How to plan for Black Friday
5 steps to prepare your small business for holiday promotions
The holiday season is the busiest time of the year for many businesses, especially for creative entrepreneurs.
I know, I know. We have serious rules about Christmas music before Thanksgiving, debates on when it’s ok to turn on synchronized lights and it’s crazy how some stores put out holiday decor in July.
But here’s the thing- people are planning to spend their money during the holiday season, whether you’re participating or not.
If you don’t want to sit on the sidelines again… doesn’t matter if you’re brand new or have an offer that sells itself, this is for you.
It’s not too early to start planning. It’s necessary. Right now, your competitors are gearing up for could easily be their biggest sales period of the year, and that dang Ricky Bobby quote has been living rent free in my head.
“If you’re not first, you’re last”
Aight- here we go. You can get this ALL complete in a week. Ready?
5 steps to preparing your small business for Black Friday / Cyber Monday—>
1. Know What You're Selling
Before you start promoting your holiday offers, take a step back and refine what you’re actually selling. For product-based businesses, this means taking stock of your inventory, checking availability, and planning your shipping and delivery timelines. If you sell services, consider how you can package your offerings to appeal to holiday shoppers—perhaps by introducing early bird discounts for bookings in 2025 or offering a limited-time holiday package.
Refine Your Offer Funnel
Your offer funnel is the path that leads potential customers from discovering your business to making a purchase. During the holidays, this funnel needs to be as streamlined as possible. Review each step to ensure there are no bottlenecks. Introduce new freebies or discounts to entice customers at different stages of the funnel.
A great funnel is when you have more than one offer at different price points that sort of feed into each other. Do you have something to give away for free in exchange for an email address? Then a low-priced upsell (digital product or something passive).
Consider a New or Limited-Time Offer
Holidays are the perfect time to introduce something new—whether it’s a limited edition product, a new service package, or a holiday-themed bundle. If you run a service-based business, consider using this period to fill your calendar for the new year. Offering early discounts for bookings in 2025 can create a sense of urgency and secure income well into the next year.
You see this done with Stanley cups, Tieks and luxury brands. It’s my favorite thing to do in lieu of discounts.
Include Passive Income Options
If you haven’t already, consider adding at least one passive income stream to your business. This could be an e-book, a digital course, or even a downloadable template that customers can purchase without any extra effort on your part. Passive income can provide a steady revenue stream during the holiday season and beyond.
Actionable Tip: Create a holiday-specific offer that resonates with your target audience. Whether it's a product bundle or a limited-time service package, make sure it's something unique that adds value and aligns with the holiday spirit.
2. Marketing Plan
With your offers in place, it’s time to focus on how you’ll get them in front of potential customers. Your marketing plan is your roadmap for driving traffic, generating leads, and converting those leads into sales.
Create New Marketing Material and Messaging
The holidays are a great time to refresh your marketing materials. Create holiday-themed graphics, banners, and email templates that capture the festive spirit. If you sell products, consider putting together a holiday gift guide that showcases your offerings. For service-based businesses, create content that speaks to the needs of your clients during the holiday season—like how to book appointments for the new year or why they should start planning early.
Decide How You’ll Get New Eyeballs on Your Business
To stand out during the holidays, you need to get your business in front of as many potential customers as possible. Explore different channels to reach new audiences—whether it’s participating in summits, getting interviewed on podcasts, or going all-in on social media, especially with platforms like Instagram and TikTok that are great for showcasing products or services. If you have a blog, consider writing holiday-themed content with researched keywords that can drive organic traffic to your site.
Actionable Tip: Research holiday hashtags and trends from previous years for inspiration. I used to do that as a refresher for plan for higher priced purchases, but now I do it for research and planning my own deals. Participate in popular holiday challenges or bundles or create your own to engage your audience and attract new followers.
3. Email Marketing Strategy
Yes, I’m making this separate from regular marketing. I would use any and every other marketing channel to point to your free offer and get new subscribers to your newsletter. Nurture and sell THERE. We all know email marketing is one of the most effective ways to reach your audience during the holiday season.
If you’re afraid of being annoying or contributing to pushy sales noise, the solution is simple—> Write emails people WANT to read and will get value from.
Start or Update Your Email List
If you haven’t already started building an email list, do this first. Offer a new freebie or lead magnet that aligns with your holiday offers to entice people to sign up. For those who already have an email list, consider updating your freebie or offering a holiday-specific lead magnet to re-engage your audience.
