Use Midnight Deadlines to Trigger a Sales Stampede

Last Tuesday, The Doomsday Clock moved 10 seconds closer to midnight…

It now reads 11:58:30 p.m.

Thanks to the War in Ukraine, global economic instability and the climate crisis we are closer than ever to armageddon since the clock was first created back in 1947.

But there’s no need to panic… yet.

The cheery bunch behind The Doomsday Clock (The Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists) are not suggesting that we literally have only 90 seconds left before humankind is wiped out.?

It’s purely symbolic and designed to focus attention on the perilous state of world affairs.?

And indeed The Doomsday Clock reset has become an annual event, hitting the headlines around the world every time the minute hand moves forwards (or back).?

But what really interests me about the clock is how it illustrates the deep attention-grabbing and motivational power of THE MIDNIGHT DEADLINE.

And specifically how we can use it to trigger additional sales in our email campaigns.?

Now you may remember I recently discussed the benefits of creating a Hot List ahead of any new product launch or special offer and how you can expect a spike in sales on DAY ONE.

But what happens next?

If you do nothing else, you will see a rapid drop off in sales.

That’s why sending out reminders (or multiple reminders) each day will help you to trigger further sales from those on the Hot List who are still thinking about the offer, missed the initial launch emails or have unanswered questions.?

These follow-up emails will help you to sustain awareness of your offer and will certainly generate sales (if done correctly). I won’t go into details here, but there is a sequence of emails you can send out that should highlight key benefits and address/overcome the most common objections.?

But in my experience, even going out with new messages each day, your sales will plateau.?

As the initial impetus to buy recedes you need to introduce a NEW SHOCK to reactivate your list into the same buying frenzy as the first day of your launch.

And the best way I know of doing this is to use a MIDNIGHT DEADLINE.?

Ok, I know this might seem obvious, but it is easy to forget about making as much of an event for the closedown as you would the initial launch

When we use a midnight closedown, we can expect around 25% of total sales to arrive in the last 24 hours of a campaign…

Our typical launch or product offer email campaigns run for 7-10 days.?

However, don’t announce the end date at this stage.

As people tend to delay taking action, I don’t usually reveal the closedown date until 24 hours before the deadline.?

Reveal the deadline too early and it gives your list an excuse not to take action and your daily sales will take a hit.

Of course, if your campaign is short - say 2-3 days - you should flag this upfront and make the deadline an integral part of your offer.

But if you are intending to keep it open for more than 5 days I would keep the closedown date under wraps until the day before.

I normally send out an email announcing the deadline 1 day (24 hours) before, then 2 on the final day - morning and afternoon?

Depending on your audience and offer, you could send out more reminders - we have had great results from sending one out with just 3 hours until the deadline.?

The upshot is you should see a revival of sales - almost a mirror image of your first 24 hours.

(Of course, if your product or service doesn’t disappear at midnight and you want to continue making it available, then you need to give a good reason for why this particular offer is closing - this could be a discount or extra bonuses.)

The Pumpkin Push - Why Midnight Deadlines Work

I always set a midnight deadline on the final day.?

Or to be more precise (and ultra-specific) 11:59 pm as once we hit true midnight (00:00) we are into the new day.?

The truth is people love a midnight countdown…?

Midnight has a deep psychological meaning for a lot of people.?

It?is the transition time from one?day?to the next.?

We all watch the countdown to midnight on New Year's Eve

Cinderella’s coach turns back into a pumpkin at midnight.

Urgency Drives Sales?

People need a reason to take action and giving a deadline adds a sense of urgency and midnight has a magical allure that you should take advantage of. ?

The primal impulse to respond to a midnight, or any, deadline is the Fear Of Missing Out (or FOMO).?

The psychology behind FOMO marketing works because we’re a risk-averse species.

Yes, avoiding risk can mean we don’t buy something because we worry that our purchase won’t meet our expectations. More powerful though is the desire to avoid the psychic distress of regretting an opportunity after the fact.?

What always amazes me is how people will wait until the last few hours before making their orders or taking action. (The number of people trying to register to vote in the EU referendum, moments before the midnight deadline, caused the site to crash.)?

I think this is partly down to people forgetting or putting it off.?

There’s also something… well … a little masochistic.?

People get a thrill from the possibility of missing out.?

They leave taking action to the final day (or hours) because they enjoy the drama of taking things to the edge - there’s something at stake they can control - they ‘might’ miss out - something they desire and want could be taken away.?

Psychologist Anna Abramowski, says people who “actively procrastinate display a certain level of self-reliance, autonomy and self-confidence because they are aware of the risk of subjecting themselves to last-minute pressures and still consciously decide to.”

By delaying gratification, they experience this equal but opposite pull of the anxiety felt over the potential loss.

They toy with the possibility of missing out but know that they are in control of the situation - they can continue to experience this perilous state for as long as they can before the deadline hits.?

And the closer the deadline looms the more intense the experience.?

As one version of Parkinson’s Law states:?

“If you wait until the last minute, it only takes a minute to do.”

Bottom Line: Next time you plan a new launch or special offer by email that last for more than 5 days, consider announcing a midnight deadline 24 hours before. You could expect to see a QUARTER of total campaign sales come in the last day.?