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This Tip of the Week covers topics including:
- 0:37 – Why Should You Run a Promotion?
- 4:03 – But, Be Careful…
- 7:41 – Popular Promotion Ideas
- 11:12 – How to enable and disable member features
- 14:42 – 4 Ways to Improve Your Member Acquisition Strategy
- 15:32 – The Best Promotions Include…
- 17:32 – How to give members their first month for free
- 21:48 – When Should You Run a Promotion?
This is a segment from Webinar Wednesday 77, recorded live on November 13, 2019.
You’ve already implemented our 4 Ways to Improve your Member Acquisition Strategy, and you’re ready for the next step… Congratulations!
When you’ve zeroed in on your target audience and converted the low hanging fruit, you have the option to turn your attention to potential members further outside your immediate sphere of influence by running a promotional campaign.
Brilliant Directories is here to support you with tips and tricks for running a promotion that gets results. First, ask yourself:
Why Should I Run a Promotion?
Well, there are a few good reasons to start a promotional campaign, such as:
- You’ve got a fresh, juicy contact list. Promotions can tip the balance if someone is aware of your offering, but hasn’t committed yet.
- It’s a promotional time of year. Catch the people who need your product when they’re ready to spend.
- You’ve got a contact list of lapsed members, and you have something new to offer them since they left your site.
- You’ve chosen to stagger the release of features for existing members and are ready to unlock new content.
- This strategy increases the lifetime value of your product to your existing members by allowing them to access additional offerings at a promotional rate. Brilliant Directories has this drip-feed capability built-in to our interface, making it an easy and effective strategy to implement.
But, Be Careful…
You don’t want to annoy your existing customers! Never offer a deal to a new or returning customer that is sweeter than the deal your current members are getting. That’s a fast way to lose members for good.
To work around this limitation, you might create a ‘back-end offer’ and feed it directly to your contact list, rather than advertising your promotion publicly. Other strategies include offering a discount on an upgraded, extended, or lifetime membership.
Popular Promotion Ideas
Unlike a retail store that might deeply discount their product to clear stock and bring in foot traffic, the people you’re looking to enroll in your membership with a promotion are not making an impulse purchase. They’ve been thinking about joining, and the promotion is just the reason they are pulling the trigger now.
Some significant incentives might be:
- Free Trial. This classic promotional technique is for a reason. A free trial removes that last bit of hesitation about pulling the trigger on a new subscription. The key here is getting your potential member to think, “Why not sign up? I can always cancel it.” Ideally, the work you’ve done to get to know your target members pays off here because you’ve created a product that is so valuable to them, they have no reason to cancel.
- First Month Free. Your current subscribers value their subscription – don’t prove them wrong by permanently undercharging new customers. Since only new members have a ‘first month,’ only new members get the discount—no hurt feelings.
- A discount applied to products and services above and beyond what is already included in the membership.
- Create a sense of urgency and exclusivity around your sign-up bonuses or discounts by only offering during specific periods of the year.
- Use the specter of rising prices at a specific point in the future to convert folks who ‘just haven’t gotten around to it’ yet.
Note: You can’t implement any of this until you have a list of people who are interested in your products and services, and if you have skipped that step, head over to this article and come back when you’re done.>
The Best Promotions Include…
Clear Next Steps
You want your audience to know what they need to do, by when, and how to do it. Whether you give them direct links, step by step instructions, or a how-to video guide, please make sure there are few hurdles for them to jump over before handing you their credit card.
A Problem/Solution Framing
Never forget that promotions are a sales technique. Like any other sales pitch, you want to establish the problem that your potential customer already has (whether they are aware of it or not).
Then, draw a direct link to how your product has solved that problem for other people (remember – testimonials!). Once that’s established, all you have to do is clarify how your product can do the same for them. Sales 101.
A Sense of Urgency
A sense of urgency can be established in a few different ways. One popular method of creating urgency is giving a bonus for acting quickly (or better yet, acting now!). You might also choose to emphasize that the promotion will only last for a limited time.
When Should You Run a Promotion?
A well-timed promotion will pay dividends. Some occasions you may consider when brainstorming promotions are:
- One-Off/Spontaneous Sale. As long as you keep our tips in mind and structure your sale or promotion well, you have the freedom to run a promotion for almost any reason you can imagine. If you’re looking to generate some extra income or have a big, fat contact list ready to be converted, a one-off sale could be what you’re seeking.
- Seasonal Sales. Christmas, New Year, Black Friday, Cyber Monday, you know the deal.
- Internal Company Milestones. Celebrating your successes with your existing members makes them feel like part of your team. When you hit a new milestone, consider offering a promotion for insider’s only. You’ll create goodwill with your client base by increasing the lifetime value of their subscription.
