The anti-desperate promo code strategy 🍪
Why hiding your offers = 17x more conversions
Most freelancers and solopreneurs get this completely wrong: how to distribute offers without looking desperate.
Most scream for attention.
But Oreo? They turned every hamburger menu (☰) into promo codes.
That three-line icon you click 20x each day?
Now it's a stack of Oreos hiding in plain sight (with deals included).
The result?
And suddenly, every single website visit became free advertising for Oreo.
Oreo simply reframed what already existed and turned the entire internet into its treasure hunt.
🕵️ The "Hidden-in-Plain-Sight" Hack
Most of us think we need to scream louder to get attention. Create flashier graphics. Send more emails. Buy more ads.
Oreo gamified discovery without feeling like a game.
Every menu click became a potential reward, but users had to "see" the connection first. And once people see it, they can't unsee it!
This changes everything for freelancers and solopreneurs because:
You stop competing on price and start competing on experience
Your offers feel exclusive rather than desperate
Clients become treasure hunters instead of price shoppers
You create memorable moments that generate word-of-mouth
🗺️ Your "Anti-Desperate" Playbook
1. Find Your "Hamburger Menu"
What's already in front of your audience that they see but don't really see?
Examples:
Websites: Every 404 error page becomes a "website rescue mission" - offer emergency fixes for broken sites.
FAQs: Hide discount codes in your FAQ answers. "What's your turnaround time?" Answer: "SPEED24 hours for most projects." Clients who read carefully get 24-hour delivery codes.
Staircases: Every staircase = free gym + secret code. Count steps, get discounts. "STAIRS19" makes clients work for deals.
2. The Reframe Strategy
Don't create something new - recontextualise what exists.
Oreo's formula:
Universal element (hamburger menu) ✓
New perspective (stack of cookies) ✓
Hidden reward system (promo codes) ✓
No friction for discovery (just enter menu names) ✓
Your version: Pick something your audience encounters daily → Give it new meaning → Hide value inside → Make discovery effortless
3. Create "Positive Paranoia"
Once people "see" your hidden element, they start looking for it everywhere. That's free mental real estate.
Examples in action:
Fitness trainer: "Every staircase is a free gym" - post daily stair workout videos using stairs your audience walks by.
Marketing consultant: "Every email typo is market research" - analyse what typos reveal about company culture.
Graphic designer: "Every bad billboard is a portfolio opportunity" - redesign terrible signage you spot in the wild.
📈 The Anti-Desperate Action Plan
Identify your "hamburger menu" - List 10 things your ideal clients see daily but take for granted.
Create your reframe - Pick one and write a compelling new interpretation. "I've been noticing [common thing] everywhere, and it always means [your insight]. Anyone else seeing this?"
Design the discovery - Map out how someone would "find" your hidden element and what they'd win.
Test the waters - Post about your reframe and measure engagement. "Since you're all spotting these now, let's make it interesting. Next person who finds [specific example] gets [valuable offer]."
Full launch - create a simple way for people to submit discoveries in exchange for rewards, consultations, or exclusive content.
💡 Your Friday takeaway
Oreo turned the entire internet into its billboard without paying a cent to website owners. They created a game where everyone wins:
Users get deals
Websites get engagement
Oreo gets omnipresence
Your audience isn't tired of offers. They're tired of obvious offers.
TL;DR - Hide your offers in things clients see daily but ignore, and they'll treasure hunt for your deals instead of scrolling past them.
See you next week 🚀
Sam
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