateINSIDER, a Google News-approved Publication + Agency and Training business helping brands and affiliate managers across multiple industries level up their performance through content, events and chart-topping Affiliate Marketing podcast.
She has been voted as one of the Top 10 Most Influential Women in iGaming (2019), inaugurated as a member of the prestigious forbes.com Agency Council (2020) and regularly features in many industry publications such as The Drum, PerformanceIN, GPWA, IGB Affiliate Magazine and Forbes.com to name a few.
