How to create a coupon campaign

Use coupon campaigns in Cleeng to run targeted promotions that drive sign-ups, recover churned subscribers, and improve retention.

What is a coupon campaign?

A Coupon Campaign in Cleeng Core is a powerful promotional tool that lets you create and distribute discount codes to customers to drive conversions, grow subscriptions, and increase lifetime value. Coupon campaigns help you strategically use targeted incentives to attract new users, reward returning customers, win back churned subscribers, and strengthen overall customer loyalty.

Coupon marketing is especially effective for boosting engagement and retention in digital subscription businesses — when used with clear goals and timely offers, coupons can significantly enhance both acquisition and revenue performance.

Use coupon campaigns when you want to:

  • Attract new users with limited-time discount codes that encourage trial and sign-ups.
  • Reward loyal customers or VIPs by offering special-offer codes as a reward for continued usage.
  • Re-engage churned or inactive subscribers with targeted reactivation incentives.

Key benefits

  • Boost subscriber growth by offering attractive promotions.
  • Recover churned users with reactivation incentives.
  • Increase retention by improving the initial customer experience.
  • Support marketing campaigns with customized discount codes.
  • Control coupon usage with per-user and total redemption limits.
     

How it works

A coupon campaign creates one or more discount codes that can be applied to specific offers. Users apply a code at checkout to receive a defined discount. You can:

  • Create single-use or multi-use codes.
  • Set percentage-based discounts.
  • Restrict coupons to specific offers, tags, or customer groups.
  • Control usage with expiration dates, billing cycles, and redemption limits.

One-click coupons can also be created to automatically apply the code via a direct URL.

 

How to set up a coupon campaign

Watch the demo and follow the step-by-step guide below.

 

Step-by step guide

Follow these steps to create and configure a new coupon campaign.

  1. Navigate to Coupon Campaigns.

    Log in to your Cleeng Dashboard. Go to the Offers & Coupons section and select Coupon Campaigns. 

    cleeng_coupon_campaigns.png

  2. Initiate creation.

    Click the Create Campaign button.

  3. Provide Campaign Details.

    cleeng_create_new_campaign_campaign_details.png
    • Enter an internal Campaign Name. It will help you identify this campaign later in your dashboard and reports.

    • Select your Campaign Type. 
      Here you decide on the number of coupon codes. You can choose to create either one coupon code or multiple coupon codes by selecting Single Code or Bulk Codes option.

      Important: The campaign type cannot be changed after the campaign has been created.
    Campaign Type Description Best For  Setup Instructions
    Single Code All your users will use the same code. Broad campaigns, easy sharing, or one-off customer discounts.

    In the the Coupon Code field, define the exact code your users will type at checkout to redeem the coupon (e.g., WELCOME10).

    Accepted coupon characters are: A-Za-z0-9+_-

    You will need to share the coupon code with your customers.
    Bulk Codes Generates individual unique codes for each customer that can be downloaded after generating. Preventing misuse and tracking redemptions from targeted email campaigns.

    In the In the Number of Coupons field, specify how many unique codes to generate (max 10,000).

    Alternatively, you can import your own list of codes without generating new ones. If this is the case, set this value to 0.

    Note: The number of coupons cannot be changed after the campaign has been created.

     

  4. Define Discount Percentage

    cleeng_create_new_campaign_discount_percentage.png

    Decide on the discount percentage you wish to give to your customers in this field.

    • For example, if you want to give your customers 50% off, they will be able to enter the promo code and receive 50% off while making the purchase (enter 50 for 50% off).
    • If you want to create precise value discounts, such as a $5-off promotion, define the discount percentage up to 2 decimal places. 

    • If you want to give them access for free, then key in '100' for the users to have free access to your offer after entering the promo code. 

      In the case of 100% coupon codes, you can choose whether you want to require users to enter payment details or not, by selecting selecting Yes/No in the Requires Payment Details option. 

      Important: 100% discount coupons can be applied for seasonal subscriptions, however, they must be restricted to a single use per user.

