100+ Black Friday Email Subject Lines for 2025

The importance of Black Friday email subject lines

In 2024, 81.7 million consumers shopped in stores on Black Friday, the highest level since the pandemic. No wonder that during the Black Friday sale, inboxes get fiercely competitive. 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 follow Thanksgiving and kick off the holiday shopping season, 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 right subject line can be the difference between a sale and a miss.

Best examples of Black Friday subject lines

Early Black Friday deals email

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:

• Exclusivity 
• Secret deals
• “Get it done and over with” appeal
• Digital-only deals
• Early or express shipping offers

Getting something exclusive is a popular but very effective tactic. Pre-sale “secret deals” work well, too. 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:

• Get a jump on holiday gifting with early access (Tommy John)
• SURPRISE! Black Friday came early ✨ (Numi)
• Black Friday VIP ACCESS: Confirmed (IDEAL OF SWEDEN)
• Black Friday: your early access starts now. (lululemon)
• Black Friday Preview Starts Now—25% Off Everything! (Trina Turk)
• Next Gen is live | Early Black Friday Access (Bardot)
• Unlock 48-Hour Early Access to Black Friday (Threads For Thought)
• Black Friday is here early! (VidAngel)
• Shop early and save with these seasonal TV deals (Roku)

Teaser email

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:

• Incoming: BLACK FRIDAY! Sign up and receive our deals first… (Online4Baby)
• Our exclusive waitlist for Black Friday is open ♥ (Waterford)
• Take a sneak peek at these early Black Friday deals (Dell)
• Early VIP Access to Black Friday EXTRA 40% Off Sitewide (Scotch & Soda)
• ⏰ Countdown to Black Friday… (Bluprint)
• You’re Invited: Black Friday Private Sale Starts NOW (Ministry of Supply)
• Black Friday Early Access: Get Up To 40% Off (Bare Necessities)
• Our Black Friday Sale Starts Friday. (P.E NATION)

Launch emails

Launch emails announce that your Black Friday sale is live 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:

• Black friday is here! Theres no time like the present (influenceu)
• 🔥 Best. Black Friday. Deals. Ever. 🔥 (Starfire)
• ⚡Black Friday sale is here – act now! (Ultimate Guitar)
• It’s Here! Black Friday Starts Now! (Trina Turk)
• It’s Black Friday: Get 30% Off Now (Bonobos)
• Black Friday: ACTIVATED​ (Fabletics)
• This Just In: Our Black Friday Sale Is Here! (Talbots)
• Black Friday is Here! 🎉 (Hismile)

Last chance email

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. 

Because these deep discounts happen once a year, make your Black Friday emails impossible to ignore.

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:

• EXPIRING: 20% Off + Huge 🖤 Black Friday 🖤 Savings on all things home (Overstock)
• ONE. LAST. CHANCE. Up to 50% off moisturizers + 30% off sitewide! (Clinique)
• Last 6 hours: Black Friday will end tonight (UNice)
• Final call | Black Friday ends midnight (Oliver Bonas)
• Last chance for Black Friday savings (Surreal)
• Our Black Friday sale ends tomorrow – don’t miss out! (Flatspot)

Tips for your Black Friday subject line

Pay attention to the language you use

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:

Black Friday subject lines that use the direct approach:

• Save Up to 10% this Black Friday (Kohler Co.)
• Shop the Black Friday Sale (Tracksmith)
• Black Friday Preview: 30% OFF (Betsey Johnson)

Add urgency

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:

• A short email series that acts like a countdown: e.g., “3 hours left till the end of sale”, “2 hours left…”, “1 hour left only”
• Emphasizing scarcity: if there are only a few pieces/spots left, say so in the subject line

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:

• [LOW STOCK ALERT] Black Friday ends when supplies run out (Atrantil)
• You still have a chance to save big ➡️ (MVMT)
• ⏰️ Final Hours to save 25% (Shoe Carnival)
• Maria, Black Friday is almost over! (Kiwi Co.)
• Shop Black Friday Responsibly — 40% off (Ritual)
• Don’t miss out! Black Friday Savings End 12/1 (Cora)
• Black Friday – Ending soon 🕜 (BODA SKINS)
• ⚠️ 24% off for 24hrs ⚠️ Your VIP Black Friday offer (Cotton Traders)
• Save 25% on your Ableton Live upgrade, only until tomorrow (Ableton)

Use a dollar value discount rather than a percentage

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.

Give a sneak peek of the offers inside

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.

