ScottC

As someone with a bit of a history in blogging, I can say that her site is the perfect mix of the kind of content travel advertisers like to see.

99% of the content on BA is total crap, and only appeals to a very small portion of the traveling public. Does her girly attitude and photos help? You bet, but her content is fresh, bright and colorful. Compare any BA blog to her blog and you'll see why she does so well.

As for CC referrals being "King", perhaps in the US, but if you want a global audience, they are meaningless, and again - only appeal to a very, very small portion of your audience.

PWMTrav

Yup, her blog has actual content. Don't get me wrong, I check TPG for the big stuff from major issuers or airlines, I think Gary does a good job with some analysis, and One Mile At a Time is just a fun blog to read because I think Lucky/Ben is insane. But those sites, by and large, all contain the same 90% of content and differentiate on the last bit. I might read them for a particular objective -

*TPG for big news (big meaning from a major company, because he only posts things that can earn him a referral)
*OMaaT if I'm going on a trip in J and need to pick a product, because he's flown them all and his reviews are entertaining; doesn't pimp credit cards nearly as hard
*VFTW for some honest analysis on some of the things TPG posts as well

But Just One Way Ticket is living what she writes about. For real. Not just a short term jaunt for the purpose of generating content. That's readable every day because a lot of us sitting at a desk would love to be doing that - if not full time, maybe a month between jobs or something, or even 2 weeks with the family. That's good content, and if I were paying to advertise (I have nothing relevant to advertise), her blog would be high on my list.

Raffles

But if you look at the readership stats I posted in post 3, copied from her own site, the general public does NOT seem to like it! She just seems able to convince commercial companies that they do.

I wouldnt advertise on a site with such poor reader numbers. 83 per cent of visitors do not bother to read a second page.

julsdaman

I agree but what content is not being covered that you wish would be covered by a blogger? I feel like there's not much more insight or big news information that isn't being covered out there already so most people are just spinning their own take on a particular news piece or promoting credit cards for referrals. I'd love to hear what you think isn't being covered and that needs to be addressed by a blogger.

PWMTrav

The news is being covered, but the actual purpose travel sort of isn't. IMHO, the best blogs are the ones who take their act on the road. I'm interested in the destinations as much (or more) than I am in the credit cards and airlines that get me there. The popular blogs mostly just design content to funnel readers to a credit card app, but I'd hardly call what they do "travel" as much as it is blogging about ways to travel. My exception to that would probably be Lucky, but he never leaves the airport - his content, however, is unique because he invests the time to do way more than post the news.

sbm12

Another fun read about comp'd trips: http://velamag.com/backpackers-in-paradise/.

kokonutz

My god. What a pretentious, ungrateful person she is!

sbm12

Or honest about the idiocy of how marketing organizations target their comp'd trips and why trusting what you read about a destination, especially from a press trip, is a questionable move.

I suppose possibly all of the above, too.

kokonutz

I'll be honest: reading through her faux-bohemian snobbery, I found myself thinking that I'd really enjoy staying at the Sea Horse. Enough that I googled the place, anyway. In a way, more so than if she had simply followed the standard travel writer line of pumping the hell out of the place the way P&M bloggers pump the hell out of Chase cards.

So maybe pudgy American co-owner Jennifer, her The Help-loving sister in law Melody and the Tourist Board of the DR are crazy like a fox for inviting pretentious and ungrateful bloggers!

And maybe Sarah there did more harm to the cause of anti-exploitation and neo-colonialism than good with her screed.

In any case, thanks for sharing! It did indeed give some terrific insight into the mind of a travel blogger on the verge of/dipping her toe into 'selling out.'

sbm12

But odds are you wouldn't be reading her content regularly. So you'd never get that "recommendation" from her, even if she wrote it.

Mora

I also find her blog entry on the Seahorse quite pretenious. She must have known what lies ahead of her when she got the invitation for that trip - if not- google is indeed your friend. If the property is against her travel "ethics" why did she accept the invitation in the first place? Why spend a week/days at a property with all expenses paid just to later blog about how much you loath the environment and that you'd rather spend time with the people who work there at the local BBQ hut? If you really have got any ethics as a blogger than don't accept an invitation to a trip like that.

oliver2002

Reasons why you should write a travel blog:

http://thetravelhack.com/blogging/th...e-travel-blog/

Raffles

Bless.

We should be grateful no-one ever told this lot they could make $500,000 per year writing a miles and points blog instead.

Philatravelgirl

Go to a TBEX or one if the many other "travel blogging" conferences and you meet lots of bloggers living on the road full time or traveling on press and sponsored trips (I don't agree you should take a free trip to somewhere you wouldn't stay normally but that's just me) - the points travel group is a small subset of blogs represented there.
I started my blog (philatravelgirl.com) to write about the actual travel experience once I burned miles in J to safari, Easter island and RTW that I didn't see on BA or for that matter when researching solo travel - I'm making no money from it and while I have a few ideas long term I'm just trying to build readership and travel vendor /PR contacts.

Doctor of Credit

Looking at readership stats like that are pointless with a proper frame of reference. You're comparing your own site to hers, when you both have completely different audiences and traffic sources.

I presume a lot of her traffic is coming from mainstream female dominated social networking sites (FB/Pinterest) and that traffic is less sticky than the targeted traffic you're more than likely to be receiving.

That doesn't make it any less desirable, in fact her target demo (18-35 yr old females) is one of the most profitable subsections to advertise to. The advertise could care less what her bounce rates are, as long as they are sharing and buying their product.