Good morning, Chase and Jimmy here.

Black Friday isn’t just crowded, it’s chaos.

Your customers will be buried under a flood of discounts, countdowns, and “last chance” alerts. If your brand wants to stand out, you can’t just shout louder, you need to be sharper.

That’s where strategy comes in.

In today’s guide, we’re sharing 10 BFCM tips to help you plan smarter, send stronger, and turn the busiest weekend of the year into long-term growth. From prepping early and segmenting your list to nailing SMS strategy and keeping the momentum alive after the sale, these are the plays that separate the inbox winners from the noise.

Also inside:

✔️ Discounts don’t win Black Friday, experiences do.
✔️ Knowledge Drop: 8 flows every ecommerce brand should be running
✔️ Sneak Peek: From email marketer to leading retention agency Co-Founder
✔️ DTC Wins: AriZona x Mike’s Hot Honey®

Let’s get into it 👇

Discounts don’t win Black Friday, experiences do.

With 76M+ customers shopping Shopify stores during BFCM 2024, standing out in a sea of “30% OFF” takes more than slashing prices. The brands that win focus on solving problems for their customers: early shipping deadlines, personalized gift guides, VIP early access, and post-purchase experiences that keep buyers coming back long after November.

In this guide, you’ll learn:

• How to build anticipation with teaser campaigns and VIP access

• Why focusing on customer experience beats deeper discounts

• Smart list-building plays that make Black Friday less reliant on ads

• Post-purchase strategies to turn one-time buyers into repeat customers

Make this your smoothest, most profitable Black Friday yet.

10 BFCM Tips to Crush Those Black Friday Sales

Let’s face it: every brand and their cat is running a Black Friday deal.

Your customers are going to be flooded with emails, texts, countdowns, and “last chance” alerts.

So how do you make sure they actually care about yours?

Here are 10 proven tips to make this your highest-converting BFCM ever.

1. Start Planning Early (Like, Now)

If you're waiting until November to plan your Black Friday campaign, you’re playing catch-up.

The best brands are deep into strategy mode months before the first inbox explosion.

Why? Because early prep gives you space to:

• Test subject lines and offer types

• Create campaigns you’re actually proud of

• Avoid deliverability issues by warming your list in advance

Think of it as laying the foundation before the holiday madness begins.

2. Learn From Your Previous Campaigns

Before you start building new campaigns, look back. What worked last year? What flopped?

Check your analytics to see:

• Which flows or campaigns generated the most revenue

• Which segments engaged most (or least)

• What products flew off the shelves

Use those answers to guide this year’s strategy. Maybe your product bundles converted better than individual discounts. Or your Cyber Monday offer outperformed Black Friday.

You don’t need to reinvent the wheel. Just double down on what already works!

3. Build Your List Before the Rush

More subscribers = more potential sales.

But you can’t expect your list to magically grow during Black Friday week.

Instead, start capturing email and SMS leads right now.

• Use pop-ups with early access offers

• Launch a landing page that promises VIP-only deals

• Run a giveaway that attracts high-intent shoppers

Even better? Nurture those new subscribers before the sales start. Welcome them. Share your brand story. Get them excited.

That way, when you hit their inbox during BFCM, they’re already halfway sold.

4. Use SMS (With a Strategy)

Let’s be honest: SMS during BFCM can be incredible... or incredibly annoying.

Used right, it creates urgency and cuts through inbox noise. Used wrong, it feels spammy and burns trust.

Try this:

• Send a teaser text the day before the sale goes live

• Follow up with your main offer during peak hours

• Close with a last-call message just before the deadline

Keep it short. Make the link easy to click. And make sure you’re not texting people who haven’t signed up, or you’ll lose more than you gain.

5. Break the Rules (When It Makes Sense)

Normally, you want to space out your messages so you don’t overwhelm people. But during BFCM? Timing is everything.

If you're running a limited-time flash sale, you want everyone to hear about it. Even if you just emailed them six hours ago.

This is one of the few times where bending your usual sending rules actually makes sense. Just make sure the offer is strong enough to justify the extra message. Otherwise, you’re just adding noise to a very noisy weekend.

6. Segment Your Audience

The best BFCM campaigns are tailored.

