This tutorial ensures seamless integration of Sitewide Sales discounts with RightPress’ Live Product Price Updates, enhancing the shopping experience by instantly reflecting sale prices.

How It Works

The code hooks into the RightPress live price update flow. It detects an active Sitewide Sales campaign and applies the corresponding discount to the product’s live price, if applicable.

This dynamic pricing update occurs site-wide, ensuring that all eligible products display the discounted rate in real time.

Code Recipe

This PHP function taps into the rightpress_product_price_live_update_price filter, adjusting the product price if a sale is active. It creates an instance of the current sale, validates the associated coupon, and applies the discount directly to the live price output.

There are two options in this recipe:

• Use the version on line 30 if you want to base the live update price on the product’s original price in WooCommerce.
• Use the version on line 34 if you want to base the discount on the updated live price.

Remember to test the functionality in a staging environment before pushing it live to avoid disrupting your sales process. With this recipe, your live product prices reflect active discounts instantly, elevating user engagement and driving sales.

The post Sitewide Sales and WooCommerce Compatibility for RightPress Product Price Live Update appeared first on Sitewide Sales: All-in-One Flash Sales Plugin for WordPress.

Top Features in Sitewide Sales v1.4

• In-Depth Sales Comparison: With the new update, you can now compare data between two different sales, giving you valuable insights into your marketing strategies and sale performance.

• Effortless Data Analysis: Exporting data is a breeze with the added ability to download a comprehensive report of a single sale, including daily sales data straight to a CSV file.

• Tailored User Experience: Customize visibility of your sales with precision. This feature allows you to hide sales based on user role or membership level, ensuring the right audience sees your promotions.
• Revamped Admin Design: Experience a fresh and intuitive admin area with a redesigned interface that makes managing your sales more efficient.
• Optimized Performance: The update also includes optimizations for handling discount codes and coupons, ensuring swift loading times even for sites with a vast number of codes.
• Enhanced WooCommerce Integration: Enjoy better support for variation prices in WooCommerce to display accurate strikethrough pricing for automatic discounts.
• Bug Fixes Galore: The update squashes several bugs, including preventing the duplication of landing pages, coupon codes, and banners, and removing unnecessary scripts for a cleaner edit screen experience.

With these powerful features, Sitewide Sales v1.4 aims to streamline your sales process, providing you with the tools you need to conduct successful sales campaigns with ease and precision.

Full Changelog for v1.4

• FEATURE: Added feature to compare sale data for two separate sales for Reports.
• FEATURE: Added feature to download a single sale’s report and daily sales data to CSV.
• FEATURE: Added support to completely hide the sale by role or membership level.
• ENHANCEMENT: Refresh admin area design.
• BUG FIX/ENHANCEMENT: Optimized discount codes/coupons query for sites with a very large number of codes.
• BUG FIX/ENHANCEMENT: Now supporting variation prices in WooCommerce when there is no range and we want to reflect strikethrough pricing for auto discount.
• BUG FIX: Fixed edge case to prevent creating multiple landing pages, coupon codes, or banners.
• BUG FIX: Removed Chart JS from enqueue on the sale CPT edit screen because it isn’t needed.

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Whether you’re an aspiring author, a thought leader, or a business owner, this guide is designed to walk you through the intricacies of selling eBooks online and running a sales promotion.

Ready to propel your digital products to new heights?

What is an eBook?

An eBook is an electronic or digital book. It can be a digitized version of an already published physical book, or a book that’s entirely delivered online.

Unlike its physical counterpart, an eBook offers:

You can deliver an ebook as a simple PDF download (like this free ebook I wrote: The Ultimate Black Friday Planning Guide) or formatted for Kindle or EPUB.

Readers consume eBooks on all kinds of devices, from desktop computers to iPads and tables, Kindles and other eReaders, and even smartphones.

In essence, an eBook is a digital product used to establish authority. Publishing an eBook positions you as an expert in your field, creates a new revenue stream, and delivers value to your audience.

Four Types of eBooks and Their Benefits

eBooks can be fictional or non-fiction. For this guide, we’re primarily focused on eBook sales promotions for thought leaders, businesses, online creators, coaches, and the like.

These types of people produce non-fiction eBooks with formats like:

• Instructional Guides: Provide step-by-step processes. They appeal to those looking for hands-on knowledge.
• Narratives: Share personal stories or experiences. They build deeper connections with readers.
• Research-Based: Offer in-depth analysis or insights on specific topics. They attract an audience seeking expert knowledge.
• Visual Books: Use images or infographics to convey information. Ideal for audiences that prefer visual content.

Your eBook could have some combination of all of these styles, or you could try something completely new.

There are truly no rules—you book could be 1,000 pages or just 15. It could be deeply creative and experimental, or a classic book with white pages and black text. You do you.

Ways to Sell an eBook: The Power of Owning Your Sales Platform

The freedom of eBooks and other digital products is a thrilling evolution in a world that was once dominated by literary agents, high profile publishers, and deep pockets.

Today’s online publishing world offers many, many platforms to help you sell digital products. But the platform you choose to sell your eBook can make a significant difference in your total earnings—and your options when choosing how to run an eBook sales promotion.

What’s more, how you sell can influence your personal or business’ brand perception as well as develop a closer relationship with readers.

Here are several ways to sell your eBook, with a special emphasis on the benefits of hosting sales on your own website.

Sell On Your Own Website

• Full Control: By selling directly from your website, you control the entire user experience from browsing to purchasing. You can customize the sales process, integrate bonus tools, and tailor the experience to match your brand.
• Higher Profit Margins: No third parties means you’re not sharing your profits. Every sale made on your site puts more money in your pocket.
• Direct Relationships with Readers: Interact directly with your readers, gather feedback, and nurture relationships without distractions.
• Flexibility: Offer bundles, promotions, or upsells on other products and services. You can supplement eBook content with blog posts and other resources. Your site means your rules.
• Data Insights: Owning your platform allows you to access detailed analytics. Understand your audience’s behavior, which can help in refining marketing strategies.
• Free Tools & Integrations: With platforms like WordPress, you can offer eBooks with WooCommerce for selling and Sitewide Sales for eBook sales promotions.

Sell at a Third-Party Website

Amazon Kindle Direct Publishing

• Massive Audience: Amazon’s vast user base means your eBook can potentially reach millions.
• Royalty Options: Choose between two royalty options (70% and 35%) based on your pricing and distribution choices.

Barnes & Noble Press

• Established Reader Base: Leverage the brand’s loyal following for visibility.
• Competitive Royalty Rates: Earn up to 65% in royalties based on the list price of your eBook.

Apple Books

• Diverse Audience: Reach readers who prefer Apple’s ecosystem.
• Interactive Content: Apple Books for Authors allows the inclusion of interactive elements, making it suitable for educational and multimedia-rich eBooks.

Smashwords

• Wide Distribution: This platform distributes to major retailers, increasing your eBook’s visibility.
• Author-Centric: The platform offers a higher royalty rate (85% net), favoring authors.

Kobo Writing Life (Rakuten Kobo)

• Global Reach: Kobo has a strong international presence, ensuring your eBook reaches audiences outside of the US.
• Simple Publishing Process: The platform prides itself on a straightforward publishing experience.

While all these platforms have their merits, nothing matches the autonomy, profit potential, and branding possibilities of selling from your own website.

You can absolutely sell the same eBook through multiple channels—and there are loads of freelancers that can help turn a PDF into Kindle or EPUB format for you.

Think of third-party platforms as supplementary channels, but prioritize your website as the primary sales hub. Doing so ensures long-term sustainability, total control, greater profit margins, and a stronger bond (with access!) to your readers.

The When, Where, and Why of eBook Discounts

You have an eBook and a way to sell it. Now you are thinking—let’s put this product on sale! The rest of this guide is focused on:

• The basics of defining a sale period
• The positive benefits you’ll get from running a sale, and
• The potential negative impact your sale could have (knowing the cons can help you avoid them).

Timing Your eBook Sales Promotion

There is no right or wrong time to put an eBook on sale. We have a full guide on designing a sales calendar, but here are few popular options:

• Holiday Seasons: Festive times often result in higher sales. Consider major holidays and events like Black Friday.
• Book Launches: Offer introductory prices to spike initial interest.
• Dwindling Sales: Use discounts as a rejuvenating tactic when sales wane.

Remember, frequent discounts train customers to wait for them. Strategize effectively.

Pros of eBook Promotions

• Increased Visibility: Promotions draw attention to your work, potentially increasing your audience base.
• Higher Sales Volume: Even with a reduced price, the surge in volume often compensates for the discount.
• Data Collection: Promotions are an opportunity to gather data, which helps you refine future marketing strategies.
• Enhanced Reader Loyalty: Discounts often translate to gratitude, fostering long-term relationships with readers.

