Meet Joey Gabra, if you haven’t already. After all, the gregarious managing director of mobile affiliate program Affil4You can be seen at all of the adult trade shows, frequently on panels discussing the virtues of making money off mobile.
Gabra, who’s tasked with building out the company’s North American arm and further expanding its global presence, sat down with XBIZ in this exclusive interview.
We are also starting to see some significant growth in the Eastern European space and some scattered parts of Asia where adult content isn’t as strictly regulated as it might be in other parts of Asia.
XBIZ: How did you venture into the adult industry?
GABRA: I had a big background in online marketing and search engine optimization for a few years prior to getting into the adult industry.
I finally decided I wanted to try something different and exercise my skills in a more competitive and interesting sort of space, which I assumed would be the dating and adult space.
I knew that not only would it be more challenging and competitive … but also more fun!
So the first gig I got was with a site called AdultSpace.com , whose owners also had a network of “married but looking” dating sites. I was hired on to oversee all the online marketing and SEO for AdultSpace.com as well as the other sites in their network.
That was it for me, I broke my adult industry cherry with that company and I never looked back at the mainstream world.
XBIZ: What’s a typical work day like?
GABRA: Haha … that’s a tough question.
The cool thing about working with Affil4You.com is that there is very rarely a typical work day.
The main objective at the end of the day is to raise awareness about our company and to close deals. Sometimes it’s just that simple … and other times you have to be pretty creative to get things done.
If I really had to think about it, my typical day basically consists of responding to loads of emails, meetings and Skype calls.
My day starts pretty darn early since I’m based in Los Angeles and the majority of the people I deal with are all based overseas so I need to accommodate for the time zone differences.
Aside from that, I look forward to what each work day holds for me because I can almost always be certain it will be anything but typical.
XBIZ: What services does Affil4You do for its clients?
GABRA: Affil4 You.com provides a number of services with a focus on the mobile space.
The main objective being that we monetize mobile traffic using our robust and effective mobile billing solutions along with our cutting-edge, proprietary platform.
We have the ability to monetize mobile traffic for our affiliates in the most efficient ways in order to truly maximize the potential of that traffic they are getting.
Our affiliates can effectively send their mobile traffic to any of our many great offers, create their own branded whitelabels, then be able to track every detail to a fine point … the depths of which they can go to reach optimal performance is practically limitless. On top of the multitude of services and solutions that we offer, our support team is second-to-none. We pride ourselves in always being available and fully capable of providing for the needs of all our clients and affiliates.
XBIZ: How many companies do you work with?
GABRA: That’s a tough one since we work with thousands of affiliates, but I suppose many of those may not count as companies.
Not counting our affiliates, we work with a number of service providers, content providers, partners, operators and billing aggregators. I’d say there are about 150 we currently work with.
XBIZ: What countries are showing the best performance in the mobile market?
GABRA: There are a number of countries showing some great performance in the mobile market these days … some are the usual suspects and some are hidden treasures.
I suppose you can always count on the Western European countries to show great performance… France, Germany, Italy, Spain, etc ... those are just to name a few. We have also been seeing some really nice high points coming out of the Latin American countries.
We are also starting to see some significant growth in the Eastern European space and some scattered parts of Asia where adult content isn’t as strictly regulated as it might be in other parts of Asia.
XBIZ: Where is most of your business coming from?
GABRA: The bulk of our business comes from our beloved affiliates and webmasters.
We work as closely with them as possible to make sure that they are getting all their needs filled while making great money with us. Of course it takes a village to run an operation as brawny as ours… so there are many other companies and individuals that contribute greatly to the business we are getting.
XBIZ: In the 10 number of years in the adult business, do you think the industry has matured greatly?
GABRA: I would say that the business has absolutely matured greatly.
I think it’s quite obvious that from a technical perspective the adult industry has matured more than most other industries.
We have almost constantly been on the forefront of all the new and exciting and various methods of digital media for as long as I remember.
So, to say that it has matured greatly is one thing … but to say the adult business has been single-handedly responsible for many of the major technological innovations in the world today would be even more truthful in my opinion. I know that’s a bold statement, but I stick by it.
XBIZ: When not thinking about the biz, what do you like to do?
GABRA: If and when I am not that busy with work, I try to spend some time in my recording studio.
There was once a time when I played in bands and wrote tons of music and I even released a few albums, but alas, those days are few and far between.
I still have a bit of a need to be creative and I try to spend a little time each week writing and recording.
I’m also a bit of a nerd, so even if I’m not really thinking about work, I’m still spending time on my computer or iPad reading tech news or looking for the new nerdiest thing that I can waste my hard-earned money on, haha!
More than anything, I am really enjoying my family right now. I have a daughter who is a little over a year old and it is so much fun watching her grow into a beautiful and smart little person each day.
