Interview With Bryan From Poker-Strategy.org
Bryan is the owner of Poker-Strategy.org; a comprehensive poker strategy site dedicated to helping players develop their knowledge of the game, as well as offering poker room reviews and poker information. Bryan also owns a number of other profitable sites, both poker and non-poker related.
1) How did you get started in poker affiliating?
In the summer of 2003, I was fresh out of college, and a friend of mine (my current business partner) got in touch with me and wanted me to help him build a poker strategy site. He was just getting into playing poker online, and noticed that a search online for strategy info yielded some pretty shoddy results. That was pretty much the impetus for us getting started.
So he started writing content, and I started building a site.
2) Did you know much about creating websites when you started promoting poker?
I had built a few info sites in the past, but nothing too complex. My web knowledge basically consisted of HTML. I had never done anything for profit. I had double majored in Computer Science & Finance, so I had some of the knowledge necessary to learn pretty quickly.
About the same time I started building Poker-Strategy.org, I also began working as an IT consultant. In that job I designed and developed several web-based applications. The skill set I developed at that job (and at subsequent jobs) has been extremely valuable.
3) Did you make as much money in your first 6 months as you expected?
More. I honestly thought the site would make next to nothing. Shows how much I knew about the poker industry back then.
When we first got started, I offered to develop the site for my friend for free, as a way for me to build up a portfolio of web design jobs. At the time I just wanted to do web design on the side. But within a couple of months, the site started making a little over $1000 each month, and we started to realize the potential.
At that point I sat down with my friend and we worked out a partnership. We set income goals for the site, and at different milestones, my “ownership” in the site would increase. Within 2 months, we were a 50/50 partnership.
4) How many hours a day do you work on average?
I still work a full time job. When it comes to the financial security of my family, I’m pretty risk-averse. That being said, I probably average between 4 and 6 hours per day working on our network of sites and doing work related to keeping our business running. My partner works about the same. We’re currently undertaking some pretty serious upgrades/overhauls to a couple of our sites, so my average is likely to go up here in the next several months.
5) What sets poker-strategy.org apart from other sites in the strategy niche?
Our business model is, and always has been, pretty simple. Build a site that attracts new players, and give them tools/content to play better poker. An affiliate stands to make a lot more from a profitable poker player than it does from an uneducated one.
I like to think that we’ve done a good job of capitalizing on our niche, but in all honestly, we’ve fallen a bit behind the times. There are several sites that have done things better than we have, and there are scores more that have fallen off the map. Obviously, this something we’re working to change. ;)
6) What do you think it takes to make money as a poker affiliate in today’s market?
It’s definitely a good bit harder to get started today than it was back when we got started. That being said, the game plan is the same.
1. Find a profitable niche
2. Attack it
3. Take any profits, and reinvest into: improving current site, attacking a new niche, advertising, etc.
All three steps are pretty difficult things to do. Your first attempt may very well not be successful. There’s nothing quite like spending 6 months building something, only to realize it’s never really going to pan out. Once you do find a profitable niche, having the work ethic to really go after it is pretty rare. And then you’ve got to have the smarts & fortitude to reinvest the profits, wisely.
7) How would you rank the following in importance for a successful site; Design, Content, SEO
Good question. They’re all very important, obviously. I would probably rank them in this order: SEO, Content, and then Design.
In the poker industry, if you’ve got a beautiful design and quality content … no one is going to find it without solid SEO. SEO often hinges on having quality content. And as PPP and Randy (affiliate forum members) can attest to, it doesn’t take a kickass design to have a profitable site.
8) What has been your biggest failure?
We’ve had some pretty rough attempts at diversification away from the poker industry. Those attempts have always been profitable, but nowhere near our expectations. That being said, we’ve learned some pretty valuable lessons with each project we’ve done. If you’re not learning from your mistakes, you’re pretty much doomed to failure.
9) If you were just starting out now, would you build lots of small sites, or one big site?
It depends on your situation really. If you’re a patient person, and have a good bit of money up front to invest, I say shoot for the stars. If that isn’t quite your situation, target a less competitive niche, dominate it, and use the profits to start building something bigger.
If you’re truly just starting out, you probably don’t have the skill set & experience necessary to really be able to compete. You’ll learn some pretty valuable lessons by starting small.
10) Finally, what would be your number one tip for any new poker affiliates starting out?
Work hard, be patient, and don’t be afraid to learn something new.