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Scott's Cheap Flights: Growing a small side project into a booming business

indiehackers.com

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Re: Scott's Cheap Flights: Growing a small side project into a booming business

#131

Post by mdns33 »

SSilver2k2 wrote: post #104
bkidwell wrote: post #94

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yeah I hear you. I really appreciate the feedback as well. We only try to partner with high quality companies. For example this Tokyo one were running right now is with journy, ProductHunt, theSkimm, The Wirecutter, and Conde Nast Traveler. All legitimate companies. It's unfortunate that their emails are seen as spam because that's not good for anyone. We'll keep this in mind moving forward. Thank you again :-)

I have gotten messages from all of these, and they are complete spam. I'm glad I know it's your fault. What's done is done, I've unsubscribed.

Oops. One customer lost. Nice way to market your company.

Re: Scott's Cheap Flights: Growing a small side project into a booming business

#132

Post by stillhere »

bkidwell wrote: post #86
jwong_ wrote: post #78

One thing I'd like to vent about is that Scott seems to be making a lot of money selling e-mail addresses. I signed up for a couple different contests using unique e-mail addresses generated specifically for the contest (Yes, they were separate e-mails for separate contests; No, I did not double-dip my entrees). I was then signed up for 2-3 e-mail lists for 3rd party companies over the course of a couple weeks. These…

Hey, I'm just going to post the same response I used in the IndieHackers comment section for someone with a similar concern. Here's what I said: "Our subscribers are too important to us to ever sell their information to someone else. We never have and never will sell users information like that. Our only source of income is subscriptions and occasional advertisements in the free emails. Ruining our reputation to make…

"ever have and never will"

Except you do.

Re: Scott's Cheap Flights: Growing a small side project into a booming business

#133

Post by jmarbach »

professorTuring wrote: post #125
jmarbach wrote: post #72

Disclosure: I built a competing tool for finding cheap flights, https://concorde.io . I think the secret of Scott's success is his incredible writing ability. Finding the cheap flights is the easy part. Communicating with users in a way that consistently wins over their hearts and minds takes a high level of consideration and creativity. This writing ability combined with his co-founder's understanding and applicatio…

I'm an SCF premium, will you give me a premium 3 Month coupon in order to compare the services and maybe switch my subscription to your app?

Please try Concorde's First Class membership free for one month using the coupon code "firstmonthfree", which is available to all users.

Re: Scott's Cheap Flights: Growing a small side project into a booming business

#134

Post by nisse72 »

basseq wrote: post #51
triangleman wrote: post #30

So, Scott originally accumulated all those miles working for ThinkProgress? How does that work? You buy the flights and expense them back to the company, pocketing the miles?

Frequent flyer miles (and hotel points) are a massive perk for traveling employees. Most consultants I know finance annual vacations completely on points. Every once in a while, a big company will try to pocket the points for themselves, usually to great outcry--because it's akin to cutting benefits. The corporate thinking is: "Points are a reward for buying travel. And I'm the one footing the bill." The employee thi…

In Sweden, if you accumulate points while travelling on business but use them for personal flights, the tax department wants you to pay tax on the value of the benefit (likely: how much you would have paid without points). How they can know about it is another matter.

I think at least the larger employers will ask that you keep separate work and private frequent flyer accounts for that purpose, and use your work points only for work flights.

Oh how I miss the Swedish tax system...

Re: Scott's Cheap Flights: Growing a small side project into a booming business

#135

Post by professorTuring »

jmarbach wrote: post #133
professorTuring wrote: post #125

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm an SCF premium, will you give me a premium 3 Month coupon in order to compare the services and maybe switch my subscription to your app?

Please try Concorde's First Class membership free for one month using the coupon code "firstmonthfree", which is available to all users.

