Well, that would require a marketing department that can make a case to market the ad space to 'people who will pay premium rates'. Lets say that not all of BArea has content that such people would like to pay premium rates for ;)

For the occasional blogger on BA, is there even money to be made? Like at least to cover expenses and break even?

It mostly comes down to credit card conversions. So, you are looking at $50 to $400 a conversion, even with moderate/low traffic that can translate into $500 to $5k per month.

Is that enough to cover expenses and break even? Probably. But, on the lower traffic end of the spectrum, you will not make very much from BA Adverts or Programmatic Adverts (such as Google), which is much more traffic and quality of the traffic based.

Credit Card conversions genuinely are a "gold mine" and often "pervert" advert revenue numbers. Been that way for years and years.

There seem to be blogs that don't try to sell credit card sign ups. They offer either their opinions or trip reports. Surely, being on BA can help with the view count? I'm guessing this isn't very profitable and will likely not break even?

Replace "blogs that don't" with actual names of blogs and links to the home page of said blogs, and one can "back out" the numbers based on traffic. (Never 100% accurate, but relatively accurate.)

There is no way to guess what you are saying since it is data-driven; what you are sharing/saying is "opinion driven." I base my opinions on data and maths. Makes for a more honest conversation.

If your opinion is that some of these blogs suck, and they should not earn any money -- that is one thing, and just come out and say that. But, if you are truly curious about estimated ad revenue, that's something that can be calculated.

If you are part of the BArea you get (relatively) better revenue from ads. As a standalone website you would not see any ad revenue for a long time as your site has a relatively low track record.

If you want to to sell credit cards, you have to do that alone, and meet certain periodic targets. Many give up and remove the affiliate links.

For someone interested in getting into travel blogging, is it possible to get on BA easily with no experience or Randy is picky with who he wants on his platform?

I'm assuming for someone new to the industry, it's better to be on BA than being a standalone website?

So not everyone is permitted to sell credit card apps? Like if targets aren't met then affiliate links become inactive or removed?

Absolutely not accurate in 2023. There are multiple paths, many have zero requirements and zero compliance. Best to speak to things with authority, when you actually are an authority. Or preface with the fact that you give giving opinion and opinions you have heard 2nd or 3rd hand over the years.

But, your "fake expertise," is very endearing. I guess, "fake news" is sort of all the rage these days, even on FlyerTalk.

Define "easily."
Randy is a very reasonable person who also likes to support all types of content creators. So you are asking a question that cannot be answered since it's a subjective criteria.

If you produce lousy content and have very few followers and no traffic, it is highly unlikely you will be selected/invited.

Most "new bloggers," concentrate on creating great content. Great content gets clicks and recognition. Then you can take it from there. Of course, the content might not always be so "great," and your niche and social/community following (and SEO) might help more than stellar content. But this is "big picture," down the road.

I have to admit this is something on my mind, but I have no experience with this. If I were to make this a side gig, I hope that it'll at least break by covering my expenses.

So you are saying anyone with a non descript blog can now sign up to shill CCs and get 150-400$/application without any targets or requirements whatsoever? Time to open the champagne then! :D

Randy remains the patron saint of blogging out of the goodness of his heart and you can sell credit cards with zero compliance! Wow! We're learning a lot today!

As one who has been at it for 10+ years staying off Boarding Area...I would say don't bother and find other side gigs that will get you there much faster and more sustainably.

I think the blogging future is not looking good. Most bloggers have quit and/or joined big blog businesses as writers (including ghost writers). If you wanted a true side gig...I guess it is okay to start a blog and LEARN how to write and use samples to get gigs from so many content mills businesses out there masquerading as "experts".

Very interesting post by Matt who is retiring and am linking to it in my post later today:
https://www.nomadicmatt.com/travel-b...ears-blogging/

Good luck

It was a tough slog BEFORE ChatGPT. Now? Hmmmm.

I meant the expenses of operating the blog and not my living expenses.

​​​​​​​Do you think all blogging will be mostly done with the aid of ChatGPT?