Cons of eBook Promotions

• Reduced Profit Margins: Discounts directly impact profit per unit.
• Potential Brand Devaluation: Frequent discounts may lead readers to question the eBook’s original value.
• Short-Term Sales Boost: A post-promotion dip in sales often follows the initial surge.
• Dependence Risk: Over-reliance on promotions for sales might make it challenging to sell without them.

How to Set Up an eBook Discount With WooCommerce and Sitewide Sales

Setting up an eBook discount is straightforward when you integrate WooCommerce with the Sitewide Sales plugin. Here’s a step-by-step guide tailored for those looking to offer discounts on downloadable products, such as eBooks:

1. Install and Activate Plugins

1. Ensure you have the latest versions of WooCommerce (free) and Sitewide Sales (free trial) installed and activated on your WordPress website.

2. Set Up WooCommerce

1. Create a Downloadable Product: In WooCommerce, add a new product and select the ‘Downloadable’ option. Input the eBook details, upload the eBook file, and set the original price.
2. Configure WooCommerce: Navigate to WooCommerce settings and configure the necessary payment gateways to handle transactions.
3. Set Up the Coupon Code:
   • Go to WooCommerce > Coupons in your WordPress dashboard.
   • Click ‘Add Coupon’ and generate a coupon code.
   • Under ‘General’ set the discount type, amount, and expiration date.
4. Select Targeted Products:
   • When creating your coupon, specify which products the coupon code applies to.
   • This ensures your discounts apply only to the designated eBooks you intend to promote.
   • Navigate to ‘Usage restriction’ and set it to apply to the specific eBook product you want to offer a sale on.

3. Configure the Sitewide Sale

1. Configure General Sale Settings:
   • In your dashboard, go to Sitewide Sales and create a new sale.
   • Set the discount details, including start and end dates.
   • In the ‘Sale Type’ dropdown, choose ‘WooCommerce‘.
   • Assign the previously created coupon code.
2. Design On-Site Sale Promotion Banner: Now, it’s time to get the word out.
   • First, design a sale banner within Sitewide Sales.
   • This banner activates during the sale period, serving as an instant call-to-action for your visitors.
   • Make sure the banner clearly mentions the eBook discount to catch users’ attention.
   • When writing copy for your sale banner, consider your target audience and the problem your eBook solves.

4. Run the eBook Sale Promotion

1. Enable the Sale: Turn the sale on by checking the box to “Set as current active sale” from the single Sitewide Sale edit screen.
2. Monitor and Adjust: Once your sale is live, monitor the performance. Check how many users are utilizing the coupon code, and adjust your promotional strategies as necessary to maximize reach.
3. Concluding the Sale: At the end of the sale period, Sitewide Sales will automatically deactivate the discount. Ensure to communicate the end of the sale to potential buyers so they don’t miss out.

For more detailed information on creating and managing discount codes within WooCommerce, consider checking guides on ‘How to Create a Coupon Code in WooCommerce‘. This will give you additional insights and tips for optimizing your discount strategies.

Ready to run an eBook sales promotion?

eBook sales promotions have the potential to do great things for your business—but with substantial rewards come some potential downsides.

When executed the right way, they generate revenue, increase brand visibility, and foster customer loyalty.

Implemented incorrectly, they drain your time and attention, and ultimately underperform. The worst outcome is that the eBook sale negatively impacts profitability and brand perception.

Remember to first define why you’re running this sale promotion. A little pre-work on your “why” can truly help you prepare yourself for whatever outcomes the sale brings. A defined “why” also gives you one last head check that the promotion aligns with your overall business goals and strategies.

What’s your experience with eBook discounts?ˀ Share this article and let the world know your strategies and insights on eBook promotions.

The post The Modern Solopreneur’s Blueprint to eBook Sales Promotions appeared first on Sitewide Sales: All-in-One Flash Sales Plugin for WordPress.

While offering a deal is simple, determining its success requires more than just eyeballing the sales numbers. Let’s look at 6 metrics and 8 real-world methods you can use to analyze your discount strategy.

Introduction to E-commerce Sales Analysis

For solopreneurs competing in the noisy e-commerce market, the ability to effectively analyze discount strategy is a game-changer.

This analysis isn’t just about tracking total sales numbers. It’s about understanding what makes a sale good (worth your time) or bad (a waste of time or damaging to your brand).

When you take a moment to analyze your discount strategy, you get benefits like:

• Precision Decision-making: Analyzing sales data allows for more accurate and informed business decisions.
• Operational Efficiency: With typically tight budgets, solopreneurs need to maximize their return on every dollar spent. Doing even an hour of sales analytics helps you pinpoint areas of improvement: the most bang for your buck and your precious time.
• Ensuring Profitability: Sales events, though enticing, often involve slashing prices. A thoughtful sales strategy ensures that these price reductions don’t harm overall profitability.

Decoding Common Sales Events

Different sales events offer different opportunities for you as an ecommerce brand. It’s important to try some mix of sale events so that you can get a true picture of what types of sales work best for your business.

Sitewide or Flash Sales:

• Characteristics: Sitewide or ‘Flash Sales’ are time-bound, often unexpected, and offer significant discounts.
• Benefit for Small E-stores: Flash sales can generate buzz quickly and drive traffic, making them particularly advantageous for smaller stores to capture audience attention.

Black Friday & Cyber Monday:

• Significance: These events level the playing field, allowing solopreneurs to compete toe-to-toe with larger retailers. The buzz around these events can be harnessed to get substantial traction.

Seasonal and Holiday Sales:

• Strategic Advantage: These sales events, spread throughout the year, offer solopreneurs the chance to maximize returns without stretching resources thin.
• Targeting Customer Needs: By aligning products and offers with specific times of the year, solopreneurs can cater directly to evolving customer requirements, making each sale event uniquely effective.

Sales to Introduce Something New:

• Objective: Launch a new product or feature and gauge its acceptance.
• Benefit for E-stores: Introducing new items during a sale can attract both loyal customers and new prospects curious about the latest offerings. It also provides immediate feedback, helping businesses fine-tune the product based on early reactions.

Discounts to Move Stale Inventory:

• Purpose: Clear out old stock that hasn’t been moving, making way for new inventory.
• The Advantage: Reducing stale inventory during sales not only improves cash flow but also rejuvenates the store’s catalog, making it more appealing to customers.

By taking the time to analyze discount strategy across these sales events, solopreneurs stand to gain not just in terms of revenue, but also in understanding their customer base and refining their sales tactics for future growth.

Remember Why You Ran the Sale

When you analyze discount strategy, you need to remember the primary reason for your sale. Not every sale can be compared equally to other sales periods or your full price order history.

Each sale has to have a distinct intention, for example:

• Brand Awareness: Introducing new customers to your brand.
• Immediate Profit: Capitalizing on popular items or trending demands.
• Subscription Base Boost: Attracting more subscribers, possibly at a reduced first-time rate.
• User Count Increase: Getting more users onboard, especially for digital platforms or services.
• New Launch: Introduce a new product or service at a discounted rate or offer a special price for the first few customers.

Whether your sale’s objective is pure profit, a quick injection of cash, or to retain more users, the reason you ran the sale significantly influences how you analyze your discount strategy and measure success.

The rest of this guide shares metric-based and real-world ways to analyze sale performance. Some of these methods will ask you to “compare with previous sales or periods.”

When you take the example of a sale to introduce a new product, the sale’s reason matters a ton. Always adjust the analysis framework you choose based on your promotion’s objective.

Metric-based Approaches to Analyze Discount Strategy

Successful e-commerce sales analysis hinges on understanding and measuring the right metrics.

I personally don’t love formal metrics. But there are a lot of people out there that will tell you these numbers, and keeping a close eye on them, is mission critical.

If you’re a metrics lover, here’s a list of the popular acronyms you can use to analyze sales performance and customer behavior, especially during discount events.

Three Essential Metrics For Metrics Lovers

1. Conversion Rates: If your conversion rate is healthy, it’s a clear sign your discount strategy resonates with your audience.
2. Average Order Value (AOV): Keep an eye on this metric, especially during sales. Techniques like bundling products or offering upsells can drive up the AOV, resulting in higher revenue.
3. Cart Abandonment Rates: A high cart abandonment rate is a red flag. So figure out why: are you having website issues? Is your shipping policy unclear? Addressing the “why” can substantially increase your next promotion’s performance.

