> For the complete documentation index, see [llms.txt](https://docs.podplay.app/llms.txt). Markdown versions of documentation pages are available by appending `.md` to page URLs; this page is available as [Markdown](https://docs.podplay.app/memberships/promotions-and-presales.md).

# Running a Membership Promotion

### Overview

There are several ways a Club can run a Membership promotion. The path to choose depends on the objective of the promotion, like whether the discount is permanent, who sees the promotion, and whether supply is limited.

{% hint style="info" %}
**Editing the Membership page requires the Owner role.** An employee with a lesser role cannot change a Membership. Confirm you have the Owner role before trying to edit anything.
{% endhint %}

| Option                                                                                                 | Who sees it                           | What it changes    |
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ | ------------------------------------- | ------------------ |
| [Hidden Membership link](https://docs.podplay.app/memberships/types-of-memberships/hidden-memberships) | Only Customers holding the link       | Visibility         |
| Credits with a Membership                                                                              | Anyone buying the Membership          | Added value        |
| Adjusting Membership cost                                                                              | Every Customer                        | Price, temporarily |
| Free month on a Monthly Membership                                                                     | Anyone buying in the window           | Charge timing      |
| Cap the number available                                                                               | Every Customer                        | Supply             |
| [FOMO early access on Events](https://docs.podplay.app/events/sign-up-for-an-event#fomo-feature)       | Non-members see, cannot sign up early | Event access       |

### Hidden Membership links

A [Hidden Membership](https://docs.podplay.app/memberships/types-of-memberships/hidden-memberships) can be shared with a small group of Customers using a unique link. When a Customer clicks the link, they land on the Membership page of the App, they can view the Hidden Membership, and they decide whether to purchase it.

Full setup, including one link per price tier, is in Setting up a Hidden Membership.

### Offering Credits with a Membership

Credits can be attached to a Membership in two ways:

* **Welcome Credits** — a one-time bundle granted on purchase
* **Monthly Credits** — a bundle granted with every Membership renewal

Customers can use Credits at checkout to lower the cost of Reservations, Event signups, and Coaching lessons (if you Club allows for Credits to be used for Coaching Lessons).

### Adjusting Membership Cost

This type of promotion is when you Club is selling a Membership at a reduced rate, then increases the rate of the Membership. Decide the date the price returns to the original cost before the offer goes live, because the increase is a manual edit on that date rather than a scheduled change.

A price change on a Membership that already has active subscribers produces a confirmation prompt in the Dashboard with two options. The choice decides whether the discount is permanent for the Customers who already bought at it, so it is the first thing to settle when designing the offer.

* **Apply Current Members** — this action will update the rate for those who already purchased the Membership at a lower rate.
  * This is a useful promotion path if you're allowing Members to buy a Membership for their first month/year at a reduced rate, then the rate increases once the window of time to buy at the lower rate passes.
  * This is also how you can update the Membership rate for all Customers holding this Membership, say, because you are increasing the price after a year or two of your Club being open.
* **Only New Members going forward** — this action will update the rate for those who have purcahsed the Membership already and for those who are going to purchase the Memebrship in the future.
  * This is a useful promotion path if you want to keep the Customers who purchase the Membership at a lower rate, to retain their lower rate. All Customers who buy the Memebrship moving forward will pay the higher rate.

<figure><img src="https://29730733-files.gitbook.io/~/files/v0/b/gitbook-x-prod.appspot.com/o/spaces%2FvxoNuJiMibWwb1kotX38%2Fuploads%2FjCBbXejBbF2UPnBVeEno%2FScreenshot%202026-08-25%20at%2014.11.50.png?alt=media&amp;token=c2d7adfa-6b9b-4c56-a87a-0ef55a6438c4" alt=""><figcaption></figcaption></figure>

{% hint style="warning" %}
**If you are updating a Membership's rate, and there are some Customers who have a** [**Custom Rate**](https://docs.podplay.app/memberships/managing-memberships#editing-a-customers-membership-price-or-next-charge-date) **in their Profile, their rate will ALSO update.**

Meaning, after the **All Current Members** option is selected, reviewing the Customers who bought at the discounted rate requires an export of the Purchase page or a review of each Members start date in the Customer page of the Dashboard.

The cohort cannot be reconstructed later, so settle the shape of the offer before an increase.
{% endhint %}

#### Staged pricing during a [Presale](https://docs.podplay.app/memberships/running-a-membership-presale)

Staged pricing is the streamlined way to reward early signups when the Club expects high volume, because it needs no per-Customer work. Set a reduced rate at the start of the Presale, then raise it on agreed dates until it reaches the standard rate for the Membership.

