Marketing & Promotions – Coupons, Email Campaigns, Upsells & Recurring Revenue

Your store is open. Now let’s bring customers in and keep them coming back.

So far in this series, you’ve built your WooCommerce store, added products, set up license keys, optimised checkout, and mastered order management. But a store without customers is just a beautiful display.

Marketing is what turns your WooCommerce installation into a revenue-generating machine.

Part 1: The WooCommerce Marketing Hub (Built-in)

WooCommerce includes a centralised Marketing Hub that consolidates all your promotional tools. You can find it at WooCommerce → Marketing in your WordPress admin dashboard.

Inside the Marketing Hub, you’ll see:

• Coupons – create and manage discount codes
• Overview – marketing tips and fresh ideas directly from Woo
• Built-in tools that help you manage business operations efficiently, with many services free to add via a single click

The Marketing Hub also suggests extensions for email marketing, social commerce, and Google listings – many of which are completely free to start with. As you grow, you can add more advanced tools from the Extension Store.

💡 The Marketing Hub organises extensions into three tiers: Essential (payments, shipping, tax), Growth (analytics, search, CRM), and Marketing (email, social, ads). Start with the free Marketing extensions – they’re more than enough for most new stores.

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Part 2: Creating Coupons – The Built-in System

WooCommerce’s native coupon system is surprisingly powerful for a built-in feature. You can create discount codes without any additional plugins.

Enabling coupons (first time)

Before creating your first coupon, ensure coupons are enabled:

1. Go to WooCommerce → Settings → General.
2. Scroll down to the Enable Coupons section.
3. Check the box next to “Enable the use of coupon codes.”
4. Optionally check “Calculate coupon discounts sequentially” (recommended if you offer multiple coupons per order).
5. Click Save changes.

Creating a coupon (step by step)

1. Navigate to WooCommerce → Marketing → Coupons (or directly WooCommerce → Coupons in some versions).
2. Click Add coupon at the top.
3. Enter a coupon code name – keep it simple and relevant to your campaign (e.g., “SPRING2026” or “WELCOME10”).
4. Add an optional description for internal reference (customers won’t see it).
5. Configure the three tabs: General, Usage Restriction, and Usage Limits.

General tab settings

Setting	Options	What it does
Discount type	Percentage discount, Fixed cart discount, Fixed product discount, Free shipping	Choose how the discount is applied
Coupon amount	Number (without % symbol for percentage)	The discount value
Free shipping	Checkbox	Enables free shipping (works with “Free shipping” shipping method)
Expiry date	Date picker	When the coupon stops working – creates urgency

Usage Restriction tab – control who can use it

Restriction	What it does
Minimum spend	Cart total must be at least this amount
Maximum spend	Cart total cannot exceed this amount
Individual use only	Cannot be combined with other coupons
Exclude sale items	Discount applies only to non-sale products
Products / Exclude products	Limit discount to specific products
Product categories / Exclude categories	Limit discount to specific categories
Allowed emails	Only specific email addresses can use this coupon (great for loyalty rewards)

Usage Limits tab – prevent abuse

Limit	What it does
Usage limit per coupon	Maximum number of times this coupon can be used across all customers
Limit usage to X items	Maximum number of items the coupon can apply to
Usage limit per user	How many times a single customer can use this coupon

Coupon types explained

Type	Example	Best for
Percentage discount	“20% off”	Broad promotions, clearing seasonal inventory
Fixed cart discount	“$10 off”	Threshold-based promotions (e.g., spend $50, get $10 off)
Fixed product discount	“$5 off specific plugin”	Specific product promotions
Free shipping	No shipping cost	Encouraging larger orders

💡 WooCommerce’s coupon system is excellent for one-off promotions. But if you need advanced features like auto-applied coupons (no code entry required), BOGO deals, or tiered pricing, you’ll need additional plugins – which I’ll cover later in this guide.

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Part 3: Email Marketing Integration – Turning Customers into Repeat Buyers

Email marketing delivers the highest ROI of any digital channel – and for WooCommerce stores, it’s where customer retention really happens. Automated behavioural emails (abandoned cart, post‑purchase follow‑ups) routinely hit 40–60% open rates, compared to roughly 20% for broadcast newsletters.

Best email marketing plugins for WooCommerce

Plugin	Free tier	Key features
Mailchimp for WooCommerce	Yes (free)	Syncs customer and purchase data automatically; abandoned cart, win‑back, post‑purchase automations; product recommendations; pop‑up forms
Retainful	Yes (free)	Abandoned cart recovery, browse abandonment, welcome series, post‑purchase thank you, win‑back campaigns – pre‑built workflows
Brevo (formerly Sendinblue)	Yes (free)	Handles transactional AND marketing emails; includes automation, SMS, and CRM
AutomateWoo	Paid (starts $10/mo)	Deep WooCommerce integration; behavioural triggers; SMS via Twilio; referral programs; advanced analytics

My recommendation

For most new stores, start with Mailchimp for WooCommerce – it’s free, well‑supported, and covers all the essential automations. As you grow, consider Retainful for more advanced cart recovery features (we covered this in Article 6). If you need SMS marketing and CRM in one platform, Brevo is an excellent free alternative.