Four Advanced Metrics for In-Depth Discount Strategy Analysis

4. Customer Lifetime Value (CLV): Are the customers acquired during sales contributing to long-term revenue? A decrease in CLV during sales might indicate a bump in one-time buyers.
5. Flash Sale Metrics: Understand buyer behavior during flash sales by considering metrics like the time taken for the first purchase and the rate of repeat buyers.
6. Profitability Analysis: Look beyond revenue. Deductions, returns, and net earnings give a clearer picture of actual profits. Did these profitability factors change during the sale? That’s how you determine true sales success.

We’ve got even MORE metrics for people running a membership site in this in-depth article on Membership KPIs at Paid Memberships Pro. Similarly, WooCommerce has a guide on e-commerce metrics in their blog here.

Hold the Acronyms: Eight Real-World Ways to Analyze Discount Strategy

While metrics and data offer concrete ways to measure success (and flashy numbers to tell people about on Twitter), it’s equally important to apply real-world context.

Here’s how to dissect and analyze your discount strategy using relatable and actionable methods:

1. Analyze the Total Profit from the Sale to a Previous Similar Period

• How to Get This Data: Compare your profit margins during the sale to a similar duration in a non-sale period. Tools like Google Analytics or your e-commerce dashboard likely provide historical data which can be compared side by side.
• Why It’s Important: This provides a clear picture of whether your discounts led to a net positive income or if the reduced prices simply increased sales without significant profit. Did you leave money on the table?
• Impact on Future Sale: Understanding this helps in pricing strategies. If discounts significantly improve profits, it indicates that the price elasticity of demand is favorable for discounts. However, if profits don’t increase comparably, you might reconsider the depth of discounts in future sales.

2. Compare Sale Revenue to Another Previous Sale

• How to Get This Data: Use your sales automation platform’s sales report to fetch data for revenues during different sales. Comparing these figures gives you a relative performance metric.
• Why It’s Important: This comparison shows the effectiveness of each sale and any external factors that might have affected one sale over another.
• Impact on Future Sale: Recognizing patterns, such as better performance during holiday seasons or specific months, helps plan and optimize future sales events.

3. Compare New Unique Customer Growth to a Previous Period

• How to Get This Data: Check user acquisition data. Platforms like Google Analytics segment new vs. returning users, giving a snapshot of new customer acquisitions.
• Why It’s Important: Sales shouldn’t just boost revenue; they should grow your customer base. A successful sale attracts new customers who might buy at full price in the future.
• Impact on Future Sale: Understanding customer acquisition rates during sales helps tailor marketing efforts to either retain existing customers or attract new ones.

4. Did you make headway in moving stale inventory or overstock?

• How to Get This Data: Track inventory levels before and after the sale. Inventory management systems or even manual stock takes can offer this data.
• Why It’s Important: Sales help clear out old inventory, making space for new products and reducing holding costs.
• Impact on Future Sale: Understanding which products moved quickly during sales provides insights on product demand and helps in future product procurement or production.

5. Did you get useful backlinks/mentions that grew awareness?

• How to Get This Data: Use tools like UberSuggest, Moz, Ahrefs, or SEMrush to track backlinks and brand mentions.
• Why It’s Important: Backlinks and mentions boost brand visibility, improve SEO, and build credibility.
• Impact on Future Sale: A surge in brand awareness can lead to increased traffic and potential sales in subsequent campaigns.

6. If the sale was for a subscription, what’s the net effect on your monthly revenue?

• How to Get This Data: Subscription management tools, like Stripe or ProfitWell, offer insights into Monthly Recurring Revenue (MRR).
• Why It’s Important: A sale might get many subscribers on board, but at a reduced rate. It’s essential to know if this positively affects your MRR in the long run.
• Impact on Future Sale: Understanding MRR impacts helps in determining the viability of offering subscription discounts in the future.

7. Did the sale create returning customers or single-use customers?

• How to Get This Data: Examine your sales and customer data post-sale. Identify customers who made a purchase during the sale and check their purchase history. If their purchase during the sale was their only transaction, and what they bought likely implies they won’t be back, label them as ‘single-use’ customers. Conversely, track those who bought something that will likely mean a repeat purchase (like printer ink), and mark them as potential loyal customers.
• Why It’s Important: Understanding the nature of customers acquired during a sale gives insights into the sale’s long-term value. Returning customers contribute more to lifetime value and profitability, whereas single-use customers might indicate the sale didn’t resonate as intended or didn’t effectively introduce your brand value.
• Impact on Future Sale: If a significant portion of customers from a sale are single-use, you might need to rethink the depth of discounts or re-evaluate post-sale engagement strategies. On the other hand, a high returning customer rate can be a positive indicator to replicate or expand upon a particular sales strategy in the future.

8. Was your sale on a single hot product? Did people buy more full price things in the same order?

• How to Get This Data: Delve into the order details during the sale period. Identify orders that included the discounted product and inspect the other items within the same order. If customers added other full-priced items, you’ll get a clear picture of the sale item’s pull and its influence on other purchases.
• Why It’s Important: Offering a hot product at a steep discount can serve as a loss leader – an item sold at a loss to attract customers. If the discounted item entices customers to buy other full-priced items, it indicates the strategy’s success. It also offers insights into the product combinations that resonate with your audience.
• Impact on Future Sale: If the data shows that the hot product successfully drives purchases of other full-priced items, this tactic can be employed in future sales. Conversely, if customers predominantly buy only the discounted item, consider strategies to upsell or cross-sell more effectively.

Each of these real-world methods to analyze discount strategy gives a holistic view of the sale’s impact. It’s not just about numbers; it’s about understanding the tangible and intangible benefits a sale brings to the table.

Concluding Thoughts and Next Steps

The insights you gain from analyzing a discount or promo is only useful if you take action. After analyzing, plan your next sale. Adjust, refine, and innovate based on data.

By understanding and implementing these analytical strategies, solopreneurs and DIY website creators enhance their discount strategies, leading to more successful sales events.

How do you analyze your discount strategy? Tweet about this article and include your thoughts.

The post 14 Ways to Analyze Discount Strategy: Did the Sale Work? appeared first on Sitewide Sales: All-in-One Flash Sales Plugin for WordPress.

In this definitive guide, we’ll explore the power of sales promotions for your online course or elearning website. Once you fully understand the pros and cons, we will show you how to strategically implement discounts in your WordPress elearning website to achieve your business goals.

The Impact of Offering Discounts on Online Courses

The world of online learning is rapidly expanding, challenging traditional learning models and requiring innovative marketing strategies to thrive. Offering discounts on online courses can have significant effects on your business.

Benefits of Online Course Flash Sales

• Increased Customer Loyalty: By providing discounts to your existing customers, you can foster loyalty and encourage repeat purchases. Satisfied learners are more likely to return for additional courses.
• Higher Customer Acquisition: Attracting new customers can be challenging, but discounts can act as incentives for potential students to take the plunge and enroll in your courses.
• Improved Conversions: Discounts can create a sense of urgency, forcing people to make a purchase decision. A well-timed discount can convert potential customers into paying students.
• Fast Track a New Course to Success: If you’re just launching a new course, a discount is a great way to get early feedback from students. This early information can help you adjust the course content, adapt pricing, and gather testimonials.
• Support a Course That’s Losing Interest: If you have a backlog of course content that isn’t performing, consider a coupon code on certain courses to recharge their usefulness. This alone can bring new students into the door and get them interested in all the new things you’re producing.

Potential Risks When Discounting Online Courses

But with all these strong benefits, there are a few potential risks when you decide to discount your online courses.

• Impact on Profit Margins: Offering substantial discounts without careful planning may hurt your profit margins.
• Damage to Brand Image: Frequent or excessive discounts could devalue your courses and harm your brand’s perceived value.
• Attracting Non-Loyal Buyers: If learners become trained to expect discounts, they may only purchase during sales, reducing revenue outside of sale periods.

Some of these negative impacts can be solved, though, if you strategically design a sale calendar that supports lower profit months, while clearly communicating that coupon codes are not always available for would-be buyers.

Types of Discounts for Online Courses

As a course creator or online business owner, understanding the various types of discounts available and how to implement them strategically is essential to leverage their full potential. Some of these discount strategies force you to think outside the coupon code field—which is a smart strategy especially when you are just starting a sales system and looking to experiment.

In this section, we’ll explore different types of discounts that you can utilize to entice learners and boost course enrollments:

Make it Free

• While this isn’t the most popular choice, you can use a Sitewide Sale to make course access completely free.
• Use this system if you are trying to breath new life into your elearning website or are releasing a new lightweight course and want to gain early adoption at scale.

Percentage-based Discounts

• Utilize different percentage ranges to attract customers and increase sales.
• Consider lower incentive percentages (e.g., 5% or 10% off) for regular promotions and higher percentages (e.g., 20% or 25% off) for special occasions like Black Friday.