Segment Your Audience
This is optional, and more advanced, but can be a thoughtful long term strategy. Divide your list into different groups based on their interests, purchase history, or engagement level, and tailor your messages accordingly. For example, you might send different offers to past customers versus new leads. Personalizing your emails can significantly increase your open and conversion rates.
Create a Holiday Email Sequence
Grab a calendar and start planning out your emails for the month-ish ahead. Plan out a series of emails that guide your audience from awareness (freebie) to purchase. Start with a teaser email that hints at your upcoming holiday offers, followed by emails that highlight your best deals, customer testimonials, and last-chance reminders. Make sure to include clear calls-to-action in every email.
Actionable Tip: Create a free offer that’s so good, people would pay money for it. You want this to be super juicy and actionable to grab the attention of your right-fit customer or client. This is the first taste that most people will have of you, and you want them to keep coming back for more. Think about what you currently sell or offer. From there, zero in to the first problem someone would have if they were to hire you or buy from you. What’s the first step in solving that? Your freebie idea lays there. You can provide assistance with the next step(s) through emails.
4. Set Up Automations
With your offers and marketing plan ready, it’s time to ensure all the technical aspects of your business are set up for success. This is crucial to avoid any hiccups during the holiday rush.
Know where you’re selling
Obvi, you need somewhere with a checkout, which you likely already have. But it’s not a bad idea (or time) to revisit your platforms. Is there anything you want to change? Do you want a quick sales page setup for one limited time offer? Want to get an Amazon shop set up? Will you be offering referrals from past customers or want to work with affiliates? Do you want to add in-person holiday markets>
Get the Tech Bits Set Up
Make sure all your systems are connected and working properly. This includes integrating your email marketing platform with your website, setting up tracking pixels for ads, and ensuring your payment gateways are functioning. If you’re offering a new freebie, double-check that it’s properly linked and that the automation delivers it to subscribers without issues.
Test Your Website and Automations
Your website needs to be in top shape to handle the holiday traffic. Test your checkout process to make sure there are no glitches that could cause customers to abandon their carts. If you have automated email sequences, run a few tests to ensure they trigger correctly. Additionally, check your website speed and optimize your on-page SEO to help with search engine rankings.
Actionable Tip: Use heatmaps and session recordings to identify any potential issues on your website. These tools can help you see where users might be getting stuck and give you the insights you need to improve their experience.
5. Marketing Calendar
Finally, you need to organize all your efforts into a cohesive marketing calendar. This will help you stay on track and ensure that every part of your holiday strategy is executed on time.
Create a Marketing and Deadline Calendar
Start by mapping out all the important dates in the holiday season, including Black Friday, Cyber Monday, and any other key shopping days. Then, plan your marketing activities around these dates, including email campaigns, social media posts, and any ads you plan to run. For service-based businesses, consider when (or if) you want to offer early bird discounts or launch new packages, and schedule your promotions accordingly.
Allocate Time for Content Creation
Creating all your marketing materials can be time-consuming, so make sure to allocate enough time for content creation in your calendar. This includes writing blog posts, recording videos, designing graphics, and crafting email sequences. By planning ahead, you can avoid the stress of last-minute content creation and focus on executing your strategy.
Actionable Tip: Set up reminders and deadlines in your calendar to create a plan for your content (posts, blogs, reels, etc) and your emails. You want everything you produce to be intentional and take your visitors on a journey. It’s common for businesses to hire this out, so it definitely takes a intentional thought and time, but it’s also something that you can absolutely do on your own. And it’s worth it. THIS is the key to joining in on the holiday sales fun and not watching from the sidelines again.
* Resources
Start a free trial with my preferred email marketing platform, ConvertKit
get 30% off your first payment with Dubsado after the free trial (click HERE if you need help setting that up, or HERE if you’re a service based creative and want to see how I automate my inquiry process)
Free Canva Pro credits when you sign up for a free account to make your promo materials
Get your legal stuff in place with affordable and customizable legal templates
Final thoughts…
The holiday season can be overwhelming, but with the right preparation, it can also be the most profitable time of the year for your business. By knowing what you’re selling, creating a solid marketing plan, optimizing your email strategy, setting up your tech, and organizing everything into a clear calendar, you can set yourself up for success.
Whether you’re selling products or services, these strategies will help you make the most of the season, so you can relax and enjoy the holidays knowing your business is in good hands.
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