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Best Black Friday Email Marketing Examples

Beefree team
Beefree team
Aug 8, 2023
Best Black Friday Email Marketing Examples
Best Black Friday Email Marketing Examples

There’s a lot of money to be made online on Black Friday - over $9 billion, in fact. Email marketing is one of the most lucrative ways to capture those sales. Are your emails good enough to rake in the conversions?If you’re not sure, we’re here to help. As your friendly email marketing experts, we’ve compiled some examples of the best strategies and approaches for Black Friday emails that your customers won’t be able to resist.Check out these examples and the key strategies they use to guide and inspire your Black Friday email marketing campaign.

How to Create a Successful Black Friday Email Campaign

There are many ways people shop on Black Friday. Some are impulse buyers - they just wake up on the day, scroll through their emails or newspaper inserts, and head toward whatever sales they find appealing. But then there are strategizers - those who, for days before the holiday, are compiling their lists of who to buy for this holiday season and gift ideas for each person, along with notes about which retailers have the best sales for those items. When Black Friday arrives, they already know where they’re shopping and what they’re buying, so they can snag all the good stuff before it’s out of stock.This is why Black Friday campaigns (rather than simply sending an email on the day of Black Friday to announce your sale) are so important. These campaigns actually help you with both types of shoppers. They make impulse buyers more aware of your sale so your brand is more likely to come to mind when they’re doing their shopping, and they give strategizers the information they need to plan to shop with you.Black Friday email campaigns can be broken into three categories:

  • Pre-launch emails: to build hype and offer sneak peeks into your sale in advance
  • Sale launch emails: to kick off the sale on the big day
  • Post-launch emails: to keep up the momentum during the sale and continue encouraging more shoppers to join the fun

Each category in your Black Friday campaign serves a different purpose, and each has various techniques and types of emails you can use to make it effective. We’ll break down every category with top strategies you can use, and examples of each one implemented expertly.

Black Friday Pre-Launch Email Examples

The prelaunch before your Black Friday blowout sales should work to intrigue your customer base. You want to showcase products that will be on sale, while being transparent about the discount customers will receive on those products. Include these types of emails in your Black Friday pre-launch sequence:

  • Teaser. Give customers a glimpse of the products you’re promoting for Black Friday.
  • Early access. Let VIP customers in on the sales earlier than the rest. 
  • Save the date. Include a countdown and an exact hour of when certain products will go on sale.

Here are some examples from brands that we love. Check them out to get inspiration for your Black Friday email marketing strategy.

The teaser: Sonos

Sonos gives subscribers a glimpse of what deals are coming. They ask subscribers to make a list and explore their gift guide. The bold CTA button takes readers to a gift guide landing page to check out items they can prepare to buy on Black Friday.Subject line: "Get ready for Black Friday."

Early access: Joe’s Jeans

It’s best to begin sending emails about Black Friday well in advance — as early as a week prior. Start your sale early to stand out, or simply use the time to increase awareness and anticipation. Joe’s Jeans sent this email on the Tuesday before Black Friday. Since subscriber inboxes will be flooded closer to the weekend, starting early is a good way to get out ahead of the flood.Subject line: "Black Friday Begins! Up to 30% off." 

black friday email marketing

Save the date: Frank & Oak 

Whether you’re starting your sale earlier or sticking to a more traditional timeline, give readers a heads-up about what’s coming. It’s a way to drum up excitement and maybe get a better turnout for your promotion. Frank and Oak gives readers the option to schedule their savings with calendar shortcuts. Include a countdown timer in your next email so your subscribers will save the date.Subject line: "Mark your calendar for Black Friday."

Black Friday Sale Launch Email Examples 

In your Black Friday emails that officially launch your sale, it’s crucial to display urgency and excitement. You want customers to pay attention to your Black Friday email above all other businesses, so what you have to offer must be enticing. Run through these types of emails for your Black Friday launch sequence:

  • Announcement. The day is here! Give subscribers a rundown of what your biggest promotions are for Black Friday.
  • Free gift. Offer a free gift when customers spend over a certain amount.

These brands approached their Black Friday sales with these strategies in mind. Try them out for your next campaign.

Announcement: Pact

Before you create your Black Friday sales emails, you need to decide two things: what you’re going to offer and the best method for announcing that method. The clothing company Pact mentioned several discounts in the subject line but focused on the best deal in the body of the email.Subject line: "Doorbusters: $25 hoodies. $5 socks. $15 leggings & more."

black friday sale email example

Free gift: MAC

Mac promotes more spending on Black Friday by offering a full-size gift to customers if they hit a certain amount of money spent. This is a great way to encourage customers to buy more than one product and greatly increase your sales. Make sure to craft a fun CTA in your brand voice and showcase the free gift offer in a clear way.Subject line: "Last Day to Choose Your COMPLIMENTARY Full-Size Gift."

