How to price an order bump: 6 strategies every creator should know

Nailing your pricing strategy for your online course is hard enough. Toss in other components like a pre-sale and building a sales funnel, and the entire “money” part of running a small business can feel like a mountain to climb. But, it doesn’t have to. With the release of our latest feature, order bumps, you have more control than ever over how you make money on Teachable. To take even more of the guesswork out of pricing, we’re sharing six strategies to help you learn how to price an order bump and maximize sales.

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Less may be more: Price order bumps accordingly

Don’t discredit the cliche saying when it comes to how to price an order bump. Order bumps should be quick-win moments for you to increase your average order value. And, more importantly, they should be no-brainers for customers at checkout.

Reminder: Order bumps are products that complement your main product and are offered at checkout to customers as last-minute add-ons that add both value and increase your average order value.

One of the best ways to accomplish both of these goals is to keep the price of your order bump low. “If a product is under $100, your order bump should be less than $100,” explains Julie Stoian, digital marketing expert, coach, and creator of Funnel Gorgeous.

“In general, you want your order bump to be either the same price or slightly less than what you are selling. So for example, if you are selling a product for $37, maybe your order bump is $24,” she adds.

Satisfied shopping

Keep in mind that you want your order bump to be the equivalent of a magazine or candy bar at the grocery store checkout: cheap enough not to be a second thought but still valuable and satisfying enough to buy.  A good rule to follow is to price your order bump so that it feels like a deal. If your product is $100 or less, consider lower prices like $27 and $37. (Julie shares some in-depth examples of order bumps and sales funnels on her podcast “Create Your Laptop Life”. Listen to the episode and read the transcript here.)

If your product is more than $100, you have a bit of wiggle room. Julie says, “So for example, if you are selling a $500 course, your order bump could be $100. There’s no set price, but I would say for products less than $100, you definitely want it to be a little bit less than what you’re selling—and the higher the price gets, the bigger that gap gets.”

Bottom line: When it comes to how to price your order bump offer, less is more.

No room for maybe: Deliver value and price to sell

We already mentioned that your order bump should be priced at a lower, more affordable price. But that doesn’t mean that you should skimp on value. When customers buy candy bars at the grocery store checkout line, part of the reason is because the candy is affordable but a big part is that the candy bar satisfies a need.

Your order bump should be the same way. The offer should be so packed with value for the price that it seems like that much more of a bargain.

This could mean if you teach a class on beginners vinyasa yoga, you offer an order bump of a PDF worksheet on meditation strategy, a one-time coaching session with you, or even a mini course on creating your at-home yoga studio. Each of these options is valuable on its own and when priced affordably, seem that much more valuable.

Types of high value order bumps include:

• templates
• worksheets
• ebooks
• mini courses
• coaching session(s)
• an additional course
• access to an exclusive community or membership

You can see how the above examples work in more detail in our post here. But remember: If you deliver value and price to sell, you leave no room for maybe.

“If I was going to give one strategy it would be this: You don’t want to make an order bump that makes the customer pause and say, ‘Wait I thought that was in the course. What am I actually getting?’,” says Julie. “An order bump is something that clearly shouldn’t be covered in the course and wouldn’t be covered in the course but is a nice add-on. You can add an order bump on higher ticket offers, but typically order bumps are easier to use when the product is a little bit less expensive.”

A way with words: Copy converts

The whole point of your order bump is to increase your average order value and convert to sales. But what should you be aiming for exactly? This will differ from creator to creator, of course, but according to Julie, you want to see an order bump convert at a rate of 30% or higher.  

Order bump not getting you the conversion rates you want? Re-read your offer. Literally.

“If your order bump is converting at less than 30%, the biggest reason is the copy,” reveals Julie. What you offer matters, but what you write about your product matters just as much for converting customers.

Order bumps are a split-second decision. f your copy doesn’t help customers make that split-second decision or they don’t understand why they would want your order bump in relation to the offer, you’ve already lost out. “The copy is the single greatest way to change that average order value,” she adds.

And although copy is key, occasionally changing how you price an order bump will affect your conversion rate.” Let’s say that your offer is $100 and your order bump is $49, and it’s pushing them right to that $150 mark,” posits Julie. “Maybe there’s a physiological idea that they don’t want to spend up to $150, you can lower your order bump to $30 that may help.”

Conversely, if you notice that you’re converting at a high rate, reflect this time on your price not copy. Julie says if your conversion rate is super high, say over 70%, you actually may need to raise the price of your order bump a bit. “That’s a sign that it’s so juicy that you can probably raise the price and not lose too much conversion,” she explains.

Raise the bar: Provide high-value content

But beyond mastering how to price an order bump in terms of numbers, there are other strategies that go into pricing. We already spoke about how your offer should be a no-brainer and have a lower price point, but most importantly, it should also up level your total offering.

For example, consider offering an order bump that connects you with customers in a new way and reiterates your expertise on the subject matter.

Julie reflects upon a customer she once helped who was a dog trainer: The trainer built a $200 course for puppy training and offered an order bump of “Text the Expert,” in which customers were able to tack on an extra product of essentially one-on-one coaching and support via text.

“This is something that clearly shouldn’t be in the main course, but it’s such a high value add that someone would easily say, ‘Oh yes! I want to text the expert.’ So strategies that offer a high-touch component that let them reach out to you in a different way make great order bumps,” explains Julie.

Tailor made: Customize your offerings

Another strategy that helps you to price your order bump effectively is to customize the experience you’re offering.

If you have a series of courses offered through your school, be strategic with the types of order bumps you offer on each one. Don’t only offer one order bump across the board. Consider the audience of each course and tailor your one-click offer to be specific to those students in those cohorts.

Offering a beginners course on sourdough baking? Create an order bump of a PDF download of a baker’s must-haves checklist. For your more advanced courses, switch up your order bump. Consider tacking on an offer of a one-on-one coaching session on how to score sourdough loaves. Both of these order bumps create a custom, richer experience for the customer based on their purchasing needs.

Julie notes that you should ask yourself: Is there something about your course that you could add a custom experience to such as setting up a call or customizing a calendar with all your homework based on the date of purchase? Remember: The more custom your offer, the higher you can price your order bump.

Think one step ahead: Anticipate need

Lastly, consider your order bump as a stepping stone. At point of purchase, you’ve already convinced your customer to purchase one product. But what will they need next? Anticipate what your customers will want to purchase next and provide a solution with your order bump.

What questions will students in your course ask after completing it? Once they’ve undergone your transformation, what will they look to next? Have your order bump provide an answer.

Julie herself uses this strategy with a course her team sells. Her course is about “creating an offer”, so her associated order bump is a set of logo templates. Julie anticipates that students who go through the course on how to create a digital offer and launch a business will also need logo support, so she provides just that.

This particular strategy delivers a complementary product that’s priced reasonably and fulfills a need. Consider it the perfect formula for an order bump.

At the end of the day, learning how to price an order bump takes time. Craft your order bump offer strategically from the beginning, utilize some of the pricing techniques Julie shared, and don’t be afraid to iterate if you’re not seeing the conversion rates you want. What’s more, look around at the order bumps that tempt you in your everyday life.

“My biggest piece of advice is to just look at order bumps in the wild, and you can see what types of things make great order bumps,” Julie adds.

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