1. Set the reduced rate for the opening of the Presale.
2. Raise the rate on the first agreed date.
3. Raise the rate again on the next agreed date.
4. Repeat until the Membership sits at the standard rate.

{% hint style="success" %}
When changing the rate, choose **Only New Members going forward** on every one of those increases.
{% endhint %}

Each cohort then keeps the rate it signed up at, and only Customers arriving after an increase pay more.

Settle the rates and the dates before the offer goes live, because the marketing copy has to match the schedule and each increase is a manual edit someone has to remember to make. Staged pricing also pairs with a cap on the number available.

In an example:

* A Club is opening on November 10th and starts their Membership Presale on October 1st, with Membership A in Presle for $105/month
* On October 15th, the price of Membership A increases to $125/month
* On October 31st, the price of Membership A increases to $145/month
* On November 10th, the price of Membership A reaches the final rate of $175/month and Presale has ended

For any Customer who buys Membership A early, their early actions result in a reduced rate. The two paths to follow from here are:

1. Leave all Customers who purchased Membership A in their cohort indefinitely.
   1. Membership A is left alone and anyone buying Membership A from now on, pays $175/month
2. Increase the rate of Membership A after X time
   1. 6-months later, on April 10th of the following year, change the price of Membership A to $174.99 and choose **Apply Current Members** so that all Customers with Membership A will pay $174.99 moving forward
   2. 1-year later, on November 10th of the following year, change the price of Membership A to $174.99 and choose **Apply Current Members** so that all Customers with Membership A will pay $174.99 moving forward

### Offering a free month on a Monthly Membership

Two approaches produce the result of offering a free month for the Customer, and they scale very differently.

| Approach                                                                                                                                        | How it works                                                                        | Scales to              |
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | ---------------------- |
| [Move the Next Charge Date](https://docs.podplay.app/memberships/managing-memberships#editing-a-customers-membership-price-or-next-charge-date) | Staff move the **Next Charge Date** out by a month on each Customer's Membership    | A handful of Customers |
| Reduced monthly rate                                                                                                                            | Sell the Monthly Membership at a lower rate and describe the saving as a free month | Hundreds of Customers  |

#### [Moving the Next Charge Date](https://docs.podplay.app/memberships/managing-memberships#editing-a-customers-membership-price-or-next-charge-date)

This is the only approach that gives a Customer a genuinely free period. Staff push the date out per Customer, so a Presale with hundreds of signups makes it impractical.

1. Open the Customer's Profile in the Dashboard.
2. Click the blue Membership flag.
3. Open the **Settings** tab.
4. Move the **Next Charge Date** out by the number of months the Club is giving away.
5. Leave the **Next Grant Date** where it is.

{% hint style="warning" %}
**Do not move the Next Grant Date with the charge date.** When the Membership has a Package connected, the grant date controls when the Customer receives that Package. Pushing it out with the charge date withholds the Package for the same month or two, so the Customer pays nothing and also gets nothing. Move the charge date alone.
{% endhint %}

#### Using a reduced rate instead

For a Presale where signups run into the hundreds, a reduced rate is the practical choice, because it needs no per-Customer work. A Monthly Membership normally priced at $110 per month, sold at $100 per month during the presale, saves the Customer roughly one month of dues across a year, so the offer can be marketed as introductory pricing or as an extra month free where the math supports the claim.

{% hint style="warning" %}
**Check the math before promising a free month in marketing.** A discount described as a free month has to add up to a month of dues over the period the Customer is comparing, or the Customer treats the gap as a billing error.
{% endhint %}

Combine the reduced rate with staged increases to close the offer on a date. Customers who sign up during the window keep the introductory rate, and Customers who arrive after the increase are not eligible for it.

### Limiting the number of Memberships available

Capping the number of possible Membership purchases marks the Membership **Sold Out** once the limit is reached.

A cap pairs with staged pricing during a presale, where the price rises after a set number of signups. Decide the cap and the price-raising cadence before the offer goes live. See Running a Membership presale.

### Member-only Events with the FOMO feature

This type of promotion is constantly running in your App. If there's a difference in your [Booking Horizon](https://docs.podplay.app/events/sign-up-for-an-event#booking-horizon) for Events, the FOMO feature lets a Non-member see an Event and blocks them from signing up during an early window. Only Customers with a Membership can sign up for the Event in that window.

Allowing for Customers with a Membership to sign-up first, before opening it to Non-members, makes the Event more likely to fill with existing Members and gives the Membership visible value.


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