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The Ultimate Guide to Ecommerce Promotions

Plus, How I Booked 50 Demos for SCALIS in Less than 6 weeks

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The TL;DR:

  • Let’s Chat D2C: The Ultimate Guide to Ecommerce Promotions!

  • What I’m Thinking about this Week: How I booked 50 demos for SCALIS in less than 6 weeks.

  • The D2Z Podcast: In this week’s episode, I sat down with Barada Sahu, CEO of Mason, to chat about ecommerce, AI, and the future of customer personalization.

  • App Updates & Highlights: Black Crow AI - helping Shopify brands get more value from their existing tech stack.

  • Upcoming Events: I’m headed to SF today through 10/15 for tech week! Let me know if you’re in the area and want to connect.

Turn your Shopify brand’s email marketing into a profitability engine

  • Increase welcome flow revenue by 50%

  • Generate 15% more repeat purchases

  • Send shoppers to branded storefronts with a 20% conversion rate

Let’s Chat D2C - The Ultimate Guide to Ecommerce Promotions!

Ecommerce brands can run various promotions to drive traffic, increase sales, and retain customers. There are many different types of promotions beyond percentage and dollar off that can help increase conversion and AOV.

I put together a guide of the ones I use the most.

1. BOGO (Buy One, Get One)

  • BOGO Free: Buy one item, get another item free (e.g., “Buy 1, Get 1 Free”).

  • BOGO 50% Off: Buy one item, get the second item at 50% off (e.g., “Buy 1, Get 1 Half Off”).

  • BOGO $X Off: Buy one item, get a certain amount off the second item (e.g., “Buy 1, Get $10 Off the Second”).

2. Quantity-Based Discounts

  • Buy More, Save More: Increasing discounts as customers buy more items (e.g., “Buy 2, Get 10% Off; Buy 3, Get 20% Off”).

  • Tiered Discounts: Different levels of discounts based on spending thresholds or quantities (e.g., “Spend $50, Get 10% Off; Spend $100, Get 20% Off”).

3. Bundled Discounts

  • Product Bundles: Offering multiple items at a reduced price when bought together (e.g., “Buy a Bundle of 3 Items for $50”).

  • Bundle with a Freebie: A discount on a bundle that includes a free product (e.g., “Buy Any 2 Products, Get a Free Tote Bag”).

4. Percentage-Based Discounts

  • Sitewide or Category Discounts: Offering a set percentage off across the entire store or specific categories (e.g., “20% Off Everything” or “25% Off Summer Collection”).

  • Volume Percentage Discount: Discount increases with higher quantities purchased (e.g., “Buy 5 or More Items, Get 30% Off”).

5. Dollar-Based Discounts

  • Fixed Amount Off Purchase: Offering a fixed discount based on the total cart value (e.g., “$10 Off Orders Over $50”).

  • Product-Specific Discount: A fixed amount off a specific product (e.g., “$5 Off This Product”).

  • Threshold-Based Discounts: Spend a certain amount and get a fixed discount (e.g., “Spend $100, Get $20 Off”).

6. Tiered Cart Discounts

  • Gradual Discounts by Spend: Encouraging higher cart values with escalating discounts (e.g., “Get $10 Off Orders Over $50, $20 Off Orders Over $100”).

  • Multi-Tier Incentives: Offering multiple levels of discounts depending on the customer’s total cart value (e.g., “Spend $50, Get 10% Off; Spend $100, Get 15% Off”).

7. Loyalty Discounts

  • Points-Based Discounts: Customers redeem points earned from past purchases for discounts (e.g., “Redeem 100 Points for $10 Off”).

  • Member-Exclusive Discounts: Special percentage or dollar-value discounts for loyalty program members (e.g., “Loyalty Members Get 15% Off”).

8. First-Time Purchase Discounts

  • New Customer Discount: Offering a special discount for first-time customers (e.g., “10% Off Your First Purchase”).

  • Sign-Up Discount: A discount offered when customers sign up for a newsletter or create an account (e.g., “Sign Up and Get $15 Off Your First Order”).

9. Time-Limited Discounts

  • Flash Sale Discounts: Deep discounts available for a limited time (e.g., “50% Off for the Next 24 Hours”).

  • Hourly Deals: Discounts that change every hour during a promotional event (e.g., “30% Off This Hour, 25% Off Next Hour”).

10. Free Shipping with Minimum Spend

  • Free Shipping on All Orders: Offering free shipping on all products.

  • Free Shipping Over a Certain Amount: Offering free shipping if the total order value exceeds a specific threshold (e.g., “Free Shipping on Orders Over $75”).

