Travel Membership Program Earns $300,000/Year

This transcript was generated from the episode audio and may contain minor errors.

[Music]

Hey there, thanks for tuning in today. You're listening to Cytos of School. My name is Chris Guillebeau. Excited to bring you a new episode here today. A new story, in fact, episode story case study.

And the travel writer in today's case study/story/episode found the ticket to a thriving membership site helping families book airfare for less. Wheels up. All right, I used to own a business in this space. I had a business called the Travel Hacking Cartel for several years, and also some other stuff I did with frequent flyer miles and points. So I know a good bit about this space.

Also, I used to fly more than 250,000 miles a year all over the world. So I was excited to do some research and prepare today's story for you. She's doing very, very well. I'll just give it away in the headline. I think we're gonna title this.

Travel membership program earns $300,000 a year. So I know you're excited to hear about it. I'm excited to bring it to you. Prepare for takeoff and also stay tuned. [Music]

In 2015, Lynn Metler was working as a travel writer for outlets like "U.S. News and World Report"

and "The Today Show." One day, she received a pitch about a couple who was flying around the world using miles and points they collected from ways other than flying. Sounded interesting, but also how did it work? As a self-described spin thrift and frugal couponer, Lynn was intrigued. She investigated the couple's techniques for herself, experimenting with them on her family of four. She tried different strategies and eventually patched together her own process that allowed them to fly six times a year using miles and points.

It was life-changing. The family went from occasional road trips to flying around the U.S., Caribbean, and Europe all within a year. Inspired, Lynn decided to show other families exactly how to do it. It started with a blog called GoToTravelGal.com. Among other things, she offered a free ebook called "How to Earn the Southwest Companion Pass." She also made an online course and set up an email list that grew over time to 14,000 subscribers.

Plus, she made a Facebook group that required people to sign up for the email list. That group alone generated 6,000 email subscribers. How much did it cost to get going? Well, setting up the WordPress blog was free. She started with MailChimp for email.

So that was also free, at least when there weren't many subscribers. Eventually, she upgraded to other tools, teachable for online course and ConvertKit for email, but the cost remained fairly minimal. Now, if it sounds like it's all going well so far, well, some of it was, but not everything. In fact, even though Lynn had a loyal following of thousands, she struggled to monetize the business. She'd been earning income mostly through credit card affiliate programs, and that revenue stream dried up during the pandemic.

In response, she decided she no longer wanted to be dependent on a third party for her income, so she changed course. Inspired by programs she'd seen in other spaces, Lynn created the Families Fly Free membership program. It gives members access to all the content she'd made in one place. She also works with members one-on-one on Zoom to show them her process and craft a plan specifically for their family. But that membership also didn't take off right away.

Why not? As she explains it, she wasn't being disruptive enough and didn't have full confidence in what she was selling. In other words, Families Fly Free was flying under the radar. During the pandemic, Lynn got an SBA loan and hired a business coach she'd worked with in a group setting. The coach affirmed that her product had value and helped hone her marketing and raise her prices.

In fact, the price went from $199 a year to $1,200 a year, 1295, in fact, and that's when the program finally caught some tailwinds. Lynn says raising the price is the best thing she could have done. People finally valued the membership, and because they'd invested in it, they actually took the time to follow her advice. Members can save $3,000 to $5,000 in just a few months following Lynn's recommendations. And that benefit led to powerful testimonials and word of mouth marketing.

She's interviewed many members who share their stories on her YouTube channel and podcast. Yes, she's got those too. These stories of real people using her system to save money provide social proof and credibility. Families Fly Free also offers a guarantee that if members don't save at least double the cost of membership and travel savings, then they can get a refund. And that helps allay any fears about the higher cost.

These steps solve the crucial problem of monetization. And get this, in 2021, Lynn's side hustle grew into a full-time hustle generating $300,000. In the future, she wants to grow it to a million dollars and help as many families as she possibly can. She's also adding more features to the membership and continuing to grow her team. The sky's the limit.

[Music]

All right, this is a model case study for establishing a membership program, specifically around a series of benefits. In this case, travel. In this case, focusing on families, also smart. And I really, really like the guarantee about how Families Fly Free offers a guarantee. If you don't save at least twice as much as membership costs, then you can get a refund.

I think that's what I would call a foolproof guarantee, just ironclad, and definitely provide some reassurance. By the way also, isn't it interesting that raising her prices by a lot, it's not just raising her prices, it's like skyrocketing her price. I think from what, $200 or something all the way to more than $1,200 a year, that ended up attracting a lot more customers. Definitely an interesting shift, definitely something for someone to pay attention to. So good work, Lynn, congratulations.

I hope you get to a million dollars a year and more. Listeners, inspiration is good. Inspiration with action is better. What does this story suggest to you? What ideas does it give you?

And what is your next step? What are you gonna do about it? Today's show notes, including links to Family Supply Free, anything else I mentioned in the episode, will be at www.sidehustleschool.com/1949. 1,949. That's right, we are going strong, marching toward 2000, and I hope you'll subscribe, follow, come back tomorrow.

My name is Chris Guillebeau, this is Side Hustle School. [Music]

From the Onward Project.