  5. Define Offer Targeting Rules.

    cleeng_create_new_campaign_offer_targeting_rules.png
    • Specify which offers are eligible for the discount using the Campaign Applicable On setting. 
    Offer Type Configuration Options
    Subscriptions Choose the Subscription Type to decide who can use this coupon. Select one of the following: 
    • All subscriptions
    • Only new subscriptions (for first-time purchases)
    • Only existing subscriptions (to allow current subscribers to apply it)
    Passes, One-Time Purchases, Live Events  Automatically applies to the selected non-recurring offer type.
    • Optional Restrictions

      You can further restrict the campaign to specific content via Restrict Campaign To option by entering their Offer IDs or Offer Tags.
      • Offer IDs - You have to simply enter the offer IDs you will be associating the campaign with. (To get the ID, go to the Offers tab under the Offers & Coupons section and copy the offer ID).
      • Offer Tags - You can select to restrict the campaign to offers with particular tags, then simply enter the tags.
      • You can leave the field empty if you want to allow the coupon to be used on all offers.

  6. Define Redemption Limits.

    cleeng_create_new_campaign_redemption_limits.png

    Control how and when the codes can be used to protect your revenue. The available limits depend on the offer type you selected in the previous step.

    If you targeted: Configure theses limits:
    Subscriptions

    Discounted Billing Periods: 

    Define how many billing cycles the discount applies to.

    For example: If you have a subscription that is billed monthly, how many monthly periods would you like to apply the discount for? One month? 5 months? Enter 5 to discount a customer's next five monthly payments.

    You can allow for unlimited billing cycles of the coupon by toggling the button to Yes.
    Passes, One-Time Purchases, Live Events 

    Redemptions per Customer: 

    Specify the maximum number of times a single user can use the code.

    For example, if you want to give away 5 rental videos per person for a 50% discount, you can set this to 5. Or alternatively, you can keep this on 1 if you want to give a discount that can only be used once per user.

    Note: Remember that the “Redemptions per customer” parameter applies only to a particular coupon. After the coupon is used, the user can still receive a different valid coupon and use it within the same campaign. The “Redemptions per customer” limits only how many times the unique coupon can be used and doesn’t affect other purchases and offers in the campaign.

    You can allow for unlimited redemption of the coupon by toggling the button to Yes.
    All Offers

    Campaign Expiration:

    This will determine whether you want the coupons to expire on a certain date or upon activation during checkout. We recommend setting it up when creating a coupon campaign for a subscription offer.

    You can set a strict end Date or a Total Redemptions limit:

    • Date - decide on the last day that customers are able to redeem coupons from this campaign 
    • Total Redemptions - specify the maximum number of times that the coupon can be redeemed across all customers. 

    Note: Each discounted billing period for a subscription counts as one redemption.

  7. Finish Setup.

    Click Finish Setup to activate your campaign. After saving your campaign, the campaign becomes active, and you are redirected to the list of Coupon Campaigns.

    Note: Full edits of the campaign are available until the first coupon is redeemed. After that, only the expiration date and the number of total redemptions can be modified.

     

Coupon campaigns view

On this page, you will see your generated coupon campaigns and the specific details in it, including the campaign name, ID, status, expiration, type, as well as coupon code, discount percentage, and creation and update dates. 

Filtering

You can filter the view by displaying the specific campaigns. Choose from:

  • All 
  • Activated
  • Deactivated
  • Ended
cleeng_coupon_campaigns_filtering.png

The Coupon Campaigns view is a place where you have access to more coupon actions available under the three-dots icon. 

 

Coupon campaigns management

Clicking the three-dots icon next to a selected campaign in the Coupon Campaigns view shows the drop-down with actions:

cleeng_coupon_campaigns_options.png

 

One-click coupons

If you want to optimize your coupon campaigns or grant free access for the so-called VIP checkouts, you can apply the one-click coupons (100% or other).

How do one-click coupons work?

They enable you to send your customers links with a coupon code embedded in the URL. Once they open the link, they will have the coupon already applied in their checkout.

For 100% discounts, you can also grant free access without requiring payment details from the user.

cleeng_mediastore_purchase_100_coupon_no_payment_details.png

When to create a one-click coupon? 

One-click coupons streamline special offer redemption, which may be super important in the following use cases:

  • Easily granting free access (100% discount coupons) to specific groups of customers, such as your most loyal fans, business partners, brand ambassadors, and other VIPs
  • Optimizing marketing campaigns (100% and lower discount coupons).

