I’m going on a mini rant here, based on a comment from Travel Blogger Buzz that I just read, here it is:
My blog has not seen a single phucking penny from advertising as many blogs (especially in networks such as Boarding Area and Saverocity) get paid every month for all their page views.
Some points I’d like to address here. We don’t pay monthly. I decided to pay quarterly because it is such a trivial amount of money, especially when you compare it to the amount of work that goes into this site. Every quarter when I mail out checks, there are always quite a few that are less than $10. Total payouts across all the bloggers here tend to be under a few hundred bucks a quarter. In terms of the ‘house take’ on that, we give our bloggers 100% of the ad revenue they make, I personally don’t take my share as I use it to pay the bills.
Also – TBB does get paid monthly for page views, they have Media.net ads on their site. The answer to this fact is likely to be “oh its not much”. As for the pushing of credit cards – apparently it is OK to push these links while complaining about others. The justification for this not being hypocritical is that the site doesn’t make much money otherwise.
Huh?
I’m not going to lie, every time I see a post or tweet about how you can support him I get a little mad, because it’s a competition for clicks. People who feel bad for Buzz elect to throw him a credit card conversion, and that impacts my bottom line on credit card conversions.
Credit Card Links
We have the same portal as TBB, but you don’t hear me asking for clicks as much simply because I don’t think you guys want to hear it. That said, we still get a few conversions every quarter, which is great because we give 100% of the money to charity.
Let’s break that down:
- TBB whines about no money.
- Saverocity makes less money (net).
- TBB pushes links
- Saverocity does not push links
- TBB keeps the money from his links
- Saverocity gives it all away to charity.
- TBB uses Saverocity as an excuse to ask for more money
- Saverocity gets all pissy about it
In Q3 we will be supporting Miriam’s Kitchen. I will donate an amount equal to 100% of our credit card revenue to this charity. Oh and before you go off thinking that charity is personal and whatnot, yeah, we also personally donate to charity, the money Saverocity gives goes to a charity that the readers vote for.
Amazon Links
We have the same amazon links, but I don’t put the banner on the side bar so that other people (like TBB) can get some love from that, I even use their links. When you think of Amazon shopping, who do you think of.. us, or another blogger in the space?
Affiliate Links
I’ve removed all commissioned links from my blogs, that includes several that paid over $100, and one that paid $500. I just pulled them to prevent conflicts of interest, and avoid the need to whine that they weren’t being clicked enough.
Rejected Ads
We get offers daily to hold sponsored posts and other such stuff, I reject them. I also had one network approach me offering about 3-4% of an IRA if I would convince people to roll it into a Gold IRA. Imagine that.. $1M IRA would pay me $30-40K… it would also screw over the person involved, so I told the firm to take a hike.
Forum Supporters
We do make some income from some great people on the Forum who upgraded their accounts and have a monthly subscription. This amount is much appreciated, but before you latch onto it as a source of discussion, the expenses outweigh this.
Setting the record straight
I’m not asking for any sympathy here, the decisions to run lean in the past were mine, and I’m happy with them. I’m just asking that people STFU, and kindly don’t use Saverocity (or any other blog for that matter) as an excuse to ask for more money, at the expense of charity. If you aren’t making any money blogging its probably because blogging doesn’t pay very much money unless you have a big site, and even if you have a big site you can elect to make little to no money by putting the readers above all else. So if you blog on a big network and you get a pay cut, go get a real job… if you feel you work hard on an indie blog but don’t earn enough, go get a real job.
Deal with it.
PS the answer to accepting that you aren’t making any money doesn’t have to be that you quit, it can also be that you just quit complaining about it, and write for the pleasure of it. My reward for last quarter for putting in hundreds of hours of work was this letter, and it was well worth it:
Skywardbd says
Thanks Matt, Our household truly appreciates your approach to blogging and your commitment to your readers. We use your links whenever possible and would encourage all your readers to do the same. Your honesty is most refreshing and welcome! Keep up the great work.!
Matt says
Glad to hear it and thanks for the support!
Boon says
Wait you can get a forum subscription? Can you pimp a link for a brother?
