Giving discounts to clients or customers via email can be a great marketing strategy to spark a little energy into your business and drive sales for the month.
But writing an email for giving discounts to customers and clients can be a bit tricky at times:
On the other hand, you don’t want to cheapen your services or cut into your profit margin by offering discounts via email to customers who were going to buy anyway.
You also don’t want to annoy your email subscribers by sending so many discount emails that you make them unsubscribe and leave forever.
It’s such a fine balance.
I’ve personally used email to drive hundreds of thousands of dollars in revenue to my own small business (and millions when I used to work for someone else). You can learn more about building a business using cold emails in my course: Cold Emails that Convert.
Key Takeaways:
When offering discounts, be strategic and intentional about why and how you are discounting your services. Consider offering discounts as part of a limited-time promotion or to reward long-term clients.
Be transparent about your pricing and the value of your work, even when offering discounts. Clearly communicate the normal price of your services and the discount being offered, and emphasize the value that clients will receive.
Keep the quality of your work high even when offering discounted rates. Don’t compromise on quality or cut corners in order to offer a lower price, as this can ultimately harm your reputation and hurt your business in the long run.
In today’s article, I’ll share with you my best advice (based on 15+ years of marketing experience) for sending an email offering discounts to customers or clients.
This article will focus on the words (or the copywriting) you’ll use when sending emails offering discounts to your customers or clients. Before diving into the how-to, I’ve also included a small free email template/sample for offering a discount.
Free example email templates for offering a discount
If you need a quick sample email for offering a discount to loyal customers or clients, here’s a few that could work well.
Whether it’s for new customers, potential customers, existing customers or long-time loyal customers, you can find many ways to tweak this template and provide a special offer to them.
Keep in mind, these are written for a freelancer or service-provider, but can be modified to fit your business needs.
Hi, Sara. Thanks so much for being a loyal Lemon Creative customer for all these years!
To show our appreciation, we are pleased to offer you a discount on any design work you need help with before the end of the year.
To claim this offer, just hit “reply” to this email before Dec 12 with any work you need before year-end and we’ll take 30% off when we send the final invoice. It’s our way of saying: Happy Holidays! 🙂
Wishing you all the best, Luanne Lemon Creative
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PS: You know how busy it gets this time of year which means, we can’t offer this discount after Dec 12 (even if we want to!) so be sure to hit “reply” right away and we’ll get you on the calendar. Cheers!
If you’re interested in claiming this special offer before it’s over, reply and mention coupon code BF25 and we’ll lock you in for your new project discount!
We don’t do this very often, and it’s only until December 1st, so you don’t want to miss out!
Thank you for your business, Carrie Carrie’s Designs
As you can see, each email template has offered a special discount with a sense of urgency, so that your customer is encouraged to act sooner than later. Putting a deadline on this offer is also important, so that someone doesn’t see this 2 months later and expect to redeem their special offer still.
How to write an email for giving discounts to customers & clients
Learning how to write an email for offering a discount to clients or customers is a real art. Some people go to school for years (and then work in agencies for much longer) before they finally master the art of copywriting.
If you have a huge amount of money riding on your special offer email, I’d recommend using sites like Upwork to find a high-rated copywriter who can bring in fantastic results.
But if you have to write your email offering a discount on the cheap, I understand. So here’s some of my best advice for writing your own email.
Don’t waste your subject line
When sending an email offering a discount to loyal customers, your subject line is probably your most valuable asset.
Why? Because if they never open the email in the first place, how will they click the discount offer? And if they never click the offer, how will you ever drive sales?
Incite curiosity by not giving away everything in the subject line. Instead of saying “25% discount inside” use “25% or 35%? Open to see this month’s special discount.”
Be honest and avoid spammy-sounding words like “you won’t believe” or “click to open”—both email providers (like Gmail) and customers themselves will punish you for those.
Add value by promising a good return for opening the email. Something like “Immediate savings inside” will help them see it’s worth their time to open your discount email.
Tone is everything
First of all, tone is everything when using email for giving a discount to customers.
We’ve all experienced a misunderstanding when we communicate via words on a screen.
