An Honest Conversation About Blog Monetization, Making Money Online

I’ve been blogging for over 18 years now, and there’s no denying that the internet has changed a lot in that time period. The reason I’ve been able to “work” 365 days per year is really because this industry is my hobby and passion, so it never feels like work. But ultimately, this blog is also a business (even though it was never the goal when I started writing it), and the way the internet functions has changed massively over the years. I’m terrible at business and self promotion, because I’d rather spend my time focused on what I love, rather than running some enterprise that maximizes profits at all costs. It’s one of the reasons that I never even entertained selling this site, because I don’t want to have to report to anyone as to what I can write about. In recent times, we’ve made some changes here at OMAAT, and they’ve genuinely been done with the intent of improving the reader experience while reflecting the reality of how the internet functions in 2026. One thing I absolutely refuse to do is gaslight readers, and tell them something is different than it actually is (or at least different than how I perceive it to be). You might not agree with my take or how I feel, but I at least promise to be honest and sincere. So along those lines, let me provide a bit of background on why we’re making changes, which might be useful. Making money on the internet keeps getting tougherI can’t just put blinders on as to how the internet worksThe thoughtful way we’re trying to evolve OMAAT monetizationBottom line Making money on the internet keeps getting tougher It goes without saying that the internet has evolved a lot in the past (nearly) two decades. This is true big picture, in terms of the increasing shift from written content to video content, but it’s also specifically true for people who write content like I do. A while back, I wrote about the honest state of travel and points blogging, and as I explained: As anyone who publishes content online can attest to, search traffic has decreased greatly, due to Google’s AI Mode (and other similar features), which basically summarize the answers to questions, rather than directing people to the actual content Speaking of AI, nowadays over half of the content produced online is from AI, so the sheer volume of content one is competing with online has increased massively (and the AI content doesn’t involve the same time investment) The way that people consume media has evolved, especially with younger generations getting news via short form video on platforms like TikTok, Instagram, etc. We’ve seen multiple travel blogs sold, including to huge media companies, venture capital firms, etc.; there’s nothing wrong with that, but their goals are almost always focused around revenue rather than profit, meaning they might spend millions per year buying online ads to beat out competitors We’ve seen mainstream media news sites get into the travel story and credit card rewards space, as this has much broader appeal than it used to When it comes to affiliate marketing, the space has become much more fragmented, so it’s not nearly as lucrative as many people assume; people just aren’t applying for credit cards through affiliate links the way they used to, as banks have added restrictions on eligibility, there are refer-a-friend links, etc. We’ve seen all kinds of sites pop up that are so clearly exclusively about SEO, making it hard to compete on that front To be clear, none of this is specific to OMAAT, but it’s true (basically) across the board for the internet. It’s also why you’ve seen so many sites change their monetization models. You have more websites than ever before switching to a subscription model, introducing Patreons, etc. Then you have other sites just switching to pure clickbait garbage, since at least that generates page views, which generates revenue. And then you have other sites that are pushing the boundaries in terms of the type of sponsored content they’ll produce. I mean, a certain miles & points site does everything from reviews of Taco Bell’s loyalty program, to content about how skincare is like miles & points, sponsored by a skincare company. Making money online isn’t easy anymore! I can’t just put blinders on as to how the internet works I recently (coincidentally) met someone who runs a pretty big YouTube channel focused on a certain consumer products sector. We talked a bit about our respective businesses, and my jaw nearly fell to the floor when I learned how that whole sector is monetized. He does reviews of products (again, I’m trying to be vague here, because it’s not about this one person), and he gets paid by the company he’s reviewing for each review he does. Every single video review he does, he’s paid by that company. Period. I asked, “well how do you review things honestly if they’re paying you for the content and reviewing it?” “Well people can tell if something isn’t good based on what isn’t mentioned,” he said. I followed that up by asking “do you get a lot of hate in the comments for that?” “No, everyone is really supportive, and it’s how the whole industry works, so people are conditioned to that,” he explained. I couldn’t help but contrast that to the OMAAT world, and for that matter, the larger miles & points space. I very much appreciate constructive feedback from people, and I have thick skin. But still, I couldn’t help but think “damn, people have things to say no matter what I do.” I thought about that for a while, because I feel like the miles & points corner of the internet is unique in that sense. If you go onto social media, there’s endless content that’s sponsored, and young people just seem totally unfazed by that. I mean, fair enough, everything is monetized nowadays, because the economy has changed. So I think what it partly comes down to is an age thing, reflecting demographics. I think a lot of people around my age and a bit older grew up during a period where the internet was very poorly monetized. We all participated in internet bulletin boards, so there weren’t really people making a living. I get told all the time “well why don’t you get a real job.” If I’m doing something that creates value and that pays my bills, I think that’s a real job. I think there’s a bias there that doesn’t exist among younger generations. All of that is fair enough… I’m just trying to unpack how we got to this point. Business models have to evolve, or else… 😉 The thoughtful way we’re trying to evolve OMAAT monetization Let me be perfectly blunt here — if I just kept