3 Ways To Use Urgency To Boost Your Course Sales

Using urgency in the right way, without being scammy or dishonest, is critical for giving prospects just the right push to act NOW instead of later.

Develop such a push, and you’ll go from “okay” and “meh” launches…

To huge ones that go above even your most optimistic forecasts.

Today, I want to help you do just that by showing you 3 ways to create urgency that boosts sales while keeping your credibility intact…

Along with advice on when to use each.

Let’s dive into it.

Option 1: Limit The Availability

This classic urgency option rarely fails, as long as you make it genuine. The gist is to make your offer available up until a certain deadline…

Then, remove the option to buy completely until the next window.

Note that the actual deadline can depend on when the prospect enters your funnel. 

So, for example, you can have a launch start when a prospect joins your email list and goes through your welcome sequence.

Or you can do live launches in certain periods of time while building anticipation before each event to drive urgency further.

You can also tinker with the offer elements and their availability for each launch. Meaning your offer changes with each launch while also having some evergreen components.

The only limit to how you use availability is your imagination. As long as your offer is generally compelling...

And you can explain why you’re limiting availability…

This urgency option is something you should try.

Finally, there’s one crucial factor that ensures it works in the long run:

Really adhering to the time limits you set.

This means you never extend your offer beyond the deadline. No matter how many people ask or if you see an option to sell more by doing so.

For this type of urgency to work, your prospects must be 100% convinced your deadlines are set in stone.

(Quick tip: If you think you can sell more after the deadline, in some cases you can do it while keeping your credibility intact:

Add a reduced offer available for a short period only. 

This way, you both honor your deadline and show you value early buyers who follow your instructions… 

And can get some extra purchases from people who missed the deadline even though they were super interested.)

Option 2: Limited-Time Discount

Even if your offer is always available, you can add compelling special discounts available only at certain times. 

My advice is to not be afraid of having virtually all your sales come in during these discounted periods. 

Yes, I know the standard guru spiel about such discounts devaluing your offer….

And that you should have them sparingly, if at all.

I believed said talk for way too long at the expense of my bottom line. Then I realized a simple fact:

I love discounts, and they are often the nudge I need even when buying products I perceive as high-value. And we are all accustomed to time-limited sales in every market.

So, when I tried discounted launches for my “Piano In 21 Days” course, sales skyrocketed. To this day, almost all sales come through such launches.

I don’t mind because my profit is constantly growing. And I have no problem creating long-term relationships with my customers.

Enabling the above, along with always having legit offers and deadlines, should be the only things that matter when designing a discounted offer.

In a nutshell, test and see if discounts work for you. Don’t give up on the idea completely just because the “gurus” say so.

Option 3: Time-Limited Bonus(es)

You can add bonuses that spice up your always-available core offer from time to time…

And limit their availability to boost the incentive to act now.

If your bonuses are something your customers truly see as needle-movers (or if you can sell them in this way)…

This method can work very well.

In the beginning, it’s all about testing different bonuses without having overbearing obligations. Then, when you find a winner and a proven sales driver…

You should use it over and over again as long as results follow.

This advice once again goes up against what most gurus claim. Their narrative is that urgency and FOMO reach the highest levels if you rarely or never repeat bonuses.

But “golden goose” bonuses have worked exceptionally well for my students and me over the years…

Which is why I advise at least testing them in your course business.

There’s one caveat here:

In my experience, bonuses rarely work as well as methods 1 and 2. However, there’s no rule against mixing and matching the methods and coming up with something that works for YOU.

Let me explain.

Bonus Option: Mix & Match The 3 Methods

This is where your creativity and the assessment of your unique circumstances come in.

You can combine discounts and limited availability. Or add special bonuses for the sparingly available offer. Or do all three.

Again, your imagination is the limit here. So, don’t be afraid to get creative.

Having the courage to test & try different carefully evaluated options is the key to consistently growing your business and boosting sales.

Conclusion

The 3 methods above open up basically limitless urgency-boosting variants you can try based on your unique circumstances.

Here’s to finding the combination that works best for your course business…

And significantly boosting sales during your every launch and beyond.

I’m rooting for you.

-Jacques