Matt says
We have a link under ‘account upgrades’ on your profile there, be warned, when we ever make a profit, it will likely be spent on beer.
Claire says
I always thought he was being sarcastic and making fun of the big blogs by begging people to click on his links. You mean he is serious?
Matt says
It is the impression I get, but I could be wrong.
TravelBloggerBuzz says
Hi,
To all: There is a LONG interaction of tweets between me and Matt on Twitter…not sure how to link directly to it. A lot of my reaction on this post is shown there.
The only factual inaccuracy of my whining was that I said Saverocity bloggers get paid for ads monthly. I should have said quarterly.
I repeat: TBB has not seen a phucking penny from ads to date. ZIPPO. Is this media.net site a scam? I should take it down one of these days, I just move slow on this monetization stuff!
No disrespect was ever meant to any blogger here. Heck, I love many bloggers here and I have linked to them numerous times!
Blogging for absolutely nothing is frustrating. I somehow feel better when I get one click. I know, I know, it is…schizophrenic indeed! I will be equally happy if a reader told me “hey TBB, I clicked on a Saverocity blog instead”. But when a reader bitches about not supporting blogs by not clicking ANY affiliate links at all, I don’t know, it pisses me off and my inner Greek trait of whining gets out in front…again. I am working on it. I used to whine more!
I NEVER talk about my own private charitable donations. I do not like when others do it. It’s a personal thing.
I have always turned down pitches for sponsored posts,trips,banners,etc.
I do not have subscription fees or donate buttons.
My family is the biggest user of the crappy creditcarddot bomb links. And I can’t wait until my son turns 18 soon, I see a lot of more miles (and some revenue) coming our way, hooray!
I don’t need to get a job, come on! A lot of my “whining” is stuff that comes to my head and I show how ridiculous this space has become, it is just amusing to me!
Just saw VFTW’s headline “Why the Starwood Business Amex is Better than the Personal One”….and then I see posts like this and wonder to myself…WTF!
I just realized there was no link to my post that set you off…It may help your readers to see the context of what I wrote. It was just one paragraph very late at night at Starbucks. I felt good afterwards, cathartic u know. And you probably did too after writing this…not sure I deserved it though but we’ll get over it.
Matt says
Hey George,
You know I like you. I just called out something that really struck a cord with me.
As I mentioned on twitter, I wasn’t bothered by the factual mistake, its not relevant. I only mentioned quarterly to highlight how little money we were talking about.
The reason I did that, is that your post read (to me) like:
“BoardingArea and Saverocity make money from ads – they are OK…
TBB does not…
Therefore- click my links so I can make money..”
I called this out because I didn’t want to mislead people into thinking that our bloggers make much money, while there is ad revenue, and some do better than others, many people who write great content here earn a few bucks a month, nothing more. I felt that your post implied otherwise. When people think of this ad revenue they think of hundreds, or thousands, and I felt that needed addressing.
Next up, I don’t think it is fair to use that argument (when they aren’t getting a lot) to ask for clicks, particularly when I myself make zero from ads here, and I elect to give my CC clicks away – it feels very wrong to read your post with that in mind. As I mentioned in my post, this is different from private gifting to charity, we both do that and we both don’t talk about it. The reality is that for me to make the election to give away so much blog revenue I need to make overall lifestyle choices, such as how much we spend as a family – this stuff is very real to me.
The thing is: Credit Card links are pretty sketchy.. and giving away all of that money rather than keeping some or all of it it is better for the world (IMO).
Regarding Media.net ads – if you have ads on your site you are making money, if you don’t know how to log in to find out how much you made, that doesn’t mean you aren’t making money…. its probably small, but its real.
As for the argument that VFTW is worse – that doesn’t make it OK to do the same… saying ‘you aren’t as bad’ just doesn’t hold water with me.
TravelBloggerBuzz says
Regarding Media.net: Revenue gets booked when collected. I have not seen a phucking penny=fact.
You missed my point entirely. Your bloggers make more than TBB on ads. Of course it is not a lot of money, that was NOT the point. Long time TBB readers know some basic business blogging stuff, they know we are not talking much here! I wish TBB was bringing in that much though every month, it would make me whine a little less lol.
