It’s time to do your Black Friday planning, friends! While the normal world is focused on Pumpkin Spice Season or planning Halloween 🎃…. us in the marketing world are planning Black Friday deals! 💸

I know I know… it’s only September, but this is the optimal time to plan your marketing strategies for any upcoming holiday sales! This process will look a tiny bit different per industry, but this is what we recommend:

Plan Your Offer

Decide what your Black Friday / Cyber Monday offer will be and lock in the details!

• Are you offering a discount on your product/services? 
• Will it be the same price but paired with an AMAZING freebie?
• What dates is the offer available? Black Friday only or throughout the whole weekend into Cyber Monday?

So many things to consider and it’s best to decide NOW so you’re not making last minute decisions at thanksgiving dinner.



Exclusivity

People LOVE to feel special and to be first. If you want to offer early access to anyone who joins your email marketing list… DO IT! Then, schedule those people a special email with your offer.



Analyze your Inventory

This is for products and services: is there a limit for how much you can sell of your offer?  If you have a physical product, will you have inventory on hand that matches what is in the backend of your online store? Is backordering an option or are they GONE when they are gone?

If you offer a service that takes up your time / mental bandwidth… how many can you sell and execute in a timely manner? If there is a limit, make sure you communicate that in your offer.

Create Your Content

We recommend a breadcrumb strategy. A few weeks ahead, ramp up your content to focus on the product/service you’re offering so it’s fresh in your audience’s mind. A few posts, a reel, maybe some Instagram stories reminding them why your offer is AMAZING and they NEED it.

Next, plan and schedule your social media content for the start, middle, and “last call” for your sale! Don’t be shy. People will be pulled in a million directions on a holiday weekend and may need a few nudges.  Make your graphics cohesive, your offer clear, and answer as many questions in the caption.  Confused people don’t buy.



Tech Check

Test your online offer to make sure everything works! Make sure the online checkout page is working well on computer and mobile. Make sure any necessary links are linked correctly. If you’re using Instagram and sending links via ManyChat, set it up and test it out to make sure the link is hitting your customers inbox correctly.

Once all of the above is complete, you are ready for your Black Friday sale! Breaking down the months and their content focuses can be tricky, so we wanted to share one of our favorite resources with you. We LOVE doing high-level planning in Google Sheets for each quarter to keep us on track. Use the button below to get a copy of our FREE Q4 planning guide to get started on your Black Friday planning and sales for October, November, and December.

Get Your Free Q4 Planning Sheet Here

We love helping you with marketing, but websites are our specialty.  If you get stuck on the Tech Check and need help getting your website ready for holiday sale season, reach out to us to get started!