Fixed Amount Discounts

• Position fixed amount discounts as credits to encourage engagement.
• Use fixed amount discounts for products priced above $100 and percentage discounts for products below $100, following the “rule of 100” for psychological impact.

Free Gift Offers

• Enhance customer value by offering a free gift with a purchase.
• Set minimum purchase requirements (e.g., “Free gift for orders over $200”) or link the gift to specific course combinations (“Buy 5 course modules and get a gift”).

Automatic Discounts on Online Courses

• Run site-wide promotions or discounts on specific courses or groups of courses without the need for customers to enter a discount code.
• Streamline the buying process to encourage impulse buying and improve the checkout experience.
• Pro tip: this is exactly what a Sitewide Sales is.

Customized Discount Codes

• Create specific discount codes for targeted audiences, such as email subscribers or repeat customers.
• Use discount codes to track the success of different marketing campaigns and measure their impact on sales.

Setting the Right Discount Amount for Online Courses

Before offering discounts, carefully evaluate factors related to your product and company to strike the right balance between attracting customers and staying profitable.

• Determine Profit Margins Accurately: Calculate the cost of producing your course, including direct expenses and implied fees. This will help you understand the maximum discount you can offer while remaining profitable.
• Know the Value of Your Product: Recognize the unique value of your course content. Courses with specialized knowledge may command higher prices, while more general courses might benefit from occasional discounts.
• Analyze Your Company’s Cash Flow: Consider your financial situation and decide on the appropriate discount strategy. Avoid excessive discounts if your course needs to start generating revenue quickly.
• Experiment and Measure Results: Test different discount amounts and campaigns, then analyze the impact on sales and customer behavior. Use data-driven insights to refine your discounting strategy.

When and How to Apply Discounts Strategically

Consider Your Branding Strategy: Make sure that offering discounts aligns with your overall brand positioning. For high-end brands, implementing ongoing customer loyalty programs with exclusive benefits may be more effective than offering frequent one-off discounts. This approach helps maintain the brand’s perceived value while still improving customer retention.

Implement Customer Loyalty Plans: For businesses with tighter profit margins, focusing on customer loyalty can be a strategic approach. Consider creating customer loyalty plans that reward repeat purchases and long-term engagement. Offering special benefits, such as early access to new courses or exclusive content, can foster a sense of community and encourage customers to remain committed to your platform.

Utilize Discounts and Periodic Offers: If your business operates with healthy profit margins, utilizing discounts on online courses can be a powerful tool to achieve sales goals and attract new learners. Implementing limited-time promotions, flash sales, or seasonal discounts can create a sense of urgency and excitement, motivating potential customers to enroll in your courses before the offer expires.

Measure Effectiveness: Regardless of the discounting approach you choose, it is crucial to monitor the effectiveness of each discount campaign. Analyze data on customer behavior, sales volume, and revenue to identify what resonates best with your target audience. Use the insights gained from these analyses to refine your discounting strategy and tailor future promotions for maximum impact. Regular evaluation and adjustments based on real-time data will help you optimize your discounting efforts over time.

Setting Up Course Discounts with Different WordPress Plugins

How you set up a discount on your online courses varies based on the e-commerce and learning management system (LMS) integrations you use. Here, we’ll cover two popular setups: Paid Memberships Pro and WooCommerce.

Using Paid Memberships Pro (PMPro) and the Free Courses for Membership Add On

Paid Memberships Pro (PMPro) offers a powerful solution for selling course access through memberships. The integration has a built-in basic course module, as well as integration to bundle and sell course access for popular elearning platforms like:

• LifterLMS
• LearnDash
• Sensei LMS
• TutorLMS

By integrating with Sitewide Sales and Courses, you can run flash sales to boost course enrollments for any elearning platform.

Video: How to Run a Flash Sitewide Sale With LifterLMS and Paid Memberships Pro

Follow these steps to set up a discount on your online courses using PMPro and Sitewide Sales PMPro Integration:

1. Install and Activate Plugins: Get the latest versions of Paid Memberships Pro (free), Courses for Membership (free), and Sitewide Sales (free trial) installed and activated.
2. Create a Course: Using the Courses plugin, create the course you want to promote in your flash sale. Ensure the course content and pricing are set up correctly.
3. Set Up PMPro Levels: In Paid Memberships Pro, create membership levels that correspond to the courses you want to sell. Assign the respective courses to each membership level.
4. Configure Sitewide Sales: Navigate to Sitewide Sales > Add New to configure the flash sale details. Set the sale duration and other settings. Refer to the full docs on creating a sale for more help with this step.

5. Enable PMPro Integration: In your Sitewide Sales setup, select the integration with Paid Memberships Pro.

6. Assign the Discount Code: Specify which PMPro discount code to use for your sale.

7. Promote the Sale: Once everything is set up, promote the flash sale to your audience using various marketing channels. This includes designing a simple Sale Banner in Sitewide Sales, which is linked to your sale to automatically turn on and off during the sale period.

Please refer to the docs on How to Create a Discount Code in PMPro for help with discount codes.

Using LifterLMS and WooCommerce

LifterLMS, combined with WooCommerce, provides a comprehensive platform for creating and selling online courses.

Video: How to Run a Flash Sitewide Sale With LifterLMS and Paid Memberships Pro

To offer discounts on courses with this setup, follow these steps:

1. Install and Activate Plugins: Get the latest versions of LifterLMS (free), WooCommerce (free), and Sitewide Sales (free trial) installed and activated.
2. Install WooCommerce Integration for LifterLMS: For this setup, you’ll also need the LifterLMS WooCommerce Integration (premium).
3. Create a Course: Using LifterLMS, create the course you wish to promote through the discount. Set the course pricing and content accordingly.
4. Configure WooCommerce: In WooCommerce settings, set up the necessary payment gateways for your courses.
5. Set Up Product for Course: Create a WooCommerce product for the course. Link your product to the corresponding LifterLMS course. The WooCommerce Integration docs for LifterLMS have more details on how to get this configured.
6. Set Up the Coupon Code: In Marketing > Coupons, create a coupon code and set usage restrictions to the single product you want to offer a sale on.

7. Configure Sitewide Sales: In Sitewide Sales, configure the discount details for the course sale. Assign the correct WooCommerce coupon code and set the sale duration.

8. Enable WooCommerce Integration: In your Sitewide Sales setup, select the integration with WooCommerce.

9. Select Targeted Courses: Specify which products the WooCommerce coupon code applies to. This connects your discounts to the exact LifterLMS courses you want to sell during the promo.
10. Promote the Sale: Start promoting the course sale to your audience. This includes designing a simple Sale Banner in Sitewide Sales, which is linked to your sale to automatically turn on and off during the sale period.

For instructions on creating and managing discount codes in WooCommerce, refer to our guide on How to Create a Coupon Code in WooCommerce.

Unlock the Potential of Discounts

Don’t overlook the potential of discounts to drive your online course business to new heights. With careful planning and data-driven insights, you can leverage discounts as a valuable tool to engage learners, meet sales targets, and build a thriving community around your courses.

In the fast-paced world of online education, offering discounts on courses has become an indispensable strategy for course creators and online business owners alike. As you embark on your journey to boost sales and attract learners, keep in mind the valuable insights provided in this definitive guide.

By understanding the impact of discounts on your business, exploring various discount types, setting appropriate discount amounts, and measuring the results, you can position your courses for success.

Remember that every business is unique, and what works for one may not work for another. Embrace experimentation and use data-driven insights to optimize your discounting strategy continuously.

Above all, always keep your audience at the forefront of your decision-making process. By understanding their needs, preferences, and pain points, you can tailor discounts that resonate with them and drive meaningful engagement.

Ready to Boost Sales, Drive Traffic, And Increase Conversions?

Sales help businesses to improve brand visibility, drive more traffic, and increase revenue. They also help you to connect with potential buyers who may be sitting on the fence or who need a little push to get over the fence.

Learn why this unique WordPress plugin is the secret to running sales with ease.

Check out the Sitewide Sales plugin today.

The post The Definitive Guide to Discounts on Online Courses: Attract Customers and Boost Revenue Using Flash Sales appeared first on Sitewide Sales: All-in-One Flash Sales Plugin for WordPress.

Tell me if any of these scenarios have you nodding your head “YES!”

• You’re running sales because it’s the end of the month and you need some extra cash.
• You run sales because you peeked on a competitor’s site and saw that THEY had a sale running.
• You are launching a new product and thought “why not run a sale on my old thing to move a few more units?”

None of these strategies are an inherently bad approach. But each of these flash sale strategies have a key flaw: they are reactive, not proactive.

