Sell a gift card, not one that gets forgotten
Knows how to set the amount (fixed or custom), the expiration date, and what to do when a gift card is only partly used, and keeps a record of every card sold, sent, and redeemed so nothing slips through the cracks.
You sell a gift card over WhatsApp or in person: you jot the name in a notebook or a note on your phone, and trust you'll remember when someone comes in to redeem it. Months go by, the price of the service changes, the paper gets lost, and the day two people show up with the same gift card, nobody knows who's right. Or worse: the gift card expires and no one told the buyer in time.
First you decide the price of the gift card: a fixed amount or a custom one, and the point below which it's not worth selling. Next you set the expiration date and spell it out where the customer pays, not in the fine print. Then you work out delivery: you send it yourself right away or on the date the buyer requests, with both emails already written. After that you decide how you'll log each code so it can only be redeemed once, not twice. And you wrap up with the two questions nobody thinks about until they come up: what to do if a card is only partly used, and what to do if it expires without anyone using it.
This is for someone who's already selling something (a service, a table, a session) and wants to get paid upfront with a gift card. It's not for someone who doesn't have anything to sell yet and is still looking for a business idea.
- Set the gift card amount, fixed or the buyer's choice, and the minimum below which you won't sell it
- Put the expiration date right where you charge, before anyone pays
- Log every gift card with a unique code and mark it as used once it's redeemed, so no one can spend it twice
- Decide what happens to the leftover balance on a partly used gift card and the amount on one that expires
Have the prices of what you sell already posted, even if it's handwritten.
The 6 lessons
In the order it makes the most sense to read them.
- 1
A fixed amount, or let the buyer decide
By the end, you'll have decided whether your gift card is worth a fixed amount or an open one, and the minimum amount below which you never sell it.
7 min - 2
Set an expiration date, and state it before you charge
Set the expiration date based on what you sell and spell it out right where people pay, so the gift card's end date is never a surprise at the counter.
7 min - 3
You send the gift card when it's paid for, or on the day the buyer chooses
By the end, you'll know whether to send the gift card the moment it's paid for or hold it until the date the buyer chooses, and you'll have both emails ready for each option.
6 min - 4
The code is redeemed once, not as many times as someone tries
Set up a spreadsheet with a unique code for each gift card and a status that only changes once, so it can't be redeemed twice and you always know which ones are still active.
7 min - 5
If a gift card isn't fully used, decide who keeps the leftover balance
By the end, you'll have written out the rule for what happens to the remaining balance on a gift card, the new code with the same expiration date if it applies, and the exact message you send when it's redeemed.
7 min - 6
The gift card expired without being redeemed: keep the money, but don't erase who bought it
In this lesson you decide what happens to the balance of a gift card that expires unredeemed, send a reminder before that date arrives, and keep a record of who bought it and who it was for, so no complaint catches you without an answer.
8 min