How To Write a Discount Offer that Converts with Real-life Examples

Are you planning to give discounts on your next holiday campaigns? Do you need effective tips on how to write a discount offer for a limited time period? Well, your search ends here!

As you know, limited-time offers create a sense of urgency. In turn, online buyers get a reason to take immediate action on your eCommerce shop.

For example, by adding these two words: “last chance”– in your campaign, you can convince more customers to click and subsequently purchase from your online store.

Knowing the fact, online marketers often trigger buyers' fear-of-missing-out (FOMO) and combine it with scarcity marketing.

But unfortunately, not all marketers can utilize this marketing strategy in the right way.

Here we demonstrated effective ways to write your discount offers for a limited time period with real-life examples.

You'll end up having plenty of ideas for your next sale- it's a promise! 🤝 🎉

What is a Limited-Time Offer?

A limited-time offer is any type of special deal, such as free shipping, discount coupon, free gift, or reward, that is available for a certain period.

These offers can take different forms, such as ads, popups, email campaigns, website banners, etc.

eCommerce marketers designed these sale campaigns based on the principles of scarcity and urgency. This creates a kind of anxiety among site visitors. People truly believe that the offer is available only for a short period, and they are afraid to miss out on a good deal.

You Can Also Read : Most Effective eCommerce Store Optimization Tips for the Holidays.

Does Limited Time Offer Work?

Yes, it works. This type of promotion makes people feel unique and special and realize they have access to something valuable and exclusive.

Many online buyers say they're more likely to purchase a product if it's on sale. They tend to be more interested in limited-time offers.

After all, when you bound an offer by time or availability it becomes more attractive for the buyers.

You can also use the power of a “limited-time offer” for your online shop. It helps you to turn your one-time browsers into loyal customers.

But remember giving so many choices can overwhelm your customers. That may lead to fewer sales. So, optimize your campaign copy with the right words and relevant designs.

Let's learn how to write a discount offer for a limited time in a simple yet effective way-

How to Write a Discount Offer for a Limited Time Only?

Buyers must find your limited-time offer attractive at first sight and read. Otherwise, you may lose a large number of potential customers.

Here are some rules you should consider to rolling out a limited-time offer:

1. Make sure customers are aware that sales are time-limited.
2. Write an attention-grabbing headline mentioning the occasion/ saving percentage/ special gifts/ timeframe.
3. Highlight the deadline with bright coloring, bold text, or any other special effects.
4. Use “time limit emphasis” wording such as “Hurry Up”, “Today is your last chance”, “Expires Sunday”, or “Last Chance”.
5. Push your customer to make decisions using phrases like “order now”, “call today”, “crack the deal”, etc.
6. Attach a countdown timer to remind customers about the offers.
7. Ramp up the urgency by telling about limited availability.
8. Ensure them an easy and smooth shopping experience.

Here are some variances to form an engaging limited-time offer:

• Name it what it is: Limited Time Offer
• Keep the wording simple: 40% Halloween Sale
• Define the length: Macy's One-Day Sale
• State length and time: Today Is The Last Day – Expires at Midnight
• Hint that inventory is limited- “limited quantity”, “order now while supplies last”
• Offer other facilities: Free Shipping – This Week Only
• Stress the risk: You'll Never Get the Price This Low Again

There are some words as well that pack a strong emotional punch. Use these words in your discount offer to increase the sense of urgency:

10 Tips to Make Your Limited Time Offer Stand Out and Engage

There are many ways to make your visitors feel that time is running out. But it's not so easy to motivate people to act in the way you want.

Below, we describe some useful tactics with examples for crafting successful LTO campaigns.

1. Leverage Your Audience with New Experience
2. Advertise Your Sales Deadline
3. Use Holidays to Drive Urgency
4. Provide Low Stock Warnings
5. Use a Benefit-Based Call to Action
6. Use Popups to Promote Limited Time Offers
7. Keep Your Offer Simple and Brief
8. Offer “Early Bird” Sales to Create Buzz
9. Highlight Free Shipping in Your Holiday Campaign
10. Incorporate Emotions into Your Campaign Copy

You may use these tips while planning for your next deal thus you can onboard potential customers as much as possible-

1. Leverage Your Audience with New Experience

High-quality products or services are no longer enough for modern consumers. Rather than the quality now they are mostly influenced by the experience provided by the company.

According to a study of PwC- 42% of customers would happily pay more for a friendly, welcoming experience. On the other hand, 32% of people claimed that they would walk away from a brand after just one bad experience.

Considering these numbers, you should make your offers beneficial for your buyers at the same time keep them unique from your competitors.

Think first “What makes your deal different?”

