Best Email Marketing Strategies for Black Friday 2025

By Sean Tinney September 26, 2025

Black Friday 2025 is shaping up to be massive. Black Friday 2024 in the U.S. set a new all-time record with $10.8 billion in online sales, marking a $1 billion increase from 2023, and this year’s expected to be even bigger. But here’s the thing, everyone knows that. Your customers’ inboxes are about to become battlefields.

The real question isn’t whether you should send Black Friday emails (you absolutely should), but how to make yours the ones people actually open, read, and act?.

Start Your Black Friday Campaign Before Black Friday

Black Friday email marketing starts weeks before the actual day. Your customers are actually open to Black Friday and Cyber Monday promotions as early as a month before they start, which means you can capture early shoppers while your competition is still planning.

Your pre-Black Friday strategy should include:

1 – Teaser campaigns starting 3-4 weeks early that build anticipation without revealing specific deals. 

2 – Early access emails for VIP subscribers sent 1-2 weeks before your main sale goes live. This strategy works particularly well when you segment your most engaged customers and loyal buyers, making them feel valued while driving initial momentum.

3 – “Deal preview” emails that give subscribers a sneak peek at your Black Friday offers without revealing everything. Think of it as a movie trailer—enough detail to get them excited, not enough to satisfy their curiosity.

Create Your Black Friday Email Series

Don’t send just one Black Friday email. Plan a strategic email funnel that maximizes your sales window:

The Essential Black Friday Email Sequence:

Launch Day Email (Thursday or Friday morning): Your main promotional email with your biggest offer and clearest call-to-action. Since mobile accounts for 57% of holiday spending, make sure your design looks perfect on phones.

Midday Boost Email (Friday afternoon): Resend to non-openers with a different subject line and social proof elements like “Over 1,000 customers already shopping our Black Friday deals!”

Extended Weekend Email (Saturday): Keep momentum going with additional products or bundle offers. Don’t assume Friday was your only shot. Many shoppers spread their purchasing across the entire weekend.

Cyber Monday Follow-up: Different angle, different products, or extended deals for anyone who missed Friday. Cyber Monday climbed to $13.3 billion in 2024, proving this day deserves its own focused campaign.

Final Hours Email: Create urgency with countdown timers and “last chance” messaging. Our AI Writing Assistant can help you craft compelling urgent language that motivates without sounding pushy.

Segment Your List to Maximum Your Impact

Generic Black Friday emails get ignored. Smart segmentation is what separates successful campaigns from inbox clutter.

High-Impact Segmentation Strategies:

Purchase History Segments: Send different offers to first-time buyers versus repeat customers. Your loyal customers might appreciate early access or exclusive products, while new subscribers might need stronger incentives to make their first purchase.

Engagement-Based Segments: Black Friday emails sent to subscribers who have opened previous emails from your brand have an open rate 10% higher than emails sent to subscribers who have never opened an email from your brand. Target your most active subscribers with your premium offers.

Product Interest Segments: If someone clicked on automation-related content in previous emails, they’re more likely to respond to Black Friday deals on our automation tools rather than design templates.

Mobile vs. Desktop Segments: Since mobile behavior differs from desktop browsing, consider tailoring your offers. Mobile users often prefer quick, simple deals, while desktop users might engage with more detailed product information.

Our tagging system makes this segmentation automatic—when subscribers click specific links or visit certain pages, they’re automatically tagged for relevant follow-up campaigns.

Optimize Subject Lines for Crowded Inboxes

Your subject line determines everything. With Black Friday emails achieving a 13% click-through rate despite the increased competition, the right subject line can make or break your campaign.

Subject Line Strategies That Work:

Urgency Without Panic: “24 hours left: Your Black Friday savings” works better than “URGENT!!! LIMITED TIME!!!”

Personalization That Matters: Use subscriber names, but go deeper. “Sarah, your wishlist items are 50% off” performs better than generic personalization.

Benefit-Focused Headlines: Lead with what subscribers get, not what you’re selling. “Cut your email marketing time in half” resonates more than “50% off AWeber plans.”

Question-Based Subject Lines: “Ready for your biggest email marketing win?” engages curiosity while promising value.

Our AI Writing Assistant generates multiple subject line variations instantly, so you can A/B test different emotional triggers and find what resonates with your specific audience.

Design for Mobile-First Shopping

Mobile shopping isn’t the future—it’s the present. Mobile shopping made up 69% of global purchases during Black Friday 2024, making mobile optimization crucial for your campaign success.

Mobile Optimization Essentials:

Single-Column Layouts: Our drag-and-drop email builder automatically creates mobile-responsive designs, but always preview on actual devices to ensure buttons and text are properly sized.

