How do I give a discount to one person only?

Give the code with that person’s email address. Only that address can use it. When they type the code, the course page asks for their email first and checks it. The code is live as soon as it is made, so there is nothing to approve first.

What does first purchase only mean?

The code works for someone who has never bought from you, including on your old platform. An earlier paid order, even a refunded one, makes a person not first-time. So does a course you moved across for them, a sale made on another checkout, or any membership, live or ended. Someone who only took a free course still counts as first-time.

Will the page tell people why a code did not work?

For these codes it says only that the code cannot be used for this order, whatever the reason. That keeps anyone from using the code box to find out whether an email address belongs to a customer. Other codes give a plain reason, such as that the code has ended.

Do I have to approve a code?

No approval is needed, because a code does not change your pages. It works as soon as you make it and stops when you end it. Page changes still wait for your approval as usual, and a course page made before codes existed needs refreshing and approving once to show the code box.

Prices and offers3 min read

Give one person their own discount code, or a code for first-time buyers only

Some offers are for one person: a thank-you to a student, a code for someone who helped you, a place for a friend. Others are for a kind of person: someone buying from you for the first time. Both are discount codes with a limit added.

The prompt

“Make a discount code [code] worth [amount or percent] off [course name] that only [person’s email] can use. Also make a code [code] for first-time buyers only, and a code [code] that each person can use once.”

Signed in, Get my prompt fills in your site for you. Otherwise press Copy and fill in the [bracketed] parts. First time? Connect your AI to bernard once: Use your own AI (opens in a new tab).

A code for one named person

“Give THANKS-MAGGIE, £30 off Throwing on the Wheel, to maggie@example.com.” Only that address can use it. Bernard asks the buyer for their email before the card screen and checks it against the code.

Single use. Say “use once” and the code stops working after it is used.
Many at once. Twenty students with their own codes is one request. Several personal codes sit under one discount, so you can see and end the whole set together.
A code that makes a course free. For one named person this is fine. A free code that anyone could use gets a warning first: Bernard asks whether you meant it for one person, or want a limit on uses. It is saved if you still want it.

A code for first-time buyers only

“WELCOME10 takes £10 off, for someone who has never bought from me.” A person is not a first-time buyer if they have:

an earlier paid order, even a refunded one;
a course moved across from another platform;
a sale made on another checkout, such as ThriveCart;
any membership, live or ended.

A free course does not count as a purchase. Someone who only took your free taster is still a first-time buyer. This matches what you would say in person: “never bought from me, anywhere”.

A code each person can use once

“STUDIO20 takes 20% off Throwing on the Wheel, once per person.” Everyone can use it, but only one time each. The count is by email address. A different limit is a total number of uses, for example the first 50 people.

What the buyer sees

The buyer types the code under “Have a discount code?” on the course page. For these codes the page asks for their email first. If a code cannot be used for this order, the page says so in the same words every time. It does not say whether the cause is someone else’s personal code, a code used up or a first-purchase code for a returning customer. That is deliberate: nobody can use the box to learn who your customers are.

Good to know

One code per order. Codes never add up (What rules does bernard apply so my prices stay fair?).
A code does not work on a member price, on a price paid in parts or on a complete-the-set bundle price.
To see each code, what it has done and who used a personal code, ask “show me my discount codes”. To stop a code, ask for it to be ended. Orders that already used it are untouched.
The basics of codes, with limits, ends and where buyers type them, are in Let people use a discount code on a course. Codes for your shop are in Run a discount or a sale.
Moving codes from another platform: Move my whole price list from Podia.

Questions people ask

How do I give a discount to one person only?: Give the code with that person’s email address. Only that address can use it. When they type the code, the course page asks for their email first and checks it. The code is live as soon as it is made, so there is nothing to approve first.
What does first purchase only mean?: The code works for someone who has never bought from you, including on your old platform. An earlier paid order, even a refunded one, makes a person not first-time. So does a course you moved across for them, a sale made on another checkout, or any membership, live or ended. Someone who only took a free course still counts as first-time.
Will the page tell people why a code did not work?: For these codes it says only that the code cannot be used for this order, whatever the reason. That keeps anyone from using the code box to find out whether an email address belongs to a customer. Other codes give a plain reason, such as that the code has ended.
Do I have to approve a code?: No approval is needed, because a code does not change your pages. It works as soon as you make it and stops when you end it. Page changes still wait for your approval as usual, and a course page made before codes existed needs refreshing and approving once to show the code box.