It could be the first time you offer something big or provide some exclusive gifts with the deal. Highlight the SPECIALTY to attract your audience.

After becoming a big family of 50k members, HappyAddons arranged a grand event for their users. By following some easy steps participants can win thousands of gifts worth more than $35,000 including 1 iPad. It was a unique idea that created a huge buzz in the industry at that time. Moreover, the offer was valid for a limited time period which encouraged people to enroll instantly.

This is a perfect example of being one step ahead of your competitors!

2. Advertise Your Sales Deadline

If you don't mention any time or date for your offer then it may create misconceptions among the visitors. They can imagine that the offer might be available for the next day or week. It opposes the main concept of Limited Time Offer.

In that case, you can trigger a sense of urgency by including strict deadlines in your campaign. As when you allow your audience time to think, they'll delay in making a decision. And if this delay takes a long time they might not make a purchase at all!

On its 6th birthday weDevs set up to 33% off on all their products. They included a particular date on the campaign so people can feel the urgency to make quick decision.

You can use these types of phrases in the copy to manipulate your prospects-

• Today is the last day
• Last day/chance
• Ends Monday at midnight
• Or you can simply mention the date

Here is an example of a Holiday sale for a particular period-

Also, you can introduce a ticking clock to count down the minutes and seconds to the deadline. It'll ratchet up the tension and encourage visitors to make quick decisions.

3. Use Holidays to Drive Urgency

It has become a tradition for eCommerce shop owners to offer special discounts on big days. Because this is the time when people are more likely to buy gifts for their loved ones or themselves.

However, these orders are time-sensitive and need to arrive by a particular date. You can grab the chance and run effective promotions for special occasions by reminding them of the delivery deadline.

Clinique, a renowned skincare company uses the copy “Family & Friends Events. Let's Get Gifting” for their black friday campaign. This reminds customers that it's a great time to buy gifts for loved ones.

Holiday offers are not anymore limited to only Black Friday, Thanksgiving, Christmas, or New Year. Now online sellers also provide special discounts on Women's Day, Mother's Day, Valentine's Day, etc. as well.

Take another example from Healthy Choice Hospital. They offer their target customers Mother's Day coupons they can redeem at partner stores.

In addition, you can offer free gift-wrapping or the option to attach a special note with the gifts. It adds a sentimental value to the recipient and influences them to purchase in your shop.

4. Provide Low Stock Warnings

A common psychological phenomenon of humans is they value those things that are less available to them. You can apply this tactic to your limited-time promotions.

Instead of showing the total stock of a product, you can focus your customer's attention on the remaining quantity of that product. When a buyer sees that his/her desired product is nearly selling out, it's just one more reason to make a purchase immediately.

Check out this example from a home supplies retailer, Ozbo:

Add a phrase like “Only X more left in stock” right on the product page or shopping cart. The closer the number gets to 0, the urgency grows higher. Applying this strategy ensures that buyers not only act fast but remain interested in your product even when it's not available.

An online fashion boutique, Modnique displays a message “last one left”. So that customers can feel the urgency to add the item to their carts.

Sparkfun Electronics uses the same approach on its cart page to decrease the cart abandon rate:

However, you can also notify people about limited stock availability through emails and inform them again when items return in stock.

Let's forward to the next step of how to write a discount offer that can reduce the eCommerce cart abandonment rate.

5. Use a Benefit-Based Call to Action

Instead of using a common text like “Click Now” “Act Fast” you can use something interesting and creative for your action points.

These action words will make your copy stand out from the crowd-

• Get 70% Off Now
• Start Savings
• Claim Your Free Bracelet
• Sign Up for Savings

Effective “Call To Action” buttons better trigger your prospects' emotions and help you to convert leads into customers.

On Black Friday weDevs offers up to 60% for a limited time period. They keep the action button “Redeem Now” to stimulate customer interest and urgency.

According to Optimizely, Kapost runs an experiment with their calls to action. They found that out of the top 15, 10 of them used the term “get” and 9 of them used the term “your”. It means most people are attracted by the phrase “Get Your [Benefit]”.

So, your call to action must provide any benefit to your buyers. That also adds value to the offer.

6. Use Popups to Promote Limited Time Offers

Having an attractive offer is not enough to drive sales, buyers must be aware of the deals. A great way to keep your customers informed about your promotion is through pop-ups.

Pop-ups work effectively to encourage website visitors to stay on your page. Moreover, if it contains some interesting deals people are more likely to read it and act instantly.

But remember overuse of pop-ups can annoy your buyers and drive them away. So, use them to display offers that seem beneficial to the users.

7. Keep Your Offer Simple and Brief

It's worthless to compact your offer with so many things. Just highlight the points that can convert and make people act fast. No need to include every detail of your deals. Just keep your wording simple for a limited-time campaign. So people can easily understand them.

