Motivating Shoppers with Online Coupons (Part 1 of 2)

Online shopping continues to grow at leaps and bounds. Depending on who you ask, the numbers for increase in e-commerce have been consistently coming in at 20-30% year over year. These numbers present a great opportunity for online stores of both products and services. But despite these staggering figures, increasing competition continues to dilute the marketplace. One great opportunity for sellers to increase traffic and revenue in their virtual stores is to offer online coupon codes and discounts through an affiliate program and their advertising. Coupons and discounts have always been a great way to motivate buyers in brick and mortar stores, and now that opportunity has migrated to web shopping!

Coupon codes with expiration help motivate buyers into taking advantage of a one-time discount. Suggesting creative such as "10% off home and garden orders over $50," for instance, gives not only buyers a great opportunity for a deal, but it allows sellers to push a sale or take advantage of seasonal fluctuations in the marketplace. Online coupons can also be a great way to push a specific product in excess inventory or a service that is high demand. By offering a coupon like "Save 20% on Rossignol Zenith Ski's," or "Web hosting only $3.99 a month ? hurry expires in 5 days," sellers are able to create a real or fictitious supply or demand by offering these deep discounts to their website visitors. A great place to find examples of these online coupons for some of the web's top merchants can be found at Coupon Chief.

Another great opportunity to use coupons is with free shipping discount coupons. Many smart online shoppers are beginning to realize the incremental cost to purchasing online due to shipping, sometimes increasing their end price by 10 ? 20%! One source of substantial motivation to these buyers can come from giving a free shipping deal. This allows those customers who can't leave the house or prefer to shop in the privacy of their home to realize the same (or even discounted) cost to making their purchases online.

And don't forget the code! Offering a coupon code or promotion code that a buyer can enter at checkout is a great way to give them a sense of entitlement and make them feel like they're getting the best deal out there. Think about it to yourself for a minute ? when you're using coupons at a grocery store, don't you feel that you're getting the most for your money and stretching your dollar in the most significant way? Shoppers of any product or service get this same feeling when they can input a special coupon code into a box to get an additional savings at checkout.

Another great aspect of coupons is expiration dates. Coupons with expiration can give a sense of urgency to a sale. Again drawing on an analogy to grocery coupons, when you have a coupon for toilet paper that is expiring within the week, do you go ahead and make that purchase knowing you will eventually need to buy the product [without the coupon]? Of course you do, you want to make sure you're getting the best deal! It's easy to see that by putting a time limit on a coupon or discount, you easily can add a sense of urgency to the sale to get a higher conversion.

Online coupon codes can be a great way to market your web store, and is a unique tool to increase sales and boost traffic to your e-commerce website. Next time we'll talk about landing pages and the use of affiliates to further maximize the benefits of online coupon codes, so stay tuned!

Gary Gray - http://www.couponchief.com - provides free online coupon codes and discounts for hundreds of popular internet retailers. With a newsletter and RSS feeds, they syndicate new coupon codes and discounts to motivated online shoppers.

In The News:


pen paper and inkwell


cat break through


The Ugly Side Of Internet Marketing, What The Gurus Wont Tell You!

Did that headline grab your attention?I have experimented with many... Read More

4 Tips to More Online Party Sales

I know most of us have held our own online... Read More

How to Make Money with Your Own Internet Business

Many people fail to realize how they can really make... Read More

You are Being Lied About Reciprocal Links!

Exchanging links has been an important part of generating traffic... Read More

Internet Marketing Strategy:The Advertising Co-op

The advertising co-op is an Internet marketing strategy that should... Read More

Cut Out the B.S. in Your Internet Marketing

Are you getting disgusted with your results as an internet... Read More

Information Products: the Changing Trends for 2005

2005 is a great year for affiliate marketers, as online... Read More

The Power of Viral Marketing

When I first heard of the term Viral Marketing I... Read More

What Does It Take To Become An Internet Marketer?

I have heard many people say all it takes to... Read More

Why Test?

Marketing should be treated like a science. If you are... Read More

12 Benefits of Internet Marketing for Your Business

1. Far Cheaper and Much More Flexible Than Print AdvertisingThe... Read More

Internet Marketing Requires Persistence

Marketing your company online requires patience and persistence. Like every... Read More

10 Ways to Exceed Your Clients Expectations Every Time!

The following tips are just a few of the things... Read More

Growing Your Business On-line: A Fresh Perspective

Rather than thinking about the web as technology, let's consider... Read More

Using Web Technology as a Means to Strengthen Competitive Advantage

Many firms underestimate the value of using their websites to... Read More

Internet Marketing Reality Check

There are thousands of web sites, books, CD-ROM's, cassette tapes... Read More

An Approach to Advertising on the Internet

Budweiser has the frogs. McDonalds has Ronald. Goodyear has the... Read More

4 Reasons Why Having Your Own Product is Essential for Serious Marketers

I know what you're thinking, "Why is having your own... Read More

Start a Fire Sale! Give Your Faithful Clients Bonuses!

When is the last time you received an unexpected gift?... Read More

Progress to Success

It was supposed to happen in thirty days. Buy the... Read More

How To Use Database Marketing To Skyrocket Your Online Profits

Database Marketing is the gathering and storing of specific information... Read More

Traditional Mediums versus Search Engine Positioning

Banner Advertising:Paying $15 for a 1000 impressions on a high... Read More

The Power of Taglines: Take My Tagline Test!

An effective logo/tagline combination can be one of the best... Read More

URLs Everywhere

Your URL (www) should be everywhere and more. I know... Read More

Online Marketing Donts

There are over 200 million people worldwide connected to the... Read More

Heres A Quick and Simple Way To Find Hot Niche Markets

"Here's A Quick and Simple Way To Find Hot... Read More

Making Your Money Work For You ? And Not The Other Way Around!

Most people spend their entire lives working hard for someone... Read More

Persist Or Perish, The Choice Is Yours: Learn The Rules Of Online Business

Everybody wants quick profits. The phenomenon is more prevalent on... Read More

Learn Judo and Beat the Summer Traffic Blues

Did it seem like as the Fourth of July fireworks... Read More

Internet Marketing: 10 Blazing Internet Marketing Secrets To Sky-Rocket Your Profits

Your turn to succeed has come.I am happy to offer... Read More

Find Your Niche

If you haven't heard the word 'niche' being batted around... Read More

Look Smart Not Small Business Friendly

There is a firestorm of negative press regarding LookSmart's recent... Read More

Free Content -- or Forbidden Fruit?

Dear Cathy:I just found an interesting article on someone else's... Read More