Run a Black Friday promotion only if it serves a clear goal, such as filling open capacity or launching a new program, and only if the offer follows your profession's advertising rules. Skip it if a discount would undercut your regular rates, overload your schedule, or conflict with insurance billing. If you bill insurance, check your payer contracts before you discount any service or waive any copay. Federal regulators treat routine waivers of Medicare copays and deductibles as a fraud and abuse risk (HHS Office of Inspector General).
A record 202.9 million people shopped over the five days from Thanksgiving to Cyber Monday in 2025 (National Retail Federation). If the deals filling your inbox have you wondering whether you are missing out or protecting your value, the five questions below give you a way to decide, with the checks specific to health professions built in.
The 2026 dates: Thanksgiving is Thursday, November 26. Black Friday is November 27, Small Business Saturday is November 28, Cyber Monday is November 30, and Giving Tuesday is December 1 (timeanddate.com, American Express Shop Small).
You sell a service, and its value is harder to see. Products have a tangible cost, while the value of a service is more subjective (how to price your online services). A package bundles your sessions into a longer relationship with the client (managing client packages).
A discount sets a reference point. Federal pricing guidance treats a "was" price as a fair comparison when you offered it to the public on a regular basis for a reasonably substantial period (16 CFR 233.1). Ask yourself whether the client who pays the promotional rate in November will pay your full rate in February.
Your profession adds rules a retailer never faces. Licensing codes cover how you advertise, how you set fees, and whether you can reward referrals. Payer contracts and federal program rules add another layer.
Answer these in order. A "skip" on any one is enough to sit this year out.
Name the result before you name the offer: fill open intake slots in December, get early enrollment for a January group, or bring back clients you have not seen in a year. If your honest answer is "everyone else is doing it," you have no goal yet.
Count the hours you can add without cutting into current clients. Then look at January. Packages sold in late November land on your calendar in December and January, and if you close for the holidays, that is right when you reopen (holiday closure checklist). Set the number of spots before you write the offer.
Picture the person who books because of the price. A client who wanted your help anyway and finally has a reason to start is a good fit. A client who books for the deal and leaves when it ends adds hours without a lasting relationship. Write the offer for the first person.
Run the package math at the promotional price and confirm you still cover your costs and your time (5 ways to structure payments). Keep your regular rate on your website and booking page during the sale. Decide what the client pays when the promotional package ends.
Check the offer against your licensing code, your board, and any payer contracts before you announce it. The compliance section below covers what to look for.
| Question | Go | Adjust | Skip |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. Goal | A specific, measurable result | Vague; sharpen it first | "Everyone else is doing it" |
| 2. Capacity | Open hours now and in January | Hours exist if you cap spots or delay start dates | Schedule is full |
| 3. Fit | Appeals to your ideal client | Appeals to deal seekers; add a bonus and keep the discount small | Nobody on your ideal-client list would book it |
| 4. Pricing | Math works; regular rate stays visible | Thin margins; reduce the discount or add a bonus | The promotional price would become your new normal |
| 5. Compliance | Self-pay service, accurate terms, board rules checked | Some clients use insurance; limit the offer to self-pay services after reading your contracts | The offer waives copays, rewards referrals, or conflicts with a payer contract |
It can be, when the offer is accurate, the fee policy is fair, and nothing in it rewards referrals or touches insurance billing. Your code of ethics and your licensing board set the limits.
This section is general information for planning. Rules vary by profession and by state or province, so confirm your plans with your licensing board, your professional association, or a healthcare attorney before you act.
State what the offer includes, what it costs, when it expires, and your refund policy. The codes are direct about accuracy:
If you are a US health care provider and a self-pay client schedules a service or asks for an estimate, federal rules require a good faith estimate of expected charges, and the expected charge reflects any discount you offer (45 CFR 149.610).
Keep promotions to self-pay services until you have read your payer contracts.
