In 2022, 85% of retailers planned to have a Black Friday marketing promotion. No wonder that during the Black Friday sale, there is a cutthroat fight for attention between e-commerce businesses in the inbox. Black Friday campaigns themselves can last from a few days to a few weeks, so as a marketer, you need to make the most of it.
In the U.S., Black Friday and Cyber Monday come after Thanksgiving Day and represent the start of a long period of Christmas shopping, and it’s a prime opportunity to increase business profits. Email marketing is one of the best ways to get those deals into your customers’ inboxes. And when it comes to the Black Friday email campaigns, you want to get the highest email open rates possible to ensure your deals are seen by as many potential buyers as possible.
The email subject line is one of the two things that make a person decide whether they need to open the email (the other is the sender’s reputation). The difference between a good and bad subject line (or, rather, the one that works and the one that does not) may as well be a difference between making another sale or not.
When sending “early access” emails, make sure your readers understand what’s in it for them. Email campaigns with “early Black Friday deals” should differ from the full-blown Black Friday sale itself.
A few ways to approach this are:
Getting something exclusive is a popular but very effective tactic. Secret deals that are available only before the main sale starts also work great. And there is a category of people who hate shopping but still have to do it — resonate with them via a “get it done early” type of subject line.
Swipe to see the examples:
Gym & Coffee goes the exclusivity route with the email subject line “FREE BEANIE just for YOU!!”:
Other early Black Friday weekend subject line examples:
A teaser is a type of email that builds interest through curiosity.
Black Friday teaser emails play an important role: they inform your customers that you are planning to have a Black Friday sale and give them a sneak peek into what they could expect from it.
And although they are teasers, they are still straightforward — take a look at the few examples below from past Black Friday campaigns:
Some more Black Friday marketing email subject line examples to tease the sale:
Launch emails’ purpose is to inform people that The Black Friday sale started and to announce the exact details, dates, and numbers. Sometimes, the online sale only lasts a few days (some businesses even make it last for one day only), so it has to go out as soon as the sale actually starts.
Drop the fluff and get to the point: this is the time to get serious about selling. The straightforward and direct subject line is good, and adding a detail or two to it makes it better.
Some more Black Friday marketing email subject line examples to tease the sale:
Finally, the Black Friday sale is coming to an end — time to remind everyone about this fact. Last chance emails are a last-ditch effort in order to get potential buyers to buy. They prompt potential customers to act on an expiring offer, and capitalize on a “fear of missing out”, or FOMO for short.
Considering that big discounts like this happen only once a year, you have to do everything in your power to make your Black Friday emails be taken seriously.
Here are a few last chance email subject line ideas for Black Friday:
Other last chance Black Friday marketing subject lines for e-commerce marketing:
Holiday email marketing differs from regular newsletters and campaigns. Overall, Black Friday emails are better to be bold, straightforward, and concrete. What could come off as too “salesy” at any other time is perfectly fine during Black Friday weekend.
Swipe away:
The sense of urgency — such as time-limited offers and deals that expire soon — creates an impulse to buy, and a combination of urgency with direct and spot-on subject lines is a recipe for success.
Ways to add urgency to your e-commerce marketing:
An event email subject line that expresses how much prices will jump up once the sale is over
Black Friday subject lines that emphasize the sense of urgency:
In his book “Contagious”, Jonah Berger mentions that dollar-off discounts may seem to be a better alternative to percent-off discounts, especially for higher-priced products.
The sneak peek tactic is about letting out a fraction, but not the whole deal. For example, you might mention one or a few specific products in the subject line, while keeping the rest of them secret until the email is opened. Let subscribers know what is waiting for them without the need to open your email.
People’s inbox is crowded during Black Friday sales. Here are a few ways to stand out from the crowd:
More creative Black Friday marketing email subject lines examples:
Emojis are also a way to stand out — when they are used appropriately, or a way to sink the email — if it makes no sense and puts people off.
Here are a few reasons you might want to use an emoji:
Here are some of the best practices when it comes to emojis in the subject line:
You can use regular emojis associated with sales like fire, a clock, or a running person. The other option is to try out black emojis. Here are some email subject lines with emojis from e-commerce brands:
Black Friday means you’ll have to fight for attention. Of course, good deals and email design are important, but you need to make your subscribers open the email in the first place. That’s why you need to put a little more strategic thinking into your subject line planning and write content that stands out from the rest.
A few effective tips to use for Black Friday and Thanksgiving emails:
This article was originally published in November 2022 and was updated in October 2023 to make it more relevant and comprehensive.