In this guide, I want to break down my strategy for running seasonal sales with intention by designing a year-long sale calendar. Follow these steps to have a clear idea of:

• When you’ll run sales in the year ahead.
• What promotion you will offer.
• And, have all of these sales ready to send so all of you have to do is sit back and watch the revenue stream in.

Only Running Sales on Black Friday?

Black Friday only comes once a year. And during that time everyone else is running sales. As an online business, you are facing a customer base that is highly distracted.

If you sell to B2B customers, you are not only fighting the other merchants for their eyeballs, you’re also probably trying to get attention from a buyer that is busily running their own business’ flash sale that weekend.

For this reason, I often recommend your Black Friday/Cyber Monday (BFCM ) deal to be the best offer you have all year. You have to give an insane discount to reach anyone outside your most loyal customer base.

For my subscription product, we run between three and four sales per year, in addition to our standing BFCM event. While I’d have assumed that would impact the performance at Black Friday, it hasn’t.

• Each week-long sale brings in about $20,000 in bonus money. Black Friday being the best sale of the year which made $34,000 in 2021.
• As a subscription product, we create more even revenue across the year by strategically running sales in the lower average revenue months.
• And if you’re running an eCommerce site with a diverse product line, what I’m about to teach you becomes even more exciting… and more lucrative.

So when are the OTHER natural periods to run sales for YOUR business?

A New Strategy For Planning Flash Sales

Earlier I talked about a few reactive strategies you may already be using to decide when to run a sale:

• Competition
• Inventory
• Cashflow

Here’s a proactive sale strategy that has been our subscription product’s most lucrative lesson: the waiting line.

When you’re planning your annual sale calendar, the pace you run sales has to match your customer buying patterns AND the growth of your list.

Close your eyes and picture your online subscription business as a bricks and mortar shop. You’re standing at your favorite small shop in town and you’re right outside the door.

The store is open for business, but you cannot go inside.

You checked your wallet, dug around in the sofa cushions, and maybe even peeked in your roommate’s top drawer, but you only have $8 in your pocket.

And everything in the store is $10.

But you actually really want to buy something, so you keep waiting in line outside the shop. In a few minutes, you turn around and see that a few more people have joined you. They are all queueing up behind you in the waiting line.

After a few hours, you look back and see that the line is now ridiculously long.

Infographic: The Waiting Line (click to expand)

Your Online Store Has a Waiting Line

Your online business has a waiting line just like this.

Every time someone visits your site, joins your email list, follows you on social media, makes a lower price purchase, some number of them start waiting in line.

Businesses that run a single sale every year on Black Friday ignore the ever-growing queue of people waiting to buy.

• Some of these potential customers end up standing in line for a really long time. As long as 361 days in a year.
• Some of these potential customers get sick of waiting. They abandon the line and go shop elsewhere.

Should you even care about these people? You might be thinking “Forget about them. If they aren’t willing to pay full price for my product, I don’t want them as a customer.”

But while price is sometimes the actual barrier to conversion, other times it’s because some people LOVE coupons. In fact, research has proven that people are HAPPIER when they get a deal.

The scientific research shows that oxytocin, a hormone that is directly related to love and happiness, spikes when people receive a coupon, and, in fact, increases more than when people receive a gift.

—Scientific Study Shows Coupons Can Help Take the Stress out of Holiday Shopping

Who are you to deny someone happiness?

How Paid Memberships Pro Plans Quarterly Sales

In addition to our Sitewide Sales plugin for flash sales, we also have a membership plugin called Paid Memberships Pro.

Aside from experiments, we stick to a revenue-regulating sales strategy when planning our annual sales calendar. This strategy, coupled with analyzing the length of our waiting line, means that we have more successful, more reliable sales.

Here’s how it works: At the start of 2020 we looked back at the 2019 revenue chart. We looked at the months where monthly revenue was below the average line. In this case, we chose to run sales in May and August of 2020.

Subscription products may also want to consider scheduling sales to even out months where new sales is a smaller percentage of total revenue. For recurring memberships, the sale you run this year has a cumulative effect for all following years, until the member churns.

The more you can do to increase new sales in one month, the better that month will be in the years ahead.

In 2020, we ran a sale in May and August. You can see in the full chart of our 2020 revenue that May and August are now above the average line. Exactly what you should see happen with this strategy.

How to Design an Annual Sale Calendar

When we design sales for my product, we are super focused on the waiting line.

If we run too many sales, there aren’t enough people waiting to buy because the line is too short. Sometimes there can be a lot of people in the line, but you know that not every single one of them will convert.

So you have to wait for the list to build up, then run the sale.

List Growth Rate and Sale Timing

Start by analyzing your list growth rate and customer buying patterns. This first step helps you determine how frequently you should be running sales (how many sales per year).

First, run a single random sale that isn’t your BFCM weekend sale. What percentage of your list converts? This step is especially important for subscription products that do not have a clear path for upsells or repeat purchases.

• How big will your list be in three months? In five months?
• Will enough new people have joined your list in that time to make it worth running the sale?

For some napkin math, let’s say you acquire about 30 line waiters (cool leads) per day. Your product regularly costs $100 but you will put it on sale for $70.

If you wait 3 months between running flash sales, there will be 2,700 new leads in your waiting line.

• If you convert 1% of the line waiters = 27 purchases ($1,890 bonus revenue).
• If you convert 10% of the line waiters = 270 purchases ($18,900 bonus revenue).

Do your own math. Is it worth running a quarterly sale based on these numbers?

Time Between Purchases

For physical products that do have repeat purchases: also try to figure out the average period of time between that repeat purchase. In addition to list growth, you also need to know how often your current customers are eager to buy more from you.

This metric is called Time Between Purchases (TBP). I’m not a person that needs exact metrics for my business, so this can be a rough guess / gut calculation. For those that want the real value, do the math:

365 / Purchase Frequency = Time Between Purchases

Purchase frequency here is the average number of times a unique customer purchases from you in a single year.

You should now have a rough idea of how many sales per year you want to run. For us, that number is between 3 and 4 sales.

The next step is to choose the exact sale dates for the year ahead. The strategies here vary depending on a few factors:

• What market you’re in,
• Whether your product is a subscription or one-time purchase, and
• Especially whether your product has repeat purchases or is more “once and done”

Revenue-Regulating Sale Strategy

In this strategy, you design the sale calendar with the goal of creating more even revenue across the year. Why is this helpful? More regular revenue reduces the owner’s need to maintain a gigantic runway. You’ll also have a more predictable budget, because it really stinks to manage a business which makes $50,000 in one month and $10,000 the next.

So pull up your revenue chart from the last full calendar year. Where are some dips?

Make a note of a few months in the year that would be nice to boost revenue. You can also look at the year ahead and choose some months that would be nice to have some extra cash on hand. Maybe you have a big team retreat planned, Maybe you have a new product to invest in. Or maybe there’s a big invoice coming due for new inventory.

Running Sales With Seasonal Products

One final sale planning strategy to cover here is product seasonality. For many eCommerce sites, there is a natural seasonality to product sales and buyer behaviors.

I want you to think about your product. If you sell a wide variety of products, you can do this exercise for each category of product you are considering to run sales for.

• Do people generally buy your product for “back to school”?
• Are your products geared toward a “New Year, New You” transformation?
• Is your product something we’re all hunting for when the weather starts to get warmer… or colder?

When you find a good seasonal matchup, you eliminate a huge piece of complexity when running sales. Don’t run sales outside the “season”. If people aren’t in the mood for your product, chances are your sale will be a flop.

Plus, a large piece of running sales that I hear from eCommerce site owners is in designing an interesting offer with creative sales copy and sales creatives.

Run sales when you can match product seasonality with the actual season. This strategy gives you a built-in theme that can be used across all aspects of your sale’s design.

I highly support anything you can do to make running a sale easier for you as the admin.

Recap: Design Your Annual Sale Calendar

There are four main ways to plan an annual sale calendar. In practice, your eCommerce site uses a combination of these strategies to run successful sales.

To recap, here are the four strategies you can use to plan your annual sales calendar:

1. List Growth Rate and Sale Timing
2. Time Between Purchases
3. Revenue-Regulating Sale Strategy
4. Running Sales With Seasonal Products

Use these strategies next year to run sales more confidently for your eCommerce site.

Run Better Sales with Sitewide Sales

Sitewide Sales is a new way to run sales for your WordPress-powered eCommerce site. Our plugin helps you set up an active promotion that runs from your set start time and end time—no more lost sleep waiting to hit “start”.

Use SWS with your favorite WordPress eCommerce plugins to handle the banners, landing pages, discount code rules, and performance reporting.

View Sitewide Sales pricing »

The post How to Design an Annual Sale Calendar appeared first on Sitewide Sales: All-in-One Flash Sales Plugin for WordPress.