- Bonus Tip: this strategy can also function as an indirect advertisement for all the hard work you’ve been doing to grow your profile and membership. You want your members to experience your growth first hand. Not only that, but they should also feel that it is actively benefiting them.
- Industry Events. Brand your promotion to run alongside an event that is well attended by the industry you’re serving. If a professional association for a community you serve has an annual conference, a related promotion creates a connection between your site and that community as a whole.
Whether you’ve run hundreds of special offers or this is your very first sale experience, you can be confident in the strategy behind your next promotion by referencing these four tips at every stage in the process.
AI-Generated Transcript – Please excuse any inaccuracies
Why Should You Run a Promotion? (00:00:37)
- Running a promotion is a good idea, especially during certain times of the year such as Black Friday (shopping), holiday sales, and New Year’s, as it can help engage potential customers and encourage them to sign up for a site (00:00:38).
- Promotions can also be used to re-engage members who have cancelled their membership in the past by offering them new features, benefits, or services that have been added to the site since they left (00:01:13).
- If a site has undergone updates, added new features, or grown its community, a promotion can be a good opportunity to explain these changes and encourage former members to sign up again (00:01:34).
- Existing members can also benefit from promotions, as they can be offered additional services or upgrades to increase customer lifetime value (00:02:13).
- New and improved services can be introduced over time by unlocking features built into a platform like Brilliant Directories, rather than offering everything at once, to keep things fresh and exciting for members (00:02:51).
- By drip-feeding new features and services, a site can create a sense of progression and improvement, and use these updates as newsletter headlines to keep the community engaged and interested (00:03:52).
But, Be Careful… (00:04:03)
- When running promotions on a membership site, it is essential to ensure that existing members do not feel punished or negatively impacted by lower prices offered to new members, which could lead to them leaving or canceling their membership to take advantage of the discount (00:04:05).
- To avoid this issue, alternatives such as making promotions a back-end offer, exclusive to email subscribers, can be implemented, allowing only a specific set of people to see the promotion (00:05:01).
- Another approach is to discount other products or services that existing members can take advantage of, such as offering a discount for upgrading to an annual or lifetime membership plan, which enables existing members to save money without feeling negatively about the promotions (00:05:32).
- It is crucial not to have conflicting pricing for existing and new members, and not to discount products and services too much, as this can reduce the perceived value of the offerings and make existing or potential members question their true value (00:06:25).
- The goal of promotion periods is to incentivize people who are on the fence to join, without needing to have a significant sale, and to bring attention to the website and re-engage existing members (00:06:58).
- Unlike retail stores, membership sites should focus on maintaining a consistent pricing strategy and creating excitement around the website, rather than relying on large discounts or sales (00:07:22).
Popular Promotion Ideas (00:07:41)
- A free trial period can be offered to new members, allowing them to sign up for free and try out a website for a specified length of time, after which they will be automatically billed for the membership level they were assigned to (00:07:49).
- Coupon code discounts can be provided to new members, but they can only be applied to the first payment for new membership fees, allowing for a substantial discount without upsetting existing members (00:08:14).
- Discounts can also be offered on non-membership products and services, such as professional services, marketing services, or banner ad space on a site, providing an opportunity to offer nice discounts to new members (00:08:44).
- To set up a free trial period, the “enable free trial period” option can be chosen in the pricing tab of a paid product, and the number of days for the trial can be specified, allowing members to cancel within that time period without being billed (00:09:22).
- Coupon codes can be created and edited in the finance tab, with options to apply discounts to recurring payments or only to the first payment, allowing for flexibility in promotional offers (00:10:02).
- When creating a coupon code, the option to apply to recurring payments can be set to “no” to ensure that only the first payment is discounted, and any future payments will be at the regular price (00:10:26).
How to enable and disable member features (00:11:12)
- To add urgency to sales, strategies such as doors closing promotions can be used, which create a limited time for the sale, similar to Black Friday (shopping) or Cyber Monday, and can be applied to membership sites by only accepting new members at certain times of the year, adding a sense of exclusivity and urgency (00:11:12).
- Price increasing is another strategy that can be used to create urgency, where the price of a membership will increase by a certain percentage at a specific date, encouraging potential members to take advantage of the current price (00:12:31).
- To effectively run promotions, it is essential to have a system for capturing email addresses of potential members, such as offering a lead magnet like an e-book or PDF download, and having a list of people who have shown interest in joining the site (00:13:04).
- Promotions are more likely to be successful if people want to join the website, so it is crucial to have supportive reasons and benefits as to why somebody would want to join, and to have a way to contact potential members about the promotion (00:13:46).
- When running a promotion, it is vital to provide clear steps for customers to take, such as how to take advantage of the promotion, whether a promotion code is needed, and what actions they need to take to receive additional details (00:14:18).
