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Products & selling3 min read

Run a discount or a sale

A sale should be one sentence, not a settings page. Tell Bernard the code you want, what it’s worth, what it’s for and how long it should run, and it exists - kept by bernard, copied to your own Stripe account, and applied automatically when a buyer enters it on your pages.

The prompt

“Create a discount code called [the code, e.g. SPRING] for [what it’s worth - a percentage off, or a fixed amount] on [everything, or which products or courses], running until [date].”

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).

How it works

  1. Name it and price it. “Give my newsletter readers a code - SPRING, a tenth off everything, until the end of the month.” Percentage off or a fixed amount off, your choice.
  2. Say what it’s for, if not everything. Named products, named courses, named bundles, or any mix. A code typed on something it isn’t for is refused with a plain reason, before the buyer reaches the card screen.
  3. Add limits if you want them. A number of uses, one use per person, first purchase only (someone who has never bought from you, including on your old platform), or a code that belongs to one person’s email. Many codes can share one discount - twenty single-use codes for twenty customers is one request.
  4. Share it as a link. Add ?code=SPRING to the address of the page you’re pointing people at, and put that link in your email (Send an email campaign to my audience can carry it to your list) or your post. Whoever opens it has the code put in for them, so nobody hunts for a box. Bernard gives you the links ready to paste. For a card at your stall, the code itself works too.
  5. Buyers can also type it. While a code is live, the pages it works on (product, basket, course or membership join page) show a quiet “Have a discount code?” link. When no code can be used there, the link stays hidden, so nobody feels they’re missing a deal. The saving is applied before the buyer reaches the card screen, so the total they confirm is the total they pay.
  6. End it by asking. “End SPRING” - done. Or give it an end date when you create it and let it expire on its own.

Codes on courses work the same way: Let people use a discount code on a course walks through launch codes and single-use codes for named students.

Seeing your codes

Ask “show me my discount codes” for every live code, what it takes off, what it’s for, and how many times each has been used.

Where the discount lives

bernard keeps the record of every code, and copies it to your own Stripe account - the same place your takings land (What will Stripe ask me when I set up payouts? explains that setup). You can make codes before payouts are connected; they’re copied across when they are. You never need to visit Stripe - asking does everything.

What a discount can’t do

A discount changes what’s charged, not what’s shown on the shelf. It does not work on a member price, on a price paid in parts or on a complete-the-set bundle price (What rules does bernard apply so my prices stay fair?). If you want the page itself to say a lower number - a genuine markdown rather than a code - change the price instead (Change a price), or ask for a “was” price so the page shows the old figure crossed out. Codes on a membership work on its join page (Give people a discount code when they join my membership).

Questions people ask

Where do buyers put the code in?
On your own pages, under a small ‘Have a discount code?’ link on the product, basket, course or membership page the code works on. The link only shows while a code you’ve made can be used there. The discount applies automatically at checkout, so the price the buyer confirms already shows the saving.
Can I send someone a link that already has the code in it?
Yes, and it’s the easiest way. Add ?code= and the code to the end of the page’s address, for example yoursite.com/products/blue-bowl/?code=SPRING. Whoever opens the link has the code put in for them at checkout, even on a page with no code box. Ask Bernard and he gives you the links ready to paste into your email.
Why don’t I see the code box on my pages?
The ‘Have a discount code?’ box only shows while a code you’ve made can be used on that page. With no live code it stays hidden, so people without a code never feel they’re missing a deal. Make a code and the box comes back on the pages it works on, with your next approval.
Do I need to approve a discount before it works?
No. A code works at checkout the moment it’s made, and stops the moment you end it, so a link with the code in it works straight away. The ‘Have a discount code?’ box appearing or going on your pages is a page change, so it waits for your approval like any other.
How do I end a sale?
Say so: ask for the code to be ended and it stops working straight away - anyone entering it afterwards is told the code has ended. Orders that already used it are untouched. You can end one code, or a whole discount with all its codes.
Can I limit a code?
Yes. A code can be for named products, courses or bundles only, end on a date, stop after a number of uses, be single-use per person, be only for someone who has never bought from you, including on your old platform, or belong to one person’s email address.
Can a buyer use two codes at once?
No. One code per order - codes never add up.

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