Monetization Archives - Page 2 of 5 - This Week in Blogging

Mediavine Journey vs Monumetric – Which is Better?

October 29, 2025November 17, 2024

As our new websites grow, we take the opportunity to try out different ad networks to see how they perform over time on the same sites.

In the past we've tested Adsense vs Monumetric and found that Monumetric was, to no one's surprise, a clear winner. Premium ad networks are just that much better than the basics, after all.

But after my wine blog qualified for Mediavine Journey, we thought we'd repeat the analysis comparing what is, in all honesty, two very similar companies- with rather similar earnings and some negatives of each worth keeping in mind.

Note: I tested Monumetric on my wine blog in 2022 and Mediavine Journey on my site in 2024. Due to the significant volatility in the market in recent years, it is hard to compare earnings/RPMs over time. While I can make the argument that RPMs tend to be down a fair bit now versus back then, it really is hard to make too strong of conclusions in this one.

Mediavine Journey Review – Monetize at Lower Sessions

October 29, 2025October 22, 2024

When it comes to display advertising on our blogs, we often highlight premium ad networks like Mediavine as the gold standard in programmatic advertising.

But, of course, these products also come with high barriers for entry that many bloggers simply do not qualify for until they grow to a sufficient size.

Mediavine Journey is one product designed with lower traffic requirements in mind, and while this one pays out a bit less than what we would expect from the classic product, we're ecstatic to have the option to earn a bit of income as our smaller sites grow.

Stay22’s Spark Tool Helps Fill the Gaps in Affiliate Linking

May 11, 2026September 27, 2024

Stay22 has quickly become the leader in all things travel affiliates for their novel products resulting in more bookings and, subsequently, income for bloggers.

One of their latest offerings is a new tool known as Spark which uses proprietary AI to automatically add affiliate links into existing content. This tool was fascinating for us to try because, like many, I am sometimes fairly laid back about adding links to posts, especially when I am in a hurry, and it felt nice to know that the Spark tool is my linking assistant on pages that could use a boost.

So in this one, we thought we'd break down what Stay22's Spark tool is, how it works, and what kind of results they have been seeing since the initial rollout!

The Impacts of Removing Video Ads from a Blog

May 11, 2026July 9, 2024

Ever since the major Google updates of late 2023 and early 2024, SEO experts have been seemingly throwing spaghetti on the wall to try and figure out what factors could have made an impact.

But because of the size of these updates, arguments could be made for trends everywhere. From having a privacy policy, contact page, or having display ads, virtually every best practice was flagged as a possible point of concern at some point.

When nearly everyone was impacted, it is easy to make these leaps.

One argument we saw several times is that sites with ads or aggressive affiliate plays were impacted more than others. While we personally did not see this being a factor as much in our own sites, it did make us curious, particularly around video ads.

So we put together a test to see what would happen if we turned video ads off one of our sites!

5 Reasons Why I Took a Part Time Job Outside of Blogging

June 3, 2024

We get it, things are weird in blogging right now.

Between the push for AI creations (often at the expense of content creators), changing algorithms, and variable budgets, many bloggers feel the pressure in earnings. We have to admit, we are, too!

One thing we've seen frequently is bloggers considering taking on a part-time job to supplement their income, and after mulling it over, I've decided to jump on board this train and take on extra outside work myself.

In this one, I wanted to share why I decided that after nearly six years of full-time blogging, it was time for me to get back into the workforce by joining another business part-time.

I'm actually not that upset by this choice, really!

5 Ways to Diversify Your Blogging Income Streams

May 11, 2026April 10, 2024

If there is only one constant in blogging, it would be change- and recently, there have been some big changes.

If you're like us, odds are good that you're thinking of ways to pivot and diversify your income streams in blogging and content creation at large. While it may be a necessity these days, having a diverse selection of income streams is also the sign of a healthy business and is something all bloggers should be working towards regardless of their own individual circumstances.

So, how do we not put all of our eggs in one proverbial basket? Let's share some ideas to diversify!

3 Stay22 Integration Ideas to Try on Your Travel Blog

May 11, 2026March 22, 2024

When it comes to utilizing Stay22, you are likely familiar with their popular tools like deep linking, maps, and the POP popup tool in the Let Me Allez toolset.

While you can likely make a great deal of money on your travel blog utilizing these tools in conventional ways, for this one, we wanted to look a bit deeper with some unique integration ideas and data analyses you may want to consider.

From figuring out what booking service your audience actually prefers to A/B testing ListView and Maps, to creating customized booking widgets with Optimized Redirect, we have some fun ideas in this one!

Note: This article was sponsored by Stay22. As always, all opinions are our own. Some of the methods provided in the below article require analysis or install methods not inherently included in Stay22 products. There may be other ways to get to the same result than the examples illustrated below, however. If you have an alternative idea, comment and share!

10 Things You May Not Know About Stay22

May 11, 2026February 23, 2024

There has been no company that has changed the affiliate marketing game for travel bloggers more in recent years than Stay22.

From their access to many brand partners on one single platform to unique products like Optimized Redirect and POP, it is easy to see why this one is quickly becoming an industry leader in all things travel affiliates.

But as Stay22 is still a somewhat young company, you may not be too familiar with what they're all about and some fun features you have at your disposal when joining. So in this one, we thought we'd share some facts about Stay22 you may not know about!

Note: This article has been sponsored by Stay22. As always, all opinions are our own.

Stay22 Case Study – Nova Increased Earnings by $6,600 in a Year

May 11, 2026January 14, 2024

We're always on the lookout for new travel affiliates and products to help generate revenue on our travel blogs.

One company that has been making waves in recent years is Stay22, a 3rd party affiliate company with unique blogging tech like maps with live API pricing of hotels, optimized redirects, generous payout terms, and, as of early 2023, a unique pop-up tool aptly known as Nova (formerly called POP and renamed in mid-2024).

I put the Nova tool to the test on three of my blogs with travel content, and after collecting a year of performance data, I was truly shocked at what was found. This one product from Stay22 helped increase our annual revenue by $6,600- roughly doubling our hotel earnings in just a few minutes of installation work!

So in this one, I thought I'd share more about the Nova tool from Stay22, my performance data over the 12 months monitored, and draw a few conclusions about how Nova influenced my earnings.

Notes: I installed the scripts for Nova on January 13th, 2023. Data referenced as 2023-2024 follows 12 months starting on this date and does not account for any optimization time that may be present shortly after installation. Likewise, any data reported from the previous year, labeled 2022-2023, uses January 13th as the reference point- not calendar year, despite being fairly close. Other discrepancies or estimates will be noted when relevant. Finally, this article was sponsored by Stay22; however, all data points and expressed opinions are my own.