How to offer discounts on online courses (without devaluing your content)
Discounts on online courses can be a great way to get people off the fence and into your course. But they can also backfire if you're not careful. Here's how to offer discounts on your online course without devaluing your content or hurting your bottom line.
Why offer discounts on your online course?
Discounts on online courses are a great way to get people off the fence and into your course. They lower the cost of entry—bringing in new students, rewarding loyal ones, and giving your course some fresh momentum.
Here’s how discounts can help:
- They help new students say yes.
Sometimes, price is the only objection stopping someone signing up. A discount gives them a nudge and makes your course a no-brainer. - They fill quiet seasons.
Every course creator hits slow patches. A well-timed discount can offset dips in sales at certain times of the year, keeping revenue steady. - They get people talking.
Students love sharing a good deal with friends when they find one. A discount can turn your current audience into your best marketers. - They incentivise repeat business.
For existing students, discounts can be a reward for their loyalty that also encourages them to keep engaging with your other products.
So when done right, discounts on online courses can be a win-win for both you and your students. But they can also be a double-edged sword if you’re not careful, so let’s talk about how not to offer discounts.
Downsides of discounting courses
Discounts on online courses can certainly help sales, but they can also work against you in the big picture if you’re not careful. Overusing discounts or offering them the wrong way can hurt the way people view your course.
How discounts can backfire:
- They can make your course seem “cheap”.
If you’re always running discounts, people might wonder if your course is really worth the full price. Worse, they could start seeing it as less valuable altogether. There can be value in being the premium option. - They train your audience to delay buying.
When students know you offer discounts regularly, they might hold off buying and wait for the next sale. This can effectively kill your full-price sales and make your revenue unpredictable. - They attract the wrong crowd.
People who jump on discounts just because it’s cheap aren’t always the most committed students. They might drop out, ask for refunds, or not value what you’re offering. Counterintuitively, freebie-seekers often tend to expect more in terms of support and attention. - They can undermine your profits.
A lower price means less net profit per sale. If you don’t know your numbers, it’s easy to cut into your margins to the point where you’re not making enough to sustain your business. - They can complicate your pricing.
If you offer big discounts on one course, what happens if it’s also included in a bundle? Or if you have multiple courses? What about offering a bundle discount but someone already bought one of the courses at full price? It can get messy quickly.
Discounts on online courses aren’t bad—but they’re not a magic solution either. The key is to use them sparingly and with a clear purpose. So up next, let’s explore the different types of discounts and how to use them wisely.
Types of discounts and when to use them
Not all discounts are created equal. The type of discount you offer (and when you offer it) can make the difference between boosting sales or devaluing your course. Here’s a rundown of the most common types of discounts on online courses and when to use them.
Option #1: Early-bird discounts
Early-bird discounts reward students who enroll before a specific deadline. They’re usually used to build buzz around a new course launch or to encourage quick decisions from people who are already interested.
Example A
The first 50 students to enroll get 20% off the full price of the course.
Example B
Anyone who enrolls before the end of the month gets $50 off and a free bonus.
When to use early-bird discounts
Usually, early-bird discounts are best for new courses or big launches. They can also be used to fill beta spots if you want feedback from a small group before opening enrollment to everyone.
Option #2: Seasonal or holiday sales
Seasonal discounts are tied to key dates like Black Friday, New Year’s, or Valentine’s day. These work well because people are already in the mindset to buy and the urgency of a sale period can nudge them to act.
Example A
A Black Friday sale offering new students 30% off all courses for 48 hours.
Example B
A “New Year, New Skills” promo with $100 off any course purchased before January 5.
When to use seasonal discounts
Seasonal discounts on online courses are great for capitalising on the buying mood around holidays. They can also be especially effective if your course topic ties clearly into the holiday theme—for example if your course is about relationships and Valentine’s day is coming up.
Option #3: Bundle discounts
Bundle discounts combine multiple courses at a discounted price. They’re a good way to upsell students who are interested in more than one course, and they tend to increase lifetime customer value overall.
Example A
Add personalised coaching to your course purchase for $100 off the combined price.
Example B
A $499 bundle that includes three courses (compared to $750 if purchased separately).
When to use bundle discounts
Bundles (or memberships) work best when you have multiple courses that complement each other. For example, if you have a beginner, intermediate, and advanced course on the same topic, you can offer them as a discounted bundle to incentivise students to sign up for all three.
Option #4: Flash sales
Flash sales offer steep discounts for a very short period—usually 24 to 48 hours. The time limit creates a sense of urgency, pushing potential students to make a quick decision before the deal expires.
Example A
Get 50% off any course for the next 24 hours only with the code FLASH50.
Example B
A surprise “Happy Hour” sale offering 30% off all courses for the next 3 hours.
When to use flash sales
Flash sales work best when you need a quick cash injection. They can also be used to re-engage your email list or social media followers, or to test different price points and gauge the response. Just be careful not to overuse them, or you risk training your audience to wait for the next sale.
