Hey there! Today, we are bringing you an interview with Andres Proskurin, the Head of User Acquisition at R2D Partners, a new big player in the affiliate marketing space. Andres takes us from his start in affiliate marketing in 2015 to where he is now.
Andres shares how his team started the new R2D Partners affiliate program that focuses on the betting and gambling verticals. Launched just a few months back in November 2023, Andres shares the details of the challenges they faced, how they've grown fast, and what they're focusing on.
He also shares about money stuff, unveiling the new and unsaturated offers they have in store and how affiliates can get in on the action. He also shares tips on how affiliates should use AI in running their campaigns and some thoughts on where the big opportunities in the affiliate marketing space are in 2024.
Stick around for a chat about the exciting new opportunities that await you in the affiliate marketing industry!
Andres Proskurin, the Head of User Acquisition at R2D Partners
Could you provide some background on your role and how you became involved in the affiliate marketing industry?
Hello, my name is Andres Proskurin, currently I serve as Head of User Acquisition at R2D Partners. My journey in the affiliate marketing industry first started back in 2015 when I received a job offer from LEON.
You're currently working with the R2D Affiliate network. Can you share the founding story of your network? What were the initial challenges faced in establishing and launching the network?
As our company LEON expanded globally and introduced new brands, the natural progression of things led us to the idea of creating a multi-brand affiliate network. The establishment of R2D Partners was an absolutely crucial step in our development.
The first real challenge revolved around the task of naming, branding, core conceptualization, and strategic positioning.
Instead of reinventing the wheel, we delved into the core of our identity—our team’s values, hobbies, interests, our approach to partnerships, and our envisioned role within the industry. All of this laid the foundation for what would eventually become R2D Partners and its identity.
Thereafter, the subsequent challenges revolved around coordinating rebranding announcements within constrained timeframes.
During this time, our team approached the challenges with genuine enthusiasm, diligence, and creativity. Our highly skilled professionals successfully orchestrated the rebranding and migration processes. In just a few months, they successfully executed an event for our partners, where our new affiliate platform was announced.
Your managers were present, and I believe they would confirm that the event and announcement were flawless. For us, the road ahead involved continued learning, evolution, and process improvement.
How has your affiliate network grown since its launch? Are there specific growth hacking strategies or decisions that played a crucial role in its early-stage development?
It might be a bit too early to give a full assessment since we only launched our affiliate program a month prior, on the 15th of November. However, so far, we’ve received numerous positive responses from our current partners and a significant influx of additional, new partners joining us following the Sigma conference.
Can you share insights into the current scope and size of your affiliate network? This includes the industry verticals you focus on, key regions, and the approximate number of active affiliates within your network.
Currently, our affiliate network primarily focuses on both the betting and gambling verticals, and has experienced notable growth in many key regions across Europe, LATAM, CIS, and APAC.
At present, we’re in collaboration with a substantial number of active affiliates, and, while we cannot provide an exact figure for you, our network is continually and dynamically expanding, measuring in the thousands.
Without disclosing sensitive information, could you share any notable trends or milestones in terms of revenue or financial performance that highlight the growth of your affiliate network?
We are experiencing substantial growth, nearly doubling year-on-year and maintaining a steady quarterly increase of between 15% to 20%.
Our primary challenge now, lies in sustaining and potentially enhancing this growth while lessening the rise in expenses.
However, thanks to our CRM and VIP management department, we continue to improve our capabilities in this regard.
In your perspective, what are the primary opportunities available for affiliates within the current affiliate marketing landscape? How does your network support affiliates in leveraging these opportunities?
The primary opportunity for affiliates is thinking outside the box while testing, testing, and then testing again.
Around 90% of affiliates choose to stick with a conventional approach to affiliate marketing, and, while they achieve decent earnings this way, they also rarely reach the level of success that our top affiliates attain when adopting our more innovative strategies.
In such instances, we consistently support affiliates with creative ideas, providing them with favorable deals and occasional testing budgets.
Building strong relationships with affiliates is important. What strategies does your network employ to foster strong ties, ensure transparency, and build trust with affiliates?
We adhere to a set of core values that we use as our strategy in building strong relationships with affiliates. Namely, we ensure timely payments and honor the agreed-upon terms without any adjustments.
Moreover, we always make sure to treat each affiliate as an individual, recognizing them and their unique needs and contributions, while keeping ourselves flexible and capable of adapting to their needs.
With the advancements in technology, especially AI, how do you foresee AI influencing the future of affiliate marketing? Has your affiliate network integrated AI technologies, and if so, can you provide specific instances where AI has positively impacted network operations?
At first, we prioritized leveraging AI for instantaneous traffic quality prediction, and fraud prevention, and to help foster creativity.
In my opinion, these primary aspects will soon become commonplace in affiliate marketing.
We already use machine learning for traffic quality prediction and AI for creative tasks. Tools like Midjourney and other AI image generators play a significant role in our landing page preparation, yielding impressive results.
What advice would you give to new affiliates aiming for success in the competitive affiliate marketing space? Are there common mistakes or pitfalls that you caution affiliates to avoid, particularly when engaging with affiliate networks?
Firstly, I would say that honesty and transparency is of the utmost importance.. I value affiliates who may not initially achieve outstanding results but are candid with account managers as this usually leads to significantly positive results as the collaboration progresses.
And, as stated before, thinking outside the box and experimenting with new approaches is an extremely important and necessary skill.
Looking ahead to 2024, what trends do you anticipate will shape the affiliate marketing industry? How is your affiliate network preparing to capitalize on these trends, and what advice and opportunities do you have for affiliates to stay ahead?
Looking ahead to 2024, content creation through AI is expected to take the world by storm. As major internet companies contend with challenges like AI-generated fake content, affiliates face new issues. This is why affiliates, especially in regulated sectors, need to adapt, explore innovative techniques, and stay informed about changing content regulations for sustained success amid these industry major shifts.
How can affiliates and advertisers get to contact you or reach out to your team?
You can contact us through our official communication channels such as telegram, skype, or email. Additionally, we welcome inquiries through our website's contact form. Our dedicated team is ready to help and explore collaboration opportunities, providing the necessary support and information to develop a mutually beneficial partnership.
I'll leave our contacts here:
Conclusion
In our chat with Andres Proskurin from R2D Partners, we uncovered some fascinating details about their affiliate program. They have experienced remarkable growth since its recent launch, overcoming challenges along the way and setting their sights on the future.
R2D Partners has seen impressive success in the betting and gambling sectors worldwide. Despite being a relatively new program, they have already partnered with thousands of active affiliates, demonstrating the profitability of their offers.
Andres stressed the importance of creativity for affiliates, encouraging them to think outside the box. R2D Partners supports their affiliates with attractive payment plans and testing budgets, ensuring that their affiliates see success. We also discussed R2D Partners' integration of AI, which has had a significant impact on their operations.
Looking ahead to 2024, Andres predicts that AI-driven content creation will take over, and affiliates will need to adapt to changing content creation styles. If you're interested in collaborating with R2D Partners, you can reach out to them through channels like Telegram, Skype, or their email listed above.
