For Americans, Thanksgiving is an important holiday that typically includes turkey, football, and time with family. But for many people, the day after Thanksgiving is just as exciting — and it’s celebrated not only in the U.S. but all around the world.Black Friday is an enormous event and marketers need to take notice. We've gathered some inspiring Black Friday sale emails just in time to help you build your own holiday campaign and increase conversions!
Why Black Friday?
Black Friday garnered $8.9 billion in sales in 2021, and you can get in on a corner of that revenue by ramping up your Black Friday email marketing efforts. Customers have positive feelings overall about Black Friday because it’s become a tradition — the day carries nostalgic feelings for many shoppers, meaning they’re more likely to keep buying year after year.Market your brand to help conversion rates improve this Black Friday. An email newsletter is a great channel to reach customers with new offers. Here are some of the best Black Friday emails to help you get some inspiration for your own promotional emails.
#1. Strategize
Before you can create your Black Friday sales emails, you need to decide two things: what you’re going to offer and the best method of getting that message across. Clothing company Pact mentioned several discounts in the subject line but focused on the best deal in the body of the email. Pact also did a good job pointing out that shoppers could buy gifts for others; often people are more likely to purchase for someone else than for themselves.Subject line: Doorbusters: $25 hoodies. $5 socks. $15 leggings & more
#2. Start early
It's best to begin sending emails about Black Friday well in advance — as much as a week prior. You can either start your sale that early too, or simply use the time to increase awareness and anticipation. Joe’s Jeans sent this email on the Tuesday before Black Friday. Since people’s inboxes will be flooded closer to the weekend, starting early is a good way to get out ahead of the deluge.Subject line: BLACK FRIDAY BEGINS! Up to 30% off
#3. Improve your Black Friday email subject lines
Black Friday email subject lines can be tricky, but it's worth spending some time getting them right since they can really help boost conversion rates. These four subject lines all have elements that make them successful:
- WILDFANG’s subject line is clever
- The New York Times promises major deals
- Crate and Barrel announces multiple chances to save
- Banana Republic creates urgency
According to one study, Black Friday email subject lines with the words “Black Friday,” “OFF,” and the symbol “%” perform well. Using these words in your subject line can help improve your conversion rate.
#4. Cover all your bases with your CTAs
In this Black Friday sales email, Yankee Candle offered two separate CTAs: one for shopping online and another that led to an interactive map to help readers find a store location near them. While many Black Friday shoppers still frequent stores, others prefer to do their shopping from the couch, with online sales going up by 26 percent in 2018. If you have an in-store option, create separate CTAs to cater to all shoppers.Subject line: LAST CALL: $5 Tumbler Candles
#5. Create a countdown
Adding a countdown to your email is a fun way to add a sense of urgency, giving shoppers a visual to help them understand that the clock is ticking and they need to act fast to get the deal. Mattress company Leesa sent an email the day after Black Friday, letting customers know they had extended their deal — but that the offer was only available for so long, and their very visible timer reinforced that message. (If you create your Black Friday sales emails using the BEE drag-and-drop email editor, you can easily add a countdown timer.)Subject line: Kelly, we’ve EXTENDED our Black Friday offer
#6. Induce FOMO
The language you use in your email is important, and using a bandwagon approach can make your subscribers feel like they’re missing out if they don’t jump on board. Here, Function of Beauty added some creative CTA copy: NO MO’ FOMO. You can increase conversions by using language that suggests people need to shop with you during Black Friday because that’s what everyone else is doing.Subject line: ?ONE MORE DAY!? 25% off + the color everyone’s talk about
#7. Design strategically
Don’t forget about email design during the holiday rush — it’s more important than ever. Like Boll & Branch, play around with fun holiday imagery and use a holiday-centric color scheme. For Black Friday sale emails, it’s also important to design your email around your main selling point (in this case, a 25%-off discount). Use one of BEE’s drag-and-drop email templates to easily create a simple email that focuses on the main CTA without too many distracting design elements.Subject line: Last chance for Black Friday savings!
#8. Send an email on Saturday/Sunday
Consider surprising your customers by extending a sale through the weekend, in case their inboxes were too flooded on Friday to catch it the first time around. Crate and Barrel sent this email on Saturday, giving shoppers an opportunity to visit the sale one last time. (If you’ll be participating in Cyber Monday, you can tease those upcoming sales, too.)Subject line: missed Black Friday? today’s YOUR day.
Wrap-up: Black Friday email marketing
Are you ready to start designing your Black Friday sale emails? The BEE team has created Black Friday email templates, includingBlack Friday Discountby Jesus Albusac and Black Friday Sports E-commerceby Matteo Della Chiesa, in addition to a Black Friday Cosmetics template by designer Gaia Zuccaro to help you create emails that get more conversions this November.Just sign up for a free accountand start designing!
