How to Win The Content Planner and a Cash Prize!
UPDATE: This post was originally scheduled to go live 12/15/19, the Sunday after The Content Planner *officially* went on sale. Within eight minutes of the 2019 Private Pre-Sale, the Midnight Black planners were sold out. Then 12/11/2019, a low inventory alert was sent out for the Powder + Pacific Blue planners. So I’m posting this early! Don’t waste any time, click here to order The Content Planner now! Then come back and learn how to win it for next year’s sale!
Please note some of the links in this post are affiliate links. At no additional cost to you, I will earn a commission if you decide to make a purchase after clicking through the link.
Sometime in 2018, I discovered The Content Planner, but unfortunately not before that year’s planners had already sold out! Going into the 2021 sale (in the fall of 2020, confusing I know) for The Content Planner, I will be purchasing a planner for my third year! But that’s not why you’re here, you’re here to learn how you can win the planner and a cash prize, so let’s get to it…
Update #2: Click here to scroll down and see the 2021 planner colors!
The 2019 Private Pre-Sale
When I saw Kat (the creator of The Content Planner) was offering a cash reward for being the first customer for the 2019 planners… I knew I had to try to be first! To make it even better, she also sends you your cash back for your order. When September 13, 2018, rolled around, I was sitting at my computer ready to make a purchase right at 5pm EST (the timezone for the sale), so 4pm CST for any fellow Texans!
I added The Content Planner to my cart, hit checkout and used PayPal. The great thing about PayPal is that it already has all of your shipping and billing information stored. No need to type in anything! Once I hit buy: I was redirected to PayPal, clicked sign in and clicked purchase with my default payment method. I had completed my purchase somewhere under a minute, but was that fast enough?
When the winner was announced, I was shocked to see she had completed her purchase in just 29 seconds!
What is The Content Planner?
So you may find yourself asking, what is The Content Planner, what is so special about it. Well let me tell you, as someone who is definitely Type A (at least in the planning department), I love it! The Content Planner is perfect for bloggers, small business owners and social media influencers.
Here’s why:
- It’s fillable. This was the biggest selling point for me. If I need to skip a month, no sweat. No wasted money, no scribbling out dates or months.
- It has weekly and monthly sections for setting your goals AND a place to track your growth for social media, sales and email subscribers.
- Tons of fun little stickers. If you’re like me, stickers will get you excited!
- Daily boxes to write out what you need to get done for your business, blog and social media accounts!
Writing down your goals helps you stay accountable and make stuff happen. As Kat says, “Plan it. Post it. Profit.” Shop this year’s planners before they sell out by clicking here. If you’re reading this after they’ve sold out or it’s almost time for the next year’s launch you can still click the link above, sign up for the mailing list and you’ll be notified when they’re available for purchase.
The Private Pre-Sale
Now this is where I should mention there is a difference in the private pre-sale and the pre-sale. The private pre-sale requires you to be on a special email list (so you get the secret shopping link) and is the sale where you can win money! A super easy way to get on The Content Planner’s email list is to visit the website and signup when you see the pop up!
Kat announced the secret shop link a few days before the sale went live and also that she had a website redesign! The link wasn’t live, but I clicked through anyway to see her new site!
Things I noticed:
- There was a product page for the 2020 planners
- There was a list of accepted payment methods at the bottom of the site
Why This Was Important
If you know me in real life, you know I can be pretty competitive. Not even meaning to, I had stumbled upon what would be my chance to take home the title of “First Customer of 2020”.
I assumed the secret shop page was setup like the actual product page, why should it look any different? This gave me the layout and how many buttons or selections I would need to make before completing my purchase. Luckily for me, the color I wanted was the first selection in the dropdown, Sunshine Yellow + Emerald Sea. I only planned on ordering one planner, even though I was VERY tempted to order all three options!
And let me tell you, if Kat offers multiple colors next year, the person who wins will only be getting one color. I don’t see how someone ordering more than one could beat out someone who is just getting one, but PROVE ME WRONG!
Apple Pay
In July I had signed up for a new credit card with Chase. It was rated highly for travel and promised 60,000 bonus points if I could spend $4,000 in the first three months of my card being open (which could be redeemed for up to $750!). I knew my best friend had a Chase card that she frequently used to buy “free” flights back and forth between Texas and her new home in Florida. After I asked her about it, she sent me a link to signup for it. Which I did. Why wouldn’t I want to help someone out and give them some money that cost me nothing? *Wink, wink* Click here if you’re interested and would like to sign up. HAHA
Before I received the card I had the option to set it up on Apple Pay and use my phone to pay for things. Before the pre-sale, I had used Apple Pay on one website. It popped up, told me to use my thumb print and BAM. My purchase was processed.
When I saw the Apple Pay option on Kat’s new website, I knew that was the only way to go to attempt to beat the 2018 winner’s record of 29 seconds. The issue with using PayPal to try and be first is that it takes you “away” from The Content Planner’s website. Even if it’s only for a few seconds, those seconds clearly count! I had to click so many more times to tell PayPal to make my purchase the year before.
Day of the Private Pre-Sale
When I used Apple Pay, I clicked the Apple Pay icon, and then used my thumbprint to complete my purchase. I did have to do it twice. Being in the heat of the moment, I can’t tell you if that was because there are two taps you actually have to do or if so many people were just trying to make purchases that my phone was lagging. Either way I looked up and the clock on my screen said 4:00:28! I was feeling pretty confident since I had beat the previous year’s record, but at the same time I was telling myself someone else probably didn’t have to use their thumb print twice!
Kat shared a story from another customer, but her order was 20-ish past mine. I was elated when I got the above messages from Kat later that evening!
Tips & Tricks for Winning the 2021 Private Pre-Sale
Do you want to win The Content Planner, beat my record of 28 seconds and get that cash prize?! Here’s what you need to do:
- Get on The Content Planner’s email list
- Confirm you want to be on the private pre-sale list when it’s announced via email
- Familiarize yourself with the product page before the pre-sale
- Check the payment options
- Setup quick payment options on your phone
- Open a clock that shows the seconds on your computer (I used www.time.gov)
- Reload the secret shop link a few times and see how many seconds it takes to load
- Use your best judgement on when to hit reload before or at 5pm EST in 2020
Good luck to anyone and everyone attempting to win in 2020!
The 2021 Planner Colors
Don’t forget to pin the image below so you can remember to read up on all my tips before the next launch!
Interested in more things I’ve bought for my travels or business? Click here to see everything I’ve posted under “Resources”.
