13 Black Friday emails to inspire your best year yet

The problem? Competition for sales is more intense than the competition for that last slice of pumpkin pie after Thanksgiving dinner.

While it can be hard to stand out among all the other offers, there are a few ways to create a Black Friday email campaign so irresistible that customers can’t help but open, click, and snatch up the deal. 

In this article, we look at 13 outstanding Black Friday emails and analyze what makes each one so great so you can duplicate the tactics in your own campaign.

In 2022, Black Friday falls on November 25. Cyber Monday falls three days later on November 28. It’s the Friday after Thanksgiving and the peak of the holiday season shopping period.

Most brands will send multiple emails during the Black Friday weekend. A typical Black Friday email promotion sequence looks something like this:

• Email 1: Teaser email sent in the week before Black Friday

• Email 2: Countdown email sent 3 days before Black Friday

• Email 3: Main offer sent on the morning of Black Friday

• Email 4: Reminder sent before your offer ends

Brands that run both Black Friday and Cyber Monday sales can continue their email campaign into the following week. Just don’t go overboard, as you might cause people to unsubscribe.

If this all sounds like a lot of work to do during your busiest time of year, you can use MailerLite to schedule an automated email workflow. Your emails will go out at the scheduled times, freeing you up to focus on other things during this period. 

As promised, here’s your dose of Black Friday email inspiration. Each email includes a screenshot, a description of why it works, and the main takeaway you can use in your campaign.

1. MailerLite: Promote your sale in advance

Build anticipation for your Black Friday sale by promoting it the week before. Our pre-sale email contains all the information subscribers need to get excited about our Cyber Week sale. 

• It highlights when the sale starts and ends

• It includes details about what customers can expect

• It has a clear call-to-action button that lets customers sign up to be alerted when the sale starts

Key takeaway: Pre-sale emails are an essential part of a great Black Friday email strategy. Let people sign up for more information and then create a group of interested subscribers. Here’s how to do this with email segmentation. 

2. Sun of a Beach: Keep things simple

Black Friday emails don’t have to be complex. This eye-catching Black Friday email example from travel brand Sun of a Beach stands out due to its simplicity.  

• Its distinctive black-and-white design is sure to stand out

• It has a single link to the sale, so the subscriber knows exactly what to click on

• The sale has a clear start and end date, which creates a sense of urgency among buyers

Key takeaway: If you’re feeling overwhelmed by Black Friday email marketing, use a similar design that explains when your sale runs and links to your collection.

3. Modernica: Create a Black Friday collection

Furniture brand Modernica used Black Friday as the opportunity to create a dedicated collection of themed furniture. 

• The main offer is the limited edition collection, not super low prices 

• The email includes high-quality images of the most popular products

• It shows both the original price and the sale price of each item

• The email starts with a reminder that the sale is in its final hours

Key takeaway: Use this idea if you want to run a Black Friday promotion without lowering your prices too aggressively. 

4. Elizabeth Grant Photography: Highlight your product value

Low prices aren’t the only thing buyers look for in Black Friday sales, they also want quality products. We love this Black Friday email by Elizabeth Grant Photography because it uses both these factors to create an extra compelling offer. 

• The email clearly highlights the value of printed photos in the digital age

• It includes a big discount and makes it clear that the sale is for one day only 

• It highlights that photos are great gifts, so people may buy prints even if they don’t need one for themself

Key takeaway: Black Friday discounts are an effective way to drive conversions, but don’t forget to focus on the value of your product.  

5. Gymshark: Make your sale interactive

Gymshark turned Black Friday into a game by hiding discount codes throughout its website.

• The game encourages brand interaction and stands out among all the standard promo messages

• The email contains clear instructions which ensure recipients know how to participate

• It highlights why people should take part, which is to access bigger discounts

• The idea of a hunt or a game is likely to appeal to the competitive GymShark audience 

Key takeaway: Consider how to use your Black Friday promotion to increase brand engagement. Do so in a way that is likely to appeal to your target audience.

6. Luonto: Be sure your email works on all devices

Create an email that works on all devices. Furniture seller Luonto built its email campaign using MailerLite, so the content blocks display correctly wherever people view them. 

• The responsive design looks great on mobile and desktop

• The yellow highlights draw attention to the most important details

• The email includes clear instructions for how buyers can access the discount

Top takeaway: Preview and test your email on multiple device types before sending it out. This is easy to do from within the MailerLite email builder.

7. Look Fantastic: Draw attention to your offer with animations

Standing out on Black Friday isn’t easy. LookFantastic manages it by including an animation of an alarm to alert customers to its early access Black Friday sale.

• The animation looks cool and instantly draws the reader’s attention

• The offer, call-to-action (CTA) button and online shopping discount code are super clear

• The email highlights that the offer is for today only, which creates a feeling of urgency

Key takeaway: You can easily add animations to your email by uploading a GIF file. Here is all you need to know about using animated GIFs in emails.

8. Adidas: Promote new sale additions

Adding more products to your sale is an easy way to get people back to your online store once your sale is underway. Use your email to promote these new additions, just like Adidas did in this email.

