Will selling a cheap offer hurt my premium brand as a coach?
A cheap product can. A paid entry step does not, because the thing that damages a premium brand is not a smaller number, it is the same work being available for less. Sell a different thing at a price that reads as access to you, and the programme is unaffected.
1. Separate "cheaper" from "smaller"
A discounted version of your programme teaches people to wait for the discount. A different, smaller thing, one answer rather than three months, does not compete with the programme because nobody confuses them.
2. Price it like a consultation, not like a product
Products invite comparison, refunds and reviews. Access does not. At $50 to $200 an answer, buyers behave like clients. At $9 they behave like shoppers, and the complaints that follow are what actually hurts the brand.
3. Never let the entry step cannibalise the outcome
One answer solves one problem. A programme changes a situation over months. If your entry step genuinely replaces your programme, the problem is the programme, not the price of the step.
4. Keep the premium price visible
Having an entry step while the programme price stays on your page is the whole trick. The contrast is what makes the programme look like the serious option rather than the expensive one.
5. Judge it by who buys, not by the revenue
If the entry step brings in people who go on to buy the programme, it works regardless of what it earns. If it only attracts people who will never buy anything else, the price is too low or the thing being sold is too generic.
Where a paid question fits
A paid question is the version of this that cannot cannibalise a programme, because what is being sold is one answer to one situation. On Nudge the coach sets the price and keeps 90%, and the tip is only captured when they reply. Coaches commonly run four tiers, where the most expensive exists partly to make the middle one look reasonable.
Common questions
Does a low price signal that a coach is not an expert?
A low price on the same work does. A price on a smaller piece of work does not, which is why consultations, paid audits and paid questions are normal at every level of the market while discounted programmes are a warning sign.
How do I add an entry offer without devaluing my coaching?
Sell something structurally different rather than a smaller version of the same programme, price it as access to you at $50 to $200, leave the programme price untouched, and measure it by how many entry buyers go on to become clients.