Leveraging Email Marketing to Maximise your BFCM Sales

Black Friday and Cyber Monday (BFCM) present massive opportunities for businesses to boost their revenue. It’s a critical moment for brands to finish Q4 strong, driving both sales and long-term customer loyalty.

With rising customer acquisition costs, email marketing is more valuable than ever—offering a high-ROI, cost-effective way to directly engage with your audience. In fact, email marketing can be your top revenue driver during BFCM, allowing you to reach customers who are already interested in your brand without the added expense of paid ads.

In this guide, we’ll break down strategies to help you get the most out of your BFCM email campaigns.

If you want to cut straight to the success numbers, see how we helped Thrills increase their YoY sales with 49% and their YoY orders by 53% setting up their BFCM strategy - Case Study.

 

1. Boost Your List with Pre and During- BCFM Pop-ups

A well-targeted, engaged email and SMS list is your strongest asset during BFCM. Building this list before the shopping season kicks off is essential. Here are some practical ways to grow your list strategically:

Effective Sign-Up Forms

Use sign-up forms strategically to capture both email and SMS subscribers. With BFCM just around the corner, offer exclusive access and special discounts as incentives for sign-ups:

Email Capture Copy: “Get early access to our Black Friday deals and 10% off your first order when you sign up!”

SMS Capture Copy: “Join our VIP list for exclusive SMS-only deals and early Cyber Monday access!” 

Tips:

• Use Pop-ups: Set up exit-intent pop-ups to capture visitors before they leave your site.
• Incentivise: Offer giveaways, exclusive offers, or early access as hooks.
• Optimise Timing: Add countdown timers or limited-time offers on sign-up forms to create urgency.

During BFCM

As traffic surges on Black Friday, a dedicated pop-up captures those new and existing visitors actively shopping during the sale. This type of in-the-moment sign-up ensures that even last-minute shoppers and first-time visitors have a chance to join your list, access special deals, and stay connected for future offers. Adding a pop-up during BFCM also allows you to segment these sign-ups for targeted follow-ups post-sale, converting one-time shoppers into long-term customers. 

  

2. Plan an Omnichannel Marketing Strategy

During BFCM, customers are inundated with marketing messages, so it’s crucial to stand out by maintaining consistent messaging across all channels. An omnichannel strategy ensures your audience recognises and engages with your brand no matter where they interact with it.

Create Consistent Messaging Across Channels

Whether your customers are on email, SMS, or social media, your BFCM promotions should deliver a cohesive brand message. Consistency builds brand recognition and trust, making it easier to stay top of mind when your customers are ready to buy.

Use A/B Testing Results

Review your pre-BFCM A/B tests to determine what drives the highest engagement, and use those insights to build out your BFCM offer. Whether it’s a specific subject line or an email layout, use what works best to craft your campaigns.

Offer More Than Discounts

BFCM customers expect deeper offers, and recycling standard discounts could leave your loyal customers unimpressed. If increasing discounts isn't feasible, consider offering:

• Giveaways for the first X number of customers
• Double rewards points for loyalty members
• Mystery gifts for early shoppers
• Gift with Purchase

These unique offers create a sense of exclusivity and urgency without cutting further into your profit margins.

 

3. Identify Your Key Segments

Personalisation is key to effective BFCM campaigns. Targeting different segments of your audience with tailored offers will drive higher conversions compared to generic blasts.

Key Segments to Focus On

By segmenting your audience, you can create highly personalised campaigns that resonate with different customer groups. Sample segments you can start with:

• VIPs: Customers who have purchased multiple times.
• Loyalty Members: Reward them with exclusive early access or double points.
• Subscription Customers: For subscribers, consider offering an exclusive BFCM deal on add-on products or a limited-time discount to upgrade their subscription. This lets them feel like part of the BFCM excitement while focusing on long-term value.
• SMS Subscribers: Use SMS for flash deals or last-minute offers.
• Cold Profiles: Try re-engaging them with special BFCM offers.
• Recent Buyers: Offer complementary products rather than discounts on what they just bought.

Pro Tip: Don’t send to your entire list all at once, especially if you haven’t done so in a while. If you plan to send to more than 50% of your usual list, do it incrementally. Bombarding inactive subscribers during BFCM can hurt your sender reputation and harm deliverability in the long run.

 

4.  Leverage Push Notifications for Immediate Engagement

Push notifications are a great way to grab your customers' attention in real time, especially during BFCM when inboxes and text messages are flooded with promotions. Push notifications can serve as a reminder for customers who have abandoned carts or notify them of flash sales and exclusive offers.

Key Uses for Push Notifications

Cart Abandonment Reminders: Send timely notifications to remind customers about items left in their carts, encouraging them to complete their purchase before the deals end.

Flash Sales and Exclusive Offers: Notify customers about limited-time flash sales or exclusive offers to create a sense of urgency and encourage immediate action.

Best Practices for Push Notifications

• Urgency: Use countdown timers to highlight limited-time deals.
• Exclusivity: Offer something special for customers who click through your notification, such as free shipping or an additional discount.
• Personalisation: Tailor push notifications based on a customer’s past behavior (e.g., browsing history or prior purchases).

Push notifications can act as a complement to your email and SMS strategy, driving immediate engagement without overwhelming your audience.

 

5. Optimise Core Flows for BFCM

Your automated email flows—like Welcome Series, Cart Abandonment, and Post-Purchase—are crucial during BFCM. Tweaking them for the shopping season can help increase conversions and re-engage potential customers.

A. Welcome Flow

Ahead of Black Friday you can tailor your welcome flow to new subscribers by offering exclusive early access or special deals. Update messaging to create urgency with countdown timers or limited stock notifications.

