Create Urgency, Scarcity, and FOMO for Sold-out Promos

Learn how urgency, scarcity, and FOMO can boost sales. Discover strategies to sell out fast when you treat each promo like a mini-launch!

As small business owners, we don’t create enough urgency. We don’t generate enough excitement. We’re not giving our customers enough of a reason to buy. How do I know this? Because I wasn’t doing it either. 

We want to sell our products. We need to sell our products. And creating urgency means putting a timeframe on something. It means only making it available for a certain amount of time. But that makes us uncomfortable. Because what if it doesn’t sell during that timeframe? Wouldn’t it be better to just make it available until it sells out? 

There’s a problem with that logic. If you create urgency, if you let your customers know a product is only available for a certain amount of time or a promotion is only in effect for a certain number of days or you only have a limited inventory available, you give them a reason to buy. And a reason to buy right now. 

To maximize sales, we need to create urgency and FOMO (fear of missing out). We need to create buzz and excitement. 

You know this. I teach this here in the blog and more in-depth inside Launch Your Box. But we all need a reminder, especially this time of year. 

I needed a reminder. And it came from one of the women in my Mastermind. Keep reading to find out what happened when I created urgency, scarcity, and FOMO and how you can do it, too! 

Some of My Best Thinking Happens on the Beach

I’ve told you about my biz besties. My tight-knit group of creative entrepreneurs who make being a small business owner less lonely and more fun. We live in different parts of the country and get together a few times a year for girl time. For us, that means a beach trip, time catching up and relaxing, and a lot of business talk. 

When you’re an entrepreneur, it’s so important to have people in your life who “get it.” That’s part of what makes Launch Your Box so special – it’s a place where subscription box owners at all stages of their journey can find other people who know what they’re going through. It’s also why I started a Mastermind a couple of years ago for subscription box owners who were operating at a high level. Their business needs were different, but their need for friendship and camaraderie was the same. 

The Mastermind has been a huge success. The friendships, collaborations, and support given and received have blown me away and filled my cup. But I’m not just the teacher in this group. I learn from them, too! 

Our last Mastermind took place… at the beach. We spent the first two days digging in and learning, discussing, and problem-solving. 

On the last day, I treated the ladies to a day at the beach. There’s something about the sound of the waves, the feel of the sun on my shoulders, and sticking my toes in the sand that is like nothing else. 

Getting Inspired and Taking Action  

Stacey Collins of Wilshire Collections is a member of Launch Your Box, Scale Your Box, and my Mastermind. She has built an incredible, 7-figure business by combining her LOVE for all things home decor and her incredible talent for engaging with her audience. If you don’t follow Stacey, you should. Her “whisper shopping” videos are some of my favorites!

During our Mastermind, we share what’s working for us in our businesses. I mean, why wouldn’t we? When these women gather together, there is an awesome amount of brainpower, creativity, and just plain entrepreneurial genius sitting around the table. 

Stacey was excited to tell us all about her latest success. Stacey LOVES decorative throws almost as much as she loves pillows (check out episode 135 of the Launch Your Box podcast to learn how she started a super successful pillow subscription). She decided she wanted to introduce a new product to her audience - throws. 

Being Stacey, she didn’t just introduce a new product. Instead, she teased. She hinted in her socials, she gave sneak peeks, she created a waitlist and consistently drove traffic to it. And she reminded her audience of the many times she has introduced things in the past and how quickly they sell out. In other words… Don't wait! 

The day Stacey launched, she sold out in hours. HOURS! Hundreds and hundreds and hundreds of throws in mere hours. 

Amazing. 

And yet, because Stacey has trained her audience how to shop with her, not really amazing at all. They knew they needed to be ready to buy right away. 

Planning a Holiday Promo… from the Beach 

Stacey’s success inspired me. And reminded me of the importance of creating urgency and scarcity. 

