Motivating Shoppers with Online Coupons (Part 2 of 2)

 by: Gary Gray

Last time we discussed how online coupons and promotion codes can motivate buyers. We discussed examples of coupons and some of the aspects of these offers that can boost sales and generate urgency to a purchase. Today we’ll focus on how to create great landing pages and the use of affiliate programs to further enhance your marketing efforts.

Creating good online coupons to offer customers is not the only thing you need to do to maximize your sales. Using an enticing landing page that meets the customer with the deal they’re being offered is also an effective tool leading to a sale. There are two ways that let the customer know the benefit of the coupon they’re using, and both can be equally appealing choices.

Option 1 to creating an appealing landing page for a coupon is to restate the coupons terms and offers and to reiterate the promotion code that needs to be entered upon checkout. This way the customer knows they are getting the deal they had anticipated receiving, and makes them aware of potential expiration on getting the discount. As we discussed in our previous article, that sense of urgency is a good way to provoke your shoppers into a buy mentality.

Option 2 takes this a step further by automatically applying the coupon at checkout, so when the customer gets to the checkout page, their discount code is applied and actively showing them their deal. This also benefits the customer because they don’t need to go back to get the code, where they can be distracted from the point of purchase. By adding something to the landing page like “Your 10% coupon code will be automatically applied at checkout” in a highly visible area, you are able to keep customers from being confused about what they’re getting. You can also use cookies so the next time they visit, if they remember their coupon, they will be more likely to realize they can still get a great discount.

Affiliate programs can also be beneficial when used with coupons to promote your products or sales. New and expiring coupons are littered on coupon web sites throughout the internet bringing more attention to you! Just check out CouponChief.com's homepage for an example of who can be displaying your coupon. In addition, many affiliates will be happy to promote your store when you have a great coupon code or promotion to offer. These high traffic sites bring a ton of added exposure and drive a large customer base of shoppers ready to buy - you know this because they clicked on your coupon! Another secret tip to getting affiliates to put your coupons on their homepage is to increase commissions temporarily upon proof of good placement. Sometimes these affiliate sites can get many more buyers than your own!

Coupons have migrated to the web in a big way, and should be a part of any serious marketing campaign. If you aren’t using online coupon codes and one time deals to promote your site, you’re missing the boat on driving incremental customers to buy your products.