One of the most common questions I get (especially when people ask for interviews which I almost always turn down) is why I started this blog and why I continue to do it. I think my reasons have changed over time, but can be summed up as follows:
- I like to help people
- I like to learn
- I like to make money
When I began blogging I wanted to understand more about how credit scores were calculated and what you could do to increase your score. I thought this would be relatively easy, but the more I dug into learning about it the more complex I found it (e.g multiple different credit scoring algorithms, multiple data sources etc etc). I didn’t find anybody that had this information in an easy to digest format so I decided to create it and then this blog grew organically from there (credit cards started offering free FICO scores, I didn’t like the biased information about secured credit cards etc).
I would be lying if I said I didn’t also want to make money from this blog, I love making money. That being said it’s not my prime motivator, I have an extremely well paid day job that is more than enough for my modest needs. A few days ago the American Express SPG cards were increased to 30,000 points and a reader let me know that they were successful getting 5,000 courtesy points even though they applied for the standard 25,000 point offer months ago.
I decided that was worth a post to let other readers know that they should attempt it. By my count that post helped people get around 50,500 SPG points (and that only includes the ones that commented, it’s probably more like 10x that number).
At the end of the day, I couldn’t really care less if you click on our links (and remember we don’t use affiliate links for credit cards or bank accounts) – as long as you find this site helpful I’m a happy blogger. The absolute best part for me is that I’m continually learning thanks to readers correcting my mistakes, discussing why they disagree with my opinion and also tipping me off to deals.
If you really think my main motivation is money, I’ll do a post soon about some of the lucrative opportunities I’ve declined due to them not aligning with my moral compass and what this blog is all about.
P.S I also want to thank all of the other bloggers and communities in this space that do this for the right reasons and do everything they can to give their readers the best information possible.
Lurker here. LOVE your blog. It’s become my go-to for churning related news and educational material.
Keep up the great work!
Also, ironically your work is so good that you’re the only blogger that I really wish I could help out by using a referral link 🙂
I really appreciate your work and like your blog! It’s really surprising that you have a full time job…
best CC blog out there, hands down.
thank you and please do keep it up.
Thank you for the incredible information. My first stop every morning is this blog!
It’s funny I initially found your blog looking for more in depth info on credit scoring and reports years back. It’s crazy to think how much it has evolved since. Agree with other comments that this blog is by far the most straight forward and accessible of the bunch. So many others, while big and glossy, are way too in love with particular rewards programs and brands. You blog hits a nice niche between informative and educational as well as covering a nice array of complimenting topics(Credit, MS, Points, Cash back, Rewards, Bonuses, Gift cards, and Offers). These are all low hanging fruit which normal not-quitting-their-day-jobs-to-do-this-stuff folks appreciate.
I’m also a recent reader of your blog. I’m astonished at how simple all of this is by following your well-written and researched instructions. Your blog is just as useful to me as the travel blogs promoting the credit card sign-up bonuses. Your blog seems more practical, at least for me. I’m never going to get status with an airline or hotel because I’m too tight with a dollar. But you are helping me increase those dollars in easily actionable ways. Thanks!
You rock doc! Thanks for all you do.
William,
While I like the deals that you mention the thing I like most about your posts is you always seem to care about doing the “right” thing and following your “moral compass” like you said. I can’t say that many bloggers (or people in general) seem to care too much about that.
I think you should do a blog post on how you make money on the blog without affiliate links as I am very interested as I get a lot of crap from haters (expected & welcome for the entertainment factor alone) and now even friends for whining and pumping…which is also entertaining as well! Or do a webinar or something.
Your blog is on the TBB Blogs I Like list for a reason. It is a special place and well deserved. I am thinking of charging to keep you on it bwahahahaha. #snarkitup!
It is amazing how non full timer bloggers can keep up the quality of posts! You amaze us Will. Again, the two Titans Gary and Ben also amaze me purely on the prolific frequency of posts they can unload daily. Then again doing 15 posts on the Korean Air macadamia nutgate incident or the nauseating number of posts on the latest credit cards sale sure fill in a lot of the content.
I also want to say that Pedro and Miles Whip can do guest blogs for my blog anytime! I can pay them with free stock tip advice perhaps woohoo!
I should do a blog post like this, I want some lovin too 🙂
I am very caffeinated at this point right now and wife just ordered me to drive daughter to girlfriend’s birthday party which was not in the cards #whining
If you are ever in the Detroit area, coffee at Panera on me. I could do lunch as well but I need to pump my links, did you know everyone the phucking Amex SPG card has a new design and this is your LAST chance!
I think people underestimate the money-making power of a well-written blog that doesn’t have affiliate links. A friend makes $1K a month from hers, and it’s a teaching blog with a few AMZ links, some ads, etc. Hers is a good blog, but not that famous. The Benjamins are out there for anyone that does it well, interacts well with the audience, and keeps things positive, or at the worst, neutral.
With that said, I don’t think I’d want to know how much this blog pulls in, as whatever it pulls in is justified by the content, the quality and the amount of time DoC puts into his research & writing. I like the site, and unlike many other bloggers with heads up their own *****, DoC seems friendly, legit, and truly interested and invested in what he does here.
Thank you for all the time an effort you put into making the content on this blog both qualitative and quantitative! Not to mention recruiting great writers like Chuck, and managing the website yourself. I appreciate the tremendous amount of work all of the above takes, thank you.
Miles Whip is a pretty great writer as well. I really should have mentioned both of them in this post, they make this whole thing so much easier and more enjoyable for me.