Offer Discounts to Customers How to Optimize Sales for Creators to Increase Sales

 Updated: August 4 2022

The selling of your digital goods and services online requires just the same amount of planning and preparation as making them. It requires a compelling and effective marketing strategy and a receptive audience and a dependable selling platform. But what happens when everything you have put in place doesn't turn into better sales figures?

An excellent place to begin is offering discounts to customers.

Everyone loves a sale A recent study finding that 88% of American shoppers used coupon codes for savings in 2020.

What do you need to successfully promote deals for downloads, subscriptions and online memberships? Here's what digital creators need to consider before cutting prices.

Do not offer discount offers before taking into account the fundamentals

Selling online is a great method to make money from whatever you like to do. But, remember why you're doing it: To make money. It is important to consider these aspects when you decide if, how, and when to offer discounts to customers.

 What is your margin of profit?

The fact that you can offer your products on the internet at a low cost upfront is a major advantage of being an online creator. But, you'll still require an effective business plan.

Prior to offering discounts to customers you must calculate:

• The business costs (subscription fees for graphic design software tools for managing social media and maintenance, hosting for websites, selling platforms etc. )
• The profit you must/aim to earn

Combining these two numbers gives you the magic number that you have to reach every month. This can help you decide the best way to price your items and how to apply discounts in line with.

 Who is your client?

Everyone enjoys a good sale regardless of age, gender, or economic status. But keeping these things in mind can help you know which deals are available and what you should make them available.

The creation of customer personas is a effective method to achieve this. Below are some categories that can help you think about the people potential customers who are interested in your products and the best way to provide them with discounts.

• Age
• Gender
• Location
• Profession
• Income
• Family (marital status and children)

What can this data aid decision making when it comes to promotions?

In the beginning, if established your minimum monthly sum that you must make the estimate of your customer's spending budget helps you decide on the discount sweet spot which is the amount that entices your customers yet nevertheless makes a profit.

A second reason is that solid customer personas can help you decide which products you should include in sales bundles or buy one, receive one deals.

 How does your store and schedule appear?

Getting your products in front of customer eyes is a digital feat for the sense of. After you've accomplished it, that first impression counts The storefront you choose to display should include the background of your business as well as detailed descriptions of the items, and a simple checkout process. This demonstrates legitimacy, fosters trust among customers, and creates a an impression that lasts.

If you have a range of goods, it's important to decide which ones should be discounted to convince customers to buy more. This is where having an accurate persona of the customer can make a difference. It will help determine what items serve best as a discount or freebie, and which ones look appealing enough to be kept at full price.

For a trainer or coach providing free consultations or trial sessions You shouldn't be tempted to overbook yourself to gain more customers. It is important to evaluate your current client volume and the availability prior to initiating such promotions.

What types of discounts you can offer?

Professionals who are smart know there's more to be made when they offer discounts to customers. To get the most value from promotions means providing the right one when it's needed.

Digital downloads (Ebooks, printables, presets, sewing patterns etc. )

 Percentage reduction

It's the most commonly used form of sale, and it's the type that online shoppers enjoy most: Recent data shows that 74 percent of digital coupon users favor a percentage discount over other types of promotions.

 What should you look out for

Customers who purchase cheaper items generally see a greater value in discounts in percentages as opposed to dollar discounts, even if discounts are similar. For example, a sale with T-shirts priced at $20 for 25% off will get greater attention than a sale that offers the same price at $5 off T-shirts.

 How to use it

• Bring in new customers and increase your email list by offering 10% off your first purchase when you sign them up to your email newsletter.
• Be a loyal customer by rewarding them by giving them a discount of 20% on their subsequent purchase.

 Fixed Amount Discount

Another kind of discount is one which gives a specific amount off the original cost of a product. Similar to percentage reductions, messages are the most important thing.

 What to watch out for

Make the most of fixed amount discounts when you apply them to expensive products. Check out how much different $50 off of a digital print poster appears when in comparison to offering the exact product for 33% off. Think about applying it to higher-priced products that haven't been performing consistently over the years.

 What is it and how to utilize it

• Offer a fixed amount discount on purchases of an amount of. Example: 30 percent off any purchase over $100.
• Let customers purchase online and mail digital gift cards for $10, $20, $50, or more.

 Buy One and Get One

BOGO discounts are basically providing two items at 50% off. It's no wonder why this is the kind of offer preferred for 64% consumers throughout the entire spectrum. This type of promotion is a great way to cross-sell items and introduce your customers to products they may have never thought of buying.

 What should you be on the lookout for

Choose wisely which items you bundle and consider your customer. Does the possibility of bundling items from different categories more than the possibility of abandoning your cart? Or should you play it safe by offering related products, even if you have to give away an item which may have been bought separately?

 How to use it

• Send BOGO discounts to your mailing list. Offer customers a free item when they buy any new item at cost full.
• Promote Buy One, Get One offers through social media. Design a multi-slide reel that includes all products that customers can mix and match to get discounts.

 Bundle discounts

Giving multiple items at a discount is a great opportunity to boost sales and improve the AOV (average purchase value). The research shows an average of 29% shoppers will buy a product they never planned on purchasing if it's heavily reduced. Brick and mortar shops use this type of discount to rapidly eliminate stagnant stock in order to make room for fresh items.

 What to watch out for

If you are a digital artist with infinite storage space, you must make sure to consider your margins when you offer multiple items at a reduced cost. Be aware that when offering bundle discount offers it is all about timing An effective strategy is offering this promotion towards the end of the customer journey. After a person has made a decision to purchase something, you can offer the items that are related to it for a discounted price at the time of checkout.

 What is it and how to utilize it

• Include a pop-up display to your checkout page featuring a bundle with related products.
• Offer a discount bundle on the product page with free items below or as the sidebar.