Black Friday Post-Launch Email Examples

The post-launch phase of your Black Friday email marketing campaign is the last chance to catch your audience's attention and bring in more sales. Create a sense of urgency for the existing sale or provide additional money off of products or exclusive offers that customers won’t be able to pass up. For those that haven’t jumped on your Black Friday deals yet, try these emails to give them that extra push:

  • Limited availability. Express that certain deals for specific products are only available for a limited time. 
  • Last chance. Let subscribers know that time is running out and this is their only opportunity to snag those deals. 
  • Extended sale. Surprise subscribers with a sale extension.

Limited availability: Function of Beauty

Inducing FOMO is a great way to get more subscribers to jump on your deals. Function of Beauty leveraged this strategy with creative CTA copy: NO MO’ FOMO. Their persuasive language explains that their deals are only available for a limited time and that other subscribers have already taken advantage of them. This encourages subscribers that haven’t purchased yet, to purchase.Subject line: "ONE MORE DAY! 25% off + the color everyone’s talk about."

black friday sale email example

Last chance: Boll & Branch

Boll & Branch shares with customers that it’s their last chance to get in on the Black Friday sales. They’ve designed their emails around their main selling point (in this case, a 25%-off discount). This is free from clutter and distraction while also pinpointing the urgency and deadline of the deal.Subject line: "Last chance for Black Friday savings!"

black friday email design

Extended Sale 

Is there anything worse than finding out about an amazing sale minutes after it ends? You can save your customers from that feeling and capture more sales by giving them a surprise sale extension. For example, perhaps your Black Friday sale was meant to end at 3 PM; when 3:00 hits, you send out an extended sale email announcing that you’re continuing your sale until 10 PM.

Leesa

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 visible timer reinforced that message.Subject line: "Kelly, we’ve EXTENDED our Black Friday offer."

black friday email countdown

Black Friday Email Marketing Strategies and Examples

Now that you have a list of the types of Black Friday emails to include in your Black Friday campaign, how do you make those emails as effective as possible? After all, you have a lot of competition - according to Campaign Monitor, more emails are sent on Black Friday than on any other day of the year. Check out these strategies to catch your customers’ attention and boost your sales.

Starting planning early 

The sooner you start your email strategy game plan, the better. This will give you more time to get creative so your email campaign will stand out amongst the swarm. Depending on how extensive you want your campaign to be, starting your planning in July, August, and even September is a safe bet to be ready for the hype.

Craft a strong subject line

With emails flooding subscriber inboxes on Black Friday, it’s crucial to focus on standing out with attention-grabbing subject lines. A huge chunk of subscribers — about 47% — decide whether or not to open an email based on the subject line alone. Follow these tips to create a subject line that will stand out:

  • Include a deal or coupon, a deadline, or other features of the sale. 
  • Keep it short - most mobile devices only display the first six or seven words of a subject line.
  • Make sure to test beforehand to see what style of messaging initiates a response from subscribers. 
  • Don’t forget the preheader text that immediately follows your subject line. Like the subject line, the preheader serves as a screening tool, so make it enticing.
black friday email subject lines

Keep your message simple

Black Friday is a once-a-year event that’s synonymous with particularly steep discounts and deals. Subscribers want to know your best offers for the day. So don’t dilute your promotion by sending a cluttered email. Logitech uses an attractive design to get across one message: Click to shop Black Friday deals. It’s easy to scan and pleasing to the eye. Show subscribers content that’s specific, relevant, and easy to understand.Subject line: "⏰ Rise and shine – Black Friday exclusives are selling quickly."

marketing email for black friday

Include product images in your design

When people are scrolling through their emails, you want something that stops their thumbs and makes them take notice, and usually, it’s visuals that will do this. Including images of some of the most exciting items in your Black Friday sale will snag readers’ attention and generate interest in the products, whether or not these are items that were originally on their shopping lists. Just make sure to include variety. If you only include images of one or two types of products, customers will think those are the only types of products you’ll have on sale.Take a look at this email from Overstock, for example:

overstock black friday email example

The product images are bright, colorful, and attractive, so it’s easy for customers to see them and think, “Could my home look like that if I picked up the products in this sale?”