The ACA, APA, AAMFT, and NASW codes each restrict payment or other remuneration for referrals (ACA A.10.b, APA 6.07, AAMFT 8.1, NASW 1.16(c)). California makes it unlawful for healing-arts licensees under its Business and Professions Code to offer a discount or other consideration as an inducement for referring patients (§ 650(a)). If a "bring a friend" offer gives anyone something of value for sending you a client, ask your board first.
Your state or provincial licensing board has the final word on your license. If you are a health coach without a license, check the code of any credentialing body you belong to.
If you want to protect your regular rate, lean on added value and keep any discount small:
Measure four numbers once the promotion closes:
Compare them against the same period last year and note what you would change before next November.
{{top-five-ai-marketing-tools}}
Yes, for self-pay services, when your advertising is accurate and you follow your licensing board's rules. Insurance-billed sessions carry added risk, because payer contracts set fee terms and federal guidance warns against routine copay waivers for Medicare patients. Check your board and your contracts first.
No. A sliding scale is a standing, clear policy that adjusts fees based on a client's ability to pay. A promotion is a time-limited price change open to anyone. The two serve different goals and need different communication, so keep them separate in your fee policy and your marketing.
Cap the number of spots, keep your regular rate visible, and offer added value, such as a bonus session or a resource, and keep any discount small. Set an end date and keep to it, so the promotional price stays a promotion.
Treat it as off limits. HHS OIG warns that routinely waiving Medicare copays can create liability under the federal anti-kickback statute and false-claims laws, and a waiver offered to everyone during a sale is routine by design. For private insurance, your payer contract sets the rule, so read it before you make any offer to insured clients.
Skip it. A full schedule means a promotion adds stress without adding capacity. Open a waitlist or a January intake window, and come back to the five questions when you have room.
Work through the five questions this week: goal, capacity, fit, pricing, and compliance. If any one says skip, you have your answer. If all five say go, cap your spots, write clear terms, and plan the follow-up before you announce.
If you run one, Practice Better lets you create coupon codes for a percentage or dollar amount off with an expiry date (5 ways to structure payments) and set daily, weekly, or monthly limits by service type (scheduling). Start a free trial.
{{free-trial-simple-text}}
Run a Black Friday promotion only if it serves a clear goal, such as filling open capacity or launching a new program, and only if the offer follows your profession's advertising rules. Skip it if a discount would undercut your regular rates, overload your schedule, or conflict with insurance billing. If you bill insurance, check your payer contracts before you discount any service or waive any copay. Federal regulators treat routine waivers of Medicare copays and deductibles as a fraud and abuse risk (HHS Office of Inspector General).
A record 202.9 million people shopped over the five days from Thanksgiving to Cyber Monday in 2025 (National Retail Federation). If the deals filling your inbox have you wondering whether you are missing out or protecting your value, the five questions below give you a way to decide, with the checks specific to health professions built in.
The 2026 dates: Thanksgiving is Thursday, November 26. Black Friday is November 27, Small Business Saturday is November 28, Cyber Monday is November 30, and Giving Tuesday is December 1 (timeanddate.com, American Express Shop Small).
You sell a service, and its value is harder to see. Products have a tangible cost, while the value of a service is more subjective (how to price your online services). A package bundles your sessions into a longer relationship with the client (managing client packages).
A discount sets a reference point. Federal pricing guidance treats a "was" price as a fair comparison when you offered it to the public on a regular basis for a reasonably substantial period (16 CFR 233.1). Ask yourself whether the client who pays the promotional rate in November will pay your full rate in February.
Your profession adds rules a retailer never faces. Licensing codes cover how you advertise, how you set fees, and whether you can reward referrals. Payer contracts and federal program rules add another layer.
Answer these in order. A "skip" on any one is enough to sit this year out.
Name the result before you name the offer: fill open intake slots in December, get early enrollment for a January group, or bring back clients you have not seen in a year. If your honest answer is "everyone else is doing it," you have no goal yet.
Count the hours you can add without cutting into current clients. Then look at January. Packages sold in late November land on your calendar in December and January, and if you close for the holidays, that is right when you reopen (holiday closure checklist). Set the number of spots before you write the offer.
