Black Friday email marketing: Are you using these 8 strategies?

But you can stand out by creating a Black Friday email campaign so irresistible that customers can’t help but open, click, and snatch up the deal. 

In this article, we look at 8 outstanding Black Friday strategies (with examples) and analyze what makes each one so great so you can duplicate the tactics in your own campaign.

In 2024, Black Friday falls on November 29 and Cyber Monday falls on December 2. It’s the Friday after Thanksgiving and the peak of the holiday season shopping period.

Most brands will send multiple emails during, before and after the Black Friday weekend. A typical Black Friday email promotion sequence looks something like this:

• Email 1: Teaser email sent in the week before Black Friday

• Email 2: Countdown email sent just before Black Friday

• Email 3: Main offer sent on the morning of Black Friday

• Email 4: Reminder (or multiple reminders) sent while your campaign is running

• Email 5: Last chance email sent just before the end of your campaign

It's getting more popular to promote an offer for one full week (or even longer). So based on your needs, industry, and competitor research you should decide what’s best for your company this year. If your offer is longer you’ll need more time to prepare for it. Although as a rule of thumb, give yourself two weeks to prepare your email campaign images, copy, and automations. 

Just don’t go overboard when it comes to promoting your sale, as you might cause people to unsubscribe.

We’ve gathered 8 examples of conversion-boosting Black Friday email strategies along with examples that show how to pull them off. 

1. Build anticipation with a multi-stage email sequence

A multi-stage email sequence for Black Friday gradually builds anticipation, starting with early teasers, followed by exclusive previews, limited-time offers, and final-day reminders to drive urgency and maximize conversions. It helps maintain momentum during your Black Friday campaign and keeps you top-of-mind for your subscribers. 

In 2022, we ran a Cyber Week sale from November 21 through to December 12. We designed our multi-stage email sequence like this: 

1. We introduced the deal on November 11. We created 2 separate emails targeted at different customer segments. Both emails included a link to a page where the recipient could sign up for alerts and a countdown timer so it was clear when the deal started.

2. We sent an email on November 21 announcing that the sale was now live. It included further details, benefits, and a link to the checkout page. 

3. We added prominent banners to our regular email newsletters to promote the offer on December 1.

4. We sent a reminder email to tell people that the deal was ending soon on December 5.

5. We sent a final email on December 12 telling people that “the sale ends today”. This went out to a specific segment of subscribers who could benefit most from the deal.

Our offer ran at a slightly different rhythm to many Black Friday sales, so the timing of the emails in this example may be different from the ones you send. Nonetheless, this is a good example of the types of emails you can send at different stages in your campaign.

2. Re-engage cart abandoners with exclusive discounts 

When someone starts the buying process but doesn’t commit, you can send a cart abandonment email to remind them of the unfinished purchase. You can further incentivize them to finish the purchase by including a special discount code for them to use at checkout. 

This is exactly what Columbia did with their Black Friday abandoned cart email to awesome effect. 

• The email shows that the product the customer was interested in has a discount

• It promotes other similar products and shows their discounted prices

• It includes a CTA button that links to the Black Friday landing page

Just don’t forget that you still need someone’s express permission to send abandoned cart emails. Get more cart abandonment email inspiration here.

3. Create urgency (not desperation) with a sale-ending email 

Most customers will either buy at the beginning or at the end of a sale, so capture as many customers as possible by creating urgency with a ‘sale-ending’ Black Friday email. 

These emails don’t have to resort to the digital equivalent of shouting—highlight the savings they’re about to lose and make your CTA clear (and don’t forget to have fun!). 

Surreal has done a great job at making their sale-ending email fun while driving a sense of urgency to encourage their subscribers to get the deal while it’s hot. 

• The design is eye-catching, clean and draws attention to the most important elements: the CTA button and the savings they can make 

• The copy is fun and engaging, opening and closing with a joke. Humor is a great way to stand out in busy inboxes 

• They’ve created a sense of urgency throughout the email without resorting to over-the-top exclamation points or capitalization (SALE ENDING!!!!)

Get creative with your sale-ending emails and use them as a way to show off your brand personality, while encouraging subscribers to take advantage of your deal. 