• It mentions that the brand has added more items to the sale

• It provides clear links to each collection

• It highlights that the discount is only available while stocks last

Key takeaway: Think about how to get people back to your sale multiple times. Adding new products, increasing discounts, offering a freebie, or reminding recipients that the sale is ending soon are good ways to do this.

9. SpaceNK: Use a countdown timer

Black Friday offers are effective due to the limited time people have to buy them. Make the most of this by including a countdown timer in your email, just like SpaceNK did.

• The timer is a visual cue about how long the reader has left to make a purchase

• The company uses a super simple offer—you get £25 off for every £100 you spend

• Setting the amount customers must spend to £100 encourages people to spend more than they might have otherwise

Key takeaway: Use a countdown timer to create a sense of urgency. MailerLite customers can easily do this using the email countdown timer block.  

10. Withings: Give more to VIPs

Withings rewards VIP members with access to a special Black Friday offer. This offer makes recipients feel valued so they’ll be keen to take advantage of the exclusive promotion.

• The email highlights the exclusive benefit, which is being able to access the Black Friday deals before anyone else

• The email includes products that may appeal to the customer

• Using words like “you” makes the holiday email seem personal

Key takeaway: Reward loyal customers by sending them special offers. Create audience segments in advance, so you know who your loyal customers are. You could even use email personalization to make people feel like the email is just for them.

11. Medusa’s Makeup: Make your emails social

An active email list is a good opportunity to build your audience on other platforms too. This Black Friday email example from vegan cosmetics store Medusa’s Makeup stands out because it cross-promotes its Instagram account. 

• The Instagram content shows how other customers use the products, which may inspire people to buy

• The email links to the Instagram page, which can result in more followers

• The company promises to share user photos on their own page when tagged with the company hashtag, which encourages brand engagement

Key takeaway: Use your Black Friday email to build engagement across other social media channels. And use your other channels to generate email signups!

12. Columbia: Add a Black Friday twist to cart abandonment

When someone starts the buying process but doesn’t commit, you can send a cart abandonment email to remind them of the unfinished purchase. Columbia put a Black Friday spin on its abandoned cart emails.

• The email shows that the product the customer was interested in has a discount

• It promotes other similar products and shows their discounted prices

• It includes a CTA button that links to the Black Friday landing page

Key takeaway: Combining a cart abandonment email with a discount can encourage people to buy. Get more cart abandonment email inspiration here.

13. LookFantastic: Extend your campaign

Almost every retailer has a Black Friday sale, which makes it hard to stand out. Make things easier by extending your email marketing campaign. LookFantastic promotes a Black Friday reset which went out 11 days after Black Friday finished.

• This gives people who missed the Black Friday sale another chance to buy

• The offer is super clear, which makes it easy for people to buy

• The company mentions limited quantities, so readers know it is the last chance to act

Key takeaway: People’s inboxes are full of Black Friday offers. Sending an email the following week can help you stand out and make last-minute sales.  

By now you should be feeling inspired to create your own Black Friday emails. We also have plenty of Black Friday and holiday email templates you can use to get started quickly. Here are some final tips and best practices to help you create a super-effective campaign.

1. Nail your subject line

A good Black Friday subject line increases your open rate. Make your Black Friday email subject line stand out with personalization, by adding emojis, and by appealing to your audience’s needs. Here’s more on writing great email subject lines.

Example Black Friday email subject lines

• 🏴 BLACK FRIDAY S-A-L-E 🏴 These deals are going F-A-S-T 🏃

• All Out for Black Friday! Up to 85% Off + FREE…

• BLACK FRIDAY 👉 New deals added 👈 Shop NOW!

• 🏁Black Friday Sale: Ready, Set, Save! 🏁

• BLACK FRIDAY STARTS N-- 🏃‍♂️💨

• Black Friday | 30% off EVERYTHING

2. Write engaging email copy

Make your copy clear and focus it on how your Black Friday sale benefits the reader. Here’s more about writing impactful newsletter copy. 

3. Show products or connect your store

Connect your e-commerce store provider with MailerLite to unlock automatically generated product blocks and deeper analytics.

4. Personalize your content

Use customer data to personalize your emails and subject line. This is easy to do using MailerLite. 

5. Design great-looking emails

Pay attention to your Black Friday email design. Visit our newsletter gallery for inspiration or pick one of the pre-built e-commerce templates when creating a new campaign.

6. Test your campaigns

Use email A/B testing to optimize your campaign. Analyze the open rate or click-through rate of two different emails on a small email subscriber sample, and then send the best version to your entire list.

Don’t put off planning your Black Friday and Cyber Monday email marketing strategy. Starting early ensures you're ready for one of the most important times of the year and guarantees you a slice of that pie.

Remember that you can create your emails in advance and then schedule them to go out at optimum times for Black Friday shopping. You can even use our Black Friday and holiday email templates to reduce the time it takes to build your emails.

This will help you implement an effective campaign while freeing up time to handle all the other tasks you have going on at the busiest time of year. 

What are your plans for Black Friday email marketing? Let us know in the comments.