It surprises even me, but this website used to generate a little income from affiliate fees and advertising.
But there has been a huge dip in web hits over the last year, and although I like to think reduced prevalence and diagnosis has something to do with it, I think most of the reason is down to AI summaries.
Previously, if you searched for, say, “isothiazolinone free paints”, my article on the subject would come up top of the pile, and users would click through in their dozens daily. But now AI tools scan the web for the information, including information on this website, and present it in a summary form, meaning searchers no longer always need to click through to the source websites for their answers. Fewer hits, less revenue.
I do understand the need to adapt, and am looking at possibilities. I have no plans to charge for the content on this site, nor ask followers to subscribe for bonus content, but the site now generates ever-decreasing cents and pennies — a trend I’d like to reverse, in order to help me dedicate more time to its upkeep.
So I’ve compiled a few ideas that readers can do to help support the website, at absolutely no financial cost to you, if you’d like to do so.
Here we go.
1/ Affiliate Shop
I recently put together a listing of the website’s main affiliates, including ECOS Paints and 100 Percent Pure, and online giants Amazon too. If you are planning to shop from these retailers, please consider doing so after you’ve clicked the relevant link on this site, which means a few percent commission goes to MI Free.
2/ Recommend the Book
So many have you bought my book Living with Methylisothiazolinone Allergy, and some of you have even recently updated your first edition copy with the revised and updated 2026 version, released in January. Thank you! If the book helped you, please consider leaving a review on Amazon or elsewhere, if you haven’t already, and recommend it to people in the same boat as you if you think they will benefit from it. It’s also available in Spanish. If you’re on good terms with your allergist or dermatologist, please do likewise with them. Trying to get the medical profession — and indeed the allergy / eczema charities — interested in the book has historically been extremely difficult, both in Great Britain and Spain, and in North and Latin America. I don’t know why.
3/ Leave a Comment
Those of you with blogs will know how welcome comments are, especially when most of those you receive are spam. I’m grateful for every (genuine) one, and I think they also help SEO — a busy website is more likely to do well in search results. If you find a blog post useful, or you find an error, or something you agree with, or you disagree with — please say so! I always welcome feedback and discussion, be it here or on social media.
4/ Suggest an Article
Are there MI-free product types you’re struggling to find? Wish you could read an article on them? Drop me a line. I may be able to look into it. I’m also happy to receive recommendations to cover other subjects related to isothiazolinones, although bear in mind I’m in the UK and US-based research isn’t always straightforward for me. All kinds of suggestions for the website, in fact, are welcome.
5/ Write a Diagnosis Story
Would you be interested in contributing a first-person account of your diagnosis for the MI Free website, with your own tips on how you manage MI allergy? Get in touch if you do. It’d be nice to run a series of short personal stories, especially unusual ones, which might help those out there still struggling for answers.
6/ Share an Isothiazolinone-Free Product or Brand
There are numerous product listings on this website, and adding to them, updating them and checking them is time-consuming. Given geographical restrictions, I also can’t check products on-shelf other than in the UK. Brands can be slow to respond to enquiries, compounding the problem. Some of the most popular articles or sections on this website are the various articles on Haircare Products, the list of safe Laundry Brands, the list of Kitchen Products, and the list of Make-Up. Any suggestions for brands I could add to these lists in particular would be very welcome — but as will any brand or product not currently listed elsewhere on the site. You can use the Search function to see whether there’s any entry for a particular brand, and if not, let me know. Keeping the website fresh with new recommendations makes for a better experience for all of you, including the newly diagnosed, and hopefully boosts hits and exposure.
7/ Follow on Social Media
We’re on Facebook — and we’re also on X. Do follow!
8/ Subscribe
We’re nearly up to 1,000 subscribers here …. Find the subscribe button on the top right!
Thank you!