4. Run a post-sale campaign 

Almost every retailer has a Black Friday sale, which makes it hard to stand out. Make things easier by extending your email marketing campaign. You can have fun with this by saying that your team forgot to end the sale or you can simply run a Black Friday reset sale like LookFantastic, who promoted another sale 11 days after Black Friday ended. 

• This gives people who missed the Black Friday sale another chance to buy

• The offer is super clear, which makes it easy for people to buy

• The company mentions limited quantities, so readers know it’s the last chance to act

Remember; people’s inboxes are full of Black Friday offers. Sending an email the following week can help you stand out and make last-minute sales.  

5. Reward loyal customers with the help of segmentation 

Black Friday is a great opportunity to reward loyal customers by offering them an exclusive deal. You can target these customers by creating audience segments in advance. You could even use email personalization to make people feel like the email is just for them.

Withings rewards VIP members with access to a special Black Friday offer. This offer makes recipients feel valued so they’ll be keen to take advantage of the exclusive promotion.

• The email highlights the exclusive benefit, which is being able to access the Black Friday deals before anyone else

• The email includes products that may appeal to the customer

• Using words like “you” makes the holiday email seem personal

Don’t get so caught up in bringing in new customers that you forget to reward the ones you already have. This type of Black Friday campaign can really boost your customer retention and build brand loyalty. 

6. Send an anti-Black Friday email 

Let’s face it: Black Friday can be really fatiguing for your subscribers. They’re being bombarded with flashy deals and discounts everywhere they go. 

So why not try a minimalist Black Friday email that gives your subscribers room to breathe? Creator Ry Schwartz flips his subscribers’ expectations of what a Black Friday email should be with this minimalist and brutally honest Black Friday email. 

• He connects with his reader on a personal level by highlighting the Black Friday purchases he’s made (and regretted) over the years

• He builds on that to position his offer against all the low-value, impulse buys other companies might be selling

• He uses FOMO (fear of missing out) in a much more subtle way than usual Black Friday emails by saying that this will be a once-a-year deal only available until “Friday night”

Ry’s email shows that you can absolutely make sales during Black Friday while still being ✨demure and mindful. ✨

Try it yourself by positioning your offer as one your customers won’t regret with an anti-Black Friday email like Ry. 

7. Use social proof to boost trust 

Robert B Cialdini literally wrote the book on what influences human behavior and one core concept he explored was the power of social proof. Social proof includes any type of recommendation about your product from real customers. It works so well because we’re hardwired to trust other people’s opinions, especially when we’re on the fence about something. 

Founder of French in Plain Sight, and MailerLite customer, Alex Barron made great use of customer testimonials in his Black Friday promo email along with some other très bien sales tactics. 

• His email header perfectly summarizes his Black Friday deal meaning his subscribers don’t even have to scroll to get the most important info 

• The three testimonials from happy students are powerful proof that his membership works 

• He includes a money-back guarantee to overcome objections to purchase 

Remember how hesitant your subscribers are. Showcasing happy customers and including a risk reversal, like a money-back guarantee, can help reduce purchasing anxiety. 

8. Send personalized post-purchase emails

Has a subscriber taken advantage of your hot Black Friday deal? Great! Now you can target them with a personalized post-purchase email to help them feel like a valued customer. Sundays is a dog food company that has nailed this strategy. 

• They send a follow-up email offering resources to help new customers make the switch to their dog food even easier 

• It’s written in first-person which makes the email feel personal and sincere 

• They’re boosting customer retention by helping their customers be successful with their products 

Remember to create post-purchase emails to send out to customers after they convert. This will help create loyal customers who come back again and again, not just the ones who’ll take a Black Friday deal and disappear. 

By now you should be feeling inspired to create your own Black Friday emails. We also have plenty of Black Friday email templates you can use to get started quickly. Here are 7 final tips and best practices to help you create a super-effective campaign.

1. Nail your subject line

A good Black Friday subject line increases your open rate. Make your Black Friday email subject line stand out with personalization, by adding emojis, and by appealing to your audience’s needs. Here’s more on writing great email subject lines.

Not feeling inspired? Use our AI subject line generator to whip up some ideas. Choose your writing style and what type of email you’re writing, and provide some context about your sale. 

