Eve Luneborg from GoodLuckMate

How would you describe GoodLuckMate to someone who does not know what you are doing?

– GoodLuckMate is a casino affiliate site, or in other words, a comparison site for online casinos. Although reviewing casinos is perhaps the most essential part of the site, most of the pages are, in fact, guides, game reviews, and other informational content related to gambling. For now, our site is only live in English, but we’re in the process of launching 4-5 new languages and market-specific sites during Q3 and Q4 of this year. 

How did you end up in the casino industry?

– That was more or less just by chance. I wanted to live and work somewhere else for a while, and I came across a job post where a casino was looking for a Norwegian support agent. They promised sunshine and warm weather, and as a Norwegian, that sounded perfect! So I applied for the job, got it, and before I had time to think things through properly, I ended up at LeoVegas’s support in Malta. That was back in 2014. 

– After a while, the job as a support agent got boring, so I started working at another company in a different industry, and then after half a year of that, I went back to LeoVegas, all though not to their support team. That time around, I stayed for about 1.5 years. When that was done, I took a break and then started freelancing as a content writer at the end of 2016, and that’s how I ended up on the affiliate side of the iGaming industry. 

What made you want to start working at GoodLuckMate? 

– When I first got hired, there was no GoodLuckMate. I was simply hired as a freelance writer to write casino reviews for a guy that wanted to start an affiliate site. That guy turned out to be our founder and CEO, Nerijus Grenda. So I started writing, and then he hired many other writers and translators, and before I knew it, I took on a role as something like a content manager or team leader for about 20 people. Then things escalated further, and before I knew it, I never had time to write anything anymore.

– So, the question should perhaps not be why I wanted to start working at GoodLuckMate, but rather why I’m still working here. That question is much easier to answer. First of all, our CEO is a great guy, and I’m not just saying that to make him look good; he really is. 🙂 He’s very inspiring, he always thinks outside of the box (which I think is because he’s never been inside the “box” to begin with), and he’s extremely willing to let people “do-their-own-thing,” which I, for one appreciate. 

– Every day has its new challenges, and that’s the real reason why I’m still around. Throughout my life, the average time I’ll spend in one job is one year, as I tend to get bored after that. At GoodLuckMate, I haven’t been bored a single day so far, and I don’t expect myself ever to get bored here. So for me, it’s the perfect company and project to work on. 

What personality traits in you make you a skilled Project Manager & Head of Operations? What have been your biggest challenges?

– I would say that my greatest strength is that I’m highly detail-oriented, a perfectionist to a fault, as well as extremely organized. People also often describe me as a bit of a workaholic, but I don’t think that’s true. I simply like to work and know that I’m contributing in some way. However, those personality traits are also, in many ways, my biggest weaknesses. 

– So actually, what makes me good at what I do is probably the fact that I know myself well enough to recognize my flaws. I realize that it’s unreasonable to expect others to be as obsessive as I am about details and that sometimes I just have to let good enough be good enough. As much as it irks me personally… The only thing I can’t deal with is when others create a mess in my spreadsheets. That will send me into a tailspin where I just have to fix it immediately. Haha!

– As for the biggest challenge, that is, without a doubt, managing people. At GoodLuckMate, we are a very diverse group of people with different cultural backgrounds, which can lead to some communication issues. I think most that have ever worked “abroad” or in a multi-cultural work environment have experienced this. For me, being Norwegian, it’s entirely normal for me to be outspoken, critical when called for, and I don’t beat around the bush when I have something on my mind. This kind of communication is completely normal, but I also know that people from other countries can perceive me, and many of my fellow Scandinavians, as quite rude. So that part I have to work on. 

– It’s also more or less a foreign concept to me that I should in any way be treated differently because I’m a woman. That I’m not working on, though, and no matter what cultures people are from, they will just have to come over to my side of things in this regard if we are to work together. Well, anyway, long story short – people and cultural differences have been my biggest challenges. 

How have you changed as a person from your role working at GoodLuckMate?

