Mares S.: “The profitability of an affiliate depends heavily on how well the retention funnel is built”

The profitability of an affiliate depends heavily on how well the retention funnel is built. Users may leave a site without ever making an FTD if the platform lacks effective retention tools. To make these tools work, they must be tailored to different audience segments, constantly analyzed for effectiveness, and updated with varied approaches.

Mares S., CEO of the Stars Partners affiliate program, gave us an in-depth look at the retention tools used across the brands and how effective they are. In this article, you’ll learn:

• How the retention funnel works, from a user's first visit to repeat deposits
• What player segments exist and how retention tools are adapted accordingly
• How brands use gamification and how much it improves conversion
• What terms Stars Partners offers its affiliate partners

Q: Do brands offer a welcome sequence tailored to partner traffic? For example, with a certain number of free spins or another entry bonus?

The better the partner’s conversion rate, the more they want to work with us. So we do everything possible to help boost that conversion:

• We build the entire retention funnel around the partner’s creatives
• We mirror their tone of voice, colors, visuals, and structure a funnel from registration through an anti-churn sequence of emails, SMS, push notifications, in-app messages, etc.
• On request, we provide enhanced welcome bonuses for players
• Based on monthly FTD volume, the terms for the partner’s audience can only get better

Q: What happens once a player lands on the product? How does the retention funnel work?

We begin working with the user even before registration.

Once they visit the site, we capture their cookies and later retarget them with ads on third-party sites - this improves the C2R metric.

Once registered, we aim to motivate a deposit within the first 15 minutes - users get a no-wager bonus for doing so.

We also use supplementary communication channels: email, inbox, on-site notifications, SMS, push, and more.

Funnels and strategies vary based on user behavior.

For example, the number of contacts in the first week after registration depends on the traffic source - we push Facebook* and email traffic is harder than PPC/SEO.

Before implementing any new retention tool, we run analytics across all brands. For instance, the "15-minute" feature appeared after analyzing user behavior and drop-off after registration.

On Tier-1 markets, users usually need 3 to 9 minutes to explore the product and bonuses before deciding to deposit or bounce. Some users leave intending to deposit later - this mechanic targets that behavior.

Q: What retention tools do you use to motivate players to redeposit?

It’s much harder to bring a user back than to retain them while they’re still on the site. So we focus on in-session engagement, such as Gamified tools:

• Deposit missions within a specific time window
• Inbox messages that highlight potential rewards or warn that an opportunity might expire
• Motivational pop-ups triggered when a user’s balance drops below a threshold

Many of our projects also feature a 3-month "hidden bonus" of free spins, activated after the first deposit.

Once a week, at a random time, the user receives an SMS and email announcing a new batch of free spins with no deposit required - but they expire in 24 hours. This motivates users to stay engaged and regularly check for updates, also acting as a re-engagement tool.

Q: Tell us about the gamification mechanics you use.
We use traditional methods like the wheel of fortune, bonus shops, missions, and scratch cards.

Recently, we successfully launched new types of mini-games - quizzes and match-X. These engage users not just for bonuses but for testing their knowledge and luck.

• Wheel of Fortune: Win up to €500,000 every 12 hours
• Bonus Shop: Combine rewards from different activities

After launching the new games, engagement with the old mechanics didn’t drop - it actually increased by 17–22% depending on the geo, thanks to the synergy between reward systems.

For instance, participating in daily quizzes increased the average user session by 12–15 minutes and boosted repeat visits by 18%.

We’re not stopping there - we use the full arsenal: personalized offers, exclusive tournaments, and even offline events to build loyalty among top players.

Q: How does the Rewards System works?

We seamlessly integrate bonuses into gameplay. For example, a user may receive a bonus for logging in after a break, completing missions, earning achievements, or leaving a review about our support team.

These small rewards increase loyalty and user activity overall.

• Referral Program
• VIP Program: The reward system is automated - the more active and loyal the player, the more substantial the bonuses. Mini-games are also part of the ecosystem - players can win up to €500,000 every 12 hours.

Q: What traffic sources are you looking for? What’s the average Reg2Dep for target brands and GEOs?

At one point, we hit a ceiling with premium traffic and faced growth challenges. That’s when we opened up to every source on the market with a single KPI: return on investment.
We now accept nearly every type of traffic from our partners.

Reg2Dep across our top 3 markets remains stable at 37–55%. These are among the best - and in some GEOs, the best - Reg2Dep metrics in the industry.

Q: How much can affiliates earn on CPA with high-quality FB or SEO/ASO/PPC traffic? Do you support prepay, postpay, spend models, or hybrids? How can one get those terms?

We use all of the above.

Deals vary: FB/ASO can bring in €350–400 per FTD, while SEO/PPC - after a test run - can reach €800+.

I’m a fan of hybrid deals (CPA + RevShare) - Stars Partners handles retention, the partner handles traffic quality. The result is a win-win, where FTDs can easily exceed €1,200–1,500.

We work on prepay or spend-based models. These are offered after a successful test run with us or with a third-party guarantee - usually another one of our partners.

Star Partners will be attending SBC Summit Lisbon on September 16-18 and SiGMA Rome on November 3-6.

Image credit: Casino Guru News