Sale season, is there ever a season that doesn't provide sales? Pretty much every holiday on the calendar warrant's a sale these days. So how do you decide when to put your wellness business on sale and when to ride with the tide and hold out for full price purchases? It starts with a sales schedule. Every year hold the same sales like clockwork. You could choose to do this one time a year, or quarterly, but we suggest not doing more than four sales a year. A sale should feel special and be an entry level way for students to access your business, not a way to cheapen what you offer. So here are the annual sales we've seen. Feel free to choose the one that makes the most sense for your Org. 

Now, as a wellness business, this might be the one time of year that you don't actually need a sale. Most people are committing to their wellness goals and don't need an extra sale to entice them to commit to your Org. However, because we see a huge drop off after 1-2 months at the beginning of the year, selling a discounted 3-month membership with the marketing language that tells students to commit to their goals and don't let them drop off after January has come and gone, is the way to go. 

This can be built an an on-going quarterly subscription with just the first the months discounted (like any other intro offer) or you can build this as a one-time pass with a marketing campaign afterwards enticing students to subscribe. 

If you don't want to create a whole new pricing option then really emphasizing your intro offer for the new year is also a great way to go. "Get your first month for $99 that automatically renews into a $139 membership after that." Your intro offer should be your main selling point throughout the year, which makes the beginning of the year no different!

Summer's can be a little bit slower in the the wellness industry as everyone makes their way outside and goes on vacation. So, just like the New Year Sale, offering a 3-month discounted membership through the summer is a great way to get students to commit to their wellness all season long. When you're marketing this, be sure to mention your on-demand replays that are available to them wherever they travel to so that they can keep up with their practice from afar. 

The other Summer Sale's we've seen are 10-pack sales. A one time a year sale for 10-packs during the summer makes sense because so many students will use random drop-in classes to supplement their wellness needs. We suggest a "One Time a Year" label on this because it makes it feel more special and anyone who relies on 10-packs will have the date marked. The Orgs we've seen use this approach also don't put a purchase limit on this so if someone wants to buy three 10-packs for the year, let them have them. Those upfront payments will really help your summer's bottom line!

By the end of August everyone is heading back to school and whether you have kids or not, there's something in the air that makes you crave routine. The days are becoming shorter, the weather is cooling offer, and you find yourself in the need of a pumpkin spice whatever and a good regular wellness practice. The back to school sale is the start to getting students back into their practice. This might be a discounted first month (like your regular intro offer or an even more discounted price), or like we've seen a handful or Orgs do, a 30-day challenge with epic prizes at the end to entice students to come to class as often as possible!

While the previous two sale options were about getting people to commit for at least 3-months, the back to school sale is more about getting as many new students in as possible. Your audience is already looking for routine and community. They're ready to commit the next few months to their wellness, so you have to win them over as their best option and the place they want to call home. Do this by letting them test the waters at a discounted rate. Reach new students by sending out postcards, partnering with other local businesses, or offering free classes around town with a QR code poster that gives your intro offer or a free class at the studio. 

If you're a creator online, you can try running ads with a free online class for students to try you out or do some cross promotion with other accounts with a similar audience to yours doing a give-away or some other form of cross promotion. 

The holidays, everyone's favorite and least favorite time of the year. The challenge with this time of year is you are no longer competing with just the wellness industry but with every industry. It can make it really hard to hit sales goals on discounted products. From October-November we suggest pushing the gifting option. Students can select "This is a gift" when checking out and add the email of the loved one they'd like to gift it too. Gifts are delivered right away so they'll want to select their purchase date carefully. 

Throughout the month of December, we suggest talking up the new year. This means pushing your intro offer, creating content around what your wellness goals are for the new year, and share ways they can escape the family drama by attending one of your classes during this season. 

We haven't seen holiday sales do huge things inside our Orgs so instead, focus on creating content that adds value during this time of year. Share recipes, give breathing exercises to reduce stress, talk about setting realistic expectations, and offer suggest classes to take throughout this season. Then when the new years comes and everyone is ready for wellness, go hard with your intro offer or that 3-month sale. 

Every Org and community is different. You might find that you have a lot of luck selling 10-packs at the end of the year and not so much luck selling them during the summer, if that's what works for you, then by all means keep doing it. Based on what we're seeing from a variety of Orgs these sales have been worth it throughout the year but they may not be right for your Org. As with all marketing, it comes down to A/B testing everything. Try different sales at different times of the year. Use different strategies of organic and paid advertising. See if one price works better than another. It takes times to find that sweet spot so these suggestions are a great place to start, but they might not be where you end up. 

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Katie Leigh is a Marketing Strategist for small businesses. She helps Orgs simplify their marketing, connect with their audience, and create work-life balance. Download her free guide to work-life balance here.