Miles For Family is now 12 years old! Almost a teenager! Over the years, the award travel hobby has seen a lot of changes. And, the same is true for bloggers who constantly have to adapt to stay in business. Ben at One Mile at a Time wrote a post a few weeks ago about the realities of blogging right now, and a lot of it rings true for Miles For Family.
This past year, several changes have occurred that have negatively affected our business::
- Chase adopted new rules for affiliate traffic which meant we could no longer have Chase affiliate links
- American Express followed suit a few weeks ago, causing us to lose the vast majority of our credit card revenue
- AI summaries from Google searches have resulted in a significant decrease in blog traffic
Twelve years ago, blogging was a booming industry. Gradually, other outlets have taken over as content providers, especially social media and video content. Drama and viral news is what sells. Guess what our most viewed blog post this year has been? Brawl Inside Galveston Cruise Port Ends with 24 People Banned From Carnival Cruise Line.
The goal of this blog has always been to inspire people to travel by sharing our trip reports and to teach people how to use miles and points to travel for less money. If the goal was to just make money, our content would look a lot different. It’s definitely a balancing act to remain true to our purpose while also keeping this blog as a part-time profitable business.
With all that said, Miles For Family has joined a few additional affiliate networks to compensate for the changing variables of our old business model. On the sidebar of the blog, you will see affiliate links for the following travel-related websites:
Klook.com Travel site for tours and activities
Booking.com Hotels, flights, cruises
Expedia.com All travel needs
I also added a Buy Me A Coffee link, if you’re so moved.
Screenshot from the right sidebar of the blog:
Going forward, we will share more personal credit card referral links (the same links you get for sharing your card apps to friends and family). I may also write a few more posts about travel drama and scandals. But don’t worry, we will keep the trip reports and the deal suggestions in our regular post lineup.
Thanks for reading!
Author: Nancy
Nancy lives near Dallas, Texas, with her husband and three kids. Her favorite vacations include the beach, cruising and everything Disney.
Going strong!
Keep it on!!
Happy travel (blogging)!!
Twelve years already! I can’t believe it’s been that long. I’ve learned so much and taken many trips thanks to you and Leana!