How to Publish a coupon

Coupons drive action and are a great way to promote products to new and potential customers. It’s always a good idea to give customers (or potential customers) a reason to visit your business. It’s no surprise that giving customers valuable offers, like discounts on their next visit, can be one of the most effective ways to get them to come back to your business.

You can create a coupon on MerchantCircle, and we distribute them to multiple websites for you including Edgeio, Google, and Judy’s List. This saves you time since you don’t have to register with different coupon sites and build multiple coupons (one for each site). Just build your coupon on MerchantCircle and we’ll take care of the rest for you.

Here’s how to create a coupon on MerchantCircle:

1. Login to MerchantCircle
2. Click on Promote My Business (on the left-hand side)
3. Click on Create/Manage Coupons
4. Click on Create a Coupon
5. To build your coupon, select a layout style and deal template
6. Add the expiration date, headline and a description of the offer
7. Add any legal disclaimers if necessary
8. You can also add a photo to your coupon by clicking Select Picture.
9. You have the option to create an ad associated with your coupon, just click the Create Ad box.
10. To notify your Merchant network and Customer Contact List about the coupon, check Network or Customers.
11. Remember to check your spelling by clicking on the Check Spelling button in the lower right hand corner.
12. Click Publish (also in the lower right hand corner)

You can also manage your coupons on MerchantCircle. Build seasonal or promotional coupons to encourage customers to check you out. You can activate or de-activate coupons whenever you want. For example, if a seasonal coupon has expired, you can de-activate it; you can try a new offer, build it and activate it for a short period of time.

Make the discount count. The most popular coupons offer a fixed discount, such as $10 off a purchase of $50 or more. These coupons tend to attract more clicks and have a better conversion rate for sites whose average order totals less than $100. Alternatively, sites with an average transaction size of more than $100 find that coupons offering a percentage discount, such as 10% off a purchase of $100 or more, often perform better.

Make it different. Many online merchants now try to attract first-time buyers by offering them greater discounts. Repeat customers may expect 10% off their order, new patrons might need an extra incentive, like a 20% discount for their first purchase.

Make it generic. Apply the offer to all orders or all product categories. If your coupon is too specific you run the risk of not attracting a broad enough audience. However, you still want to put some boundaries on the offer like “15% off purchases over $50.”

Make it end. Set an expiration date to create a sense of urgency. This allows you to control the outstanding impact of the coupons you send out. Using an expiration date will create a deadline so you can remind your customers to hurry up and take advantage before time runs out.

Make it simple. Don’t put exclusions, caveats or special circumstances on the coupon. If customers can’t figure out what the offer is, they are not going to use the coupon.

Published 2008-04-30

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