Letztes Update: 28. September 2023
The word transparency often appears in my contributions. When I choose a financial product, I want it to be as transparent as possible. I want to know what it costs and what’s in it. I don’t want complicated language, no hidden costs, and I don’t want to be talked into or pushed into anything.
But what does that have to do with bloggers’ earnings? Meanwhile, so much time flows into the blog that it is more than just a pastime and I can not simply “give away” or “run for free”. Here I present you different ways to make money with a financial blog and which one I chose. So it is time to create transparency here as well.
Air and love
Let me back up for a moment: This blog came about because I was involved in a theater production where we played almost 100 shows. Since we were quite a large ensemble and I was one of the first to be allowed into makeup, I had plenty of time between the makeup appointment and the start of the show. A lot of time times a hundred gives a lot of time. And since I was interested in Swiss-related financial topics and nerdily enjoyed trying out new digital financial products, I thought, well, why not write about my experience? Maybe it will help someone out there.
As a complete blog newbie, I came up with a somewhat passable name, cobbled together a logo using a free tool, and looked for a homepage builder. Within two days I was live in January 2020 trying to write the first article. Somewhere I read that articles should be at least 500 words long – I found that torturously long at the time.
The blog was bobbing along, then Corona came and I suddenly had a lot of time again. For the first time I read about SEO, affiliate, partnerships, audiences, conversions … and actually I just wanted to tell about my experience.
Monetization
Even if with me the blog arose from too much time, at the latest since autumn 2020 the blog now devours a lot of time. On the one hand for the creation of the regular contributions, on the other hand for answering questions of the readers and sorting out cooperation requests. And free of charge are neither the hosting nor a graphic designer or what else. So here’s how to make money with or through a financial blog:
- I publish the bulk of it behind a paywall, craft cash-flow training, courses, and degree programs, sell them, and readers buy a subscription or something similar. Disadvantage: Many are excluded and the hurdles are supposed to be low.
- I bombard the blog with advertising. Disadvantage: The reading flow is extremely disturbed by advertisements of mostly junk financial products and credit providers. And personally, I don’t want to keep clicking away the sneaker I was looking for last week and have since bought. By the way, you can change your privacy settings under Privacy. If you select “Accept all”, you will be shown advertising and you help me to run the blog – thank you for that.
- I become an itinerant preacher or speaker and tingle from convention hotel to church parish hall with my mindset evenings. Cons: Personally, high-energy and enthusiastic speakers give me the willies and gag reflexes.
- I publish foreign posts that have backlinks to gambling or lightly clothed people. Disadvantage: It will be a jumble of opinions and voices.
- I post posts that are collaborative and initiated by product vendors. That is, I get paid by vendors to create posts.
- I enter into longer-term partnerships and incorporate affiliate links.
In my articles, I deliberately go down to the provider level and don’t just stay in theory. I missed that back when I was starting out in finance. A lot of it was too theoretical for me, not 1:1 implementable or too much related to Germany. But I want to know what a tax statement or purchase invoice looks like, for example, before I finalize a product.
Paid contributions
In the case of paid contributions, I think it is important that readers are informed about this. So paid posts on my blog are clearly marked as such at the beginning of the text.
Even though the post is paid, I am still speaking from my perspective. The commissioners proofread the article before publication and check whether the facts are correct. However, the final editing is up to me.
I prefer to write about products that I have tried myself or ideally use myself. If I find a product bad, not suitable for my blog or I would not use it myself, then I do not enter the deal. Anything else would not be sustainable and since the blog is not my main job, I can also afford a targeted selection. (You wouldn’t believe the requests you get all the time…).
Partnerships and affiliate links
I feel most comfortable with longer-term partnerships. In my opinion, dealing with one’s own finances should also be something for the long term. Wealth accumulation is a marathon, not a sprint. And that’s where it makes sense to accompany the providers over the longer term.
Ideally, I get to know the people behind the providers personally and we mutually benefit from the collaboration on various levels.
But what are partnerships and affiliate links anyway? I write about products or services on my blog, and if you purchase a product or service from the respective provider through a link or code, I receive a commission for it. This can be CHF 2 and in rare cases over CHF 100 – depending on the provider. For books, a certain percentage goes to me; for financial products, usually a fixed amount.
In return, in most cases, when you use the code, you also get something. For example, a starting credit, a discount or trading credits. And if you then use the product yourself, you can recommend it to others with most providers and also receive something in return.
By the way, the majority of my partnerships can be found under vouchers.
So, of course, it is tempting to simply recommend those products most actively that pay the best. To ensure that this does not happen, I have created a code for myself.
Code
- Paid contributions are marked as such in text and color at the beginning of the text.
- A unit price applies to paid contributions. Each supplier therefore pays the same price.
- Affiliate links are marked with an asterisk (*).
- Using the codes or links does not cause any additional costs or other disadvantages for the readers. For example, you can buy the book for the same price directly from the vendor’s website. And, of course, you are free not to take advantage of the offer and enter into a customer relationship without a code. So no money flows in the background either.
- I only enter into collaborations with providers that I use myself or have extensively tested before publishing. Ideally, I know the people behind the products.
- I try to invest my own money in the product whenever possible (real money account). Guided sessions and promotional presentations are nice, but everyday life is usually different.
- Whenever possible, I try to present several providers and explain why I think something is good or bad. On the subject of brokers, you will find articles on CapTrader, DEGIRO, FlowBank, Smartbroker and Swissquote, for example. On the subject of banking to CSX, neon, Yapeal, Yuh and Zak. Ideally, you will be able to find the provider that suits you best and know exactly why you have chosen this one. After all, there is no one provider that is best for everyone and everything.
Finally, you should be aware that the blog is personally colored and reflects my own opinion. I am not an independent comparison portal and despite careful research I can not guarantee accuracy, completeness and timeliness.
Transparency and disclaimer
I was not paid by anyone for this blog post, it reflects my subjective opinion.
If you open accounts or business relationships, order products or services through my links and codes, I may receive a commission for doing so. However, you will not suffer any disadvantages such as higher prices or the like. The terms and conditions of the respective providers apply. Affiliate links are marked with a *.
Investments are associated with risks which, in the worst case, can lead to the loss of the capital invested.
All publications, i.e. reports, presentations, notices as well as contributions to blogs on this website (“Publications”) are for information purposes only and do not constitute a trading recommendation with regard to the purchase or sale of securities. The publications merely reflect my opinion. Despite careful research, I do not guarantee the accuracy, completeness and timeliness of the information contained in the publications.