Setting up Mailchimp for WooCommerce

1. Install Mailchimp for WooCommerce from Plugins → Add New.
2. Connect your Mailchimp account (or create a free one).
3. Select your audience list and enable automatic e‑commerce data syncing.
4. Set up your automations:
   • Abandoned cart – reminds customers to complete their purchase
   • Welcome series – engages new subscribers
   • Post‑purchase follow‑up – requests reviews, suggests related products
   • Win‑back – re‑engages customers who haven’t purchased in 60–90 days

The plugin automatically syncs customer names, email addresses, and order history to your Mailchimp audience. Customers who opt in to marketing emails are added to your audience; those who don’t appear in the Transactional section and cannot be exported.

Email sequences that convert

A three‑email abandoned cart sequence significantly outperforms a single recovery email:

Email	Timing	Angle	CTA
Email 1	60 minutes after abandonment	Gentle reminder, no pressure	“Complete your order”
Email 2	24 hours after abandonment	Address objections, social proof	“See what others are saying”
Email 3	72 hours after abandonment	Urgency or incentive	“Here’s 10% off, today only”

Email 1 recovers customers who were genuinely distracted. Save the discount for Email 3, and only if needed.

💡 Automated emails generate significantly more revenue per send than non‑automated emails. Abandoned cart recovery alone can add thousands of dollars in monthly revenue from a well‑configured sequence.

Part 4: Upsells, Cross‑sells & BOGO – Increasing Average Order Value

Built-in upsells and cross‑sells

WooCommerce includes native upsell and cross‑sell functionality for every product.

Type	Where it shows	How it’s set	Primary goal
Upsell	Single product page	Manually per product	Upgrade the purchase (e.g., suggest Pro version)
Cross‑sell	Cart page	Manually per product	Add complementary items
Related products	Single product page	Automatic (category/tag)	Discovery and browsing

Setting up upsells and cross‑sells

1. Go to Products → All Products and edit a product.
2. Scroll to the Product Data meta box.
3. Click the Linked Products tab.
4. For upsells, search for and select premium alternatives to display under “You may also like”.
5. For cross‑sells, search for and select complementary products to display on the cart page when this product is in the cart.

BOGO (Buy One Get One) deals

WooCommerce doesn’t support BOGO deals natively – you need a plugin. A BOGO coupon applies conditional logic: “If the cart contains product A, then apply 100% discount to product B”.

Best free BOGO plugins:

• CartMagic (free) – BOGO in Pro version; free version covers percentage, fixed amount, and free shipping rules.
• Disco – Dynamic Pricing & Discount Rules – unlimited smart campaigns with advanced conditions.
• Discount Rules for WooCommerce by Flycart – handles every BOGO variation: same‑product deals, cross‑product deals, category‑based offers.

When BOGO works well:

• Products with healthy margins (ideally 50%+)
• Introducing new products (pair with best‑sellers)
• Moving slow‑moving inventory

When BOGO is the wrong move:

• Products with margins under 40% – you lose money on every paired sale

Dynamic pricing without coupon codes

Instead of asking customers to enter a code, some plugins apply discounts automatically based on rules. This reduces friction at checkout and works seamlessly in the background.

💡 Auto‑applied coupons are particularly effective for cart abandonment campaigns – the customer doesn’t have to remember or enter a code; the discount appears automatically when conditions are met.

Part 5: Smart Discounting Strategies – Protecting Your Margins

Discounts drive sales, but without a strategy, they can damage profit margins, reduce customer lifetime value, and train shoppers to buy only during sales.

The real cost of discounting

Consider a product sold for $80 with a cost of goods of $40 (50% gross margin). A 25% off promotion drops the selling price to $60. Your cost remains $40, so profit per unit falls from $40 to $20. You’ve just cut your margin by 50% and need to sell twice as many units to make the same profit.

Smarter discounting practices

Practice	Why it works
Targeted promotions	Discount only specific customer segments (new vs returning, high‑value)
Minimum order thresholds	Encourages larger baskets (e.g., “$10 off orders over $50”)
Store credits instead of direct discounts	Keeps revenue within your business and encourages repeat purchases
Coupon usage limits	Prevents abuse and ensures discounts serve specific purposes
BOGO offers	Moves inventory while maintaining perceived value
Regular auditing of discount performance	Identify which campaigns generate ROI

When NOT to discount

• New product launches – build demand at full price first
• High‑demand products – why discount what’s already selling?
• Loyal customers – reward them with exclusives, not blanket discounts

💡 86% of online shoppers are more likely to try a new brand just because a coupon is available. Use that to acquire customers – then retain them through product quality and service, not discounts.