Option #5: Referral discounts
Referral discounts on online courses reward current students for bringing in new ones. They often give both the referrer and the new student a discount, so it’s a win-win for everyone involved. They’re also a powerful way to incentivise word-of-mouth marketing, which can reduce your marketing costs.
Example A
Invite a friend to enroll and you both get 20% off your next purchase.
Example B
Get $25 credit for every friend who signs up using your unique referral link.
When to use referral discounts
Unlike other discounts, referral discounts can be used year-round and they rarely devalue your course. They’re most effective when your topic is something people tend to have in common, like a hobby or a professional interest that’s shared among a community.
Option #6: Loyalty discounts
Loyalty discounts reward students who’ve already purchased from you. They can be a one-time discount for a future purchase, or a discount that increases the more courses they buy from you.
Example A
Get 10% off the intermediate course if you’ve completed the beginner course.
Example B
A “VIP” program that offers 20% off all future purchases after you’ve bought three courses.
When to use loyalty discounts
Loyalty discounts on online courses are great for keeping students engaged and coming back for more, but they only really work well if you have good completion rates. If students aren’t finishing your courses, they’re less likely to see the value in coming back for more—even with a discount.
Option #7: One-time discounts
One-time discounts are exactly what they sound like: a discount that’s only available once. They’re usually offered on the thank-you page after someone signs up for your email list or buys a product, and they disappear if the person leaves the page without taking advantage of the offer.
Example A
Get 20% off if you add this course to your order (only available for 10 minutes).
Example B
A “thank you” discount for signing up to the email list, only valid for 24 hours.
When to use one-time discounts
One-time discounts can backfire if you offer them in the wrong place or at the wrong time. Only use them when you’re sure the person is already interested in that product, or you risk seeming like you’re trying to push a sale too hard. They’re a high-pressure tactic, so use them sparingly.
How to use discounts strategically
Discounts can help or hurt your course—it all depends on how you use them. To make sure you’re getting the most out of your discounts, follow these steps to create a strategic discount plan that works for you.
Step #1: Start with your goals
Before you offer any discounts, ask yourself what you want to achieve.
- Are you trying to get sales quickly?
- Get more students long-term without increasing marketing spend?
- Increase the lifetime value of your existing students?
The key is to be clear on what you want to achieve with your discount, so you know which type of discount to use and when to use it.
Step #2: Know your numbers
Discounts can be a slippery slope if you don’t know your numbers. Before you offer any discounts, make sure you understand how it will affect your bottom line—especially if you’re offering a big discount.
- Break-even point - How much do you need to make per sale to cover your costs and make an acceptable profit?
- Profit margin - How much profit do you make per sale after you’ve covered your costs (at full price)?
- Lifetime value - How much is a student worth to you over the course of their relationship with your business (not just this one sale)?
If you don’t know these numbers, you risk offering discounts that hurt your business more than they help. So do the math before making decisions.
Step #3: Tie discounts to specific events
Discounts work best when they’re tied to a specific event or milestone. This could be a course launch, a holiday, a student’s completion of a previous course, or a referral from a friend.
- Are there any upcoming holidays or events that relate to your topic?
- Is there a specific milestone in your student’s journey that you could attach this discount to?
- Can you write a compelling email sequence that ties the discount to this specific moment?
The more relevant your discount is to a specific moment, the more likely it is you’ll be able to tap into urgency and get people to act.
Step #4: Check your timing
Sure, we just talked about tying discounts to specific events, but you also need to be mindful of whether you’ve offered too many discounts recently. If you’re always running a sale, it can start to send the message that your course is never worth the full price.
- How often have you offered discounts in the past?
- Has your course been offered at full price for a while?
- Might students have seen too many discounts from you recently?
The key is to strike a balance between offering discounts to incentivise action and maintaining the value of your course at full price.
Step #5: Test and track your results
The only way to know if your discounts are working is to test them. Try different types of discounts, different amounts, and different timing to see what works best for your specific audience.
- Check the numbers - How many people took advantage of the discount? How did it affect your revenue? Was it worth running?
- Ask for feedback - If you can, ask students why they did or didn’t take advantage of the discount. This can give you insights into what’s working and what’s not.
- A/B test your discounts - If you’re not sure which discount will work best, try running two different discounts at the same time to see which one gets the best response between two different segments.
The more you test and track your results, the more you’ll learn about what works for your audience and how to use discounts strategically.
Key takeaways
Here's what you need to remember about offering discounts on online courses:
- Discounts can boost sales - They can help new students say yes, fill quiet seasons, get people talking, and incentivise repeat business.
- But they can also backfire - Discounts can make your course seem cheap, train your audience to delay buying, attract the wrong crowd, undermine your profits, and complicate your pricing.
- Use discounts strategically - Start with your goals, know your numbers, and don't overdo it. Tie discounts to specific events, check your timing, and test and track everything.
- Pick the right type of discount - Based on your goals, choose the right type of discount—early-bird, seasonal, bundle, flash sale, referral, loyalty, or one-time.
Keep these tips in mind and you'll be able to offer discounts on online courses without devaluing your content or hurting your bottom line.
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