To avoid that, use language that matches your usual conversation with clients or customers when sending a discount offer via email. Anything that sounds too much not like you, can be a deterrent — and that’s the last thing you want when trying to drive sales.
Consider the difference in tone between these 3 options:
“We are pleased to offer you a discount…”
“We’re saying ‘thanks’ by sending a discount your way.”
“You’re about to save some major money this month!”
Get to the offer quickly!
I recently received an email giving a discount on a service I was actually looking for. But honestly, I almost didn’t see the offer because the person writing the email was so long-winded.
You’re not sending an email to show off, to entertain, or even necessarily to foster a relationship. You’re sending an email for offering a discount to a client or loyal customer — not to educate them with a mini-blog in your email.
Create a clear call to action
When styling your email, make your offer stand out — like a call to action. Bold the text, underline it, or italicize. Something that will help your discount stand out so that those who just scan emails will see the discount offer quickly and easily.
So many nowadays don’t read emails in full — it’s just a habit of digesting online material.
By adding a clear call to action in your discount offer email, you will make it very easy for your customers and clients to know exactly what they have to do to redeem the discount.
Add urgency or scarcity
You probably know as well as anyone else: once an email gets marked as “read,” it almost never gets opened again. Particularly not a marketing email offering a discount.
The harsh reality is: if you don’t get your client or customer to open their email and use their discount immediately, you probably won’t get them to use it ever.
To remedy that you’ll want to use two copywriting tools marketing writers have been using for ages: urgency and scarcity.
In short, a sense of urgency (real urgency, not the fabricated, fake kind) forces your customers to act now for a limited time or miss out on the offer forever. Scarcity helps your customers understand that your discount isn’t unlimited and, if they want it, they need to be among the first to take action.
To learn more about urgency and scarcity in copywriting, you can start here.
Try using a coupon code
It may sound out-of-context for your business, but using a coupon code can actually be benefical for your special offer.
As with e-commerce, we are all accustomed to using coupon codes — don’t you love applying it to the cart and seeing your instant discount?
If you incorporate a coupon code with your special offer, it can make customers feel like they have access to a discount that others don’t.
In your email template, try something like: “Reply to this email and mention coupon code “GET10OFF” to lock in your discount!” Or, if your business does utilize online checkout, such as selling digital products, you can actually create a discount code for them to use at checkout.
Combine this coupon code with a sense of urgency and scarcity, just like we mentioned above, and it can really push them to act.
Good luck with your email offering discounts to clients/customers
That’s all for now.
I wish you the best of luck as you use email to offer discounts to customers and clients.
I’d love to hear what kinds of things you’ve done to improve your open, click, and conversion rates when offering discounts to clients or customers.
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Preston Lee is the founder of Millo where he and his team have been helping freelancers thrive for over a decade. His advice has been featured by Entrepreneur, Inc, Forbes, Adobe, and many more.
At Millo, we strive to publish only the best, most trustworthy and reliable content for freelancers. You can learn more by reviewing our editorial policy.
This was very helpful,I was in dire need of positioning myself with new a client.I wanted to show good will and appreciation for their business. Some of my products are considered luxury items and a discount was already applied to the posted price.Later during sales process a discount was asked for but I wanted to uphold the integrity of my product without cheaping my business services & the product itself. You article helped me to do just that! Thanks for the article.!!
This article is indeed incredible! I love reading this. Creating income with graphic designing is amazing. But I’m very much impressed with these shared ideas on how to offer a professional discount without cheapening the services. These ideas are actually so cool and pretty interesting as well. I’d better try this soon. Thanks!
I am very glad for this article, it is very helpful. Maybe to ask, what are some of the messages you would write to potential and frequent clients to inform them about the discount. Am stuck and need help
Thanks April, great article! I often wonder what to do besides thank a client for a referral. I just ran across this situation today. It was a small job that was referred, but I would like to encourage more referrals. Do you think putting a “coupon” in a thank you card is the right thing to do for a small referral? And what about for a large project? I often thought of sending some sort of monetary thank you…but then it’s awkward to set that precedent if you don’t intend to send that every time…thoughts anyone?
I think if you’re going to send a monetary thank you, you’ll need to standardize it so that clients don’t get upset if one gets a referral and another doesn’t or if they get different amounts for multiple referrals.