11. Gift with Purchase

  • Free Gift for Spending Minimum Amount: A free item when customers spend a certain amount (e.g., “Get a Free Mug with Orders Over $50”).

  • Free Product with Purchase of Specific Item: Offering a free product with the purchase of a designated item (e.g., “Buy a Laptop, Get a Free Headset”).

12. Referral Discounts

  • Referral Incentive: Offering a discount for referring new customers (e.g., “Refer a Friend, Get $10 Off Your Next Purchase”).

  • Referral and Referralee Discount: Both the referrer and the referred friend receive a discount (e.g., “Refer a Friend, You Both Get 15% Off”).

13. Cart Abandonment Discounts

  • Incentive to Complete Purchase: Offering a discount to customers who abandon their carts (e.g., “Complete Your Purchase for 10% Off” or “Here's $5 Off to Finish Your Checkout”).

14. Spin-to-Win and Gamification Discounts

  • Spin-the-Wheel: Customers can win various discounts by spinning a virtual wheel on the website (e.g., “Spin to Win Up to 50% Off”).

  • Scratch Cards: Offering customers the chance to scratch a virtual card to reveal a discount (e.g., “Scratch and Reveal Your Discount – Up to 30% Off”).

15. Multi-Buy Discounts

  • Buy X, Get Y for Free or Discounted: Offering a discount when purchasing multiple items of the same product (e.g., “Buy 2, Get 1 Free” or “Buy 3 for $30”).

  • Buy in Bulk Discounts: Offering lower per-item prices for bulk purchases (e.g., “Buy 10, Get 20% Off”).

These discount structures can be combined or customized based on the brand’s goals, such as clearing old inventory, increasing average order value, or driving customer acquisition.

Combining a few of these types of promotions together can also enhance engagement and results.

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What I’m Thinking About This Week - How I Booked 50 Demos for SCALIS in Less Than 6 Weeks

Starting a new SaaS business is no easy task. At SCALIS, my AI-based hiring platform, one of the most crucial early milestones has been getting in front of as many potential customers as possible. In less than six weeks, I booked 50 demos using cold email and LinkedIn outbound. I tested two different systems to achieve this: one leveraging Apollo and the other using 11x.ai. Here’s a breakdown of my strategy and results.

Testing Two Systems

From the start, I decided to run an experiment by testing two different approaches. Both systems followed a cold outreach method via email and LinkedIn but varied in their underlying processes and automation. The goal was to see which approach would prove more effective in booking meetings.

System 1: Apollo

Apollo is a powerful outreach platform that integrates well with various tech stacks, and I customized the system for high-volume, targeted outreach. Here's how I set it up:

  1. Buying Additional Domains: To avoid hurting the email deliverability of our main domain (scalis.ai), I purchased 10 additional domains like getscalis.ai and tryscalis.ai via GoDaddy and set up redirects to the main domain scalis.ai in case a prospect were to click through on the email signature link or google it. This allowed me to diversify my outbound campaigns across multiple domains without risking our core domain’s reputation.

  2. Email Creation: I added these extra domains in GSuite and created email addresses like [email protected] for outreach. This gave me multiple sending addresses to avoid overloading any one inbox.

  3. Using Mailreach for Deliverability: I connected all these emails to Mailreach, an email deliverability tool. It warmed up the emails by sending/receiving mail from high-reputation accounts, ensuring my outreach emails didn’t end up in spam. I also used Mailreach to monitor inboxing rates throughout the campaigns.

  4. Creating Targeted Searches in Apollo: The next step was to define my Ideal Customer Profiles (ICPs). I created lists of prospects, like People Ops Managers at US-based companies using Lever, who were hiring for 4+ roles. Apollo's search capabilities made it easy to filter and target high-value leads.

  5. Personalized Copy Using AI: I wrote highly personalized outreach sequences using ChatGPT to generate messages focusing on the pain points these hiring managers were likely experiencing with Lever. My sequences typically had 5-6 emails, included a LinkedIn connection request, and always had an unsubscribe link to stay compliant.

  6. Local Targeting for In-Person Meetings: When I traveled to specific cities for investor meetings or networking, I adjusted my outreach to offer coffee, lunch, or drinks rather than a demo. These in-person meetings were incredibly effective, often leading to more in-depth conversations, insights into their current tech stack, and referrals to others.

  7. Managing Outreach and Responses: Once the email campaigns were live, I used Apollo’s sequencing to rotate mailboxes and control the number of emails sent daily to avoid spam traps. If a prospect responded or booked a meeting, I immediately synced their contact with HubSpot and tagged them as "Hubspot Engaged Prospects" to ensure they wouldn’t receive any more cold outreach.