Some customers are loyal VIPs who’ll buy without a discount. Others only show up when there’s a massive sale. And then there are the people who bought once and ghosted you.

Segment them, and speak to them differently.

• Give your VIPs early access and perks

• Win back lapsers with thoughtful nudges or reactivation offers

• Serve up countdowns and urgency for deal-hunters

When your message feels personal, it always performs better.

7. Use Multiple Channels (Strategically)

Email isn’t your only option. You’ve also got SMS, push notifications, and social DMs.

But don’t fall into the trap of sending the exact same message on every channel at the same time. Instead, play to each channel’s strength:

• Use email to tell the full story

• Use SMS for short bursts of urgency

• Use push for quick reminders like “Almost sold out!”

And most importantly: space them out. Coordinated campaigns feel thoughtful. Synchronized spam? Not so much.

8. Focus on Clarity, Not Hype

It’s tempting to say “Biggest Sale Ever” or “Don’t Miss Out!”

But vague hype doesn’t convert. Clear offers do.

Instead, tell people:

• What exactly they’ll save (“25% off sitewide”)

• When it ends (“Ends Monday at midnight”)

• What to expect (“Free shipping over $50” or “Excludes gift cards”)

And don’t forget shipping deadlines. If you’re selling holiday gifts, people need to know when they’ll get their order.

Transparency makes people more likely to buy (and more likely to come back).

9. Offer Amazing Customer Support

BFCM can get chaotic – glitches, delays, sold-out items, and last-minute changes. How you handle support can make or break the customer experience.

At the very least, make sure someone’s monitoring your inbox and chat during peak sale hours.

And for high-value customers (like those who’ve spent hundreds before) consider going the extra mile with faster response times or personalized follow-ups.

10. Don’t Ghost After the Sale

BFCM might bring in a lot of new customers, but the real money is in getting them to come back. So once they buy, don’t disappear.

Follow up with:

• A warm thank-you and order confirmation

• Product education (e.g. how to use or care for the item)

• Personalized recommendations based on what they bought

• A reminder to reorder if it’s a replenishable product

This is your chance to turn a first-time buyer into a lifelong customer. Don’t waste it.

Final Thoughts

BFCM isn’t just about big discounts, it’s about smart execution.

Here’s what to remember:

✅ Prep early so you’re not scrambling last minute.
✅ Use last year’s data to steer your strategy.
✅ Segment your list and personalize your message.
✅ Mix your channels, like email, SMS, and push, with purpose.
✅ Don’t disappear.  Keep the momentum going after the sale.

Play it right, and BFCM won’t just be a weekend. It will set you up for long-term growth.

Knowledge Drop:

Flows = the backbone of retention.

They convert higher than campaigns, run on autopilot, and keep customers coming back.

Chase just dropped 8 flows every ecommerce brand should be running, with tips, offer strategies, and design hacks you can swipe straight into your Klaviyo or Omnisend.

Sneak Peek: From email marketer to leading retention agency Co-Founder

Next week on Send It!, we sat down with Eric Rausch, co-founder of New Standard; the retention agency powering brands like AG1, Rugable, Caraway, and New Era.

Eric didn’t start at the top. He began as an in-house email marketer, grinding through subject lines, pop-ups, and KPIs before building one of the fastest-growing agencies in the space. In this episode, he shares the real story behind that leap (including the unglamorous parts of agency life) and the retention playbooks his team uses to win Black Friday and Q5.

🛎️ Subscribe to the channel and tap the bell to catch every new drop.

🔥 DTC Wins:

AriZona x Mike’s Hot Honey®

AriZona is turning up the heat. Their collab with Mike’s Hot Honey® brings chili-infused sweetness to three classics (Green Tea, Mucho Mango, and Watermelon). It’s bold, unexpected, and the kind of drop that makes people double-take at the shelf.

Annnnd that’s a wrap for this edition! 

Thanks for hanging with Chase and me, always a pleasure to have you here.

If you found this newsletter helpful (or even just a little fun), don’t keep it to yourself! Share ecomemailmarketer.com with your favorite DTC marketer. Let’s get them on board so they don’t miss next week’s drops.

Remember: Do shit you love.

🤘 Jimmy Kim & Chase Dimond

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