I do NOT talk about charity PERIOD! It’s a personal thing.
I am still amazed at your reaction to my one paragraph whine…
Also, you can keep Mike 🙂
Matt says
I don’t want Mike… Take him back please.
We clearly disagree on this one, maybe next time don’t bracket us in with a network with bloggers that makes 4-6 figures per month?
Mike says
TBB,
When you post the same crappy year-old trip report multiple times a day, every single day, it makes me want to vomit. Then, on top of that you post thousands of tweets with no factual content (just lots of “WTFs”, “phuckings”, etc.). You are an awful “blogger”. You generate no content. Why do you exist? You just keep begging for money everyday like a hobo. The schtick has gotten old and someone has finally gotten so tired of it they called you out on it. Read the writing on the wall. Quit.
TravelBloggerBuzz says
I don’t do the SEO thingie. Most of my traffic comes from Twitter believe it or not! And it will continue, I suggest you UNFOLLOW ME pronto, I don’t give a phuck! You obviously don’t like my blog, so stop reading it, thank you.
Mike says
My question is why do you post the same trip report over and over again?
Post it once, that’s all that is needed. It’s simple.
If you were posting new trip reports with new information, that would be fantastic! But the same exact report over and over again just makes no sense.
Chris says
Mad respect for donating your proceeds from CC apps to charity–I’ll def hunt down your links when I go for my next app.
Rick I says
Great post Matt. I agree with you 100%. It is unfathomable to me that a blogger would beg for clicks and it is not just George. I look at some of the other bloggers asking for clicks or suggesting how they can support their blog and I get the same reaction. I’ve been known to put in for referral links to Uber and such but never for credit card clicks. That is the readers prerogative and should be at the readers discretion without prompting.
I appreciate you giving some of your earnings to charity. I get mocked when I bring it up so don’t bother to mention it anymore.
Again congrats on a solid philosophy.
Matt says
Don’t get me wrong, I think you guys are much worse 🙂
Rick I says
Show me the begging and whining in FTG? Have you ever seen a writer on FTG beg to have a reader click on a credit card link? Or whine that they are not?
I don’t think so Matt. Its always reader choice without prompting
Jay says
LOL… FTG is the site with the lowest blogging morals. You guys give the worst advice , that’s frequently wrong, all in the name of lining your pockets
Has howie figured out avios yet?
B says
I have seen several instances lately of a write being called out for a clickbait title and their response was “I know, I have a problem with it too, but I don’t get to title my work”. So you’re right, there’s not a lot of begging and whining in the FTG regime, just a lot of really boring writing.
TravelBloggerBuzz says
I told you, he was busy reading TBB lol
TravelBloggerBuzz says
Matt>>>>>>We clearly disagree on this one, maybe next time don’t bracket us in with a network with bloggers that makes 4-6 figures per month?
Aaaaah, okay I finally now get it. Sorry it took me a while, only 3 hours of sleep last night. I updated my post with link back here.
Mike>>>>>>All the direct traffic I get is mostly via Twitter. I don’t have the expertise or staff to do the SEO thingie. But I have been doing the Twitter thingie for many years now, I know what works. I use the Buffer app to preschedule these tweets you see. Hint: If it is at the top of the hour it is a phucking repeat, please ignore it! It is not meant for you anyways. Why do the pumping bloggers make the same cc pumping posts again and again? Maybe you should be mad at them before you get mad at me! Frankly dude, I could care less, the online world has many different people, if you don’t have some enemies it’s like you don’t exist lol. And you stay here and use the links here!
Mike says
The correct way to get traffic to your blog is to post new, original content on your blog that people would enjoy to read and then post a link to that content on your twitter account. Once. And then write something else that is new and original and interesting that people would enjoy reading and then post a link to it on your twitter account. Once
Reposting the same thing over and over again is like a beggar shaking his cup in your face over and over.
Matt says
Mike, you are being obnoxious, take it elsewhere please.
Mike says
My apologies. You disagree?
Matt says
I disagree with your approach, yes.
Ted says
I ran out of popcorn, be right back.
So far, it looks like Matt > George > Rick (though I did get started in the “Hobby” with Rick’s back-in-the-day down-to-earth posts, but that went downhill like TPG’s)
Carry on, please.