The truth is I was sitting on a bunch of product. It was taking up room on my shelves and doing nothing good for my cash flow. I needed to sell some of it and the upcoming holiday weekend was the perfect time to do it. So I started planning… from the beach. 

I decided I’d do a 4 for $40 Mystery Box promotion. 

I talked about how well Stacey knows her audience and what they respond to best. Well, I know my audience, too. And while they do love a good mystery, they are a lot happier – and more likely to buy – when they get some clues. 

So when I started teasing the upcoming sale, I told them the 4 for $40 would include one graphic tee, one other apparel item (cardigan, sweatshirt, top, kimono), one accessory, and one mystery item. 

I wasn’t sure how well these Mystery Boxes would sell, but I had a lot of product I needed to move. 

The “mystery” part would make things fun and exciting for my customers and allow me to move product. 

I spent a few hours planning this promotion while I was still at the beach. Then I hopped on a plane and headed home. 

Creating Urgency, Scarcity, and Exclusivity with a Side of FOMO  

If this promotion was going to be a success, I knew I needed to create urgency. In all of my messaging, I made it clear this sale was for ONE DAY only. There wasn’t going to be time to “think about it.”

I spent time at the Warehouse pulling items and putting my Mystery Boxes together. I had a lot of broken sizes – items that had sold out of certain sizes, but still had other sizes left. I used them for a lot of the items I included in the boxes. 

Sunday night, I went LIVE. I didn’t let anyone know ahead of time, I just sent a quick text to my list inviting them to join me to find out about my “Super Secret Labor Day Sale.” I had a good-sized crowd join me. 

I shared the details of the 4 for $40 Mystery Box Sales and then let them know that since they were with me LIVE, I was giving them exclusive access to buy a box before the email went out to everyone the next morning. 

I created scarcity by letting them know I only had 100 boxes to sell and limited quantities available in each size. If they waited, their size might be sold out. 

I was LIVE for 14 minutes and sales came in the entire time. And they didn’t stop there. 

When I woke up Monday morning – the day of the sale – I discovered I was completely sold out of three sizes and low on the other two!

I knew this was a huge opportunity to sell more Mystery Boxes so I  hopped in my car, headed to the Warehouse, and put together 50 more Mystery Boxes. 

I went LIVE again and let my audience know all sizes had been restocked. 

By Monday evening, I had sold all 150 Mystery Boxes. And I could have sold more if I’d had larger quantities of all sizes available from the start. Learn from me and plan for more. Make it easy to get the sale while they’re excited!

I created urgency, scarcity, and FOMO. I planned and executed a mini-launch. I emailed, posted on social media, and went LIVE. And it worked. I liquidated 600 items that had just been sitting around taking up space. 

Treat Your Promotions like a Mini-Launch 

Why did Stacey sell hundreds of throws? Why was I able to sell 150 Mystery Boxes in 24 hours? 

Because we treated these promotions like mini launches. 

And that’s what I want you to do with your upcoming promotions, for the rest of 4th quarter and beyond. 

Go into each promotion treating it like a mini launch. For my 4 for $40 Mystery Box Sale, I did 3 LIVEs, sent 2 emails, and posted on social media. And all of that content was about one thing - the promotion. 

Do you have more 4th quarter promos planned? If you don’t, it’s not too late to plan one or more. Remember, I planned this promo in just a few hours. Check out this blog post all about liquidating product by selling end-of-the-year mystery boxes. 

Send emails every day. Go LIVE – your audience wants to see you. Let them see and feel your excitement. Post on social. And make sure all of it is about your promotion and nothing else. Keep the focus on what you want to sell. 

Create urgency, scarcity, and exclusivity. Limited time. Limited Limited quantity. Give them a reason to buy now. 

Stacey sold hundreds of pillows. I sold 150 Mystery Boxes. You may have a goal to sell 20 items or 50 boxes. The quantity doesn’t matter. Treat your promotion like a mini launch and start selling!