Large, Tappable Buttons: Make your call-to-action buttons big enough for thumbs, not just mouse cursors. We recommend minimum 44px height for optimal mobile usability.

Scannable Content Structure: Use short paragraphs, bullet points, and clear headings. Mobile users scroll quickly, so make your key points immediately visible.

Fast-Loading Images: Compress images to ensure quick loading, even on slower mobile connections. Our built-in Canva integration helps you create optimized graphics without leaving the email builder.

Leverage Automation for Maximum Efficiency

Manual email sending doesn’t scale during Black Friday chaos. Smart automation handles the heavy lifting while you focus on customer service and order fulfillment.

Essential Black Friday Automations:

Cart Abandonment Sequences: Set up immediate triggers for anyone who views your Black Friday landing page but doesn’t purchase. These recovery emails often generate 15-20% additional revenue during peak shopping periods.

Browse Abandonment Workflows: When someone clicks your email links but doesn’t buy, automatically send personalized follow-ups featuring the products they viewed.

Post-Purchase Sequences: Don’t stop at the sale. Automated thank-you emails with complementary product suggestions can increase average order value by 20-30%.

Win-back Campaigns: Target subscribers who haven’t engaged recently with special “we miss you” Black Friday offers.

Our visual automation builder makes setting up these workflows simple, with pre-built templates for common Black Friday scenarios.

Create Compelling Black Friday Content

Your email content needs to work harder during Black Friday. Almost two-thirds of consumers (56.5%) prefer the email inbox for Black Friday promotions, but they’re also seeing 10x more promotional emails than normal.

Content That Cuts Through the Noise:

Gift Guides Instead of Product Lists: Position your products as solutions for specific gift recipients rather than just discounted items. “Perfect gifts for the entrepreneur in your life” engages better than “50% off business tools.”

Story-Driven Promotions: Share brief customer success stories that highlight how your products solve real problems. This builds trust and demonstrates value beyond the discount.

Social Proof Integration: Include customer testimonials, review stars, or usage statistics. “Join 50,000+ small businesses already using AWeber” is more compelling than feature lists.

Clear Value Propositions: Don’t assume people understand why they need your product. Explain the specific problem it solves and how it makes their life better.

Our email templates include sections specifically designed for Black Friday content, making it easy to showcase products alongside compelling narratives.

Test and Optimize Your Campaign Performance

Successful Black Friday campaigns rely on data, not guesswork. A/B testing different elements can dramatically improve your results.

Key Testing Opportunities:

Subject Line Variations: Test emotional triggers, urgency levels, and personalization approaches. Small subject line changes often create 20-30% differences in open rates.

Send Time Optimization: While conventional wisdom suggests Friday morning, your specific audience might respond better to Thursday evening or Saturday afternoon sends.

Offer Presentation: Test percentage discounts versus dollar amounts, bundle deals versus individual product promotions, and different urgency tactics.

Email Design Elements: Compare single product focus versus multiple products, different button colors and sizes, and various image styles.

Our built-in analytics track all these metrics automatically, so you can see which variations perform best and apply those insights to future campaigns.

Plan Your Post-Black Friday Strategy

Black Friday isn’t the end—it’s the beginning of an extended holiday shopping season that continues through New Year’s. Google found 20% of online store traffic in December happens in the 6 days after Christmas.

Extended Holiday Campaign Elements:

Cyber Monday Follow-up: Different products, different angle, or extended deals for Friday non-buyers. Position it as a second chance, not a repeat.

Holiday Gift Campaigns: Transform your Black Friday products into gift guides for December shoppers who missed the initial sales.

New Year Promotions: Business-focused subscribers often make purchasing decisions in January, making it perfect for productivity tools and business software.

Customer Retention Focus: Use the holiday momentum to build long-term relationships, not just generate one-time sales.

Our 10-step holiday email marketing guide provides detailed strategies for maintaining engagement throughout the entire season.

Ready to Dominate Black Friday 2025?

The brands that win Black Friday don’t just send more emails—they send smarter emails. By starting early, segmenting strategically, and focusing on mobile-optimized automation, you can cut through the inbox noise and connect with customers when they’re ready to buy.

Our drag-and-drop email builder, AI Writing Assistant, and automation tools are designed specifically for campaigns like this. With over hundreds of templates, built-in Canva integration, and powerful segmentation capabilities, we make it easy to create Black Friday campaigns that actually drive results.

Ready to get started? Our holiday email templates give you professionally designed starting points that you can customize with your branding and offers, so you can focus on strategy instead of design.