Guess who’s feeling perky and refreshed for another year? That’s right…I’m back! We’ll get to the deals tomorrow, but today is about looking ahead. All your warm emails lately have been so kind (as always). The feedback from you nerds has really inspired me for 2014. It truly never gets old to hear about the positive impact you have on someone. In fact, it has me thinking about what I could do better here in the coming year. These are some things I’ve been considering…
- Comments section? This is the suggestion I hear most from people. I’m genuinely sorry for any inconvenience, but it’s not something I’m looking to do here. This blog is one of the few places I do exactly what I want, and I need to stay true to that.
- Twitter? Also not for me. See above. Again, it’s just not what I’m looking to do.
- Post length? I’ve had readers say they like my long posts. I considered making it a more regular part of the rotation, but that kind of defeats the purpose here. Yet another no…
- Redeeming miles? Some of you would like some posts from me on mile burning. The most challenging part with that is keeping posts short. This blog is about earning miles/points more than anything else, and I plan to keep it that way.
“So…uh…MileNerd…you just named a bunch of things that you’re not going to change at all. What are the differences for 2014?”
- Speak personally – It’s a uniquely weird thing to communicate like this. I type for a bunch of people who read my words on a device. One of the reasons I don’t like comments is because they feel impersonal. It seems like comments are written in a way that people don’t normally speak. If someone actually takes the time to email me, it feels a little less strange. I know that probably makes no sense. I get it. But as a writer, I’d like to get better at making you feel like I’m speaking to you as an individual. I want to always keep things personal. Whether I can do it effectively or not remains to be seen.
- Interact better – I’d like to pay more attention to the good suggestions from you guys. I’m even open to people doing an occasional guest post if they have something to say. The point is that I’m going to be available for anything you have to say. I want to give you a voice here.
- Allow you in – This goes with the first point. I’d like to find ways to get even more informal with my posts. I have a pretty interesting life, and could share some short stories from shooting TV shows, real estate interactions, weird people I meet, etc. People love the deals most but also seem to like some more casual stuff occasionally. I’m going to pay attention to that.
- Make money – Instead of fighting the idea of income here so much, I should look at opportunities to make money when it doesn’t change my content. From renting out ad space to using Barclays links in my Top 25 posts, I need to be more open to earning money here. Selling out is one thing, but I think I’ve stayed too far in the other direction.
- Ranting – I don’t think it works for every writer. Some people can’t articulate their feelings and others just sound like whiners. Mainly, as I talked about before, most people are too scared to look at themselves honestly. This makes their opinions pointless and boring. For whatever reason, people enjoy how I “rant.” It’s really just opening up about how I feel, but you guys seem to like the things I say. I’ll look to share my observations as they come up in 2014. I’ll see how it goes.
I hope you have an incredible 2014 full of miles, points, and great memories! I appreciate all your support and am back on my usual schedule starting now.
