How I Use Special Offers to Quickly Boost Subscribers

Whether it's your newsletter anniversary, your birthday, Christmas or New Year's or any other awareness day or month, there is no better time to give your audience a little something special.

In this lesson, I'm going to show you how to create special offers on Substack while using the latest email marketing insights to drive more subscriptions on Substack.

Need a social proof?

Chris Got 3 New Paid Subscribers With One Special Offer

I had a coaching session with Online Writing Club member and bootcamp almuni

Chris Anselmo

. Our goal: We want to make Chris a bestseller in 2025 :) He suffers from a rare disease and hits a nerve with “Hello, Adversity”. I see his publication as a bestseller (with hundreds of paid subscribers) and want to help it become one in 2025.

One idea during the coaching session for my Club Member was to offer a special discount. Chris was unsure about this marketing technique and didn’t want to screw up the special offer on the back end.

I told him to get out of his comfort zone and trust me and.... tada... he got three new subscribers.

YAY!

Would you like that too? Of course you would!

I'm a brand and marketing manager and I love email marketing. In this tutorial, I combine my knowledge of the Substack platform (Substack for Newbies, Noobs, Solos or Dummies) and my email marketing knowledge. Have fun!

Trust me: If the free content is this good, imagine how incredible the paid content must be! 🎉

I’m all about overdelivering—my lives and workshops are packed with vibrant energy, inspiration, and motivation. Plus, you’ll get to meet amazing interview guests who bring even more value. Don’t miss out—subscribe now and unlock your full potential to kickstart 2025!

Step 1: Dive into Substack Settings

So let's dive in and create your first special offer on Substack. First, let's create a discount that everyone can enjoy. For this, we go to the dashboard and click on settings. And here we search for payments or we go to payments. So I could also search for payments. And here we are. We scroll down and then find discounts.

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Step 2: Setting Up the New Year's Special

So here it is. It's called discounts, special offers, create discounts or coupons for special occasions.

We would click on manage. I have created already some of them this year. So we would go on new special offer. And now let's say we make it a New Year's special. So it would be the New Year's special and the description could be:

"Start the new year strong, subscribe today and get exclusive content to level up your business."

Now I can think about the percent discount. Let's say we make it 25% off. We can decide whether it will be forever or for 12 months. We can also give people, for instance, a free trial. So now it would be pretty, pretty easy.

I would just click on create offer and then I would copy the link and open a new tab and see how it looks.

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Step 3: Scarcity and Exclusivity in Offers

So now we have the New Year special. "Start the new year strong. Subscribe today and get exclusive content to level up your business."

And now you see it's not $90. So this is in Germany with euros with 85. I think here the monthly one is better. So it's not 12 per month. It's nine per month or it's about 60 per year instead of 90 per year. This is awesome. This is a wonderful New Year's special.

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Step 4: Managing Your Special Offer

Now go back. So we would have here the link. We could share it anywhere we want. We can also send by email. So we would click this one here and then we could create an email and then, for instance, send it to all of our subscribers.

We could also pick specific subscribers in the backend and then send them the email with this New Year's discount, which I love.

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Step 5: Enhancing with Extra Options

So now let's go back to new special offer and see what else we have. So we have some more options here. We can set when customers must redeem this offer by, you know, to add some scarcity. So let's say this is the New Year's special again. We have the 25% discount for 12 months.

And now I have, for instance, here the option to set when customers must redeem this offer by. So this would add scarcity to it.

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Have fun creating these special offers. There are so many great days to do this—specific awareness days, weeks, months, birthdays, or your newsletter anniversary!

Happy Sunday!

P.S. Psst! Something BIG is coming… and it’s just for YOU.

Imagine this: 100 subscribers hanging onto your every word and happily paying $100 each. That’s $500/month in your pocket, just for sharing your ideas and stories. It’s not a dream—it’s a goal, and I want to help you smash it and become a Substack Bestseller.

Here’s what’s waiting for you:

✅ Personalized Newsletter Audit
We’ll dive into your newsletter and find exactly where it needs a boost. You’ll leave with a crystal-clear roadmap for success and actionable steps to grow. ($250 value)

✅ Quarterly 1:1 Strategy Meetings
Every three months, we’ll meet for a private strategy session to keep you focused, motivated, and scaling. ($760 total value)

✅ Q&As
Monthly Q&A sessions. We’ll find an A to your Qs.

✅ All Paid Perks Included
You’ll unlock the full suite of tools and resources from the Online Writing Club membership. ($105 value)

✅ 50% Off Bootcamps
Master advanced strategies like Substack Notes, Minimalist Newsletter Design, Medium-Substack Flywheel, and more—at half the price! (Save $50–$200)

Here’s the kicker: For the next 48 hours only, you can grab this entire VIP package for just $515 (valued at a minimum of $1165). That’s the equivalent of just ONE month of your Substack earnings! 💸

🙌YAHOOO! I’ve personally invested in courses and coaching at this price point myself because, as a business owner, it’s all about professional development—and guess what? It’s tax-deductible.

That’s right: You’ll get an invoice, and this investment in your growth can go straight into your tax deductions.

So, not only are you growing your newsletter and income, but you’re also making a smart, professional move.

Don’t wait—this offer is only available for 48 hours! Grab your spot now and let’s make your Substack a bestseller! 🚀

This is your chance to step into the spotlight, grow your newsletter like never before, and turn your words into consistent income.

Don’t wait—become a VIP member NOW and claim your spot! 🎉You can aslo send me an email to mail@kristinagod.com, I’ll answer all your Qs.

2025 will be amazing for your newsletter!

Kristina GodDec 21

My kids don't need chocolate 🍫 (at least right in the morning 😂)

They need a nice new Pixi book (mini book)

That's a thing in Germany.

Every day they get a new one.

Three left 📚

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