Incorporate GIFs

With all the competing emails in your customers’ inboxes, you need to get creative if you want to stand out and be memorable. GIFs can do exactly that. They have all the visual appeal of eye-catching pictures, but they’re more engaging. New York & Company has done this well with a GIF of one of its top Black Friday sale items:

The movement in the ad for puffer jackets is attention-grabbing and shows the product in motion in an attractive way.

Don’t forget about building brand trust 

Brand trust on Black Friday means your audience trusts you to deliver content that’s relevant and valuable. Offer a real deal — one that’s special and different from your other promotions throughout the year. Black Friday doesn’t necessarily need to be about offering 50% off your product. Stay true to your brand’s mission and values, and approach the holiday by thinking of what your audience would most appreciate seeing.For example, Toothbrush company Quip announced a “Brush black, give back” campaign for Black Friday, selling a special type of toothbrush and donating the proceeds to provide dental care for disadvantaged families.Subject line: "Introducing All-Black. Give back this Black Friday."

creative black friday email campaign

This example puts the brand’s modern and impactful mission at the forefront while also giving customers an opportunity to shop for the benefit of a good cause. It’s a refreshing break from the excessive commercialized email customers are seeing, and it improves the brand’s image.

Optimize for mobile

Plenty of online purchases will be made using mobile devices. Plan ahead with a mobile-first approach. Create concise content, clutter-free design (no complex headers and focused messages), tap-friendly navigation, and bulletproof buttons (with appropriate padding), and use images with great ALT text for a fully responsive experience.

Prepare your abandoned cart emails. 

While there’s a large amount of online shopping going down, it’s crucial to note that this will increase the number of abandoned shopping carts among shoppers. They will be comparing prices and bouncing from site to site, trying to find the best deals. Have your creative abandoned cart emails at the ready, and include an extra discount to push them to purchase.

Design your Black Friday emails with Beefree

An optimized Black Friday email sequence is a game-changer for your business. Focus on crafting a strategy first, then use Beefreeto implement the best practices that you’ve gone over in this blog. There’s no coding required here when customizing Black Friday emails to match your brand identity.If you’re simply running out of time to create a whole sequence, choose from our Black Friday email template collection to customize. There are plenty of colorful, animated, and optimized emails to pick from. Don’t miss out on the holiday shopping hype — solidify your Black Friday email marketing strategy right now.

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black friday cover with a black background

Editor’s Note: This post was updated on August 2023 to ensure accuracy and comprehensiveness. 

Email strategies you’ve likely heard of but haven’t implemented yet

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How to Leverage Email Campaigns to Gather Sincere Product Reviews

What do customers think about your brand’s products? The best way to find out is to ask them directly, which you can do via strategic email campaigns. Keep reading to learn how!
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Jan 22, 2025

How Beefree is Helping Email Makers Scale Their Production

2024 was a banner year for email markers everywhere. From sleek newsletters to interactive promos, you flexed your creative muscle to new heights and did it with a level of speed and efficiency that made crafting award-worthy emails look easy. Let’s dive into the numbers, trends, and stories that made this year unforgettable for email makers like you.
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Email strategies you’ve likely heard of but haven’t implemented yet

While email marketing has come a long way and is changing faster than ever, there’s only so much you can do within 600x1,500 pixels. However, there are no limits to where your creativity can take you. 
Kruti Shah
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Now, let's be honest—you’ve likely heard about all of these rotating for the last few years. While email marketing has come a long way and is changing faster than ever, there’s only so much you can do within 600x1,500 pixels. However, there are no limits to where your creativity can take you. 

Let’s get into it.  

#1. Unique, tailored experiences 

Damian Grabarczyk, the co-founder and growth marketer of PetLab Co., says, “We faced the challenge of connecting meaningfully with an audience that expects more than one-size-fits-all communication.” 

When we speak about crafting tailored emails we mean going beyond the recipient's first name in the subject line. We’re talking about optimizing your entire email strategy to design multi-stage touchpoints to nurture leads across the customer lifecycle. As well as, leveraging data to send hyper-personalized, relevant, and engaging emails that feel less like a broadcast message and more like a conversation. 

Many are using AI machine learning algorithms and AI automation to analyze customer interactions, past purchases, browsing habits, website visits, and even social media behavior to curate engaging email content that resonates deeply with the real-time needs of recipients.

For PetLab Co this looked like including content such as an individual’s pet health history or product usage timelines. Damian Grabarzyk expands, “This approach transformed the conversion rate and strengthened customer loyalty. As we look ahead, I see brands in 2025 moving beyond generic personalization to adopt strategies that make customers feel truly understood and valued.”

