Upsell products in the client portal
From Digital Products ⋯ Upsell, curate related offers on a purchased SKU so signed-in clients see Explore additional products on the portal home—build retention with trusted next steps, not locked course teasers.
Once a client already trusts you—they purchased a course, gallery pack, or other digital SKU—you can recommend additional products inside the client portal. The Explore additional products strip on the portal home shows curated cards (name, image, price) that open your existing product detail page and checkout. That keeps upsells in a familiar, signed-in context instead of locking curriculum behind “buy this course” teasers.
Authoring lives on the source product you already sold: Products → Digital Products → ⋯ → Upsell.
Why use portal upsells
| Goal | How Explore helps |
|---|---|
| Retention | Returning students see a next offer while they are already in your portal |
| Trust | Recommendations come from a product they own, not cold storefront noise |
| Clarity | Extra courses and packs are sold as products—not fake locked rows in Courses |
This is not Teachable-style mid-lesson popups or cart order bumps. It is a curated home strip for clients who already purchased.
Prerequisites
At least two Active digital products (source + something to recommend)
Storefront checkout working: Connect payments with Stripe
Optional discounts: cart promo codes on the product detail / checkout page
What you're looking at
Digital Products list: each row’s ⋯ menu includes Upsell.
Upsell dialog: pick other digital products to recommend from this source; toggle Show in Explore; optional label (for example “Pair with this course”).
Client portal home: Explore additional products cards for offers the client does not already own, derived from products they did purchase.
How it works
[Client paid for Product A]
|
v
[You configured Upsell on Product A → Product B, C, …]
|
v
[Client opens portal home → Explore shows B/C if not already owned]
|
v
[Client opens product page → checkout / promo code → new purchase]
Offers only appear when:
- The client has a paid purchase for the source product.
- The upsell row is enabled for Explore (
portal_explore). - The client does not already own the target product.
Invite-only access without a purchase does not seed Explore today—use purchases (or sell a free $0 product) if you need that path.
Implementation steps
- Publish the products you want to recommend (Course, Gallery Delivery, Download Pack, and so on)—see Digital product templates and delivery.
- Open Products → Digital Products.
- On the product clients already buy (for example your flagship course), open ⋯ → Upsell.
- Check each related product to recommend.
- Leave Show in Explore on for offers that should appear on the portal home.
- Optionally add a short label so the card feels intentional (“Next after Lighting 101”).
- Save upsells.
- Sign in as a test client who purchased only the source product and open the client portal home.
- Confirm Explore shows the targets, open a card, and complete a test checkout if Stripe is connected.
What you'll see
Paying clients who own the source product see Explore additional products with your curated targets. Clients who already own a target do not see that card again. Checkout uses the same product page and promo field as your public storefront.
Choosing good upsells
| Source product | Strong Explore targets |
|---|---|
| Flagship Course | Follow-on course, preset Digital Download Pack, mentorship |
| Gallery Delivery | Print products (via storefront), video pack, album add-on |
| Workshop / Event Access | Replay course, related download pack |
Recommend fewer, clearer offers. A long strip of unrelated SKUs feels like ads, not guidance.
System restrictions & guardrails
- Upsells are digital product → digital product curation for the portal Explore placement—not a replacement for storefront merchandising blocks.
- Targets already owned are filtered out automatically.
- Explore is driven by purchases, not invitation grants alone.
- Discounts use existing promo codes on checkout; there is no separate upsell price field in the dialog.
- Mid-lesson or checkout order-bump UI is not part of this feature.
Verifying your setup
- Source product has at least one enabled Explore upsell to an Active target.
- A test buyer who owns only the source sees Explore on the portal home.
- Opening a card reaches the product page; a second purchase grants the new product’s portal access.
- A buyer who already owns the target no longer sees that card.
Related: Courses as a product · Client portal experience · Cart and checkout.