This post contains affiliate links and I may be compensated a tiny bit if you make a purchase after clicking on the links. The Savor Summer College Scholarship winners thank you!
Complete Transparency for this Online Scholarship Blog
My online scholarship blog was created to help parents and their students win more money for college, so what’s the problem? Keep reading…
A few different things have happened in the past few days that have spurred me into writing this post and informing my online scholarship blog readers what is going through my head right now. Please bear with me here.
First, I just need to say, thank YOU for being here. If you are reading this post, you somehow landed on my scholarship website and you are probably looking for scholarships and ways to increase your chances of winning money for college. I invite you to click around my site, as there is a TON of information and scholarship advice to be found here.
If you are one of my regular online scholarship blog readers, you may have noticed that my site was down for the last 24 hours. I made the decision to upgrade to a dedicated server so my site would load faster and my readers would hopefully have a more positive experience as they read through my site and 9 years worth of scholarship blog posts. Yes, 9 years!
In the last 24 hours, I have come to realize how much writing my blog posts and sharing my scholarship information means to me.
For a few harrowing hours, I actually thought that my blog and website were gone, as the site transfer was only supposed to take a few hours and because of a glitch from my web hosting company, it ended up taking much longer.
During this scary time, I wondered what I would do if my website had truly disappeared. Yes, I have made back-ups of my content, but nine years’ worth is a LOT of information and there was that nagging little, “what if” voice in my head that wouldn’t go away until my site was back up and running.
Luckily, as far as I can tell, all of my content is safe. What this time did for me was to reinforce my love for writing about scholarships, interviewing scholarship judges and winners, and helping parents and their students in the scholarship process any way that I can.
Head’s up people, I’m not going anywhere!
The second thing that happened was that someone made a comment about my online scholarship blog in a forum that attracts students looking for scholarship help. This is exactly what I posted:
Don’t wait until the last minute to ask busy teachers for letters of recommendation. Asking now will give them plenty of time to have your letters ready when school is over for the year.
If you are not sure who to ask or how to get the best possible letter, please read this article. Asking strategically really does make a difference in the quality of letters you will receive.
Good luck in all of your scholarship searching and applying! Monica Matthews
A reader on this forum replied,
“Blog spam full of affiliate links, FYI.”
That comment got me thinking.
Do I have too many ads on my site?
Is it wrong to share affiliate links?
Is the small percentage I receive from each click, sign-up, or purchase worth frustrating my readers?
ARE my blog readers frustrated with my content?
Most people have no idea of the expense involved in building and maintaining a healthy website. I won’t bore you with the details of paying for security features (yes, my site has been hacked before), domain name and hosting services, secure email list costs (your privacy is important to me) and numerous other fees that come with owning a website, but trust me, there are a TON.
I also give away $500 each year to the winner of my Savor Summer College Scholarship.
In case you are wondering, this online scholarship site and the sales of my college scholarship guide are not making me rich.
Open to High School Freshmen, Sophomores, Juniors, and Seniors! APPLY NOW HERE
Do I have lots of scholarship guide ebook sales?
Yes, but what this has allowed me to do is continue to be a stay-at-home mom and do what I have come to dearly love: Help families find and win scholarships. THIS is what I am all about.
Is my website full of “blog spam”? I honestly don’t think so, but you, my wonderful reader, might have a different opinion.
Is my scholarship blog truly making a difference for parents and students?
YES! I know it is. How? From emails like this:
Would you do me a favor and let me know your thoughts about the helpfulness of my site and the ads found here? Your comments and suggestions would mean the world to me.
If you have read this far, thank you!
Because it is my scholarship blog and I am tickled by the fact that I can instantly create and share an online coupon code, feel free to use the code ONLINESCHOLARSHIPBLOG right here for a 30% discount if you are interested in purchasing any of my scholarship guide ebooks. (Parents or Students).
Cheers! Monica Matthews
Monica Matthews is the author of How to Win College Scholarships. She helped her own son win over $100,000 in college scholarships and now shares her expertise with other parents and their students. She truly has “been there, done that” in regards to helping parents and students navigate the scholarship process.