doing exactly the same thing, I’d make (materially) less money year after year. This is absolutely my hobby, but it’s also a business. I have people who work with me, I have a family to support, etc. It would be negligent on my part to just say “oh, we shouldn’t change anything, everything is fine.” Does anyone disagree with that sentiment? I can’t imagine there are many in the OMAAT community who work in an industry (whether for someone else or self-employed) where there’s no thought put into economics… that’s even true for those who work in charity! With that in mind, there are of course different ways to monetize things: You can put things behind a paywall; that’s just something I have no interest in doing, and I don’t think it makes sense for the type of site this is You can do a bunch of sponsored content; I’m not opposed to doing more of this if I have to, but I really don’t particularly enjoy it (I love my editorial independence), and I also get that people don’t generally enjoy sponsored content, and that’s something that’s just done “to pay the bills” There’s of course affiliate marketing, and that’s still a significant source of revenue, but without any changes it declines year-over-year, between challenges with search traffic due to AI, plus the general appetite for new products being down (especially when you have a pretty long term readership, and they already have most of the products you cover) There are impression based ads, and the more of those of you put on a page, the more money you can make Nowadays there’s also the newsletter model, where you get people to sign up for your newsletter, and then hope to sell sponsorships for that, so it’s the same concept, but the content is just being taken elsewhere Jeremy joined the OMAAT team several months ago (when Tiffany left), and he’s working on business development, and also on trying to improve the user experience in the background. For one, Jeremy is just an all-around great guy. But beyond that, he “gets” OMAAT. He understands the community we have here, and also how vocal people are. 😉 He understands how deliberate we have to be with changes, because people really do care… and that’s something that’s humbling. He has made a massive number of changes based on reader feedback in recent months (like, changes based on actual feedback, not “enhancements”), and he has even set up a forum where people can share issues and recommendations. We’re only getting started, and I mean that in a way that’s supposed to genuinely be positive. As we brainstormed how we could evolve things, we considered how we could slowly work on improving monetization, while also trying to increase engagement and the user experience for the most loyal OMAAT community members. I’m being brutally honest here: Of course a good amount of blog traffic comes from search and “news” stories, and those are largely people who click on the site once, and never visit again; honestly, those are the people where there’s the most upside in serving them a good number of ads, as that’s part of the monetization formula needed for a blog to work But obviously we don’t want regular readers to have to suffer through that in the same way, and that’s why we recently introduced the new points based system for engagement, and the more engaged you are, the fewer ads you’re served That’s a direct expense to us, but we feel it’s a worthwhile investment in creating engagement and trying to make the community a kinder place; the hope is that by making it more pleasant to engage, other people will be more encouraged to join in as well, etc. Since most of us are miles & points geeks, personally I love the gamified system Jeremy came up with for earning status, because I think it’s kind of fun Some people mentioned that they are frequent readers but don’t necessarily like engaging, and asked if there was a way to buy status points; so that’s why we’ve just added that, so that people also have the option of avoiding ads and instead paying some amount for an ad free experience I know that last point rubs some people the wrong way. I get it. “Oh, now you’re charging to read?” No, that’s really not the intent. I know ads aren’t a new issue that readers have with the site, and I get that’s a feeling people have had for a long time. The intent here isn’t to say “oh, let’s make the situation worse, so people are forced to pay.” We just took the current state of things, and said “how can we start to take away ads in a way that’s mutually beneficial?” I am totally fine if no one chooses to pay to remove the ad experience. The goal is just to give people options, though of course we appreciate the support. Want a better ad experience without that, but don’t want to engage in the comments? As Jeremy covered yesterday, you can also earn 2,500 status points simply by signing up for our newsletter and adding OMAAT as a preferred source on Google through your account. That’s enough for OMAAT Gold status, which already gets fewer ads (it removes advertisement pop-ups and video ads). That alone will make the ad situation better than it has been in a long time. I don’t think that’s a huge ask. Admittedly I’m biased, but I’d like to think these are thoughtful, deliberate ways to try to make changes that are mutually beneficial. And again, we’re totally open to feedback, so if people have others ideas, we’d love to hear them as well (though we have a lot more in the pipeline). Anyway, I think I’ve rambled enough, so thanks for coming to my TED Talk… Stop treating me like a Delta 767!!! :p Bottom line While I don’t ever expect everyone to agree with me, I’d at least like people to know where my head is at, to be transparent about the state of things, and to explain why you see the things you do around here. The internet has changed a lot over the years, and the simple reality is that the internet is monetized completely differently nowadays compared to nearly two decades ago. Trust me, I wish it weren’t the case, but I’d be a fool to sit here and just yell at the sky and deny reality. We’re trying to make genuinely thoughtful changes, with the goal being to be a bit more efficient with how we monetize things, while also trying to create a sense of community, and showing our appreciation to regular readers. Will we always get everything right? Of course not. But I do hope people can understand the logic for the changes we’re making, and where we’re coming from… Either way, thank you so much to everyone for reading and for their support! And of course you’re free to sound off respectfully, whether you agree or disagree!