It always amuses me, that in person, perhaps the question I'm most commonly asked about the site is ‘so how do you make money out of it?'. Yet, this page, which is linked to from every article, is one of the site's least read. So thank you for taking the time and trouble to come here and understand exactly how it works.
Related Articles: About the site or Martin Lewis' Biography
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Completely free to use and free from advertising |
The most important thing to understand is that MoneySavingExpert.com has no advertising and is completely free to use. Anything that is on the site is here solely because it's the very best way to save money, based on independent, detailed and specialised journalistic research. No one can pay to have anything put on this site.
When the site first started, there was no revenue generation, but within a year it had so many users, the running costs escalated beyond my pocket. Now the site's finances are very strong and it's very healthily in profit, but every penny made is without ever compromising the MoneySaving ethos and a sizeable amount is donated to charity each year.
Let's be honest, a site with the motto, "Companies try to screw us for profits. MoneySaving shows you how to screw them back" isn't exactly going to play a full part in the corporate world!
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So how does it generate revenue? |
Articles are written purely from a ‘what's the best way to save money' stance. Yet, once they're finished one of the team has the job to see if any 'affiliate links' to the top products can be found. While these look and work the same way as normal links; if someone clicks through, the link is tracked and it may generate a payment to the site (sometimes for the click, per user, per application, per accepted application or any combination).
Doesn't this compromise the site?
No.
The MoneySaving articles are written, then totally separately, paid links are looked for. If no paying link is available, absolutely nothing in the article changes. Nothing. Ever. If the best is the best and doesn't pay, it stays the best. The link used is simply a ‘non-affiliated' i.e. non-paying link. Financial considerations do not impact articles.
However, product rates and best buys change all the time, as do the top products with available affiliate links. This means at different times, different articles do better; so, of course, we like to remind you to read those then as it helps the site.
I like to think of it as not-profit-driven as the key concern isn't making money, but simply the best ways to save people cash; yet in-spite of that, the site is comfortably in-profit so it's the best of both worlds.
Where do the links come from?
They come from finance comparison sites like Moneysupermarket, MoneyExpert, Uswitch, Moneyextra, Find, Smartquotes or affiliate sites such as Tradedoubler or Commission Junction. Their links are used and then if someone clicks through, this site gets a split of their revenue.
This is quite deliberate, I try to avoid going directly or building a relationship with financial product providers themselves, so they don't try to exert any pressure.
Occasionally links are direct to comparison services themselves, e.g. for loans, energy, new cards or shopping. Again, this is only because within the context of the articles they're the best way to save money, not because they pay.
This is the reason why Moneysupermarket's very good loans comparison is included (which pays the site), but its non competitive life assurance comparison (which would pay the site generously) isn't, and instead a cheaper broker (that doesn't pay) is the top pick. It's also for this reason you won't ever see any credit card comparison services (with the exception of specific poor credit analysis services); as I don't believe they're ever the best way to do things.
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How do we know if a link pays? |
There's only one way, by the fact it has a * by it. Otherwise you shouldn't notice any difference, except occasionally you'll go to one of the comparison services landing pages to get the product, yet the product itself (unless it's better) will be the same.
There is no legal requirement to put a * by links, in fact lots of websites use affiliate links and try to hide them. However I believe it's important you know the score, also many MoneySavers like to know they may be helping the site when clicking such a link.
In other words, if there's a link to the Supertelephone company because it's the cheapest provider, if it has a * you'll go through directly and this site may get some money. If it doesn't have a * you'll go through directly and the site won't make money. That's the only difference.
Plus wherever there's a * link, an unaffiliated version of the same link is included, so you can check there's no difference.
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Does this uncompromising stance make any difference? |
Yes, and I believe it's one of the reasons this site's recommendations tend to be far more cutting edge than any other site, and probably why it's become so popular! It's also why this site isn't just about ‘finding the best product', but ‘finding the best product and using it in a way that works for you, not the company'.
