How do you stand out in a sea of deep discounts and offers? Will your 20% off sitewide promo even get noticed in a cluttered inbox come BFCM? 

This is where creative promotions come into play. Yes—deep discounts will get subscribers to purchase. But if you’re looking to increase your revenue and your brand loyalty, try some of these out-of-the-box solutions instead. 

We’ve got six simple ideas you can implement during Cyber Week (or any time of year). So, why not get after it and try them all?

Do you really need or want a free tote with purchase? Probably not, but freebies do tend to move the needle in terms of conversions, especially during the holiday season.

Try this approach instead: give something away based on a specific customer behavior other than purchase. Whether it’s a free gift for opting into your SMS list or following all your social channels, this is a great tactic to not only push sales, but also acquire new fans of your brand.

For example, Hypland gave away free shirts to anyone who joined their community on Discord.

Hot tip: By limiting this promotion to a small window of time, you won’t risk giving away too much product. And if you have a finite supply of freebies, be sure to make a note of that.

There’s a lot of reasons why your brand might be celebrating—whether it’s a founder’s birthday, some great press coverage, or maybe an employee who just ran their first marathon. 

A personal milestone on top of a sale feels a lot more enticing than going the heavy promo route. SMS is a way to really engage with your audience, so consider sharing something personal and asking subscribers to respond with their own story in order to get a surprise with their order (or a deeper discount, free shipping offer, etc.)

Here’s an example AsWeMove sent when they celebrated their two year anniversary and hosted a sale to get everyone in on the festivities. 

Brands have been teaming up on social media channels to acquire new followers since before TikTok even existed. This ancient art of community building continues to be a powerful move for both growing your list and increasing your revenue during a sale.

ORCA coolers joined forces with GCI chairs to promote one discount code that worked on both sites. This was a great way to share marketing lists compliantly (and hopefully gain new customers, too).

Rex Specs teamed up with Bixbi dog treats to give away a free bag of treats with every purchase of their goggles. Not only did this help both brands promote themselves to new audiences, but it was also a compelling offer that made sense to their audience of dog owners. 

Hot tip: This is a great tactic for smaller brands. Offer up your product to a bigger brand as a freebie in order to get more eyes on your site and hopefully grow your customer list at the same time.

There are a lot of ways your customers can save money or earn rewards for your store. Although these incentives may be obvious to you, new subscribers and customers might not know what’s always readily available to them. 

Here’s a great example of what we mean. Gunner Kennels are a high-end purchase, and while reminding subscribers that they can pay for their purchase in installments isn’t technically a promotion, it is a big reason why an interested subscriber might convert. 

Consumers wait to do their shopping during holidays like BFCM because they ultimately want a deal, so if you can show them ways to save money without a deep sitewide discount, you can still give them a reason to buy.

Hot tip: If you have a loyalty program, consider doing a Double Rewards Day. Or simply send out a reminder to let folks know they can use their points to shop new arrivals or a sale.

Real talk: Have you ever sent out a campaign and quickly realized you forgot a link? And then had to send out a promo code as an apology?

Same.

Not only is this an effective conversion driver when it happens organically, but we’d also recommend manufacturing a “whoopsy” from time-to-time to make subscribers think they’re getting an accidental deal.

Though a lot of customers are fully aware this is probably a planned mistake, it’s still a fun way to convey a sale to your audience.

Here’s an example from Frost Buddy, who conveniently forgot to turn off their sale. A brand’s loss is a customer’s gain!

Consumers wait to do their shopping during holidays like BFCM because they ultimately want a deal, so if you can show them ways to save money without a deep sitewide discount, you can still give them a reason to buy.

Hot tip: If you have a loyalty program, consider doing a Double Rewards Day. Or simply send out a reminder to let folks know they can use their points to shop new arrivals or a sale.

One of our favorite things about SMS (and there are many) is that you can engage with customers directly. You can ask them to text you back, send you photos, or reply with a keyword.

The options for two-way communication are endless, and this unique SMS quality allows you to reward customers when they choose to engage in a promotion.

Here’s a great example where olive oil brand Graza offers a discount for anyone who uses their wallpaper as an iPhone background. So fun, so easy—so brilliant! (Also, this campaign is made using Flow Builder. Learn about it here.)

This approach can be used in a ton of different ways. If you’re a clothes brand, offer a coupon code in exchange for photos of customers rocking your gear. Or offer up a free product to anyone who posts a beauty tutorial on TikTok.

A promotion like this creates brand loyalty and awareness—but it’s also fun. 

Want more strategies for your SMS marketing as we head into BFCM? Check out our latest webinar here, and download our free BFCM planner here. Let’s send some texts!