Black Friday Emails: Best Practices and Examples to Power Your Holiday Marketing Campaign

Finally! The long-awaited holidays are around the corner, and this is the time customers begin to go on a shopping spree. Do you know what else would be active during this period? Lots of emails. According to studies, 116.5 million emails were delivered on black Friday, more than any other single day.

You'll undoubtedly want to apply the best practices to get the best out of your email marketing campaigns. In this article, you'll learn some of the best black Friday Email practices. You'll also learn some great examples from reputable companies to inspire you.

Let's get started!

Table of Content

1. Best practices for Black Friday Email Campaigns
2. 14 Examples of Black Friday Email Campaigns
3. Getting Started With Your Black Friday Email Marketing Campaign.

Best practices for Black Friday Email Campaigns

Black Friday promotions are usually raved about by most marketers. If you want your emails to stand out from many other businesses, you’ll need to think out of the box. The key to achieving a successful black Friday email campaign is capturing your customers’ attention and interest.

Most times, this involves creating valuable messages that do more than promoting sales. In this section, you’ll learn seven best practices to apply when creating your Black Friday email campaign strategy.

1. Begin with a plan

A solid plan is a key to a successful Black Friday email campaign. Firstly, you need to ask yourself the following questions:

• For which product are you offering a discount?
• What would be the discount rate?
• Will the discount sale end when you run out of stock?

When you answer the questions above, you’ll get a better idea of how your black Friday sale would go. You will also be able to plan your entire Black Friday email strategy, which includes how many emails you will send, the time you will send them, and your call to action.

2. Make your Black Friday email subject lines compelling

There's a lot of rush during Black Friday sales, so you can expect your subscriber's inbox to be flooded with lots of promotional messages. Your email subject line should be able to answer the most common question on every customer's mind, which is - "why should i open this email?" If you don't make your email subject lines compelling, your subscribers won't hesitate to delete your messages.

There are various ways you can make your email subject lines compelling. Here are some tips you can apply:

• Ensure your email subject lines display 25-30 characters.
• Make your subject line value-based.
• Include emojis to grab your customer's attention.
• Use power words to make your subject lines more compelling.

Pro Tip: Although keeping up with the Black Friday rush can be challenging, don't settle for just one email subject line. Consider conducting an A/B test on two email subject lines. This will enable you to enter two different versions of your email subject lines and know the one that performs better.  

3. Make your Black Friday email stand out

Like we mentioned earlier, your customers' inboxes would most likely be flooded with promotional messages. So, if you want your email copy to stand out from your customer's crowded inbox, you need to think out of the box and get creative with your email copy.

Thinking outside the box involves:

• Using innovative designs, interactive carousels, and accordions.
• Count-down timers.
• GIFs.
• Videos.

Don't forget to encourage your subscribers to offer referrals so you can expand your contact list. Also, you can offer a giveaway to drive more engagement in your Black Friday email sales.

4. Create a sense of urgency in your black Friday emails

Your Black Friday email campaign must instill a sense of urgency. It’s a common marketing psychology tactic. Using a timer that displays a time-sensitive offer creates FOMO (fear of missing out) in customers that they’ll believe they need to take action before the deal ends.

Successful black Friday emails use time-sensitive images and copy to drive high engagement, improve open and click-through rates. So what kind of wording can you use to instill a sense of urgency?

Here are some examples:

• “Sale ends tomorrow” or “sale ends in an hour.”
• “Limited time offer.”
• “Last chance” or “while stock lasts.”
• “Special offers” or “discount offers.”

Pro Tip: you need to ensure that you don’t use misleading email subject lines that promise one thing and then deliver another. Those kinds of subject lines may generate a high open rate, but your subscribers may mark your email as spam if you don’t deliver on your promise. So don’t promise a “special offer” or “free gift” and end up disappointing your recipients.

5. Choose appropriate black friday email templates

Suppose you want to avoid a black Friday email design disaster. Your black Friday email campaign may include eye-popping and appealing offer prices. That won't do your email much good if you still design your email with multiple call-to-actions, a misplaced CTA button, including an unattractive blend of colors.

In that case, you need to choose an appropriate black Friday email template that contains a simple structure with columns so your emails can be more responsive. Here are other features to look out for when choosing black Friday email templates.

• Pick the correct type of CTA button and ensure that they are displayed in a contrasting color.
• Align the fonts and sizes of your email copy.
• Keep an appropriate ratio of images and text.

6. Personalize messages with customer data

Just because black Friday provides the opportunity to run sales doesn't mean that you send your subscribers overly promotional messages that offer no value. Instead of blasting your customers with irrelevant sales messages, apply a personalized approach to your Black Friday emails. With a personalized email copy, you tell your customers that your messages are more than just promotional messages.

They'll also get the impression that you care enough to send value-based messages in line with their preferences, behavior, and location. This means that you need to understand your customer's buying behavior, purchase history, and browsing data. With customer information, you can figure out how to tailor your messages to fit your customers' needs.

7. Send more than one email

As your subscribers' inboxes are bound to be filled with lots of promotional messages, there's a chance your email may get missed by your customers. So, to avoid this possibility, you need to send at least two emails during the week leading up to your black Friday campaign.

However, before sending your customers your mouth-watering deals and reminders, ensure that you apply a strategic approach. Don't go sending messages with untested tactics that may not generate positive results for your business. Instead, A/B test your email copy and CTAs to know the one that'll work best for your campaign.

12 Examples of Black Friday Email Campaigns

Now you've learned some of the best ways to create your black Friday email campaigns. Let's go through some of the best black Friday Email Examples from great companies that will inspire you to create great black Friday email for your brand.