As there are no corporate paymasters, everything that is written is unbiased, objective and free of outside influence. There are scores of examples of this, but let me give you just one:
It pays to be unpaid
WARNING: This is an example, the best cards will change, do not rely on this for updated info instead please see the regularly updated ‘Best Balance Transfers' Article.
At the time of writing this example (31 May 2006), the article used to demonstrate it is the ‘Best Balance Transfers' article, one of the most read on the site. The top 0% balance transfer cards are three credit cards which don't pay the site and thus aren't * links, but because they're the best - they're the top picks.
The other money sites out there don't include these cards in their best buy tables. All their recommendations are ones which pay their sites and this is the core difference. Let me show you how the other companies work:
The aim is to find the longest 0% card which doesn't have a fee for balance transferring.
- MoneySavingExpert.com top 0% cards. No links paying the site (sadly)
Barclaycard 0% for 10 months no fee
Lloyds TSB 0% for 9 months no fee
NatWest and RBS 0% for 9 months no fee
Motley Fool. All links paying the site
Virgin 0% for 9 months with a fee
Amazon 0% for 6 months no fee
Morgan Stanley 0% for 6 months no fee
MoneySupermarket. All links paying the site
MBNA Platinum 0% 9 months with a fee
Co-op Travel 0% for 6 months no fee
Marbles 0% for 6 months no fee The reason for the difference is that the best cards on the market aren't paying and as this doesn't impact the MoneySavingExpert.com best buys they are better. This is reflected across lots of different subjects at various times. Of course, sometimes the best do pay, in which case the best buy tables coincide.
For example, last year the Virgin card (before it introduced a fee) was the market's best buy so I was listing it and it paid well, as did other sites. But the day it stopped paying, the only thing that changed here was the removal of the * from the article.
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Does this site make money? |
Yes. The site is doing well. I wish I could boast I'd been clever enough to consciously develop this as a business model. In fact the truth is the concept grew organically based on the ethical principles I wanted to use to fund the site. Compared to the other money sites I've ever discussed it with, the revenue per user is much lower, simply because this site is far less transactional and has far fewer paid links and doesn't get as much per link. Also many of the users are in the forum.
However, it's now the biggest money site in the UK - and I believe much of that is due to this pro-consumer ethical policy. Therefore more people are clicking, which means as I write (June 2007) the site is very healthily in profit. This staggers me as originally I simply paid for everything, and with my refusal to take ads, it was a serious expense.
The income generated goes to three main areas:
It pays for staff, technology and the Forum.
The money it makes goes to paying a very large server budget to cope with the hefty traffic and providing jobs for thirteen full time members of staff and a number of part-timers. It's also allowed me to pay to have MoneySaving technologies built, often just because I think they'll be fun; tools like the Budget Planner, Flight Checker, CallCheckers, RewardsChecker and Tart Alert don't generate any revenue - its one of the reasons you won't find others making them.
It also goes to finance the Forum which takes huge resources because it's massive. In fact the company that provides the off-the-peg software for the Forum, Vbulletin, is now working with us as it's become one of the world's biggest and it allows them to tweak and test their software under huge stress. It's not just the technology either, as with any large community there are rules and issues of 'policing it' to keep it a safe place for all.
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It pays for me.
I don't want to hide the fact the site is a very substantial part of my income; and I make an extremely good living. I consider what I'm doing to be 'social entrepreneurship,' while the prime purpose is trying to benefit consumers at the same time, without compromising that, I hope the site makes very decent money, like any business (see my social entrepreneur blog).
In fact I'd love it to make me a billionaire, providing it never compromises my ethics and recommendations or cost any users a penny!
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It's allowed over £100,000 a year to be donated to charity.
Best of all it has also allowed me to set up the MoneySavingExpert.com Charity Fund, and now my dream of setting up a MoneySaving charity to help educate people about consuming and finance is a step-closer.
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