Rick I says
Thanks Ted. Glad you liked the blog back in the good old days. Corporate ownership and multiple posts per day sure do change the flavor of what we were doing. But the darn thing keeps growing and paying the rent so the new owners are happy.
Just saying what everyone thinks says
Aww, don’t be so modest Rick!
I quit clicking your site literally because of your trolling @TBB. There’s lots of lame sites I still click on just to see if there’s anything interesting, but yours is not one of them. Because of you, and you alone.
Reap what you sow, you nasty-@ss click farmer.
Rick I says
Yet readership keeps climbing. Huh?
Ted says
Sorry Rick but it started going downhill before you sold it
Daryl says
All y’all get a time out if you want to fuss all day . If you want to know who the problem is , look in the mirror .
Matt says
I refuse to accept that gorgeous reflection is anything short of perfect
MickiSue says
I have no issue with people making money from something they spend a lot of time and effort doing.
I do have a problem with whining. And for a man who’s old enough to have a kid nearly 18 years old to do it–oh, please! I’m over half Irish, and certainly don’t blame my ethnic background if I lose my temper. I’m, especially wouldn’t blame it for publication. Because I’d rather take responsibility for being a notch, than appear puerile in writing.
Maybe, George, take some lessons from Big Habitat and try reselling. It’s certainly more lucrative than clicks.
MickiSue says
Being a bitch. Autocorrect, get it straight.
TravelBloggerBuzz says
MickiSue: Thanks for the feedback. We have family inside jokes about whining in general, I am sure some genes have something to do with it. You may be prone to drinking as well. Relax & chill out. My blog is heavy on snarky entertainment, mostly my own. If you don’t like it you do not have to read it. I have stopped reading several blogs that were getting on my nerves and sure don’t spend time trolling them and giving them unsolicited advice, especially when you despise what they stand for 🙂
Kid is a 4.0 all through HS student entering College of Engineering at the University of Michigan. And he can be a prick sometimes, especially when he whines once in a while like his dad lol.
Hell will freeze first before I do reselling with what I am doing and the TBB cracking blog. Sometimes I wish I was MSing and making some money though instead of trying to keep my small audience entertained.
Anyways, I wonder how Alexa rankings have changed after today lol
Rick I says
Just checked today and you are still over 200k. Did you know delta points has twice as many twitter followers as tbb, ftg about 12x and the points guy 150x.
You just can’t catch a break George .
Maybe reselling is your answer!
Matt says
Rick, stop being a prick please.
MickiSue says
Seriously? Wow. Double down on the “ethicity, not character is the cause of flaws”? And throw in an insult, at the same time.
Actually, I don’t drink. My 100% Greek BIL does, though.
I’ve glanced at your blog, once or twice. I do have my favorites, though.
Rick I says
Oh I see. He can demean and degrade others at will but when somebody gives it back they are a prick? Thought better of you
Matt says
You know better, the giving it back is a charade.
Net Netty says
Matt, please leave him alone. I believe he started boozing again. He seems like a past drunkard and fired up the anger machine again. I cant imagine someone being as successful as he says he is and yet as angry as him
Ben says
What happens when you all are at the same Frequent flier conferences? Is it awkward? Do you call each other “prick” to their/your faces? Or is that just on the interwebs?
Just wondering.
Matt says
I don’t attend them so I wouldn’t know, but yeah, I think I’d call him such, and he’d probably say something in return, and it wouldn’t be awkward at all.
Rick I says
I’m not the one using the words like prick, douchebag, slut, whore to describe others in the hobby. Using that type of language in a disagreement indicates weakness in that party s side of the argument. Facts are the basis for a position not a foul mouth
Matt says
Okey dokey.
Ben says
@Rick…I don’t care enough to verify your numbers, but you’re telling me TPG has 30 million Twitter followers (200k x 150x)? Seems a bit high
Rick I says
If George has 4k followers on twitter and Brian 220k , ya my math is off sorry. 55x is more like it
Net Netty says
Man, you are one angry drunk.
pfdigest says
FIRST!
Oh wait, got confused there…
TravelBloggerBuzz says
TBB has been freed from the dominance of Helixcardinal and Spencer F. always going First and Second.
Freeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeedom (not from Chase).
Scott says
I like TBB, but I do think the readership started to decline when he started using affiliate links. There was also a change in tone that can and is best described as a whining. In the past he also has been contemptuous of his readers for not “supporting” him. I usually leave well enough alone but every now and then I can’t help myself. I called him out yesterday because it just seemed so hypocritical of TBB to call people out for pushing the SPG and then do it yourself in the same paragraph. I’m also tired of my intelligence being insulted when he claims it is all satire and mockery. He is very much kidding on the square when it comes to his poor attempts at salesmanship. Add that with the whining and it can get on my nerves.
All that being said, I keep coming back because he does provide a valuable resource in linking to stuff that I would be unlikely to learn about elsewhere and I do appreciate his perspective on the hobby, I mean Hobby. I’m still not going to use his links, however, because I have a philosophical issue with affiliate links. Nothing contributes more to the the decline of formerly good blogs than hitting pay dirt on affiliate links, see FTG.
Ramsey on... WTF is going on around here says
This is GOOD STUFF, now thats entertainment!
Elaine says
I’m not going to weigh in on this mini-feud but I will just comment that I really appreciate it when bloggers include in their tweet of a link to an old post that it is from the archives. I don’t mind multiple tweets announcing a new post, since folks check twitter at different times. But I do find it irritating to click on a post only to find it’s something I read a year or so ago.
While I am at it, I will also say that not all bloggers date their posts. That can be frustrating too, especially if you got to the post via a topical google search, only to find yourself wondering if the info is circa 2012….
Just my two cents. Carry on.
Jamie says
Elaine – I totally agree. The date at the top of a post is a big help.
thedealmommy says
Guilty. I selected a group of about 250 (dated) posts that have “Evergreen” info that rotate through about once every two weeks. I add to the list as posts merit. I decided to do it because readers join and drop off all the time and I usually get at least one favorite or comment per archived post- even from folks I know are regular readers. If I stop seeing folks respond, I’ll stop.
stvr says
I stopped reading TBB when he ‘quit.’ I took that at face value. Then months later I discovered he was still blogging. Oops. Didn’t miss it.
My advice to all of you — focus on the work of providing fresh content and less on the insider politics. People will notice.
TravelBloggerBuzz says
You were missed too. Just kidding!
DL says
Rick, sorry, but large readership numbers on your blog has no reflection on the quality of your blog, and more on the quality of your readership. Your blog is like the Countrywide Financial of the miles&points blogosphere (making you, yes, Angelo Mozilo), hard-selling a dream built on inappropriate cards simply because they pay the highest commissions. Whilst I have been somewhat turned off by TBB’s tone of late, your equivocations, justifications and your site’s moral turpitude still both rankle and disgust
Rick I says
Who’s blog??? Not mine, but Internet Brands. A commercial venture that bought the blog back in 2012 with the intent of making a profit.
Newsflash: They are and have shown little interest in listening to the whining from the Negative Nellies,
DL says
A blog you defend to the hilt and proclaim to all and sundry how amazeballs it is because of the readership levels. yes, that blog 😉
As for no interest on IB’s part? Well, it is only a matter of time before some enterprising lawyer decides that much like in the same way there were bad faith actors who sold mortgages irresponsibly and should thus face class-action lawsuits, so should people who flog bad cards on a vague promise to clients unable to manage any eventual disaster.
And you’re definitely the Malaprop of mixed metaphors (whining, from nervous nellies?) lolol
Jamie says
The letter you got from the kid thanking you for the donations is indeed great. If it was me, that would keep me going for quite a while as well.
Matt – I hope you get enough out of this blogging/forum hosting venture, because the blogs here + FM are my primary source of info. I enjoy the writing and the tone of the community. Long may it continue.
Net Netty says
I hope all these blogs die off. And they all will eventually when the publicized deals do go away
JamaicanReefer says
Dudes, you all do a great job. There is no doubts you both are the best. I suggest a big fattie of piece to be burned and letting things go.
TravelBloggerBuzz says
I am in! Too bad that gets followed by too much eating! Damn tacos!