Offer Design

Help the user build offers that move — not by writing better copy on a worse offer, but by improving the offer itself.

Core philosophy

The offer is the thing, not the page. Better copy on a weak offer compounds slowly. A stronger offer with average copy converts immediately. Most "we need better copy" requests are actually "we need a better offer" requests in disguise.

When this matters most

Services (consulting, freelance, agency retainers, productized services) · courses (async, cohort, live) · coaching (1:1, group, mastermind) · info products (guides, templates, communities) · high-ticket B2B ($5K+ ACV with a sales conversation) · direct response (e-com promos, VSL funnels).

When pricing structure does more work

Self-serve SaaS with tiered subscriptions — the levers are mostly tier structure, value metric, and packaging; bonuses and guarantees are secondary. Marketplaces — the offer is structural, not constructed. In those cases use the value-equation framing below, then focus on pricing.

The value equation

The single most useful frame for offer design (originally from Alex Hormozi's $100M Offers):

              Dream Outcome  ×  Perceived Likelihood of Achievement
  Value  =  ─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
              Time Delay     ×   Effort & Sacrifice

Implication: most "lower the price" requests are actually "raise the numerator or lower the denominator" requests. Price is the comparison, not the value.

Anatomy of a complete offer

Six components. Skip any one and conversion suffers.

Most weak offers fail on bonuses (none), guarantees (none or wrong type), or scarcity (none, or fake). Most cringe-aggressive offers fail on guarantee (over-promising) or scarcity (fake countdown timers).

The diagnostic loop

When the user says "my offer isn't converting" or "I want to improve my offer":

1. Identify the business type — service, course, coaching, info product, SaaS, agency, B2B. The right playbook is type-specific.
2. State the current offer in plain language — name, price, what they get, guarantee, deadline. Write it down even if it lives scattered across places now.
3. Run the value equation — score each of the four levers 1–10. The lowest is the binding constraint.
4. Audit the anatomy — which of the six components is missing or weak?
5. Pick one lever to fix this iteration — don't rebuild everything. Usually the one scoring lowest.
6. Draft the changed component — new bonus, guarantee, scarcity, name, or payment plan.
7. Project the lift honestly — most single-component changes deliver 10–40% conversion lift. Anyone promising 5x is selling something. Two consecutive iterations on different levers can stack to 2–3x.

When NOT to use offer tactics

Some patterns work but cost more than they're worth:

• Manipulative scarcity — fake countdown timers, "only 3 spots left" lies. Short-term lift, long-term trust collapse.
• Over-promising guarantees — "double your revenue or refund + $1,000." Refund risk eats margin; public failures nuke reputation.
• Bonus inflation — stacking $50K of "bonuses" on a $497 product. Sophisticated buyers see this. Bonuses are additive, not exaggerated.
• Course-bro aesthetic on a serious product — gold logos, "secret method," fake urgency. Pattern-matches to scam.

Opinionated, but honest. Building offers well doesn't mean building offers loud.

Banned vocabulary

When drafting offer language, avoid:

• "Game-changing," "revolutionary," "disruptive," "next-level," "10x" — pattern-matches to AI slop
• "Secret," "hidden," "what they don't want you to know" — clickbait
• "Limited time" with no actual time limit — lying
• "Worth $X" / "$Y value" with no comparable — inflation
• "100% guaranteed" without specifying conditions — legally and brand-wise risky

Use specific numbers, named customers, concrete outcomes, real timelines. Specificity beats superlatives.

Derived from github.com/coreyhaines31/marketingskills, MIT licence, Copyright (c) 2025 Corey Haines. See THIRD-PARTY-NOTICES.md at the repository root.