The features highlighted below focus on ease of use, extended sale segmentation rules, and improved sale campaign reporting.

Improved Sale Banner Design

v1.3 adds native support to design banners using the built-in WordPress Block Editor. Site owners can now leverage all the juicy UI goodness in the block editor to build kickass sale banners, such as:

• Change background and text color, or use a background gradient
• Adjust the font size
• Add buttons, icons, or emojis
• Insert a countdown timer

We want you to build banners using the interface you’re most familiar with, without any limitation or the need for custom HTML/CSS.

Sitewide Sales now includes built-in Sale Banner patterns, too. We used patterns to rebuild our favorite banner templates using the Block Editor and also added a few new designs.

1. From the Insert Blocks panel, choose the “Patterns” tab
2. Select “Sale Banners” to browse built-in designs
3. Choose a design to use as a starting point for sale banners and popups

Banners also saw some settings-based improvements including:

• Hide sale campaigns from users based on role. The built-in module for PMPro already included support for membership level-based restrictions. Now, sites using WooCommerce or EDD can hide sale banners based on roles like “Customer”. Or, hide the banner from “Logged Out” users, meaning your sale campaign only shows for logged-in users.
• Dismiss banners per session or page load. We get it—some sites are a little too aggressive with promoting a sale. On page banners and popups, while effective, can also be annoying. We now support banner dismiss logic for the entire browsing session. Or, keep your banners persistent. It’s your call.
• Banner dismiss button added to all banner locations. Previously, the top banner location didn’t have a close button. Now it does. You can hide the banner close button with a filter hook.
• Popup Maker support. We also integrated with Popup Maker to assign one of your popups to the sale. Most of the logic for when the banner shows is still triggered in Popup Maker logic. Sitewide Sales specifically controls visibility rules for start and end date as well as user role or membership level.

More Control When Building Landing Pages

TLDR: We added a ‘Sale Content’ block as well as a Sale Period setting for blocks, for Elementor, and for Divi.

• The Sale Content block helps you build your landing page completely within the Block Editor. You can use this nested block to design specific landing page content based on the sale period.
• The Sale Period setting allows you to toggle content displayed in the Block Editor, in Elementor, or in Divi. Want to show a countdown timer to drum up excitement for an upcoming sale? Add it to a section restricted to the “Before Sale” period. Want to show a form so people can join your mailing list and learn about future sales? Add it to a section restricted to the “After Sale” period.

New Countdown Timer Block and Shortcode

Listen, there are loads of popular countdown timers for WordPress. I use used to use HurryTimer for our own sales at Paid Memberships Pro.

But, since countdown timers are such a common feature for sale campaigns, we felt it was irresponsible NOT to build our own. You don’t want one more feature plugin on your WordPress site, right?

• The countdown timer block supports your custom text color and background color
• Choose whether to countdown to the sale start or sale end date
• Timers work well on landing pages OR anywhere else in your WordPress site.
• If the page is assigned to sale, the countdown timer inherits that page’s sale date. Or, place the timer anywhere else on your WordPress site. Timers inherit the active sitewide sale’s date.
• Yes, you can put a countdown timer in a banner. We encourage you to do this.

Yes, you can stop Editing every WooCommerce product to run a sale.

v1.3+ supports showing your WooCommerce product as “On Sale” when a discount code is set to be applied (meaning they saw the landing page already OR you had the sale settings configured to “Always apply the discount”).

Why is this helpful? Because buyers like to see things on sale and your theme probably does some cute stuff for products when they’re … on sale.

Save yourself some admin time and just set up the WooCommerce coupon logic for your sale. Then tell Sitewide Sales to run the show. You do not have to edit a single product or schedule a sale price manually. What are you gonna do with all that extra time?

If you don’t like this feature, you can disable the filter. Or just set your sale up to not apply discounts automatically. But we strongly advise against that.

How to Update to Sitewide Sales v1.3

Sites with a Sitewide Sales license can update via the Dashboard > Updates screen in the WordPress admin.

The Full Changelog for Sitewide Sales v1.3

• FEATURE: Added “Reusable Blocks” as a banner type.
• FEATURE: Added a “Sale Content” block that works similar to the sitewide_sale shortcode. The content from the sale settings will show up depending on the period.
• FEATURE: Added a “Sale Period” nested block. You can nest other blocks inside of it and set the period (before/during/after) to show that content.
• FEATURE: Added a “Sale Period Visibility” advanced option to Group blocks and Column blocks. You can set these nested blocks to only show before/during/after a sale.
• FEATURE: Added support for the Popup Maker plugin. You can choose a popup to use as your banner.
• FEATURE: Added “Sale Period Visibility” to Elementor and Divi elements/sections.
• FEATURE: Built-in Block Patterns and Styles for Sale Banners.
• FEATURE: Added Countdown Timer Block for use with sales.
• ENHANCEMENT: Added close (x) to banners and setting to “close until new session” so closed banners don’t show up again.
• ENHANCEMENT: Added filter swsales_banner_dismiss_link_html so custom code can hide or change the dismiss link on banners.
• ENHANCEMENT: Added new sale banner templates.
• ENHANCEMENT: Updated WooSelect to latest version.
• ENHANCEMENT: Using the woocommerce_product_is_on_sale filter to show products in the shop as “on sale” if the code is applied to the view.
• ENHANCEMENT: Moved the mini report on the edit sale page to the sidebar, with links to the detailed report.
• ENHANCEMENT: Added setting for hiding banners per WordPress user role. This includes custom roles added by WooCommerce or EDD so you can hide your sale campaign from current customers.
• ENHANCEMENT: Sorting level dropdown/multiselects by sorted order in PMPro
• ENHANCEMENT: Formatting strike prices for accessibility; improvement to WC pricing to use new is_type function.
• ENHANCEMENT: Now using the input type date and time to set start and end dates/times on sales; input field width formatting.
• ENHANCEMENT: Updated plugin links and admin header display.
• ENHANCEMENT: Improved the “Vintage” template.
• ENHANCEMENT: Adjusting “Photo” template for EDD and other improvements.
• ENHANCEMENT: Now showing ‘Best Day’ and ‘Today’ on the sale report chart.
• ENHANCEMENT: Added filter swsales_daily_revenue_chart_days to limit days shown on chart. Default is 31 days.
• BUG FIX/ENHANCEMENT: Fixed warning for PMPro module and hiding banner by membership level.
• BUG FIX/ENHANCEMENT: Hiding the banner if the “shop” page is chosen as the landing page.
• BUG FIX/ENHANCEMENT: Removed strikethrough pricing on variable downloads.
• BUG FIX/ENHANCEMENT: PMPro daily revenue chart now shows in local time.
• BUG FIX: Fixed WC coupon expiration warning message showing when it should not.
• BUG FIX: Fixed issue where report charts would break if using certain date format settings.

The post Sitewide Sales v1.3 Release appeared first on Sitewide Sales: All-in-One Flash Sales Plugin for WordPress.

Giving away a coupon for your store is much different than just placing a single product on sale. You can create coupons with specific expiration dates, limit quantities, and track how many times each individual user redeems the coupon.

Read on to learn how you can use coupons as an effective marketing tool to grow your WooCommerce business, drive more traffic to your site, and run flash sales that segment customers to boost conversions with strikethrough pricing.

What is a WooCommerce Coupon?

A coupon is a discount code or digital coupon that allows customers to save on the products or services you sell. 

Unlike putting a WooCommerce product on sale, users must manually enter a coupon on the cart or checkout page. If a user forgets to add a coupon to their cart, the admin must manually adjust the order and issue a partial refund. Coupons cannot be added to a completed order.

Digital coupon codes created through WooCommerce allow users to take a percentage or fixed price discount on any applicable products in the store.  WooCommerce coupons also include expiration dates and usage restrictions. These settings customize how the discount is applied to the purchase.

Types of WooCommerce Coupons

WooCommerce includes three types of coupons that cover most use cases for offering discounts in your ecommerce store. Each type of coupon listed below has an optional expiration date and general rules related to shipping rates.

Percentage Discounts

A percentage discount applies a percent off to the entire cart. For example, you could set a percentage discount of “15” to offer 15% off the total cart amount. For more specific control, switch to the “Usage restriction” tab. On this tab, you can configure how the coupon is applied to the cart based on product categories and individual products.

Fixed Cart Discounts

A fixed cart discount applies a fixed amount discount to the entire cart. For example, a fixed cart discount takes $15 off a purchase of $100 or more. I highly suggest setting the “Minimum Spend” setting on the “Usage restriction” tab when configuring a fixed cart discount coupon. This way you can ensure that customers are meeting a minimum cart value in order to take advantage of a fixed savings.

