[alex_c]

This is my hunch, as well. You can make a 5% coupon easily available for anyone who searches on Google, and bake it into your pricing. Customers feel they got a deal, and you keep the flexibility to use larger coupons for specific promotions.

I haven't tried this yet, but I am planning to give it a shot once I launch the app I'm working on. It seems to work for GoDaddy, at any rate!

I strongly suspect that we wouldn't be reading this post if the author had found a working coupon as the first result when searching for "product X coupon".

[ams6110]

Why even make them go to Google? Put a link right next to the coupon code: Don't have a code? Take our <a href="#">3 question survey</a> and get one now!

Then you can learn a bit more about your customers, and make them happier about buying at the same time.

[cpeterso]

Or just ask the customer to subscribe to your mailing list to receive coupons. You can send them one coupon immediately for their current purchase (possibly even applicable retroactively if email is slow when they are completing their purchase). Then you can send them more email coupons (and personalized recommendations) in the future to keep them coming back. :)

[nhangen]

I once sent an email to my subscribers offering a discount code (this was a very small list) and within a day, the coupon was on retailmenot. I think in the future, I'm going to have a coupon box with codes published in as many places as possible. The buyer feels like they're getting a deal, and the seller gets a new customer.