With Black Friday and Cyber Monday fast approaching, many businesses are scrambling to put together their email marketing campaigns before time runs out.

If you’ve found yourself struggling for inspiration, you’re not alone. To help speed up the process, we’ve put together some examples that brands have used successfully in previous years, to help inspire your own Black Friday campaign this year.

1. Build Brand Awareness with Social Media Campaigns

QualityWaterLab (QWL) offers buyer’s guides and product reviews designed to educate people about water filtration products. 

They decided to build brand awareness by incentivizing their audience to like their social media posts on Facebook. They gave 10% off if the post reached 250 likes, 25% off if the post reached 500 likes, and 50% off if the post reached 1,000 likes. 

If you’re using social media to build brand awareness, it’s important to understand your audience. Their demographics can tell you a lot about which social media platforms they’re likely to be using, and you should plan your strategy accordingly. 

2. Launch Email Marketing Campaigns Early

Soxy is an online fashion retailer that helps customers find products from brands and compare prices to make sure they’re getting the best deal.

They decided to make the most out of Black Friday sales by encouraging their audience to buy their products as part of their Black Friday campaign as early as October, and to pre-order certain products to make sure they didn’t miss out. 

Their sales increased by approximately 20% as a result. 

3. Differentiate with Quirky and Creative Email Marketing Copy

DUDE Products is a men’s personal care product brand with a fun, light-hearted style.

To stand out from other brands, they decided to rename their “Black Friday” campaign into “Brown Friday.” While they also included some product discounts, it was the name of their campaign that caught people’s attention and got them to spread the word. 

This is a great example of how to capitalize on your brand’s quirks and stand out from the crowd by coming up with something creative that your audience will remember. 

4. Host Live Streaming Events with Limited Time Deals

MeUndies is an underwear and loungewear subscription service. 

To spread the word about its Black Friday campaign, it held a “Black Friday drawer buster event” — a two-hour party hosted on Facebook Live, featuring a DJ and dancing contests. Overall, the event attracted over 13,000 people.

As the event progressed, attendees unlocked access to increasingly bigger discounts. Attendees converted at 25% — 13 times higher than the brand’s average conversion rate. 

Live selling can feel daunting — especially if you’ve never done it before. Many brands are scared that it won’t go perfectly, which means they don’t even try. This is exactly why it’s a perfect way to stand out and gain an edge over your competition. 

5. Segment Your Email Marketing Lists

Matero sells caffeinated herbal tea that is popular in South America. 

During the brand’s Black Friday campaign, it sends out at least one email per day to let customers know what is on sale that day, and how much time they have to purchase before the sale is over. 

The secret to making these emails a success is segmenting the email lists and making them more personal. For example, a brand-new customer who has never tried the tea will receive a very different email than a loyal customer who has been ordering from the brand for years. The brand reported that doing this doubled its conversion rate.

While writing out multiple emails is significantly more time-consuming than sending out the same email to all of your customers, your Black Friday campaign is the chance to put in the effort. 

It is the single biggest shopping event of the year, after all. 

6. Boost sales and increase customer engagement this year with your Black Friday campaign

Using social media campaigns to build brand awareness, launching campaigns early, using creative copy, planning your own live streaming events to promote deals, and segmenting your email marketing lists can help you to feel prepared when Black Friday rolls around on November 24.

Not sure where to start with your holiday planning strategy? Holler at me.

– Daniel