System 2: 11x.ai

The second system I tested was 11x.ai, a platform designed for automating outbound at scale. This system differed significantly from Apollo in how it handled email management and content generation.

  1. Automated Email Address Creation: Unlike Apollo, where I had to buy additional domains and manually create email addresses, 11x.ai uses OAuth to connect directly to my account via IMAP/SMTP. This allowed 11x to automatically generate over 30 email addresses, such as [email protected] and [email protected], without the need for GSuite or extra domain purchases.

  2. Email Warm-Up: Instead of relying on a separate tool like Mailreach for email warm-up, 11x.ai handles the entire warm-up process automatically. It manages the deliverability of emails behind the scenes, freeing up time and reducing the complexity of the setup.

  3. Targeting: Similar to Apollo, I still had to create targeted searches based on my Ideal Customer Profile (ICP). For example, I built lists of hiring managers or people ops professionals at US-based companies using Lever and hiring for 4 or more roles. This ICP alignment remained consistent across both systems.

  4. Offer Creation: A key differentiator with 11x.ai is its "Set an Offer" functionality. I provided the system with detailed information about SCALIS, including:

    • What I was selling (our AI-based hiring platform)

    • The pain points I was addressing (such as inefficiencies in existing hiring solutions like Lever)

    • SCALIS’ value propositions and proof points

    • The personality and tone I wanted to evoke in my messaging

    • The desired call-to-action (book a demo)

    Based on this input, 11x.ai auto-generated a series of highly personalized email and LinkedIn messages for each recipient. The messaging was tailored not only to the contact but also to the company they worked at, leveraging data it gathered about their business.

  5. Sequence Activation: Once I reviewed the auto-generated messages, I selected which email addresses to use for outreach, set the number of leads 11x would source per day and determined the days and times the messages would be sent. I then activated the sequence, and 11x took care of the rest.

Results and Key Takeaways

Both systems helped me book a significant number of meetings in a short time, but each had its own strengths.

  • Apollo’s Strengths: Apollo gave me full control over the targeting, messaging, and scheduling of outreach. This was particularly useful for more manual processes, like offering personalized in-person meetings when I was traveling. I found face-to-face connections invaluable for building genuine relationships.

  • 11x.ai’s Strengths: 11x.ai’s automation saved me domain management, copywriting, and email warm-up time. The platform was more hands-off but still delivered highly personalized outreach at scale, which led to consistent engagement.

Ultimately, both systems contributed to the 50+ demos I booked in under 6 weeks. Apollo was better for manually tailoring my outreach when I needed a human touch, while 11x.ai excelled at automating repetitive tasks without compromising personalization.

For anyone running outbound campaigns at scale, experimenting with different tools and systems can yield incredible results. The key is to balance automation with personalization and to stay consistent in your outreach efforts.

This Week’s The D2Z Podcast

#124 – How AI is Reshaping Ecommerce

🎧 Listen Now 🎧

In this week’s episode, I sat down with Barada Sahu, CEO of Mason, to chat about ecommerce, AI, and the future of customer personalization. Specifically, we explored the following:

💰 AI to attract and retain customers by ensuring each interaction is tailored and relevant

📲 Overcoming the technical and strategic challenges of integrating with other tech providers

😎 What real customer personalization looks like

🚀 The future of ecommerce

How much are code leaks costing your DTC business?

KeepCart: Coupon Protection partners with D2C brands like Quince, Blueland, Vessi and more to stop/monitor coupon leaks to sites/extensions like Honey, CapitalOne, RetailMeNot, and more to boost your DTC margins

Overpaid commissions to affiliates and influencers add up fast - Get rid of the headache and revenue losses with KeepCart.

App Updates & Highlights - BlackCrow AI

What is it: AI tool that helps Shopify brands get more value from their existing tech stack.

Differentiator: Black Crow makes what you already do better by using AI to uncover patterns that can fuel your brand’s performance. In 2 clicks, you can sustainably grow your email/SMS lists, efficiently retarget on Meta, and start seeing additional revenue that you would have otherwise missed in paid marketing ads and abandonment flows.

Price: 30-day free trial, then fixed month-to-month contract based on size

How we use it: To see incremental revenue and

  • Grow email and SMS lists through AI-timed popups in Klaviyo + Attentive

  • Pass rich and accurate data to Meta to improve ad performance

  • Identify users and send targeted opted-in email and SMS flows (e.g. abandoned cart)

Turn your Shopify brand’s email marketing into a profitability engine

  • Increase welcome flow revenue by 50%

  • Generate 15% more repeat purchases

  • Send shoppers to branded storefronts with a 20% conversion rate

Upcoming Events

I’m headed to SF today through 10/15 for tech week! Let me know if you’re in the area and want to connect.

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