Three launch offers that don’t devalue your brand.

Discounting prices will always be a way to increase sales of your product.

But, it's not always the best thing to do, especially at launch.

By discounting your product, you're effectively telling people it's not worth the price you say it is. Which, obviously, is not what you want people to think. Instead, we want people to feel like they're the ones who got more out of the transaction.

And, lucky for us, there are other ways we can make people feel like they're getting something extra without making it seem like you're overpriced or aren't sure about your product's value.

The three offers I like to use to do this are Free Plus Shipping, Bundles, and Free Shipping Thresholds.

Free plus shipping.

With Free Plus Shipping, you give away your product for Free while having people pay for shipping.

This works when your cost of goods sold is pretty low where you're breaking even or close to one side of it. If you're net positive, great. And if you're a bit negative, write it off as a marketing expense.

Now, because you're likely only breaking even, I don't recommend doing this all the time, but it's a great tactic when you're launching a new product and want to get it in people's hands.

By doing this, people feel like they're getting your product for free even though they have to pay for something. And, because it doesn't read like a percentage off your regular price, it's not positioned as a discount that would devalue the product. Instead, people feel like they're paying for access to a deal they'll never see again.

Product bundles.

Another way to increase perceived value is with a bundle.

You can do something like a Buy-One-Get-One offer if you have one product. Or, if you have multiple products, you could naturally group those together. With this, you're still discounting by giving away an item for free, but it doesn't feel that way to a buyer. Instead, it feels like they're getting a gift.

And, for you, bundles get more of your products into people's hands. This can help with awareness and possible repeat purchases, as people can "try before they buy."

Free shipping threshold.

Lastly, you can implement a Free Shipping Threshold where people unlock free shipping after reaching a set dollar amount.

This is less enticing for new customers as it means they have to spend more to get this offer, but most people will take advantage of it as they would rather pay to get something than pay for shipping. This is a great way to gamify the customer experience as it will increase your Average Order Value (AOV).

Also, a Free Shipping Threshold is an evergreen offer you should keep forever as no one likes paying for shipping.

Controlling perception.

Remember, the success of your brand is all about perception and what people think of it.

You don't want to become known as a discount brand as people will learn not to value your product the way you do. They'll realize you're always offering some sort of discount and won't ever pay full price. They'll just wait for the next deal.

So controlling how people think about your brand and any available offers come down to a mix of psychology and business strategy. You're not trying to trick anyone, but you need to balance what people value with what will make a difference for your business.

Even if it's clear you're doing something to make more revenue, as long as there's also a clear benefit for the person buying your product, there shouldn't be any trouble. 

You want to use offers strategically so you don't end up relying on them.