Her method of helping students in finding college scholarships, writing unique and compelling scholarship essays, creating amazing scholarship application packets and more, have taught desperate parents to help their own students win thousands of scholarship dollars.
Monica’s scholarship tips have been featured on many prominent websites and she has been dubbed the “Go-To” expert on college scholarships.
Thanks for your blog. I enjoy reading your posts and have learned a lot. I don’t mind the ads. Every website has them, and again, your content is brilliant. The only thing you could tweek is the layout. It took some time to learn where the ads ended and your new content began. But please keep it up, at least till my DD has written enough for a full ride. Cheers!
Thanks so much, Rob. This is just the kind of feedback that I am looking for. Tell your daughter to keep up the good work and remember that you can contact me anytime for scholarship help. 🙂
I find lots of great information. I wish that all of the scholarships could be filtered by grade, major, and maybe State. Thanks for your help!
That is a great suggestion, Rhonda. Thank you so much for your comment and also for your continued support of my blog and scholarship Facebook page. 🙂
As someone not in the scholarship cycle but who enjoys reading what’s available out there, I visit your site frequently. I do find it quite ‘busy’ and full of ads but they are relevant to your market and help you achieve your goal, so are completely understandable. I agree with the other comments about not being sure where your writing ends and the ads take over. Generally it’s fine, full of useful and informative content.
Thank you, Debbie!
You’re the nation’s go-to for scholarships and people who want to say you are spammy are really off base. Your info has helped countless people. They’re wrong, you’re tops in your field. I might consider a less busy layout. I think that’s why that comment was made. There’s a lot of stuff going on per page and it’s sometimes hard to navigate for that reason. And it looks like a lot of ads scattered. A cleaner look might make clearer that you are not spamming affiliate links. You could consider grouping ads on the right sidebar even more than they are now. I don’t know if you have control over the ad that is out of the sidebar on the right and I don’t know how I feel about the 10 free tips at the bottom. Actually, you might have a web designer whose work you respect give you an assessment of layout–actually pay them for it.
Thank you, Carol. It has been such a learning experience for me in creating this website and blog. I will take your suggestions to heart and I really appreciate your honest feedback. 🙂
Your blog is full of valuable information – your afilliate links & ads included – however, as the others have already commented, your site is a bit “busy” & it is difficult to see where an advert ends & the post continues. I would personally prefer ads to appear at the end of a post ( I tend to read on a mobile) rather than in the middle of reading a post. All it needs is may be an updated tweak of the website layout? Daunting I know – I used to love my old blog layout but it did suffer from “busyness” too – I went for a cleaner, starker theme change in the end and am pleased I did so. Whatever you decide to do, I’m still a fan of your blog and I appreciate the time and effort you have put into your blog over the years.
Wow, thanks so much for your suggestions, Linda!
I love your site and share it on my FB page all the time. Your information is helpful and I want my nieces and nephews to take advantage of the scholarship information that you offer.
Thank you, Jennifer! ♥
This is wow. The story is inspiring.
A masterpiece for guys looking for scholarships.
Thank you, Danny! 🙂
Having just purchased your book, I’m grateful for all your advice and especially your blog! It is busy and would benefit from a cleaner layout. I’m also not savvy enough yet to “trust” all the ads…should I sign up for that “easy” $10,000 scholarship or is it just collecting student info?
Thanks for making a daunting process much easier!
Thank you for your honest feedback, Hilary! I’m so glad you are finding my scholarship guide and blog helpful. The $10,000 scholarship is absolutely real. My son won a $1000 scholarship from the same company and I was amazed at how quickly they sent the money to his college. 🙂 Feel free to contact me anytime if you have other scholarship questions or concerns.
I find lots of great information, I enjoy reading your posts and have learned a lot. I don’t mind the ads. thank you for sharing this post.
Thank you so much, Jasmine! 🙂
Amazing Blog! Thanks for sharing this information with us!
You’re very welcome! 🙂