August 29, 2022

11 Black Friday Email Examples to Grow Your Business

Reading time about 10 min

Black Friday is just around the corner. Time to make major sales! This year, ramp up your Black Friday marketing strategy and send Black Friday emails that convert. Here’s how.

Black Friday marks the start of the holiday shopping season. For both ecommerce and small businesses, Black Friday is a huge sales driver. 

Nearly 155 million Americans shopped during Black Friday in 2021. Last year, the average Black Friday shopper spent a whopping $430.

Competition for Black Friday customers is fiercer than ever. This season, capture some of the Black Friday spend with a killer Black Friday email campaign. 

Start sending Black Friday emails that boost open rates and drive sales. We’ve gathered the best Black Friday email examples to inspire your Black Friday email strategy.

How do you write Black Friday emails?

Black Friday email marketing doesn’t have to be complicated. In fact, great Black Friday emails need just two ingredients:

Sense of urgency: Black Friday deals only come once a year. Play on your customers’ fear of missing out (FOMO) with irresistible sales and limited-time offers.

Clear email copy: Most customers expect businesses to offer Black Friday deals. Your campaign should be specific. Be sure to say 1) what your Black Friday offer is and 2) when it will take place.
Not sure where to start? In this article, we’ve gathered a few of the best Black Friday email examples to inspire your campaigns.

Black Friday email examples and tips that boost sales

Get inspired for your Black Friday email marketing campaign with these examples and tips.

Write a top-notch Black Friday email subject line

You only have a few seconds to grab the reader’s attention. Stand out from the flood of holiday emails with eye-catching Black Friday email subject lines.

Entice customers with the mention of “sales,” “free shipping,” and huge markdowns. Optimize your subject line to add to the sense of emergency with phrases like “won’t last” and “ends at midnight.”

Add email personalization to the subject line. This will encourage subscribers to click on your Black Friday campaign. (“Jane, get these Black Friday deals while they last!”) 

Emojis in email also boost open rates, so don’t forget to include them in your Black Friday email subject lines too.

Use a simple Black Friday email design

Make your campaign standout with a Black Friday email design. Your visuals shouldn’t be over the top. A simple Black Friday email template will call focus to key pieces of information.

Email marketing services make it easy to design beautiful campaigns your customers will love. With Brevo’s Drag & Drop editor, you can build holiday email marketing campaigns in minutes.

When it comes to Black Friday, less is more. Many brands opt for a clean all-black or black-and-white email design in honor of Black Friday. 

This minimalist Black Friday email design from Herschel is a great example:

Minimalist Black Friday email example by Herschel

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Build excitement with a Black Friday countdown

Nothing builds excitement more than a countdown timer. ⏲️ In the days leading up to Black Friday weekend, send emails with a countdown. This creates a sense of urgency and plays on your customers’ FOMO.

Check out this Black Friday email example from Skyscanner for inspiration:

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Showcase your products and deals

This holiday season, let your products and Black Friday deals take center stage. Tell your email subscribers exactly what they can expect from your Black Friday sale. 

Follow email design best practices to get the most out of your Black Friday campaign. If you have a huge markdown, write it in bold font. Drive conversions with high-quality images of your products and a clear call to action. 

This Black Friday email design from Aesop is a perfect example:

Black Friday email example by Aesop with product information

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Run an alternative campaign

Black Friday is an important sales event. It’s also an opportunity to make your business stand out from the pack. Go beyond your average, run-of-the-mill Black Friday shopping. Run an alternative Black Friday campaign to raise brand awareness.

On Black Friday, REI reaches customers with their annual #optoutside campaign. Their message shifts from buying REI’s products to enjoying nature. This fits with their brand mission and engages customers on a personal level.

#optoutside Black Friday newsletter by Rei

Offer a free gift

Go beyond Black Friday sales by offering your customers a free gift. This will entice customers who can’t be swayed by flashy discount codes. After all, who doesn’t appreciate a freebie?

Throw in a complimentary item when customers buy a particular product. Or, let them know your Black Friday drink is on you. In your Black Friday email campaign, be sure to clearly explain how customers can claim their free gift.

In this Black Friday email example, Carbonmade offers their subscribers 2 months of their Pro plan for free.

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Run a giveaway

On Black Friday, consider running a giveaway. Like complimentary gifts, everyone loves a chance to win a free goodie.

Let customers know what kind of prizes you’re offering. For example, this Black Friday giveaway from Huckleberry gives email subscribers the chance to win a Casper mattress.

Huckberry Black Friday giveaway campaign email

Use gifs

Gifs in email add some fun to your Black Friday campaign. They also help grab customers’ attention.

This Black Friday email example uses an eye-catching scratch card design. The animated gifs call attention to Forever 21’s Black Friday discounts:

Forever 21 Black Friday sale email using a gif

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Give back

Shoppers are growing more conscious of their purchases. This Black Friday, help your customers spread some good. Consider donating a portion of your Black Friday proceeds to an important cause.

In this example, Italic announced they will donate 10 trees for every Black Friday order to help offset retailers’ environmental impact:

Black Friday campaign by Italic promoting their environmental actions and free shipping

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How do you announce Black Friday sales?

When it comes to announcing Black Friday sales, it’s important to strike the right balance. You don’t want to come across as spam. At the same time, you want to make sure customers don’t miss out on your Black Friday deals.

Ideally, your Black Friday email should be part of a Black Friday email marketing sequence. This sequence should include at least three emails: teaser, launch, and last chance.

Teaser email

Your Black Friday teaser email should build anticipation for your Black Friday sale. Give customers information. Let them know what kinds of deals to expect and when the sale will take place.

TEASER BLACK FRIDAY EMAIL

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Launch email

Tell customers when your Black Friday sale is live. Let them know how they can take advantage of it. Highlight your best Black Friday offers. And don’t forget to include a clear CTA!

LAUNCH SALE BLACK FRIDAY EMAIL

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Last chance email

Right before your Black Friday sale ends, let customers know they can still get in on the deals. This creates a sense of urgency. It might also catch those who missed your previous emails.

last chance email BLACK FRIDAY

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When should you send Black Friday emails?

Time your Black Friday emails right. This way, you’re more likely to catch your subscribers’ attention. Finding the right cadence could just be what gives you a leg up against the competition.

Here’s a suggested Black Friday email marketing sequence:

  • Email 1:One week before — Black Friday teaser
  • Email 2: Sale launch — Black Friday sale announcement
  • Email 3: Final hours — Last chance reminder
  • Email 4 (optional): One day after — Extended Black Friday sale announcement

Email automation allows you to plan your Black Friday emails in advance. With Brevo, automate your Black Friday email marketing campaigns to save valuable time and effort.

Automate your Black Friday email marketing campaigns

To get started with email automation, try Brevo’s Free plan, which includes access to email automation workflows, 300 emails/day, and 40+ email templates.

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