Victoria's Secret sets a wonderful example-

Instead of sharing all the information, they place a “Details” button in their ad. Hence, people can easily pick the key points from here, and if they feel motivated simply click for the details.

On the other hand, Kohl's makes their ad too complicated:

Too many numbers are included, difficult to focus on one point. People who even want to redeem the offer get confused about what to read and how to proceed.

Remember, too many things can drive your potential buyers confused and you'll end up scaring them away indeed.

8. Offer “Early Bird” Sales to Create Buzz before The Main Campaign

“Early bird” sales refer to special promotions or discounts offered to customers who make purchases ahead of a designated timeframe, typically before the official start of a sale or holiday season. This marketing strategy is designed to encourage early shopping and create a sense of urgency among consumers.

Before you launch your main discount offer, you can also run a campaign to let customers know a deal is coming. This builds excitement and encourages them to return to your site.

By creating buzz ahead of time, you can boost traffic and sales when the offer goes live.

To increase sales during the holiday season with early bird sales, businesses can employ several effective tactics. For example, you can offer exclusive discounts to customers who make purchases within the first week of the holiday season.

Related: How to Utilize ChatGPT for Your eCommerce Store.

9. Highlight Free Shipping in Your Holiday Campaign

You can promote free shipping as a key benefit. In your campaign copy, use phrases like “Enjoy free shipping on all orders!” or “50% Off + Free Shipping This Weekend!”. This will make your offer even more appealing.

Take an example from URBAN DECAY. During the Cyber Sale, they offered Free Shipping with 25% discount to encourage site visitors.

It's also a good idea to use engaging images or graphics alongside your copy that highlight free shipping.

10. Incorporate Emotions into Your Campaign Copy

Using emotional language in your copy can significantly enhance its effectiveness and create a deeper connection with your audience. When crafting your limited-time offer, consider how you can evoke feelings that resonate with your customers.

You can incorporate words like “exclusive”, “limited” or “members-only” to make customers feel special. For instance, saying “Get exclusive access to our flash sale!” suggests that not everyone can take advantage of the deal. This makes the offer more appealing to those who receive it.

Editor's Special Tip: After the offer ends, thank customers for their participation. If someone missed out, send a “Sorry You Missed It” email with a small incentive to encourage future purchases. This helps maintain the relationship and keeps customers engaged.

Bonus: How to Refine Your Discount Offers With AI Tools

So you have some examples of how to write killer discount offers that will help you increase sales. 

However, generating creative and unique copy ideas can be difficult. You sit down, brainstorm ideas, and come up empty. That is when your brain needs a jolt to produce ideas. And AI tools can help you with it. 

These tools will create several copy ideas. You can use those ideas, add your own twist to it, and put together something brilliant. 

Here are the tools to write copies of a discount offer– 

• Rytr
• Jasper
• Copy.ai
• Writesonic
• Quillbot
• Describely
• Wordtune
• ChatGPT
• Bard

Some of these tools are premium and you need to buy the pro version to use them.

Here are some prompts examples with AI output:

"Generate ad copy for a Black Friday campaign featuring 50% off on selected items and a buy-one-get-one-free offer."

AI-Generated Copy: “🎉 Black Friday Blowout! 🎉 Enjoy 50% off on select items and grab a FREE gift with every purchase! 🛒 Shop now—these deals vanish at midnight!”

"Create a catchy banner copy for a Black Friday sale with a countdown timer."

AI-Generated Copy: “🚨 Black Friday Countdown! 🚨 Only 12 hours left to save BIG! 50% OFF sitewide! Don't miss out!”

"Write urgent ad copy that emphasizes limited availability for a Black Friday sale."

AI-Generated Copy: “⏰ Limited Stock Alert! ⏰ Our Black Friday deals are flying off the shelves! Shop now and save 50% before it’s too late!”

Remember, don't just copy the copies that your AI tool has generated. Think of them as your assistant. You need to take the result and rewrite it to match your brand. 

Final Notes on How to Write a Discount Offer

Special offers and discounts boost your sales and have a great impact on your shop revenue. However, you shouldn't give discounts all over the place. Firstly know your audiences' demands, analyze your niche, count other influential factors, and then come up with some exclusive deals. Most importantly value your products.

In short, your discount offer must deliver a sense of urgency and stir up “butterflies in customers' stomachs” if don't purchase right now. Therefore, use the tips above and write a limited-time discount copy in a smart way without stressing the users.

So, what was the last deal you offered to your customers? Which offer drives most customers to your eCommerce shop? Use the comment section below and share your experience with us!