Picture the person who books because of the price. A client who wanted your help anyway and finally has a reason to start is a good fit. A client who books for the deal and leaves when it ends adds hours without a lasting relationship. Write the offer for the first person.
Run the package math at the promotional price and confirm you still cover your costs and your time (5 ways to structure payments). Keep your regular rate on your website and booking page during the sale. Decide what the client pays when the promotional package ends.
Check the offer against your licensing code, your board, and any payer contracts before you announce it. The compliance section below covers what to look for.
| Question | Go | Adjust | Skip |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. Goal | A specific, measurable result | Vague; sharpen it first | "Everyone else is doing it" |
| 2. Capacity | Open hours now and in January | Hours exist if you cap spots or delay start dates | Schedule is full |
| 3. Fit | Appeals to your ideal client | Appeals to deal seekers; add a bonus and keep the discount small | Nobody on your ideal-client list would book it |
| 4. Pricing | Math works; regular rate stays visible | Thin margins; reduce the discount or add a bonus | The promotional price would become your new normal |
| 5. Compliance | Self-pay service, accurate terms, board rules checked | Some clients use insurance; limit the offer to self-pay services after reading your contracts | The offer waives copays, rewards referrals, or conflicts with a payer contract |
It can be, when the offer is accurate, the fee policy is fair, and nothing in it rewards referrals or touches insurance billing. Your code of ethics and your licensing board set the limits.
This section is general information for planning. Rules vary by profession and by state or province, so confirm your plans with your licensing board, your professional association, or a healthcare attorney before you act.
State what the offer includes, what it costs, when it expires, and your refund policy. The codes are direct about accuracy:
If you are a US health care provider and a self-pay client schedules a service or asks for an estimate, federal rules require a good faith estimate of expected charges, and the expected charge reflects any discount you offer (45 CFR 149.610).
Keep promotions to self-pay services until you have read your payer contracts.
The ACA, APA, AAMFT, and NASW codes each restrict payment or other remuneration for referrals (ACA A.10.b, APA 6.07, AAMFT 8.1, NASW 1.16(c)). California makes it unlawful for healing-arts licensees under its Business and Professions Code to offer a discount or other consideration as an inducement for referring patients (§ 650(a)). If a "bring a friend" offer gives anyone something of value for sending you a client, ask your board first.
Your state or provincial licensing board has the final word on your license. If you are a health coach without a license, check the code of any credentialing body you belong to.
If you want to protect your regular rate, lean on added value and keep any discount small:
Measure four numbers once the promotion closes:
Compare them against the same period last year and note what you would change before next November.
{{top-five-ai-marketing-tools}}
Yes, for self-pay services, when your advertising is accurate and you follow your licensing board's rules. Insurance-billed sessions carry added risk, because payer contracts set fee terms and federal guidance warns against routine copay waivers for Medicare patients. Check your board and your contracts first.
No. A sliding scale is a standing, clear policy that adjusts fees based on a client's ability to pay. A promotion is a time-limited price change open to anyone. The two serve different goals and need different communication, so keep them separate in your fee policy and your marketing.
Cap the number of spots, keep your regular rate visible, and offer added value, such as a bonus session or a resource, and keep any discount small. Set an end date and keep to it, so the promotional price stays a promotion.
Treat it as off limits. HHS OIG warns that routinely waiving Medicare copays can create liability under the federal anti-kickback statute and false-claims laws, and a waiver offered to everyone during a sale is routine by design. For private insurance, your payer contract sets the rule, so read it before you make any offer to insured clients.
Skip it. A full schedule means a promotion adds stress without adding capacity. Open a waitlist or a January intake window, and come back to the five questions when you have room.
Work through the five questions this week: goal, capacity, fit, pricing, and compliance. If any one says skip, you have your answer. If all five say go, cap your spots, write clear terms, and plan the follow-up before you announce.
If you run one, Practice Better lets you create coupon codes for a percentage or dollar amount off with an expiry date (5 ways to structure payments) and set daily, weekly, or monthly limits by service type (scheduling). Start a free trial.
{{free-trial-simple-text}}
