I always wonder why there is no shopping portal for credit card applications.
mikeef, how many succesful applications do you need to retain such links?
Matt, what do your links pay and how many apps are required for those?
By the way, do you still give it all to charity? If yes, how about we make the MattDOs a charity?
You're about to get more than you asked for.
I have a career in the real world. I don't have the inclination to turn this into a career, since blogging is fun for me. If I made it my permanent job, there's no way I would enjoy it anymore. It would stress me out too much. The one downside to having credit card links is that it becomes very hard to differentiate between "am I writing this post because it is useful or because it will generate credit card apps?" It doesn't matter if I fall into the 100% "useful" category, it still feels like I am pushing credit cards sometimes. Since I refuse to write about MSing, credit card bonuses are one of the main ways that I can advise people to earn cheap miles.
I would absolutely advise everyone thinking of getting a credit card to do it through the links of someone who donates all of the proceeds to charity. Everybody wins that way.
In terms of total apps, I only get a few applications every week and no more than 3-4 approvals per month. The most I've ever been paid in a month (and I'm still relatively new) is $194. The program through the 3rd parties vary on how much they want, but the one I use is specifically designed for people like me: they don't care about the total number, since they take such a high percentage.
I also have Google Adsense links and get a check for $100 2-3 times per year. The biggest day I've ever had was when my blog got mentioned in a Boston Globe article and I got a whopping $20 or so. We're not talking big bucks here.
Am I jealous of people like VFTW and MMS? Absolutely. They're looking at a minimum five-figure paycheck monthly by doing something they love to do. From an editorial point of view, it doesn't bother me in the slightest that they sell a ton of credit cards and sometimes have posts geared to do so. I consider their disclosure to be good. In some respects, they're in a sales job and the medium happens to be frequent flyer miles. The fact that they like the category is a bonus. I can't imagine that somebody like Gary Leff would be nearly as good a blogger in a different category.
Would I want to be in their position? Well, if you were going to promise me the kind of money that they make up front, I'd absolutely find a way to make myself enjoy it. But they have spent many years building up a readership and I simply don't have the capacity or the desire to do so.
Next blog, btw: A discussion and analysis of every
Phineas and Ferb episode.
Mike