Ok, didn't see it! =)

Re: Scott's Cheap Flights: Growing a small side project into a booming business

#136

Post by ghostly_s »

bkidwell wrote: post #94
jwong_ wrote: post #89

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don't know if you've looked at what gets sent out, but the e-mails sent for the Giveaways are extremely spammy. I get that you probably added it somewhere in the giveaway text, but from a post somewhere, it was indicated the giveaways were more to garner attention, not as a profit-making venture. It turned me off completely when I started getting those. It gave me a negative impression on both Scott's Cheap Flights…

Yeah I hear you. I really appreciate the feedback as well. We only try to partner with high quality companies. For example this Tokyo one were running right now is with journy, ProductHunt, theSkimm, The Wirecutter, and Conde Nast Traveler. All legitimate companies. It's unfortunate that their emails are seen as spam because that's not good for anyone. We'll keep this in mind moving forward. Thank you again :-)

Again, sticking opposing thoughts into two consecutive sentences does not create a good impression of your business. "high quality companies" !== "legitimate companies".

Re: Scott's Cheap Flights: Growing a small side project into a booming business

#137

Post by professorTuring »

jmarbach wrote: post #133
professorTuring wrote: post #125

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm an SCF premium, will you give me a premium 3 Month coupon in order to compare the services and maybe switch my subscription to your app?

Please try Concorde's First Class membership free for one month using the coupon code "firstmonthfree", which is available to all users.

Is it mandatory to fill my CC details in order to subscribe with the promotion? (I don't really enjoy doing that...)

Re: Scott's Cheap Flights: Growing a small side project into a booming business

#138

Post by ghostly_s »

joelrunyon wrote: post #115
jwong_ wrote: post #78

One thing I'd like to vent about is that Scott seems to be making a lot of money selling e-mail addresses. I signed up for a couple different contests using unique e-mail addresses generated specifically for the contest (Yes, they were separate e-mails for separate contests; No, I did not double-dip my entrees). I was then signed up for 2-3 e-mail lists for 3rd party companies over the course of a couple weeks. These…

This isn't really "selling" email addresses. It seems much more like it's a lead gen strategy that multiple companies are participating. Providing an incentive to sign up isn't quite the same as sending all those subscribers to the giveaway that didn't opt-in to it?

As a consumer, the relevant word in that sentence is not "sell". The point is my email is being given to someone else, to do whatever they feel with it. Why would I care what in what form the original business is compensated?

Re: Scott's Cheap Flights: Growing a small side project into a booming business

#139

Post by exclusiv »

jwong_ wrote: post #95
breakingcups wrote: post #91

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What an incredible response, have you not read it yourself? "Our subscribers are too important to us to ever sell their information to someone else. We never have and never will sell users information like that. Our only source of income is subscriptions and occasional advertisements in the free emails. Ruining our reputation to make a few extra bucks would be an extremely stupid decision on our end." Is at complete…

Thanks for putting my feelings into words. And their partners are extremely spammy at best. They're all trying to force engagement and word of mouth. Here's an excerpt from one of the intro e-mails I got: > Welcome to the #SkimmLife! Here's how it's going to work: > We'll meet you back here, in your inbox, bright and early tomorrow morning (PS If it's Friday or a weekend, > you'll get theSkimm on Monday). We're a com…

Yeah further down they note: "We only try to partner with high quality companies. For example this Tokyo one were running right now is with journy, ProductHunt, theSkimm, The Wirecutter, and Conde Nast Traveler"

I looked at theSkimm and can't figure out how it's related either. Just seems like an email acquisition bartering scheme.

Re: Scott's Cheap Flights: Growing a small side project into a booming business

#140

Post by joelrunyon »

ghostly_s wrote: post #138
joelrunyon wrote: post #115

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This isn't really "selling" email addresses. It seems much more like it's a lead gen strategy that multiple companies are participating. Providing an incentive to sign up isn't quite the same as sending all those subscribers to the giveaway that didn't opt-in to it?

As a consumer, the relevant word in that sentence is not "sell". The point is my email is being given to someone else, to do whatever they feel with it. Why would I care what in what form the original business is compensated?

Well in that case, by signing up for the giveaway, you're consenting to "giving" your email address to ALL of those companies that are sponsoring it.

So in that case, you should have a nice little talk with yourself about whether the trip you want to win is worth 5 new services having your email address.

Either way, the person making that call is YOU, not SCF (or any of the other companies participating).

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