4 Ways to Improve Your Member Acquisition Strategy (00:14:42)
- To improve member acquisition, it is essential to create a simple process for potential customers to hand over their money, making the transaction as effortless as possible for everyone involved (00:14:43).
- Clearly identifying the problem being solved and the corresponding solution is crucial in creating a solid sales pitch, which should include a promotion or deal, as well as a clear explanation of the problem and its solution (00:14:55).
- Offering a promotion or deal, such as a Black Friday (shopping) sale, can incentivize potential customers to buy, and emphasizing the urgency of the offer, such as limited supply or time, can also encourage sign-ups (00:15:11).
- Providing a special bonus for signing up, such as a limited-time offer, can be an effective way to attract new members and improve the overall member acquisition strategy (00:15:27).
The Best Promotions Include… (00:15:32)
- The best promotions include offering a free trial period, which can be a month or two months free, before the annual plan is billed, and this can be combined with a coupon code as a bonus for acting now (00:15:33).
- To create a new coupon code, a workaround can be used by setting a 100 percent discount that only applies to the first payment, effectively making it a “first month free” offer, or by using a price override to make the first payment $0 (00:16:20).
- Another way to use coupon codes is to give a 100 percent discount off the first payment, and then ensure that the discount is not applied to recurring payments, which can be done by selecting “no” for applied to recurring payments (00:16:41).
- Effective promotions should have clear steps, a limited supply, a sense of urgency, and a bonus for acting now, and considering when to run promotions is also important, with options including one-off spontaneous sales to generate additional revenue quickly (00:17:06).
- Promotions can be run at various timeframes, including one-off spontaneous sales that can be done when feeling in the mood to generate additional revenue, and other timeframes that can be planned in advance to maximize their impact (00:17:17).
How to give members their first month for free (00:17:32)
- To give members their first month for free, it is essential to structure the offer as well as any other sale, probably by sending out some promotional material leading up to the sale to get people in the right mindset and excited for it (00:17:32).
- Seasonal sales, such as holiday sales or Black Friday (shopping), can be used to provide a special promo, and internal company milestones, like reaching the first thousand members, can also be celebrated with a sale to increase customer lifetime value and make existing members feel special (00:17:34).
- Offering existing members a discount on additional products or services to celebrate internal milestones is a great way to make them feel valued, and branding a promotion around a specific event in the industry or niche can also be effective (00:17:42).
- Running promotions around internal company milestones, such as expanding into a new market or releasing new category options, can rally potential and existing members around the community and advertise its growth and success (00:17:45).
- Celebrating internal company milestones with promotions can reinforce the sense of community around the website, making everybody feel valued and included as the company grows (00:17:51).
- Providing updates on internal company milestones and running promotions around them can help to keep followers engaged and interested in the community’s progress (00:17:56).
- Using internal company milestones to offer special promotions can be a great way to showcase the company’s progress to its community and make members feel like they are part of something that is growing and succeeding (00:18:01).
- Running promotions around internal company milestones can be a great way to increase customer lifetime value, make existing members feel special, and reinforce the sense of community around the website (00:18:11).
- Considering internal company milestones as opportunities to offer special promotions can help to create a sense of excitement and anticipation among members and followers (00:18:24).
- Branding promotions around specific events or milestones can help to create a sense of urgency and encourage people to take action (00:18:31).
- Using internal company milestones to offer special promotions can be a great way to build a sense of community and make members feel like they are part of something special (00:18:45).
- Running promotions around internal company milestones can be an effective way to advertise the growth and success of the community to its followers (00:18:54).
- Celebrating internal company milestones with promotions can be a great way to showcase the company’s progress and make members feel valued and included (00:19:02).
- Using internal company milestones to offer special promotions can help to create a sense of excitement and anticipation among members and followers, and can be a great way to build a sense of community around the website (00:19:11).
- Running promotions around internal company milestones can be a great way to reinforce the sense of community and make members feel like they are part of something that is growing and succeeding (00:19:24).
- Considering internal company milestones as opportunities to offer special promotions can help to create a sense of urgency and encourage people to take action (00:19:30).
- Using internal company milestones to offer special promotions can be a great way to build a sense of community and make members feel valued and included (00:19:43).
- Running promotions around internal company milestones can be an effective way to advertise the growth and success of the community to its followers (00:19:50).
- Celebrating internal company milestones with promotions can be a great way to showcase the company’s progress and make members feel like they are part of something special (00:20:00).
- Using internal company milestones to offer special promotions can help to create a sense of excitement and anticipation among members and followers, and can be a great way to build a sense of community around the website (00:20:07).
- Running promotions around internal company milestones can be a great way to reinforce the sense of community and make members feel like they are part of something that is growing and succeeding (00:20:12).