How to set up a one-click coupon campaign?

  1. Follow the regular coupon campaign creation process, just mind Step 4 of the guide:
    • If you’re creating a 100% discount coupon and you want to provide a VIP experience, make sure you don’t require payment details at checkout. To do that, set the Requires Payment Details option to No. (Note: 100% discount coupons can be applied for seasonal subscriptions, however, they must be restricted to one use per user.)
  1. Depending on your integration method follow the instructions for:

 

Coupons and free trials

If your offer comes with a free trial period and a first-time user applies a coupon code at checkout, the trial period will be canceled, and the discounted coupon will take effect instead.

 

Difference between Redemptions per Customer and Total Redemptions

  1. Redemptions per Customer lets you define how many times one unique buyer / unique email address will be able to use the coupon in the checkout.
    • We use this for Non-recurring offers (Passes, One-Time Purchases and Live Events) so the system can detect how many times each user can use the coupon code.
    • We use Discounted Billing Periods for Recurring Offers as the system already detects it's for a subscription. This setting determines how many billing cycles the coupon campaign will discount per customer - so each customer can only use the coupon code once per billing period (monthly, weekly, or annual) and the discount will apply for the number of billing periods specified in this setting.

  2. Total Redemptions helps you end your campaign after your selected number of uses. Total Redemptions parameter refers to the total number of times that a coupon code can be used across all users. It is applied to set a limit on the total number of uses of the coupon campaign and helps to end the campaign after a certain number of uses has been reached. 

    Note: Each discounted billing period for a subscription counts as one redemption. For coupon campaigns discounting more than 1 billing period, we recommend using the Campaign Expiration - Date parameter to end the campaign.
     

Coupon campaign analytics

To help you track the performance and long-term impact of your promotional efforts, Cleeng provides the following coupon campaign analytics metrics:

1. Coupons Redeemed (Available to all clients)

Tracks how many times a coupon has been successfully applied to a transaction.

  • Use it to: Measure campaign reach and customer interest.
  • Where to find: Cleeng Dashboard > Analytics
  • Learn more: Coupons Redeemed

2. Campaign Conversion Rate (Available only to clients using ChurnIQ)

Represents the percentage of subscriptions that renewed at full price after previously redeeming a discount coupon.

  • Use it to: Evaluate discount campaign ROI and forecast long-term revenue.
  • Where to find: Cleeng Dashboard > ChurnIQ > Coupon Conversions
  • Learn more: Campaign Conversion Rate

3. Coupon to Full-Price Conversions (Available only to clients using ChurnIQ)

Provides the count of subscriptions that renewed at full price after a discount.

  • Use it to: Measure conversion volume and validate pricing strategies.
  • Where to find: Cleeng Dashboard > ChurnIQ > Coupon Conversions
  • Learn more: Coupon to Full-Price Conversions

 

FAQs

What’s the difference between “Redemptions per Customer” and “Discounted Billing Periods”?

  • Redemptions per Customer applies to non-recurring offers and limits per-user redemptions.

  • Discounted Billing Periods apply to subscriptions and define how many billing periods the discount lasts.

What’s “Total Redemptions”?
It limits the total number of redemptions across all users. Once reached, the campaign ends automatically.

What are one-click coupons?
A one-click coupon is a URL with the discount pre-applied. Use it for VIP access or to simplify redemption during campaigns.

Can I skip payment details for free access?
Yes. For 100% discounts, toggle the Requires Payment Details button to No.

What happens to subscriptions created with a 100% off coupon when no payment details are required?
Subscriptions created with a 100% discount coupon that does not require payment details will terminate automatically when the subscription period ends, unless the subscriber adds new payment details before that point. If payment details are added, the subscription's Payment Gateway and Payment Method are inherited from those details, and the subscription continues accordingly.

What happens if a coupon is used during a free trial?
The trial is canceled, and the coupon discount is applied immediately.

What happens if you provide a localized offer ID?
The coupon campaign will apply only to this localized offer.

What will happen if you provide a short offer ID (without a country code)? Will the coupon apply to the main offer and its localized offers too?
Yes, if you provide a short offer ID, the coupon will apply to both main offer and its localizations.
 

Related content

For more information on coupon campaign setup, please refer to the articles below.

 

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