How MORTL Makes Money

The core principle

MORTL's content is written and edited independently of any commercial relationship. Paid placement does not influence our editorial conclusions, factual accuracy, or the order in which we present information in articles, guides, or checklists. If something is sponsored or paid, it is labeled clearly.

We are building a business in a space where trust is everything. The moment a reader wonders whether we're telling them something because it's true or because someone paid us, we've lost the only thing that makes MORTL worth reading.

Provider directory listings

MORTL operates a provider directory of funeral directors, grief counselors, hospice providers, financial advisors, and other end-of-life professionals. Basic listings are free. Providers may pay a flat monthly fee for enhanced profiles, additional visibility, or featured placement within their category or state.

What paid placement means: A featured provider appears prominently within their category or state. Their listing is labeled as featured or sponsored.

What paid placement does not mean: MORTL does not charge per referral, per lead, or per signed client. We do not secretly rank providers based on payment. We do not guarantee provider quality, licensing, availability, pricing, or outcomes. Paid placement does not affect our editorial content about the services those providers offer.

Sponsorships

MORTL may accept sponsorships from organizations whose products and services are relevant to end-of-life planning, estate management, grief support, caregiving, and related topics. Sponsored content, including sponsored articles, sponsored newsletter issues, and sponsored guides, is always clearly labeled as such.

Sponsors do not control editorial content. A sponsor may fund a guide or newsletter issue; they do not write it, approve it, or have the right to alter its conclusions.

Digital products

MORTL sells practical planning tools. Printable kits, checklists, executor guides, and similar resources. These are sold directly to readers at a flat price. No referral relationship is involved.

Employer benefits

MORTL offers death literacy and end-of-life planning resources to employers as an employee benefit. Employers pay a flat fee for access to educational content, planning tools, and workshops. This is a B2B relationship and does not affect consumer-facing content.

Affiliate relationships

MORTL may use affiliate links for tools, platforms, or resources we reference in our content. When we do, we disclose the relationship directly near the link. Affiliate compensation does not determine whether we recommend something or how we rank it. We include non-affiliate options where relevant.

Insurance partnerships

MORTL may partner with life insurance companies and comparison marketplaces. When we do, partner offers appear only in planning content, clearly labeled as partner links, and MORTL may earn a commission if you use one. Three rules are absolute: insurance offers never appear on the "someone just died" path or any grief content; no insurer sees, reviews, or influences our editorial before or after publication; and we keep writing honestly about the insurance industry, including how claims get denied and delayed, regardless of who pays us. If a partner objects to our coverage, we end the partnership, not the coverage.

What we don't do

We do not charge per referral for attorneys, hospice providers, funeral homes, or financial advisors. We do not sell leads. We do not run programmatic display advertising. We do not paywall emergency guidance. We do not let provider payment change what we write about the services they provide.

Questions?

If you have questions about a specific relationship, piece of content, or provider listing, contact us. We will answer directly.

This page is updated when our revenue model changes materially. Last updated: July 2026.