What Size Discounts Work Best to Sell Online Subscriptions?

Let’s say you’ve decided on a discount offer to help convert more of your prospects into paid subscribers. How big a discount should you

Let’s say you’ve decided on a discount offer to help convert more of your prospects into paid subscribers. How big a discount should you offer? Or, rather, how little can your discount be and still work?Offline subscription marketers ran extensive tests in the 1990s, and the results were surprising. For the vast majority of prospects, a fairly small discount (as little as $10 off a $300 subscription) moved the needle. In fact $50 off didn’t do appreciably better than $10.Here are some other best practices to follow:

  • Always include the cents — i.e., instead of $10 off, write $10.00 off.
  • Beware three-figure discounts. Any discount over $100 signals to your prospects “This is a REALLY expensive product if the discount is this big” instead of “What a great deal!”
  • Past buyers (expires and cancels) may do better with a discount bringing them to the price they last subscribed at. For them it’s about past experience, not today’s savings.
  • Always give a deadline to accept the offer.
  • Always give customer service guidelines around what to do about discount seekers whose queries come in after the formal deadline (Okaying the deal or offering something special in its stead generally wins the day.)

Lastly, don’t rely on discounts when marketing to audiences for whom your service isn’t already a well-known brand name. If they haven’t heard of you before, the discount is meaningless to them. (For example, you might get excited about 25% off a Sony 3D TV, but who cares about 25% off an Acme widget?) Focus on explaining your benefits and providing relevant gifts with the order instead.So now that I’ve given you a brief primer on discount offers and wording, what do you think about the offer below from Compete? What would you change and why?

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