On the other hand, many are leaning into user-generated content (UGC) for crafting tailored experiences. Customers today are more likely to trust the opinions of peers over branded messages. UGC like customer reviews, testimonials, videos, and photos are the best form of social proof depicting real people using and benefitting from your products or services. 

We see the benefits of using both AI and UGC to get the most out of your email conversions ;). 

#2. AI tools as an addition, not a substitution

Experts at NordPass state, "AI-powered content generation tools are not here to replace email copywriters and marketers. These tools make us more efficient. The smarter the tool is, the better equipped we are to create high-performing email content that drives results." 

AI tools can support us by significantly enhancing the speed, precision, and effectiveness of your emails. For instance while traditionally A/B testing has required a lot of time to analyze small variations with AI you quickly implement and test multiple email elements and make adjustments based on real-time engagement data. There are AI algorithms that can even predict which variations are most likely to resonate with different audience segments, leading to more accurate targeting and faster optimization.

In short, AI tools are revolutionizing the way we craft and optimize our email’s deliverability. There are many different types of AI solutions so we suggest finding the right one for your needs. 

#3. Even more transparency around data

With AI continuing to rise, folks are more and more concerned about where their data is going. That’s where zero-party data collection becomes a key strategy in email marketing, allowing you to gather data directly from customers rather than relying on third-party sources. 

Zero-party data includes information that consumers willingly share, such as preferences, interests, and purchase intentions. This data is often collected through surveys, preference centers, quizzes, or interactive content and is highly valuable because it is shared explicitly, ensuring accuracy and deeper personalization without privacy concerns associated with third-party tracking.

As privacy regulations tighten, zero-party data will empower you to deliver hyper-personalized email experiences while respecting user privacy. This approach will help you build trust, as customers feel more in control of their data, and you gain insights that lead to more relevant and engaging email content.

#4. The death of static emails

With attention span getting shorter day after day, digest-format emails are expected to rise in popularity in 2025. Presenting email content in an easy-to-scan, organized, and minimalistic layout will surely help deliver the most relevant information in a fraction of the time. 

Additionally, interactive emails will allow recipients to directly engage within the email without having to visit a landing page or website. Interactive elements like product carousels, polls, and quizzes create a dynamic experience that keeps subscribers engaged, especially in visually driven industries like fashion brands

So what now? 

You’ve heard these strategies before, but now it’s time to actually put them into action. The brands that win at email marketing in 2025 won’t just be sending emails—they’ll be creating experiences. Whether it’s hyper-personalized content, AI-driven efficiency, zero-party data collection, or interactive emails that break the mold, the key is to stay ahead of the curve.

So, what’s the first strategy you’ll finally implement? Your inbox (and your audience) are waiting.

How to Leverage Email Campaigns to Gather Sincere Product Reviews

What do customers think about your brand’s products? The best way to find out is to ask them directly, which you can do via strategic email campaigns. Keep reading to learn how!
Beefree team
Beefree team
22 Jan
2025

What do customers think about your brand’s products? The best way to find out is to ask them directly, which you can do via strategic email campaigns.

Email makes gathering authentic product reviews quick and easy. By collecting sincere feedback, you can build trust, increase sales, boost loyalty, and innovate product improvements. 

That said, requesting reviews via email requires precise timing, personalized messaging, and lots of engagement optimizations. But don’t worry—we’ll walk you through some key steps to create email campaigns that deliver the valuable feedback you need.

Why product reviews matter

Product reviews do more than confirm that you're meeting customers’ needs. Sincere feedback drives loyalty and sales, offers valuable customer insights, and helps you develop a strategic product development roadmap.

  • Fosters customer loyalty: Requesting and listening to feedback makes your customers feel valued and heard. It demonstrates that you prioritize customer satisfaction, which helps you build stronger, long-term relationships. Review requests also act as re-engagement emails by starting new conversations with customers.
  • Increases sales: Social proof drives sales. According to a recent survey by Power Reviews, 90% of potential customers use online reviews to make purchasing decisions. In fact, reviews have more influence over purchasing decisions than product prices. Turning product reviews into customer testimonials and encouraging reviews on third-party sites can significantly boost sales.
Image sourced from powerreviews.com
  • Builds Customer 360 insights: Customer feedback delivers insights into customer needs and sentiments, enriching Customer 360. Exactly what is Customer 360? It’s a unified, 360-degree view of customer data. It empowers you to tailor products and customer experiences to meet individual needs and preferences. 
  • Drives product improvements: Sincere customer feedback reveals what target customers like/dislike about your products. It provides key insight into their value, functionality, and usability, unlocking large-scale development opportunities.

