Recently I’ve had a lot of people e-mailing me or commenting saying that they really like the blog (thanks!) and to say thank you that they’d just used one of my credit card links. This is usually a big deal for most bloggers and I appreciate you trying to show your support, but this site does not use any credit card affiliate links (you can read more about why I made that decision here).
Even though we don’t have any affiliate links on this website, it doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t use them at all. I believe that you should use other bloggers affiliate links (I use them whenever they are available for a card I want to sign up for).
There is always debate on what works best, a carrot or a stick? Personally I think it’s much easier to motivate people with a potential reward (the carott, which is using their affiliate links if they provide good content) than it is to threaten them with a punishment (the stick, in this case publicly shaming them or not visiting their site).
A lot of bloggers no longer have direct links to credit cards, but you’ll notice a small box ad in their sidebar where you can view lots of different credit cards. They’ll still earn a good commission if you links found on those pages.
- Always make sure you’re getting the highest sign up bonus (and this goes with point #1, don’t support bloggers that don’t tell you about better offers). Here is my guide on how to find the best sign up bonus for a specific card.
- Support bloggers that provide original, useful content. Writing good content that is original takes a lot of time and thought, bloggers providing this type of content deserve the extra money.
- Do not support bloggers that write content purely to promote a credit card. Personally I find these posts pretty easy to spot, it sometimes almost looks like they are using pre written templates.
- Spread the love. Try not to apply for all of your credit cards from one site, try to spread the love a bit – especially with newer bloggers so they know you appreciate their content.
I appreciate you guys trying to support this site, but I’d much rather you support other blogs by using their links. Also don’t forget to support the other bloggers that don’t use these links as well, lots of them have donation buttons! Other bloggers like Freequent Flyer even give you awesome tips on manufactured spending if you sign up for their paid newsletter.
You can still keep writing me nice messages and support this site by spreading it around. Tell a friend, share it on twitter or facebook and link to it if you have your own website.
I understand your carrot approach and see the benefits. At the same time, a spade should be called a spade and readers should be warned when certain blogs have sold out to affiliate interests.
It would benefit your readers immensely if you wrote a short list of popular blogs that have sold out to affiliate interests or are overly influenced in their content by affiliate interests. I suspect you prefer not to do this because of a potential backlash?
thepointsguy is a good example. Occasionally, it does have useful information. But more and more, it has become a propaganda mouthpiece for CC issuers. Can you anyone else think of other good examples?
So here’s a question I wouldn’t ask most bloggers:
Given that a bank’s decision to approve you for a credit card involves an analysis of how much they will profit from your account versus the cost of acquiring you as a customer, and given that the commission paid is probably a significant factor on the cost side side of that equation, is it possible that some people are more likely to be approved for a card if they lower the cost to the bank by applying directly and –not– through a referral link?
I don’t know of any card issuers that do this, I guess it’s possible but I doubt it. I’ll ask a few friends that work in marketing/approvals and see what they say. I’m almost certain that it wouldn’t play a factor though.
I’ve noticed that the few times i’ve used an affiliate link i’ve not been immediately approved, and have had to go through re-con. The times that I haven’t done this i’ve been (most often) immediately approved. Not sure if this is by chance or design. But I have a hunch there’s a connection.
I have one thing to add to this statement: “Spread the love. Try not to apply for all of your credit cards from one site, try to spread the love a bit – especially with newer bloggers so they know you appreciate their content.”
Most of the time, the affiliate network will only record the first credit card approval. So if you apply for (and are approved for) several credit cards from the same blog, only the first approval will result in an affiliate commission. Just another reason to spread the love among many bloggers.
Really? I’ve never noticed this before. Seems like an odd thing to do, but like you said one more reason to spread it out.