A limited time offer isn’t just when you need to boost conversions or only for seasonal sales. There are lots of powerful ways to use limited time offers in your marketing strategy to reward loyal customers, get more first time purchases from prospective customers, and increase your average order value.
And the best part? You can do all of this without creating new offers or digital products!
What is a Limited Time Offer?
In the general sense, a limited time offer is a promotion that has a limited period of time for someone to purchase. Limited time offers have an expiration date. There are a lot of different types of ways to create a limited time offer and boost sales for your business.
Types of Limited Time Offers:
Let’s dig into a few of the different types and a few limited time offer examples that work without having to create something new:
1) Flash Sale
Flash sales are typically a limited time sale on a current offer or digital product that includes a discount code for your audience to sign up and save a percentage discount. Flash sales are a great way to re-energize an older offer that you don’t promote or talk much about.
The best thing about flash sales is that they are super easy to set up and promote. Just don’t run a flash sale too often or your audience might come to expect them. That might start to work against you because your audience will start to wonder why they would ever pay full price for something.
2) Customer Loyalty Rewards
I love rewarding my customers! Adding customer loyalty into your marketing strategy can improve customer engagement and provide a better user experience.
Here’s an example:
When I had Spot-On Spreadsheets ready to launch, I emailed everyone who had already bought On-Brand Fillable Workbooks to offer them an extra $10 off coupon code for Spot-On Spreadsheets.
Did I need to do that? No.
Would those buyers have bought Spot On Spreadsheets without the coupon? Maybe. At some point.
However, rewarding and thanking my buyers is important to me. Over 120 people took me up on that coupon code and bought my new product immediately.
3) First Time Customers Discount
You can’t build and reward customer loyalty without getting an increase in first time customers, too. One easy way to do that is to create a ConvertBox that only shows to people the first time they visit a sales page.
This is a super quick and easy way to offer a time sensitive offer to first time visitors only.
4) Upsell Offers
If you really want to reward existing customers a great way to do that is to reward them as soon as they buy with an upsell offer. And surprise, I have a free resource that gives you over 40 ideas for upsells that don’t require you to create anything new!
5) Bump Offers
Most people don’t think of bump offers as a typical limited time offer, but the truth is: it is! It’s only available during checkout so it does require a bit of an impulse buy or quick decision from your customer.
6) Tripwire Offers
Tripwire offers are typically lower-cost offers that are presented as a super limited time deal after someone opts into a freebie or lead magnet. They are a great way to give a special offer and drive sales on a first purchase.
Create Urgency Ethically With Countdown Timers
Whenever we talk about urgency, scarcity, and marketing, I want to make sure we are also talking about doing so ethically. I have a whole blog post on that you’ll want to read here. Basically, don’t be an unethical human, use icky messaging, or use scare tactics.
Limited Time Offer Tech Toolbox
Let’s dig into my favorite tools of the trade for limited time offers!
1) Deadline Funnel
Deadline Funnel is definitely the top choice for evergreen and ethical countdown timers on limited time promotions. It’s a pretty robust software that is fairly easy to use and set up.
With Deadline Funnel, you can create countdown timers for sales pages and emails that work.
2) Countdown Hero
If you’re looking for a more cost-effective option over Deadline Funnel, Countdown Hero is definitely a winner! Countdown Hero comes with a lifetime pricing option and has the same functionality as Deadline Funnel.
It’s not as user-friendly or easy to set up, but once you get the hang of it it’s easy to use! It just has a bit more of a learning curve.
3) ConvertBox
Showing a limited time promotion only to specific people and using more advanced targeting? You need ConvertBox! It’s a wonderful tool for creating website popups, sticky bars, and promoting limited time offers.
By the way, I have a pretty epic bonus included for anyone who buys ConvertBox using my affiliate link. You can learn more right here!
4) Drip
As far as email marketing goes, there isn’t another platform like Drip that also includes such advanced customer data and on-site features — like the spin to win wheel for first time visitors!
Final Thoughts
As we wrap up this guide on limited time offers, remember that the possibilities are endless. Whether you’re looking to re-energize existing products, reward loyal customers, or attract new ones, these strategies provide a roadmap to do so without the added pressure of creating new content or products.
It’s all about being creative with what you already have and understanding the needs and behaviors of your audience.
By strategically incorporating these limited time offers into your overall marketing plan, you can create a win-win situation: your customers feel valued and excited, and your business sees a boost in engagement and sales.
So, go ahead, explore these ideas, and see how they can breathe new life into your marketing efforts without the need to create anything new.
