Offers let you present special pricing to prospective or existing members. They’re built on top of tiers — an offer is a discounted or promotional way to access a tier. Ghost provides its own offer system, and so does Outpost. You can use either or both.Documentation Index
Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://documentation.outpost.pub/llms.txt
Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.
Offer types
| Type | Description | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Percent discount | A percentage off the tier’s standard price | 20% off annual plan |
| Fixed amount discount | A flat currency amount off the price | $10 off monthly plan |
| Free trial | A trial period before billing begins | 7-day free trial, then full price |
Discount duration
When creating a percent or fixed discount, choose how long the discount lasts. The dropdown labels in the form are:| Dropdown label | Stripe duration | Description |
|---|---|---|
| No Discount | — | No discount applied (use this for trial-only offers) |
| One Time Discount | once | Discount applies to the first payment only, then full price on renewal |
| Multiple Months | repeating | Discount applies for a set number of months (e.g., 3 months at the discounted rate). Only available when the billing period is monthly. |
| Recurring Discount | forever | Discount applies to every payment, permanently |
Creating an offer
Go to Subscriptions → Ghost Offers (or Outpost Promotions) and click New Offer. Configure:| Field | Description |
|---|---|
| Name | Internal name for the offer (visible to you) |
| Offer Headline | Headline shown on the sales/checkout page |
| Description | Supporting copy shown on the sales/checkout page |
| Membership Tier | Which tier this offer applies to |
| Billing Period | Monthly, Yearly, Every 3 Months, or Every 6 Months |
| Default Amount | The default amount selected for the offer at checkout |
| Discount / Trial tabs | Switch between configuring a discount or a free trial |
| Discount Duration | One-time, recurring, or for a set number of months (see table above) |
| Discount % or Discount Amount | The percent off or the fixed currency amount off |
| Trial Duration | For trial offers: the length of the free trial |
| Add Member Labels | Optional labels to apply to members who redeem this offer |
| Max Members | Optional cap on total redemptions |
| Expiration Date | Optional date after which the offer can no longer be redeemed. Expired offers are archived automatically. |
Each offer is tied to a specific tier and billing interval. If you want to offer the same discount on both monthly and annual plans, create two separate offers.
Sharing an offer
Each offer has a unique URL. Share it in:- Newsletters and email campaigns
- Social media posts
- Ad campaigns and landing pages
- CTAs and paywalls via the Auto Display system
- Manually Added Buttons on external sites
Tracking offer performance
The offer detail page shows performance metrics:| Metric | Description |
|---|---|
| Redemptions | Total number of members who subscribed using this offer |
| Revenue | Total revenue generated from offer redemptions |
Archiving and restoring offers
- Archive an offer to deactivate it. The offer URL will no longer work for new signups, but existing members who redeemed it keep their discount.
- Unarchive to reactivate an archived offer and make it available again.
Offers in autoresponder emails
Offers integrate with the Autoresponder — many pre-built email actions include an Offer dropdown where you can attach a discount. You can select any existing Ghost Offer or Outpost Promotion rather than creating a new one each time. For example:- Welcome drip emails can include progressively better offers to convert free members
- Cancellation emails can include a retention offer
- Renewal reminder emails can include a loyalty discount
- The Nudge action automatically uses the offer a reader originally clicked
Ghost Offers vs Outpost Promotions
When attaching an offer to an autoresponder action — or choosing which type of offer to share — you have two options. They behave differently in important ways:| Ghost Offers | Outpost Promotions | |
|---|---|---|
| Checkout flow | Ghost Portal | Direct Stripe checkout |
| Works for free members | Yes | Yes |
| Works for existing paid members | No | Yes |
| Works for complimentary members | No | Yes |
| Trial periods | No (but you can make that the default for a tier) | Yes |
| Subscription schedules | No | Yes (intro rate → standard rate) |
| Offer codes | Yes — members can enter at checkout | No |
You don’t need to worry about showing the wrong offer type to the wrong member. Outpost automatically ensures that any offer shown to a reader is one they can actually use.
When to use Ghost Offers
Ghost Offers appear in Ghost Portal and are the natural choice when a free or unknown visitor is converting to a paid subscription for the first time. They stay in sync with Ghost automatically. Best for: free-to-paid conversion, welcome drip sequences, any scenario where the reader doesn’t yet have a subscription.When to use Outpost Promotions
Outpost Promotions route checkout through Stripe directly, which lets them do things Ghost Offers can’t:- Existing paid and complimentary subscribers — Ghost Offers are only available to free and unknown visitors by design. A logged-in Ghost subscriber on a paid plan won’t see a Ghost offer. Outpost Promotions work for any member type, making them the right choice for retention, upgrades, and plan changes.
- Trial periods — offer a free trial before billing starts, which Ghost Offers don’t support.
- Subscription schedules — set an introductory rate that automatically transitions to a standard renewal price after a set period. This is useful for 3- or 6-month intro plans.
Frequently asked questions
What's the difference between an Offer and a Promotion?
What's the difference between an Offer and a Promotion?
An Offer (also called a Ghost Offer) is created through Ghost’s native offer system — checkout goes through Ghost Portal. An Outpost Promotion is Outpost’s own offer system — checkout goes through a direct Stripe page. Promotions are more flexible: they work for existing paid and complimentary subscribers, support trial periods, and can use subscription schedules. See the comparison table above for full details.
Can I stack multiple offers?
Can I stack multiple offers?
No. A member can only use one offer when subscribing. If they click a new offer link while already on a discounted plan, they would need to cancel and resubscribe to use the new offer.
What happens when a 'Multiple Months' discount expires?
What happens when a 'Multiple Months' discount expires?
When the discount duration ends (e.g., after 3 months), Stripe automatically starts charging the full tier price on the next billing cycle. No action needed from you or the member.
Can I edit an offer after creating it?
Can I edit an offer after creating it?
You can update some fields on an existing offer, but certain fields may be locked once members have redeemed it. If you need substantially different terms, create a new offer and archive the old one.
How do offers work with the Autoresponder?
How do offers work with the Autoresponder?
Many autoresponder actions have an Offer dropdown. When you attach an offer to an action, the email includes a button or link that takes the member directly to checkout with the discount pre-applied. This is particularly useful for retention emails — you can automatically offer a discount to members who cancel.
Can I limit who sees an offer?
Can I limit who sees an offer?
Offers themselves don’t have audience targeting, but you control distribution. Share the offer URL only with the audience you want (via targeted email campaigns, specific CTAs, or private links). You can also set an expiration date to control usage.
What happens if a returning customer's currency doesn't match an offer?
What happens if a returning customer's currency doesn't match an offer?
Outpost validates the customer’s Stripe currency against the offer before checkout. If a returning customer already has a currency on file (for example, USD) and the offer is priced only in a different currency (for example, EUR), the checkout is blocked and the customer sees “Currency mismatch. Please contact support.” This is a safety net — most publications run a single Stripe currency and never see this. If you intentionally run multi-currency offers, configure each offer’s prices with
currency_options for every currency you sell in.Related features
Tiers & Pricing
The subscription products that offers are built on top of
Autoresponder
Attach offers to automated emails for conversion and retention
CTAs & Auto Display
Display offers in conversion popups, slide-ups, and in-post CTAs
Subscription Schedules
Two-phase pricing as an alternative to offer-based discounts