I also don’t subscribe to the idea of giving away money – there’s no incentive for them to spend it with you. 15% off their next project (I prefer to go ‘no strings attached’), or $50 off their next project, or whatever you want for their next project encourages them to work with you again.
It’s a small gesture, but it’s a nice one. Not only can you thank them for years of (hopefully) great business, it reminds them (and you) of how long your relationship has been…and you can share how excited you are for adding years to it.
I select one customer per month and give them FREE SHIPPING on their next order. I also offer cash discounts on next orders when they reach lifetime $ volume levels. Example, once a customer buys $1000 worth of products, they get $10 off their next order, $20/$2000, $30/$3000 etc. I don’t talk about this, so it is always a pleasant surprise for them.
Hello-
Great topic for an article, thank you! It is important to use a discount, as you say, as a real reward and “thank you”. Great ideas to motivate future projects, too. The only thing I would caution against is referring to a client as your “Least Stressful Client,” because a) the idea of stress is negative and presents you in a differnt light other than capable and positive and b) your stress is not only subjective, it should never be the client’s concern that they they care about your personal stress level.
This was very helpful,I was in dire need of positioning myself with new a client.I wanted to show good will and appreciation for their business. Some of my products are considered luxury items and a discount was already applied to the posted price.Later during sales process a discount was asked for but I wanted to uphold the integrity of my product without cheaping my business services & the product itself. You article helped me to do just that! Thanks for the article.!!
This article is indeed incredible! I love reading this. Creating income with graphic designing is amazing. But I’m very much impressed with these shared ideas on how to offer a professional discount without cheapening the services. These ideas are actually so cool and pretty interesting as well. I’d better try this soon. Thanks!
Glad to help, Amanda!
I am very glad for this article, it is very helpful. Maybe to ask, what are some of the messages you would write to potential and frequent clients to inform them about the discount. Am stuck and need help
Thanks April, great article! I often wonder what to do besides thank a client for a referral. I just ran across this situation today. It was a small job that was referred, but I would like to encourage more referrals. Do you think putting a “coupon” in a thank you card is the right thing to do for a small referral? And what about for a large project? I often thought of sending some sort of monetary thank you…but then it’s awkward to set that precedent if you don’t intend to send that every time…thoughts anyone?
Laura,
I think if you’re going to send a monetary thank you, you’ll need to standardize it so that clients don’t get upset if one gets a referral and another doesn’t or if they get different amounts for multiple referrals.
I also don’t subscribe to the idea of giving away money – there’s no incentive for them to spend it with you. 15% off their next project (I prefer to go ‘no strings attached’), or $50 off their next project, or whatever you want for their next project encourages them to work with you again.
Good thoughts!
April
Great article as usual, April! I love the “milestone certificate” idea – I might do that for one of my long-term clients! 🙂
I look forward to seeing everyone else’s thoughts on this discussion!
Brent,
It’s a small gesture, but it’s a nice one. Not only can you thank them for years of (hopefully) great business, it reminds them (and you) of how long your relationship has been…and you can share how excited you are for adding years to it.
Nice article April, just wonder what you guys going to do for your client this coming Easter?
Sureewoong,
Well, there are a lot of possibilities! What about mailing plastic Easter eggs with discounts (and candy) inside of them?
Thanks for getting our creative juices flowing!
I select one customer per month and give them FREE SHIPPING on their next order. I also offer cash discounts on next orders when they reach lifetime $ volume levels. Example, once a customer buys $1000 worth of products, they get $10 off their next order, $20/$2000, $30/$3000 etc. I don’t talk about this, so it is always a pleasant surprise for them.
Mike,
Great ideas as always! Thanks for sharing.
April
Hello-
Great topic for an article, thank you! It is important to use a discount, as you say, as a real reward and “thank you”. Great ideas to motivate future projects, too. The only thing I would caution against is referring to a client as your “Least Stressful Client,” because a) the idea of stress is negative and presents you in a differnt light other than capable and positive and b) your stress is not only subjective, it should never be the client’s concern that they they care about your personal stress level.
Deirdre,
Perhaps “Most Organized Client” would be a more positive spin on it.
Thanks for sharing!