Email 1: "Welcome to [Brand Name]! Get first access to our Black Friday deals."

Email 2: "Only 48 hours left for early BFCM access! Don’t miss out!"

Email 3: "Your special Black Friday offer is expiring soon—shop now!"

During BFCM you can turn other emails off and just use your Black Friday Sale start email campaign you will be sending to your list

B. Cart Abandonment Flow

• Reduce Time Delay: For BFCM, consider shortening the time between cart abandonment and the first email from 2 hours to 30 minutes to capture shoppers when they're actively browsing and ready to buy.
• Incorporate Urgency: Include reminders such as, "Items in your cart are going fast!" or "Don’t miss out on these Black Friday savings!"
• Dynamic Product Feeds: Show abandoned items along with related product recommendations and upsells.

C. Browse Abandonment Flow

Time-Sensitive Messaging: Adjust the timing for browse abandonment emails during BFCM to be quicker, like 30 minutes to 1 hour after a user browses but doesn’t take action.

Highlight BFCM Deals: Include dynamic product feeds featuring the recently viewed items and emphasise the exclusive BFCM offers to nudge them into completing a purchase.

D. Post-Purchase Flow

Encourage customers to return for more with exclusive post-BFCM offers or complementary product suggestions.

Loyalty Rewards: If you have a loyalty program, remind customers how many points they’ve earned and offer double points during BFCM as an incentive to return.

 

5. Importance of Accurate Flow Timing for Black Friday Success

Why Precise Timing in Email Flows is Critical During Black Friday

For Black Friday campaigns, timing is everything. An accurate flow timing strategy ensures your customers receive the right message at the right time, aligning with the sale’s actual progress. Without precision, messages can feel out of sync, creating confusion and reducing urgency. Here’s why updating flow timing is essential for Black Friday, along with specific tactics to ensure accuracy across all flows.

Common Pitfalls on Black Friday Flows

Pitfall: Inconsistent “Last Day” Messaging

Scenario: A customer receives an email stating “Black Friday ends in 3 days,” but they’ve joined the flow late, leaving them with only 1 day before the sale actually ends. This discrepancy reduces credibility and can lead to frustration.

Solution: Use dynamic timers or conditional splits that adjust the messaging based on the time remaining in the sale. This ensures that customers receive the correct “Last Day” message only when it truly is the final day of Black Friday, enhancing urgency without any misalignment.

Pitfall: Single Reminder Instead of a Multi-Email Sequence to Reinforce Sale Deadlines

Scenario: A customer receives one reminder email with “Don’t miss our Black Friday deals!” but with no follow-up. With inboxes flooded, this single reminder can easily be missed, reducing the effectiveness of the Black Friday campaign.

Solution: Implement a multi-email sequence tailored to the sale timeline. For example, schedule reminders that increase in urgency as the sale progresses (e.g., “2 Days Left,” “Last Day to Save!”), keeping your brand top of mind and increasing the likelihood of conversions.

Pitfall: Outdated Messaging Post-Black Friday

Scenario: A customer joins a post-purchase flow during the last day of Black Friday and continues to receive Black Friday sale references after the sale has ended, which can create confusion and frustration.

Solution: Automate an end date for Black Friday-specific messaging, switching flows back to the standard messaging after the sale ends. This prevents any lingering Black Friday references and provides a smooth transition back to regular content.

 

Strategy for “Last Day” Accuracy in Abandoned Cart and Checkout Flows

To ensure that each Abandoned Cart or Abandoned Checkout flow email accurately reflects the remaining time left in the Black Friday sale, you’ll want to make use of dynamic timing and conditional splits within Klaviyo. This will help avoid any discrepancies between the actual sale timeline and what each customer sees in their inbox.

Use Conditional Splits Based on Sale End Date

• How It Works: Add conditional splits in your flow that check the date relative to the sale end. This way, customers who join the flow within the last 24 hours of Black Friday will receive a specific "last day" email, while those further out will receive earlier reminders.

Tailored Email Series Based on Time Left

• How It Works: Create different versions of emails for the Abandoned Cart and Checkout flows depending on the time left. 

Dynamic Countdown Timers

• How It Works: Embed a real-time countdown timer in the email that updates based on the specific time remaining until the Black Friday sale ends. This can create an accurate sense of urgency for every recipient, regardless of when they join the flow.

 

6. Manage Daily Messaging Frequency

The key to successful BFCM messaging is to target different customers with messages that speak directly to them. If you blast your list with the same generic messages day after day, you'll tire out your audience, hurt your deliverability, and see lower engagement.

When planning your email and SMS campaigns, mix it up by targeting different segments each time. With the right segmentation strategy, you could send 4 separate email campaigns that reach 4 distinct customer segments in 1 day without damaging your sender reputation.

Check out the sample schedule from Klaviyo below for tips on how often to send messages each day and who to target.

 

7. Final Tips for BFCM Success

Mix Up Your Offers: Keep your audience engaged with a variety of promotions—try product discounts, free shipping, giveaways, gift with purchase or exclusive perks.

Monitor Performance: Use real-time data to track open rates, click-throughs, and conversions. Adjust your strategy quickly if needed.

Stay Consistent: Keep your branding and messaging cohesive across all channels to ensure your BFCM offers stick in your customers' minds.

By following these tips and leveraging tools like Klaviyo for segmentation, flows, and omnichannel strategies, you’ll be well-positioned to maximise your BFCM revenue and strengthen customer relationships moving into the new year.

Ready to elevate your BFCM strategy? Our digital marketing agency specialises in email marketing, SMS, and push notification campaigns that drive results. Get in touch with us today to start planning your most successful BFCM yet!