How to create an email campaign to collect product reviews

Want to unlock the power of product reviews? Let’s explore how to create email campaigns that encourage customers to share their feedback.

Segment your audience

Like promotional emails, product review requests shouldn’t be sent to every subscriber.

If subscribers haven’t had the chance to try your product, product review requests will feel irrelevant and may trigger unsubscriptions. So, only send review email requests to customers recently trying your product.

You can do this by segmenting your email list based on where customers are in the buying cycle. Target loyal customers, recent purchasers, and first-time buyers with tailored email campaigns. This ensures that you’re sending emails to customers most likely to respond with insightful feedback.

Write a compelling email subject line

According to Superoffice, 33% of people open an email based on the subject line. 

Image sourced from superoffice.com

To get the click-through rates you want, your email subject lines should be personalized, relevant, and engaging. Here are some examples:

  • Did you love [product]? Or hate it? Let us know!
  • We value your opinion — help us improve!
  • We want YOU to help us make our product better!
  • Up for a discount? Share your feedback for 10% off! 

Learn more > Tips for writing open worthy subject lines.

Optimize for customer engagement

A successful email marketing strategy relies on customer engagement. Here are some key email elements you need to encourage interactions.

  • An attractive email design: With the right layout, color scheme, typography, and images, you ensure easy readability and promote interaction. Use these engagement-boosting email design best practices to help you create a design that boosts conversion rates.
  • Gratitude and value: Thank customers for reading the email and explaining why their feedback is so important. Also, consider including a personalized Gmail email signature with your content details to build trust and encourage customers to engage with your review request. 
  • Personalized, relevant content: Personalized email content motivates engagement. Use customer data platform (CDP) data to tailor messages to individual customers. What is a CDP? It’s a centralized platform that collects and unifies customer information, building comprehensive customer profiles. 
  • Incentives: Offering a small discount can motivate customers to leave reviews, especially first-time buyers. That said, incentives can (sometimes) generate insincere reviews, so stress the importance of honesty. 
  • A strong call-to-action (CTA): Your CTA should direct readers straight to the reviews submission page. Use clear CTAs with bold buttons and typography to make it stand out.
  • Mobile responsiveness: If your emails are slow to load or don’t display correctly on mobile devices, your bounce rate will spike. Leverage solutions that offer advanced mobile optimization features — such as Beefree— to create responsive emails every single time.

Ask specific, concise questions

Complex, drawn-out questions that are too open-ended can disengage customers. So, get straight to the point with concise, direct questions. Here are some examples:

  • What did you think of [specific product feature]?
  • How often do you use our product?
  • What are your favorite/least favorite features?
  • How likely are you to recommend this product?
  • What could we do to improve our product?

Use a mixture of closed and open-ended questions to increase your chances of receiving meaningful responses.

Make it easy to respond

The easier it is for customers to leave a review, the more responses you’ll receive. So, make the process as seamless and convenient as possible. One way to do this is with survey emails.

Email surveys have high response rates. They can be completed within the email with minimal effort, which is a big plus for busy customers. And, they can generate a wealth of quantitative data and metrics that are quick to analyze, leading to faster improvements. BeeFree has an extensive collection of email survey templates to suit every need.

For longer review requests, include a CTA that directly links to the review submission page. Review forms should use simple, clear language, be optimized for mobile, and have a progress bar. 

You could even provide your telephone contact details to allow customers to leave a review via telephone. It’s the preferred communication method for 55% of Baby Boomers according to Hubspot, so it’s worth considering. 

Leverage small business telephone services from Vonage to access call center capabilities like virtual receptionists and CRM integrations, streamlining processes.

Also consider directing customers to leave reviews on popular review sites, such as Google and Amazon.

Optimize email timings

If you send product review requests too early, there’s a chance your customers won’t have tried your product yet. But if you send them too late, your customer might have forgotten their experience. 

So, when’s the best time to request reviews? 

Aim to send review requests within 7-14 days post-purchase. This gives customers a chance to try the product a few times, leading to more sincere, meaningful reviews. Plan for seasonal surges such as Black Friday and incorporate them into your schedules.

Key takeaways

Do email campaigns work for gathering valuable product reviews that drive improvements, boost trust, and increase sales and loyalty? 

Absolutely — but they need to be strategic.

To generate sincere reviews and valuable data, ensure your marketing emails are personalized, engaging, and optimized for convenience. And, use email list segmentation and marketing automation to ensure they’re sent to the right customers at the right time.

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