Fixed Product Discounts

With this coupon type, users save a fixed amount per product (per item). For example, a fixed product discount of “5” that only applies to the “Jeans” category will subtract $5 from each pair of jeans in the customer’s cart.

How to Create a WooCommerce Coupon

1. Navigate to Marketing > Coupons in the WordPress admin.
2. Click “Add Coupon”. The coupon edit screen has every setting for your coupon code including the name, description, and all the juicy details about how the code discounts items in your shop.
3. Enter a name for your coupon code. The coupon name is the value that customers will enter to apply the coupon to their cart (i.e. “welcome” or “bfcm2022”).
4. Enter a description of your coupon code. The coupon description is only visible to you, the site admin, and will not be shown to customers. I like to use this field to describe the promotion or event I created this coupon code for.
5. The sections below cover each setting in the “Coupon data” section for configuring your coupon rules including:
   • General Settings
   • Usage Restrictions
   • Usage Limits

Configure WooCommerce Coupon General Settings

Select the “General” tab in the Coupon data section.

These settings include:

• Discount type: Select a discount type from the dropdown including percentage discount, fixed cart discount, or fixed product discount.
• Coupon amount: The numerical amount for the coupon.
  • If you chose a percentage discount, this is the whole number discount percentage (for 20% off enter “20”).
  • For a fixed cart or fixed product discount, enter the whole number amount (i.e. for $10 off enter “10”).
• Coupon expiry date: Optionally set a date that this coupon code expires. You can leave this field empty for a coupon that never expires.

Configure WooCommerce Coupon Usage Restrictions

In the “Usage restriction” tab, set boundaries on how your discount code can be used.

Below is a list of the different settings fields on this screen:

• Minimum spend and maximum spend to set limits on how much the total cart amount can be for this code to apply
• Individual use only to specify if this coupon cannot be “stacked” or used in conjunction with other coupons
• Exclude sale items to control whether this coupon should not apply to items already on sale at the product level
• Select specific products to include or exclude for this coupon code
• Select specific product categories to include or exclude for this coupon code
• Enter specific allowed emails for the people that are permitted to use this code

Configure WooCommerce Coupon Usage Limits

In the “Usage limits” tab, configure settings related to how many times your coupon can be used in aggregate or per user.

The settings in this section include:

• Usage Limit Per Coupon: How many times can this coupon be used before it is void? Use this setting to specify how many times the coupon can be claimed. For example, you could have a coupon code that offers 50% off to the first 100 customers to claim the deal. After there have been 100 checkouts with this coupon code, the code becomes invalid.
• Limit usage to X items: Optionally specify the maximum number of individual items this coupon can apply to or leave this field blank to apply to all qualifying items in the cart. For example if you have a fixed product discount of $5 per pair of jeans, set this field to “3” to limit the coupon to the first three pairs of jeans in the cart. Note that this field is only available for the “Percentage discount” and “Fixed product discount” coupon types. 
• Usage Limit Per User: How many times this coupon can be used by an individual user? The coupon will check against the billing email for guest checkouts or the user ID for logged in users.

How to Track Coupon Usage in WooCommerce

WooCommerce includes native analytics on coupon usage. Navigate to Analytics > Coupons in the WordPress admin to view reports on coupon usage.

• Coupon analytics allow you to narrow in on a specific time frame and see coupon usage within that date period.
• Select to view analytics for all coupons, a single coupon, or set up an advanced report that compares coupon performance for 2 or more coupons.

These powerful analytics allow you to see which coupons are more appealing for your customers. If you are using coupons for different marketing campaigns, you can use these reports to see how that sales funnel is performing. 

For example, if you have influencer marketing campaigns running with 10 different people, you can view a report that compares the coupon codes for each influencer over a specific time frame to see your top performing channels as compared to those that are underperforming.

Segmentation and Automatically Apply Coupons with Sitewide Sales

So far in this post, I’ve covered the native coupon and discount codes features in WooCommerce. But after all, this is the blog for our WooCommerce extension Sitewide Sales.

Our plugin sets up a complete flash sales funnel for your WooCommerce store. Sitewide Sales includes banner ads, landing pages, segmentation, reporting, and discount code behavior. You can automatically apply coupons to all visitors on the site or to visitors that have seen your landing page.

Coupon code logic is infinitely easier to set up over individually editing each product to set a sale price. Coupon codes also allow you to track performance using different promotions over time. By simply placing your whole store on sale, you won’t have the reporting in place to look back on that distinct timeframe and know what worked. With Sitewide Sales, you can see what portion of sales came directly from users who saw your ads or landing page.

Sitewide Sales segments who can access your flash sale. You can limit promotions by customer type such as new customers or repeat customers only.

Check out the features of Sitewide Sales now or start a 30 day free trial. If you don’t make more money with your sitewide sale than any other sale before, just cancel and I’ll refund any payments made.

It’s a risk free tool to help you run optimized flash sales in your WooCommerce site.

The Bottom Line on WooCommerce Coupon Codes

If you reflect on your own buying habits, you can see why coupon codes are so effective at increasing conversions. In fact, 41% of internet users cited “coupon codes” as a leading reason for online purchases in 2020 (via Statisa.com).

With this statistic alone, it is clear that your ecommerce store needs to participate in the digital coupons game. I hope that this guide gave you a strong baseline understanding of how to create coupons for WooCommerce. With WooCommerce as your ecommerce platform, you can easily start adding coupons and sitewide sales to your marketing plan.

If there’s a lingering question about coupon settings or running flash sales in general, please drop a comment below. We’re here to support the growth and success of your ecommerce site with our team of sales experts.

The post How to Create Coupons For WooCommerce appeared first on Sitewide Sales: All-in-One Flash Sales Plugin for WordPress.

1. The buyer does their shopping, adding a few things to the cart.
2. They’re about to start checkout and notice you have a “Coupon Code” field.
3. They think “I wonder if there is a discount running right now?”.
4. So they leave your site and start searching for a discount code.

Best case scenario? Your customer finds a discount quickly and returns to complete their purchase. Worst case? You just had an abandoned cart.

In this article, I’ll show you the power of creating your own coupon and discount code page. You’ll soon be the #1 search result that gets buyers back to the checkout process quickly.

How Customers Find Discount Codes

If a customer is looking to save on their purchase, how do they locate an active, working discount code?

While some shoppers may start a favorite coupons website, most people go to their default search engine and enter the phrase “[Your brand name] coupon code”. In fact, this is one of the top Google autocomplete results for many CPG and B2B brand name search queries.

When you build a coupons and discounts page for your brand, you capture the first result for this popular search query. Search engines already know you are the brand the user is searching for—your coupons page is the best match for their query.

A coupons and discounts page is the best way to ensure people who leave your site to search for a deal come back and complete the purchase.

The Danger of Coupon Listing Sites

Coupon listing sites like Brad’s Deals, RetailMeNot, and Coupons.com aggregate promotions with the goal of winning a top search result for queries like “[Your brand name] discount”.

But how does the coupon site make money? Through affiliate programs and referral fees.

If you offer an affiliate program, there is a chance the customer finds their way back to checkout through someone else’s affiliate link on someone else’s discount code listing page.

So in addition to a reduced average order value through your discount, you are also paying a higher total affiliate commission on each sale. Yikes.

Are you convinced you need your own coupons and discounts page yet?

Key Features of a Coupons and Discounts Page

As you set up a coupons and discounts page, remember that this page has to be the best resource for a potential customer to find out how to save on your site. Here are the top sections to keep in mind as you design this landing page.

List your active coupons and discount codes

If you’re actively running sales, list them here. Make the most prominent section of this page answer your customer’s question, meet their needs, and get them right back to the checkout process.

Include a section for every active code, the discount amount, valid dates, and applicable products. Add a link to your shopping cart or checkout page with the code automatically applied.

Explain when you generally run promotions

Tell customers a bit about how you approach running sales. If you only do a big deal at Black Friday or Cyber Monday, tell them that. Be honest about when the next sale is going to happen so that the customer can quickly decide if they will wait or just buy now.

And if you never run sales or offer coupons, say that here too. You still need to have a coupons and discounts page even if you don’t run sales because some number of customers will seek out a page like this. Who better to explain your approach to discounts than the brand itself.

Explain how people can find out about your promotions

Include a mailing list signup form so customers can be notified of upcoming sales. 

You can use a drop-in form from your favorite mailing list plugin like MC4WP or ConvertKit. If you don’t have a mailing list, just add a general form that stores submissions using a tool like Contact Form 7 or Ninja Forms.

Include your social media accounts to follow

Brands almost always use social media to advertise their deals. Include your preferred social media account follow links on this page to highlight where people can find you. Bonus: this also helps grow your followers.