1. Quip

This black Friday email example from Quip highlights the sense of urgency strategy. Here are some great points about this email:

• It contains one CTA: there's a rush hour, so you need to make your subscribers purchase your product with the least amount of barrier. The single CTA with the text "20% off" highlights a clear path to conversion.
• Emphasize your main points: what's the main point that you want to stick to your customer's mind? Repeat it in the strategic corners of your email. Quip does it well in its black Friday email. The company knows some of its customers may have missed their previous emails, highlighting its main points.

2. Maurices

Maurices' black Friday email has a visually stunning design. The company's email highlights a bold title at the center "BOGO is the new black." It also boldly displays a special and irresistible discount offer for its customers, clearly hard to miss.

Great points about Maurices black Friday email :

• Use visually rich colors and fonts to attract your customers' attention.
• Present an irresistible and special gift or offer to your customers, which helps drive more sales and engagement.

3. ONSEN

The company's email is great in the following ways: this black Friday email example from Onsen reveals clear, visually appealing imagery that captures customers' attention.

• It includes a single visible CTA placed at strategic parts of the email, so customers won't easily miss the CTA button.
• A fun play of words, for example-- "more towels, less fluff."

4. Fatface

Fatface takes a different angle in its black Friday email campaign. The company applies a charity-focused black Friday, where it offers a percentage of its profits to charity organizations. Most people want to support a good cause, so it's a good marketing strategy. However, most companies may be concerned about if the campaign would be good for sales.

5. Nobull

This black Friday email example from Nobull displays its brand's color at every angle. The company's sneaker collection is also displayed in an appealing and well-rounded range that can easily capture customers' attention.

Additional points about Nobull's black Friday email:

• It has embedded social media links at the end of the email, which leaves room for customers to engage further with your brand, hence building a stronger relationship with them.
  
• It allows customers to participate in its loyalty and rewards programs
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• The email includes an afterpay service, proving to customers that it aims to provide value first.

6. June oven

Remember the sense of urgency strategy we mentioned earlier? June oven's black Friday email begins with a short text that highlights a sense of urgency, so customers would be more willing to take advantage of its Black Friday email campaign.

Additional points about June oven's black Friday email:

• A detailed breakdown of its premium accessories. This way, customers can know what to expect from the product.
• A discount code offers as an added incentive for customers to participate in its black Friday email campaign.
• Embedded social media links for customers to engage with the brand, communicating with the company beyond email.

7. Columbia

Columbia's Black Friday email example begins with a compelling introductory text. It also boldly displays different styles of its products so customers can get a better idea of what to expect. Besides, some samples of fully fitted shirts can incentivize customers to participate in the campaign.

Additional points about Columbia's Black Friday email campaign:

• It includes a 50% discount offer plus free shipping for its customers, which is a great deal that's hard to ignore.
• Its email design is clear and has a consistent brand color and structure.

8. Withings

Like June oven, Withings applies a sense of urgency strategy to its black Friday email campaign. The text "tomorrow is too late" signals to customers that they have a limited time to grab the company's best deals before they are gone.

Additional points about Withings black Friday email:

• It includes a clear, detailed visual display of its products, so customers can easily get a good view of what they are to purchase.
• It includes a compelling and clear CTA text.

9. Hush puppies

This Black Friday email example from Hush puppies highlights a visually stunning display of its products. The shoe brand also incorporates a great mix of colorful shoes placed at strategic corners of the email.

Additional points about Hush puppies:

• It includes an irresistible discount offer that's hard to ignore.
• They embedded social media links for customers to engage further with the brand.

10. Pretty little thing

Pretty Little Thing's Black Friday email uses a countdown timer to trigger FOMO (fear of missing out), which is a great strategy if you want to hasten your customer's decision to buy your product. The company also uses its subject line "don't miss out again" to reinforce FOMO.

11. BB Dakota

This Black Friday email example from BB Dakota uses a unique visual that highlights the black Friday theme in a fun, exciting way.

What this black Friday email does right:

• A single CTA: the entire email copy leads to one CTA. It also means that it displays well on a mobile device.
• A consistent copy and design color: The email's copy and design consistency reveal great visual aesthetics.

12. Electric objects

Good graphic design can never go wrong in a Black Friday email. Electric objects used vibrant colors and unique shapes to create a unique theme in its Black Friday email.

What this black Friday email does right:

• Rather than displaying the percentage discount offer, the company displays a discount of a dollar amount. A study has shown that this strategy tends to perform 2x better during email campaigns.
• Customers will most likely ask questions during black Friday email campaigns. The email includes a link at the bottom for customers to contact the customer support team.

Getting Started With Your Black Friday Email Marketing Campaign.

Now it's your turn to create a winning Black Friday email for your marketing campaign. The strategies and email examples explained above will help you figure out the best ways to plan and create your Black Friday email campaigns.

Here are some of the best black Friday email tips you should remember:

• Spend time to understand your customers' buying behavior and history before the black Friday email campaign begins.
• Ensure that you should have a responsive and mobile-friendly email template for your marketing campaign.
• Send more than one black Friday email(2-3 emails) throughout the week of your email campaign, which ensures that you gain good traction and sales.

To understand how your customers buying behavior, send responsive emails and create automated workflows, you need to be sure that you have the right marketing automation solution..

The Engage Marketing Automation platform will help you do exactly that - with Engage you can:

• Track how customers interact with your product,
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• Send personalized messages to your customers via Email, SMS, Push Notification and In-app Messages.

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