My blog is more or less for beginners, but is primarily just a place for me to express myself. I like writing. I think most points blogs are boring and repetitive. I don't have affiliate links, I don't have ads, and I don't want them.
You just described how every other blog starts.
That was my point. Everyone starts out not wanting money, just wanting to talk about points, etc. and then look at what happens. It's probably worth it for you to go back to 2014 and look at TPG before he sold out if you haven't seen it. That blog was incredible and filled with solid advice. Now? Affiliate links and unambiguous cc shilling with virtually no real content. Or our very own loophole travel, which again - started out as an excellent blog with real potential. Now, same old boring stuff shilled out (these are the travel pants to buy through my link).
In any case, the vibe I'm getting is that this sub is a club, with elite tiers based on knowledge and contribution, and, as in life, the high-level elites don't have much use for the low-level elites and non-elites, and further doesn't really want or welcome info spread outside of the club to those not in the club.
Well, you can choose to look at that way because it's easy and removes accountability or you can listen to this constructive criticism. I'm going to re-quote myself here when you describe talking to the newbies (of which this sub is copiously filled with):
If you're 4/24 and worried about calling recon or a shutdown, IDK how you could have much/anything to add that isn't copiously available on blogs currently.
Walking through the logic of what a successful blog in 2020 would look like:
There's reams and reams of content out there for beginners. So if that's your target audience, what are you going to post that hasn't been covered to death already?
Which leads to...
either (a) something people don't want posted publicly - aka blogs killing deals (b) the same old rehashed, affiliate link ridden content that other blogs have posted to death or (c) info aimed at veteran's of which I think you need quite a bit more experience to get...and in so getting, you would almost guaranteed no longer wish to post because that is the main contributor to what's killing the hobby.