Part 6: Kadence Theme’s WooCommerce Marketing Features

The Kadence theme (which you’re using) includes the most advanced WooCommerce integration of any free theme.

What Kadence gives you out of the box

Feature	Marketing benefit
Flyout cart	Customers can view and edit cart without leaving the current page – reduces friction
Cart icon in header	Constant visual reminder of cart contents
Product page customisations	Add bullet points, trust badges, custom layouts
My Account customisations	Professional customer dashboard for order history and license management
Shop Kit (Kadence Pro/Elite)	Purpose‑built store enhancement tools covering checkout, product galleries, attribute swatches, upsells, and memberships

Using Kadence for product promotions

In Appearance → Customize → WooCommerce, you can:

• Style sale badges (choose colours, position, text)
• Customise add‑to‑cart buttons for better visibility
• Control product archive layout (grid vs list, number of columns)
• Enable/disable product ratings and reviews

These customisations help your promotions stand out without additional coding.

💡 The free version of Kadence already includes robust WooCommerce styling. If you need advanced features like conditional product display or membership‑based pricing, consider Kadence Pro’s Shop Kit module.

Part 7: Measuring Marketing Performance

You can’t improve what you don’t measure. WooCommerce provides built‑in analytics, but for marketing campaigns, you’ll want to track:

Key marketing metrics

Metric	What it tells you	Where to find
Coupon usage	Which codes are being redeemed	Marketing → Coupons (usage count per coupon)
Abandoned cart recovery rate	% of lost carts recovered	Retainful / AutomateWoo dashboard
Average order value (AOV)	Cross‑sell and upsell effectiveness	WooCommerce → Analytics → Orders
Customer lifetime value (CLV)	Long‑term retention health	WooCommerce → Analytics → Customers
Email open and click‑through rates	Campaign engagement	Mailchimp / Brevo dashboard
Conversion rate	% of visitors who purchase	Google Analytics for WooCommerce

Free marketing analytics extensions

• Google Analytics for WooCommerce – tracks store activity, customer behaviour, and conversion funnels
• Jetpack CRM – manages customers, leads, and sales activity
• Google Listings & Ads – syncs products with Google for product listing ads

Regular audit routine

• Weekly: Check coupon usage, abandoned cart recovery rates
• Monthly: Review AOV, CLV, email campaign performance
• Quarterly: Audit discounting ROI (revenue lift vs margin loss)

What’s Next?

You now have a full marketing toolkit – coupons, email automation, upsells, cross‑sells, and smart discounting strategies. Your store is ready to attract customers and keep them coming back.

👉 Next article in this series: Recurring Revenue & Subscriptions for WooCommerce – Turn One‑Time Buyers into Steady Income

We’ll cover setting up subscription products, managing recurring payments, handling failed renewals, and building a predictable revenue stream (essential for plugin sellers).

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What marketing tactic are you most excited to try? Coupons? Email automation? BOGO deals? Let me know in the comments.

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📌 Key Takeaways (for skimmers)

• WooCommerce Marketing Hub (WooCommerce → Marketing) centralises all promotional tools.
• Built‑in coupon system supports percentage, fixed cart, fixed product, and free shipping discounts – with usage restrictions and limits.
• Email marketing is essential – Mailchimp (free), Retainful (free), Brevo (free), or AutomateWoo (paid) integrate with WooCommerce for abandoned cart, win‑back, and post‑purchase flows.
• Abandoned cart email sequence: 1 hour (gentle reminder) → 24 hours (social proof) → 72 hours (optional discount). Open rates reach 40–60%.
• Upsells (product page) and cross‑sells (cart page) are built into WooCommerce – no plugin required.
• BOGO deals require a plugin (CartMagic free, Discount Rules by Flycart, Disco). Use only on products with healthy margins (40%+).
• Smart discounting > blanket discounts. Use targeting, minimum thresholds, store credits, and regular auditing to protect margins.
• Kadence theme adds flyout cart, cart icon, product page customisations – free version is plenty for most marketing needs.
• Track your metrics – coupon usage, AOV, recovery rate, CLV, and email performance to optimise campaigns.

🔗 Internal Links

• Article #1 – WooCommerce in 2026 – Market Share & Trends
• Article #2 – Installing WooCommerce & Setup Wizard
• Article #3 – Adding Your First Product
• Article #4 – License Keys for WooCommerce
• Article #5 – Optimising Checkout for Digital Products
• Article #6 – Abandoned Cart Recovery
• Article #7 – Managing Orders & Customers with HPOS
• You are here – Marketing & Promotions
• Article #9 – Recurring Revenue & Subscriptions (coming soon)