Can't be right. Given the growth rate, my little UK blog will do 2 million page views this year and I only started it in July. Even if I never gained another new reader I would do over 1.5m

Gary is talking to a national market 5 times the size and with, say, double the interest in miles that the UK has - that gets you to 25m page views.

Where is AlohaDaveKennedy when we need him? This is a Spanish Inquisition if I've ever seen one! If you're unhappy with the content of his blog, stop reading it. Some FTers forget that there's a world out there besides online forums and the inside of planes--get a life and let other people enjoy theirs.

why don't you just ask lucky?
 

I don't understand why you wouldn't just ask Lucky, who is very accessible and allows comments, as well as very frequently responding to comments, on his own blog. I opened this thread concerned that someone was trying to sell you a B.S. "get paid to fly as a travel blogger" course, similar to some of the B.S. "get paid to fly as a travel agent" course scams that used to go around in the pre-internet days. But apparently this is not the case.

In my tiny experience, the short general answer is, if you start a blog, thinking someone is going to start picking up first class/business class tickets for you, then you are almost certainly wasting your time. In my personal opinion, if you are starting a business, think about how you are going to earn MONEY, and then you can buy whatever you like. A lot more people fly first class by earning MONEY or getting great jobs/businesses, than fly in first class by starting travel blogs. My opinion only, of course. If Lucky or another more experienced person disagrees, I would certainly pay a lot of attention to their opinion.

But if you have a specific question about Lucky's business model, then why not start at the top and ask him? Here we have a guy pretty much openly blogging his whole life. If you have a question for him, try asking. My two cents only.

boarding area has linked each and every page on their site to google syndication, so I'm pretty certain the stats in GDN are correct. Crosschecking the US regional data with other sites siteanalytics and alexa, I'm even more certain.

My thoughts exactly! I personally prefer TPG over MMS because TPG doesn't make every little thing into a link, so it feels more genuine. Is it more genuine? Who knows! But if you're learning something from their blogs and are enjoying their thoughts and opinions, stop thinking so much about it. You either like it or you don't.

I actually first learned about this world from MMS. Then I got to know TPG and then BA. I read Lucky's posts because it is entertaining. I think he is a very good writer with a good sense of humor. No CC pushing is another plus. TPG on the other hand is kind of boring and often times he talks about deals that waste my time (often in the form of questions) because in the end the conclusion is it is not worth it. I still visit his page though just in case there is something I am missing from other bloggers. MMS, I go there for deals and urgent notices when things change. So I read all of them but I think Lucky has the best sense of humor among the three.

I just have to point out that FlexOffers has very little to do with giving blogs a chance at affiliate offers and quotas. The credit card companies are the ones dictating compliance. It makes zero sense for FO to limit the amount of people that would make them money. The more people pitching affiliate offers, the better for them. They get all the heat though since we never directly deal with the issuers.

The card companies are the ones driving the boat, and in due time, now that the credit card portion of FO has been purchased by BankRate, the affiliate fees will be dropping like flies. Soon, and it could be a year or so, the commissions will be considerably less like they already are on BankRate. The credit card business is about to get a lot less lucrative.

No, they don't. The site owner (blogger) gets paid by Google for showing the ad (usually Google pays on a per-click basis). So the blog owner may get paid anywhere from $0.10-$2.00+ (there are a lot of variables that determine pricing) when a visitor clicks on a Google ad on their site (regardless of whether or not the visitor converts).

The credit card ads showing up on sites in Google ad spaces could be from the CC company directly, or they could be from other affiliates promoting their offers on that particular site (either targeted directly or auto-targeted by the system on the google adwords content network). This is another way credit card affiliates (and all types of affiliates) make money besides authoring content themselves.

Well the Milevalue guy was reviewing the first class product of United or some other airline the other day.

The previous day, he was reviewing how to select your hostel. Yes hostel. So they are not always going to the fancy stuff.

On the other hand, I feel like they are bragging every bit possible with their first class redemption only to go to a hostel next. Dunno, not my stuff :D

I'd rather stretch it a bit and go to Business or Economy Plus and then have a really proper bed on arrival? What's the point to pay so many miles to enjoy a shared shower in the air, if it is only to get... another shared shower on the ground!! :D:D:D

haha! I'm the opposite. I hate flights because they're always uncomfortable for me. I'd rather use my points/miles for first class and then go to a hostel. I only ever sleep in my hotel, so no way I would waste my points on a fancy hotel. I'm all about being able to lie flat on an airplane! :)

Because some of us travel on our own and it's nice to meet other travelers with whom you can trade stories and explore cities with. When's the last time you heard someone ask the Four Seasons concierge to accompany them to the museum?

If the site has a certain traffic (measure in UVs or pageviews) they can get ad revenue by just showing the ad, minor sites get ad revenue only when someone actually clicks on the ad. Blogs belong to the latter category, whereas FT would be in the first category.

Ahem - we only come when we are not expected. Where's the surprise and fear if we come on call?:p And what's this about people enjoying life? Just what have you been enjoying anyway? Confess, you are guilty of something! Biggles, bring in the dishrack and the comfy cushions!:p

At the Four Seasons, the concierge would.

Imagine what Internet Brands gets with FlyerTalk !!!!!
:p