Examples of Black Friday email subject lines we generated with AI 

• 🛍️ Shop 'til you drop! Black Friday sale—30% off!

• Your wallet will thank you: Huge discount alert

• Black Friday fever: 30% off starts soon!

• Score big savings at our Black Friday sale—30% off!

2. Write engaging email copy

Make your copy clear and focus on how your Black Friday sale benefits the reader. Include information about the offer so people know how good a deal it is, as well as any extra details that will help people buy, such as coupon codes, start and end dates, and links to relevant pages. 

Check out the examples in the section above for tons of great examples of email copy. Or read this article for more about writing impactful newsletter copy. You can also use our AI email content assistant to write content that connects faster. Our AI tools are available on our advanced plan, while all new signups get free credits to use.

Example of great Black Friday email copy: Fussy

Fussy is truly living the maxim, ‘when everyone else zigs, you zag’. Their Black Friday email copy manages to turn what could be just another Black Friday offer into an expression of their customers’ core values: sustainability. 

• They create curiosity in their reader with the opening sentence: “Black Friday is on the horizon, but this year we’re changing it up.” Begging the question, how?

• They create a sense of urgency when announcing their 20% off sale by saying “while stocks last” motivating people to buy now 

• They make their products about their customers and the good they’ll do; “your money goes towards supporting green energy…”  

• They use a clear CTA in both the header image and the button which helps their deal stand out if someone is just scanning the email 

Bravo, Fussy!

3. Show products or connect your store

Connect your e-commerce store provider with MailerLite to unlock automatically generated product blocks. Use these to showcase your best products and add clear links to checkout pages to simplify the buying process. 

When you connect your store you’ll also get access to deeper analytics that highlight factors such as the number of orders and the total value generated by each campaign.

4. Personalize your content

Use customer data to personalize your emails and subject lines. You can use any information you have in a custom field in your email content. The most common type of dynamic content to add is the user’s name, but you can also add factors like their location, industry, company, or the type of product they are interested in.

5. Design great-looking emails

Pay attention to your Black Friday email design. Visit our newsletter gallery for inspiration or pick one of the pre-built e-commerce templates when creating a new campaign. 

Our updated Drag & drop editor includes plenty of new design options including the ability to create boxes and then reuse them across any campaign. This can save a ton of time when creating a Black Friday sequence with multiple emails.

6. Test your campaigns

Use email A/B testing to optimize your campaign. Analyze the open rate or click-through rate of two different emails on a small email subscriber sample, and then send the best version to your entire list. If you plan to send your Black Friday emails via automation, you can even A/B test each individual step to ensure the best results. 

7. Automate your emails

Black Friday is a super busy time for most businesses. Save time while still benefiting from email marketing by automating your emails. 

The easiest way to do this is to create campaigns for each email and then schedule them to go out at the relevant dates. You can also use automation to send follow-up emails based on how people interact with your campaigns. 

For example, you can send follow-up emails to people who click on a buy link but don’t actually buy your product. Or you can remove people who do buy from the rest of your automation. 

Click here to find out more about email automation.

8. Analyze campaign data 

What gets measured gets improved, so don’t forget to dedicate some time to reviewing your Black Friday campaigns. You want to review things like: 

• Results of A/B tests 

• Open rates 

• Click-through rates (CTRs) 

• Direct sales 

All this juicy data is just a click away with our Performance reports feature. With our E-commerce integrations you can understand exactly how well your campaigns are performing at driving direct sales. 

Did a certain email perform really well? We recommend turning it into a template so you can use it in other campaigns to generate similar results 💪. 

Don’t put off planning your Black Friday and Cyber Monday email marketing strategy. Starting early ensures you're ready for one of the most important times of the year and guarantees you a slice of that pie.

Remember that you can create your emails in advance and then schedule them to go out at optimum times for Black Friday shopping. You can even use our Black Friday and holiday email templates to reduce the time it takes to build your emails.

This will help you implement an effective campaign while freeing up time to handle all the other tasks you have going on at the busiest time of year. 

What are your plans for Black Friday email marketing? Let us know in the comments.

Editor's note: This article was originally published in October 2022, but has been updated with fresh ideas and examples.