Consider an always available discount code

If you can, include a basic discount like 5 to 10% off or a reduced shipping rate. The people that land on this page are highly motivated buyers, but they are also savvy buyers that like to get a deal. A straightforward discount isn’t going to lose you money—it is the key to winning the conversion and saving the sale.

If you feel like you can’t have a discount, you may be charging too little.

Share details about non-profit (NPO), student, or active military discounts

If your site offers special pricing or promotions for non profits or other groups, explain your strategy on this page. Tell buyers how they can contact you to get a special rate or deal if they meet your requirements.

For software or downloads sites: explain the dangers of nulled software

When buyers are hunting for a way to save on your software, there is a chance they will also find a way to get your software for “free”. Consider including a section on why nulled software is dangerous. This message coupled with a small discount code protects buyers from the risks of using nulled software and protects your overall brand reputation, too.

Just like your coupons and discounts page, a page designed to match a search query like “[Your brand name] free” or “[Your brand name] nulled” is a smart strategy to outrank dangerous search results. And this strategy works even if you don’t offer an open source or free version of your code.

How to Outrank Coupon Code Listing Sites

Through your domain authority, that’s how. Search engines already know that YOUR DOMAIN is YOUR BRAND. When someone enters an exact brand name in the search field, the search algorithm knows that your page is the best result.

If you don’t have a landing page for coupons and discount codes, the search engine can’t include your domain in the results.

Here are some tips for an SEO-optimized coupons and discounts landing page:

Keywords for Your Coupons Page

Try to include each of these keywords and keyphrases in the content of the landing page:

• [Brand Name] + Coupon Code
• [Brand Name] + Discount Code
• [Brand Name] + Promotion
• [Brand Name] + Sale

Title of Your Coupons Page

Take a look at your checkout process and see how your ecommerce plugin or theme labels the discount code field or coupon code field. For WooCommerce, this field is labeled “Coupon code”. Include the field name in the title of your coupons page. Some examples include:

• Official [Brand Name] Coupons & Coupon Codes
• How to Save on [Brand Name]
• Latest [Brand Name] Coupons, Deals, and Discounts
• [Brand Name] Coupons, Deals, And Promo Codes

Add a Link to Your Coupons Page

The coupons and discounts page cannot live in what we call the “dark web”. For a search engine to be able to properly index this page, you need to give the search engine a way to find it.

I recommend adding a link to your coupons page from your site footer. This can be included in a footer menu area or footer widget.

I’m no SEO wizard, but I know from experience that your coupons landing page will reach the coveted #1 result—and fast.

Bonus Tip: Hide the Discount or Coupon Field at Checkout

At the start of this article, I explained a common buyer’s journey where they encounter a discount code field and get triggered to hunt for a deal.

Can you remove that field and stop this behavior? Maybe.

While some customers are trained to search for deals, others see the absence of a coupon field as a sign that you don’t offer deals. (Even if you actually do!)

Here’s how to hide the code field for the three ecommerce plugins that Sitewide Sales integrates with:

• WooCommerce: Read our tutorial on how to hide the coupon field in WooCommerce. We also have a tutorial on how to include a Woocommerce coupon in the URL that gets automatically applied to the cart. If you never use coupons in WooCommerce, you can hide this field without code by disabling the use of coupons in WooCommerce plugin settings.
• Paid Memberships Pro: PMPro’s blog has a code recipe on hiding the discount code field at checkout. By default, this field only shows if your site has discount codes created via plugin settings. If you don’t have any codes, the field is always hidden. You only need this recipe if you have active codes and don’t want to show the field.
• Easy Digital Downloads: Our last tutorial offers a code snippet to hide the discount code field in Easy Digital Downloads. Even without a visible discount code field, EDD supports applying the discount code via a URL attribute. 

Example Websites With a Coupons Page

If you need more inspiration on how to design your coupon and discounts page, check out this gallery of popular ecommerce websites. I’ve included a few business types, from consumer product brands to business-to-business software products.

• Lands End: https://www.landsend.com/coupons/
• Wayfair: https://www.wayfair.com/coupon-codes-policy
• Paid Memberships Pro: https://www.paidmembershipspro.com/discount-coupon-for-paid-memberships-pro/
• Sephora: https://www.sephora.com/beauty/beauty-offers
• Madewell: https://www.madewell.com/promo-codes-discounts-coupons.html
• GravityKit: https://www.gravitykit.com/coupons/

Start Building Your Coupons and Discounts Page

Even sites that never offer coupons should have a page that explains your business values and approach to discounts. 

Sites that do offer discounts should consider reducing the buyer’s trigger to go hunting for a coupon code by hiding the field on your checkout page. Or if you regularly offer deals and want to have the code visible, make sure that you’re the one providing an easy way to access all your coupon codes and ways to save.

Having your own hosted page that lists information about active coupons or discount codes and your general approach to running sales can:

• Reduce cart abandonment
• Capture more checkout conversions, and
• Increase your total order value without handing anything over to affiliates

The post Your Ecommerce Site Needs a Coupons and Discounts Page appeared first on Sitewide Sales: All-in-One Flash Sales Plugin for WordPress.

• Create a notification bar banner that displays across your whole WooCommerce site
• Add a landing page that highlights discounted products
• Set up a coupon code and automatically apply it to the checkout
• Show strike-through pricing throughout the shop

Video Tutorial: How to Create a Sitewide Sale In WooCommerce

Required Plugins for a WooCommerce Sitewide Sale

For this tutorial, I’m using a basic WordPress site with the following theme and plugins:

• WooCommerce: a WordPress ecommerce plugin
• TwentyTwenty: the WordPress default theme for 2020 by WordPress.org
• Sitewide Sales: an all-in-one flash sales plugin for WordPress

How to Set up a Sitewide Sale in WooCommerce

Create Your Coupon in WooCommerce

1. Navigate to Marketing > Coupons in the WordPress admin.
2. Click add coupon.
3. In this tutorial, I set up a WooCommerce coupon code with the name ‘youthful’ that applies a 30% discount across all products on my site.
4. Save the coupon.

Set Up Basic Sale Settings

1. Next navigate to Sitewide Sales > Add New in the WordPress admin.
2. Enter a basic title for your sale that will be used for internal reference only.
3. Configure your sale’s start and end date.
4. Next select WooCommerce for the sale type.
   1. In the Coupon dropdown, select the ‘youthful’ coupon we just created or any other coupon that you created to be used for this sale.
   2. Choose whether to apply the discount automatically. For this sale, I set the code to apply the discount automatically if the user has seen the landing page.
   3. Click save all settings.

Create a Sale Landing Page

1. Now it’s time to set up the landing page for your sale.
   1. In the ‘Step 3: Landing Page’ section of the Sitewide Sale Edit screen, click create new landing page.
   2. For this landing page, I used the gradient template built in to Sitewide Sales.
   3. Next enter some content to be shown on your landing page before the sale begins, while the sale is actively running, and once the sale has ended.
   4. When the sale is running, I want to show a shortcode that’s provided with WooCommerce to show the category of products ‘anti-aging’.
      [products category="anti-aging" columns="3"]
   5. Click save all settings.

Create a Top Bar Sitewide Sale Banner

In step four, select to use the built-in banner shown at the top of the site.

1. For this banner, I used the gradient template built in to Sitewide Sales.
2. Enter a title and text to be shown in your banner.
3. Adjust the button text and click save all settings.

Activate Your Sitewide Sale

It’s time to launch your sale! When you’re happy with the sale design and settings, click the ‘Set as current Sitewide Sale’.

• The sale will automatically start to display your sale banner on the start date.
• Your landing page will show the right message based on the sale timing (before, during, after).
• The banner will automatically turn off when the sale ends (on the sale end date).

You can now browse your site as a logged in user or as a visitor to see the banner across the top of your site, click to view the landing page, visit a single product page to see strike-through pricing, and add products to your cart with the coupon code ‘youthful’ automatically applied.

When you sale is live, check out your reports to see how the sale is performing. Sitewide Sales tracks banner views, landing page visits, and checkout conversions using your sale’s coupon code. The plugin also shows a breakdown of all revenue generated in the period with and without a discount code.

Rethink How You Run Sales with WooCommerce

Sitewide Sales is a new way to run sales for your WordPress-powered ecommerce site. Using Sitewide Sales, you can set up an active promotion that runs from your set start time and end time.

The plugin automatically applies discounts according to the rules you set up—no coding required. If you want to run a true sale that automatically applies a discount without the need for manual coupon entry, you need try the Sitewide Sales plugin—it works with WooCommerce and other popular ecommerce plugins for WordPress.

The post How to Create a Sitewide Sale in WooCommerce appeared first on Sitewide Sales: All-in-One Flash Sales Plugin for WordPress.