– I don’t think I have changed all that much as a person. I would love to say that I’ve become less high-strung in terms of work, but that would probably be a lie. Haha! However, as I mentioned before, I am working on letting good enough be good enough – at least sometimes. That’s not a personality change, though; it’s just me trying to rail in my personality and keep the craziness in check. 

– Not getting involved in what’s not my business is also something I’m working on. Butting out doesn’t necessarily come naturally to me, but I’m doing my best to suppress my instincts to meddle in the business of others. Goodness, this makes me sound like a horrible person to work with… However, as I also tell people in my teams: “if you ask for my opinion or thoughts about something, you’ll get an honest answer. So if that’s not what you’re after, then you should rather ask someone else for their input.”

What are you most proud of?

– Without a doubt, the people I work with. Seeing people grow into new roles and take on more responsibility has always been what I’ve enjoyed the most. GoodLuckMate’s CEO is very much into letting people grow and learn within their roles, and that’s something we’ve let many of our team members take advantage of. 

– I’ve always had a goal that I, or anyone else for that matter, shouldn’t be needed. If I go on a three-month vacation, it should just be business as usual for everyone else. That’s the goal, and that’s why I love seeing others becoming more confident in their abilities. So that my efforts to make that happen is bearing fruit is what I’m the proudest of. 

– On a more personal level, I’m also quite proud of having written a book this year – about online casinos, of course. That’s something I never thought I would do, but once I got started, it was really fun, so I might do a follow-up when I can find the time. 

Where do you want to be in 5 years?

– Plan A is to be on a deserted island with no internet. 

– Plan B would be working at GoodLuckMate, doing more or less what I do now. The great thing is that we’re entirely remote, so if the deserted island has internet, I could combine Plan A with Plan B. 

– All though, for now, I’m quite happy living in Gozo, Malta, so chances are I’ll still be here in 5 years. After all, I came to Malta planning to stay three months or so, and that was back in 2014. For GoodLuckMate I was planning on writing 2-3 casino reviews a week, and now I haven’t written one in more than a year. The saying “life is what happens to you while you’re busy making other plans” is very true. That’s why I try to not make plans for the future and rather take every year as it comes. 

Personal and professional – Where can people find you online?

– I’m not really using personal social media, so the easiest way to get in touch with me would be through LinkedIn. 

Finally, you started out in the affiliate niche as a writer. Do you have any tips for writers wanting to write for the iGaming industry?

– Truly succeeding as a writer for this industry is not easy unless you have a lot of knowledge about it already. I thank my lucky star that I got all the training I needed while working at a casino. And I also worked as a payments trainer back at LeoVegas, so it was my job to know the ins and outs of why we did things as we did. 

– Gaining the knowledge needed to be able to write with authority without previous real-life experience is something I think is very difficult. The reason for that is the fact that there are so many affiliate sites. No matter the casino term you google, the search results will be filled, page up and page down, with results from affiliate sites. And, unfortunately, not all of the information you read on these kinds of sites is correct. Finding reliable sources for information is the biggest hurdle for any writer who wants to break into the casino affiliate niche. Since most sites don’t do much quality assurance on the articles, you don’t get much feedback as a freelance writer. You have no one to learn from unless you find a mentor of some sort. 

– I’ve mentored several writers helping them with everything from writing and proofreading to fact-checking, and even offered to train them in terms of the factual aspects of the industry. Unfortunately, I no longer have much time available to help others with this. But, within GoodLuckMate, I do offer some short training sessions once in a while for our freelance writers and other team members. Both to increase the quality of our content and because I want to invest this time in our writers, so they are happy staying with us for the long haul.

– So, it can be hard to gain the knowledge needed to succeed, but I would say it’s totally worth the effort. What I’ve found is that if one really knows the industry, there is an unlimited amount of work to be had. I’m charging a premium for my writing, and I have been fully booked for years, turning new clients away weekly. It’s probably one of the few writing niches with too many potential clients than qualified writers – which can turn into a gold mine for the right writer!