 Special time, limited supply and seasonal special offers

The web is accessible 24 hours a day and this reduces the urgency needed to buy when shopping online. Applying time-sensitive discounts or restricted-supply deals encourage customers to take action immediately. You can also make use of seasonal or holiday offers to take advantage of increased shopping traffic or to highlight products that fit certain times of year.

 What to watch out for

Make a discount calendar in advance of the time. This can help you plan your new product launches and your content on social media. Additionally, you should be aware of the duration of sales It is important to keep these short enough that they create urgency, but sufficient to allow for proper promotion and customer awareness.

 How to use it

• Offer birthday deals to clients who have already made purchases with your company.
• Send digital coupons for the holidays to those on your mailing lists.
• Participate in Cyber Monday and enjoy significant savings.
• Incorporate sales for seasonal goods within your newsletters. If, for instance, you write vegan cookbooks, give discounts to your top soup cookbooks at the start of autumn.

 Freebies

While technically not considered a discount, freebies can be the perfect opportunity for sellers to build recognition and increase traffic to their store. This type of promotion works well for online creators because you incur no losses in terms of money.

 What to watch out for

Everybody loves free...but the point of freebies is to get your customers to buy eventually. So be wise: Offer examples that showcase your finest performance and leave the audience looking for more. If, for instance, you're a fitness coach You could give your customers a complimentary daily meal program that offers just lunch choices and workout regimens that are targeted to a particular area.

 How to use them

• Provide free PDF templates throughout your social media networks.
• Combine less popular items into freebies when consumers purchase products at all price.
• Promoting free products through your newsletters to customers and provide a link to your store's website to increase customers to your store page.

Memberships, Subscriptions, Software, and Memberships

You think that offering discounts to your customers is limited to download products? As a coach, instructor, or software developer, you have a variety of choices for advertising memberships in your programs, or subscriptions for your software.

 Free trial/Freemium trial

A free trial subscription to your course materials or software could be an ideal way to bring in and maintain new fans.

 What to look out for

For promotions based on products Knowing your audience is vital: What do the potential customers looking for? How do you present them with only enough of your products or programs to get that they should choose to pay for choices?

 How to use it

• Provide a no-cost version of your application with no features.
• Offer a full version of your program for a specified time.
• Promote a test of fitness plans or courses.
• Make savings by choosing to pay annually instead of. monthly.

 Free consultation

A free consultation is a great method for coaches as well as other service providers to earn client trust. It is possible to offer a brief online meeting via Zoom or the use of a messaging platform. Clients describe their particular issue (weight loss, nutritional issues or parenting issues) and then you'll be able to provide structured plans that are specific to their requirements.

 What to watch out for

The first step is to be able to figure out how much time you have to devote. Do you want to target a local or international audience? The time difference could be a scheduling factor. For both of these reasons you should make sure to advertise only limited availability (i.e. the first 10 people to respond) and be clear as to the services you're providing and the audience it's best suited to.

 What is it and how to utilize it

• Include a "booking" button on your store's homepage linked to Calendly or another interactive scheduling tool.
• Send free consult promotions to your members on your mailing list who had not previously booked or purchased with you.

Free webinaror Questions and Answers

Creating live events is the ideal way to get people talking about your products and services. Although you may not be able to dedicate the same amount of time to every person, this method may be less intimidating as a one-on-one consultation.

 What to watch out for

Select a topic general to people are attracted to and be ready to respond to any questions! Try to give useful information without trying to market your products, yet don't go too far into specifics and keep your audience wanting to know more!

 What is it and how to utilize it

• Make an event live on Facebook and then promote it on your social media account as well as your website and email.

Which marketing channels to make use of when offering discounts for customers

The most thoughtfully planned discounts will fall flat when they're not promoted effectively. Using proper marketing channels correctly increases the likelihood that your promotions will reach your target audience and convince them to take action.

 Social media

If you've not yet established a Facebook page for your products, now is the perfect time to start. This is the primary tool for getting your products or services discovered.

• Making a Facebook company page can help to make you look more professional. It also allows millions of users around the world to find you. Make use of your Facebook page to advertise special offers, as well as to connect with your audience. Join relevant groups to learn about your field and to increase the awareness of your products. It is also possible to use the platform to create and market live events for free in addition to paid ads.
• Instagram is the ultimate instrument to grab your customers' attention, display your products or services, and bring customers to your online storefront. A recent study found that 33% of those who responded said they had used discount codes found on stores' Instagram pages to buy on the internet. Create posts displaying sales items, and add discount coupons inside the post's caption. Link your store's page to your bio as an easy way of directing customers to your site in seconds.

 Email marketing

Marketing emails are infamously resented by customers. However, don't abandon your email list just yet. Surprisingly, 81% of shoppers prefer receiving emails with promotions or sales announcements. Expand your list of email subscribers by offering signup discounts and freebies, then use it to give customers special discounts, and bring additional traffic to your website.

 Your website , storefront, or even your storefront

As a digital creator, having a dedicated space for your goods and services is essential. Use social media and email marketing in order to boost the number of visitors to your online storefront which gives customers a more in-depth look at you and your inventory. Make use of pop-ups as well as related window displays to announce deals, BOGO discounts and more.

No website? It's not a problem! Link your store to your social media accounts and immediately link your items to thousands of shoppers on the internet. Learn how simple to do this here.

The average online shopper who make use of discount codes are 24percent more than those who do not. Being a digital creator is in your own best interests to locate an easy and effective way for you to give discounts to customers.

Helps thousands of creators on the internet offer their goods for sale with no upfront investment or website necessary. Find out more about the ease of getting started. start now.