A coupon code is a word your buyer types at checkout to get money off, such as LAUNCH20 for 20% off during a launch. On Vonza you create coupons once, in your Coupons page, and buyers can use them on the checkouts for the courses, products and other items each code covers. Funnels also have their own coupon sheet, covered at the end.
Step 1: Open Coupons
Open Coupons from your admin menu (it lives at yoursite/admin/coupons) and click Add Coupon.
Step 2: Name the code
Type the Coupon Id. This is the code your buyers type, so make it short, easy to remember and easy to spell: LAUNCH20, EARLYBIRD, WELCOME10. If you would rather not choose one, tick Generate auto Coupon Id and Vonza makes a code for you.
Step 3: Choose percentage or fixed
Pick the type:
- Percentage takes a share off, for example 20%.
- Fixed takes an amount off, for example 10 in your account's currency.
Then enter the percentage or the amount. A percentage works the same on every price; a fixed amount is easier to explain in a promotion ("10 off any workbook").
Step 4: Decide how long it lasts on repeat payments
Duration matters when the code is used on a subscription or a payment plan:
- Once: only the first payment is discounted.
- Forever: every payment is discounted.
- Multiple months: the discount runs for the number of months you enter.
- Number of installments: the discount covers the number of instalments you enter.
On a one-time price the discount is taken once either way. "First payment half price" on a monthly membership is Once; a founding-member rate is Forever. See payment plans for online courses for the plan types themselves.
Step 5: Set an end date and a use limit
Under Redemption Limits you can use either, both or neither:
- Limit the date range when customers can redeem this coupon, then pick a Redeem by date. The code works until the end of that day.
- Limit the total number of times this coupon can be redeemed, then enter the number. This is a total across all buyers, so it does not stop one buyer from using the code more than once.
An end date suits a launch week; a use limit suits "the first 50 buyers".
Step 6: Choose which items it covers
Leave Apply to specific products unticked and the code works on everything. Tick it to choose the courses, products, memberships, communities or other items it covers. This is how you run a code for one course without discounting the rest of your catalogue.
Save the coupon, and it is ready to use.
Step 7: Make sure buyers can type it
Where the code box shows depends on what you sell:
- Checkouts: every Vonza checkout has a coupon box on the page. The code works when it covers the item the checkout sells.
- Courses: in the course's settings, keep Allow coupon codes on.
- Communities: in the community's settings, keep Allow coupons on ("Shows the coupon field on the checkout page").
A coupon sits well next to an order bump: the code brings the buyer to the page, and the add-on raises the order.
What buyers see
The code is checked on the server when the buyer pays, not just when they type it, so a code cannot be stretched past its limits. If something is wrong, the buyer sees a plain message:
- "This code has expired" after the Redeem by date,
- "This code has been used up" once the use limit is reached,
- "This code does not apply to this item" when it covers other items.
Coupons in a funnel
Funnels keep their own codes. In the funnel's Settings, open Checkout, keep Let buyers use coupons on and click Manage coupons, then New coupon. The form asks for:
- Code: 3 to 20 letters, numbers, dashes or underscores,
- Discount type: Percentage or Fixed amount,
- Limit uses (optional) and Ends on (optional),
- Applies to: the whole funnel, or one step's item,
- On subscriptions and payment plans: first payment only, every payment, or a set number of payments.
Each funnel code has its own on/off switch in the list, so you can pause a code without deleting it. More on funnels on the sales funnel builder page.
Ideas for your first coupon
- Launch week:
LAUNCH20, 20% off, ends on the last day of the launch. - First 50 buyers: a fixed amount off with a use limit of 50.
- Win-back: a code for one course, sent by email to people who bought something else.
- Payment plan nudge: the first instalment discounted (Duration: Once), so starting the plan feels lighter.
For more ways to price and package a course, see how to price your online course and course pricing options.