More Black Friday subject line examples using the sneak peek tactic:

• Our Black Friday Event Just Got Bigger! (See Kai Run)
• Black Friday Blowout 🖤 Up to 95% OFF (SheIn)
• Our Black Friday Deals? They’re Gravy. 💰 (SwimOutlet)
• UP to 50% OFF for the Black Friday UPGRADE! (Lacoste)
• Our entire gift guide is 30% off (SiO Beauty)
• Pounce on our biggest Black Friday sale yet 🙀 (meowbox)
• Black Friday bestsellers + in demand (BODA SKINS)
• Here’s your sneak peek at Black Friday (Google)
• These prints will bring so much joy! 🖼️ (Joseph Bradley Studio)
• Hair regrowth + BIG savings 🎉 (ADEGEN)

Be sure to stand out in the inbox

People’s inbox is crowded during Black Friday sales. Here are a few ways to stand out from the crowd:

• Use capitalization for part or whole of the subject line.
• Test special characters sparingly (e.g., swapping a word or letter) to catch the eye.
• Write the whole subject line in lowercase.
• Try a creative approach — a usage of words, analogies, and euphemisms that express the meaning but are not normally used in a sales context.

More creative Black Friday marketing email subject lines examples:

• The week ends. The Black Friday begins! ⚡ (Uniquilling)
• FOMBF: Fear of Missing Black Friday (Sok-It)
• In case you were in a Food Coma yesterday – 50% Off Agora (AGORA)
• LAST CALL: BLACK FRIDAY SAVINGS🚨 (Crate Club)
• Black Friday: we’ve got your size (ALLSAINTS)
• 🐾 Hey Pup, Black Friday Deal Inside 👀 (PupBox)
• ICYMI: Black Friday VIP Early Access is Here (Mavi)
• DROP EVERYTHING – BLACK FRIDAY STARTS NOW 💗 (Lorna Jane)
• 👋 40% off won’t last forever (Care.com)

Use emojis

Used well, emojis help you stand out; used poorly, they can hurt performance.

Here are a few reasons you might want to use an emoji:

1. Emojis in the subject line may increase the email open rate (according to Campaign Monitor, the companies that incorporate emojis have a 56% increase in their unique open rates). 
2. Emojis save space. They let you express a lot with just one symbol.
3. Emojis convey emotions and sentiments and make your subject line expressive. 

Here are some of the best practices when it comes to emojis in the subject line:

• Keep your emojis relevant. 
• Don’t go overboard. 
• Pay attention to the context, your brand’s style, and your customers’ preferences.

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 FriYAY Starts Now! 50% Off Lifetime Memberships 🖤 (codeSpark Academy)
• ⚫ Black Friday top picks ⚫ (Wiggle)
• ✨ 20% Off + Free Gifts – Today Only! ✨ (Art of Play)
• A SPICY Black Friday 🥵 (Meet Blume)
• Black Friday, EXTENDED 💥💲🛍️ (quip)
• 🎁 You Win! Here’s a Black Friday Preview (FragranceX)

Final thoughts

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:

• Use straightforward and direct language: “Early access to Black Friday deals”, “See what’s heating up on Black Friday”, “Black Friday: 25% OFF”.
• Add urgency: “Only two hours left till the end of sale”, “The Black Friday countdown has begun”.
• Use a dollar value discount over a percentage-based: “Save $350 on Your Tempo Studio”, “Black Friday $8.88 Sale”.
• Give a sneak peek into the coming offers: “CleanMyMac X and other apps are 30% off”.
• Stand out in the inbox: use emojis, use a countdown, capitalize your subject line, use lowercase, add some special symbols if appropriate: “🤘🏽 Black Friday starts now 🤘🏽, “Snooze through the sales…”.

FAQ about Black Friday email subject lines

Why are Black Friday email subject lines so important?

During Black Friday, inboxes are flooded with promotions — and a good subject line is your only chance to stand out.
The subject line and the sender’s reputation are the two main factors that make people open emails. Even a perfectly designed campaign won’t perform if it goes unopened.

What makes a good Black Friday subject line?

Strong Black Friday subject lines are short, direct, and benefit-driven.

They should communicate urgency or exclusivity, include clear offers, and match the tone of this high-energy shopping period. Being bold and straightforward — even a bit “salesy” — works best for this season.

Should I use urgency in my Black Friday emails?

Yes — urgency is one of the most effective psychological triggers for this holiday.

Phrases like “Final hours,” “Low stock,” or “Sale ends tonight” push readers to act quickly. Send a short countdown series (e.g., “3 hours left,” “1 hour left”) or mention scarcity to boost clicks and conversions.

How can I make my subject line stand out in the inbox?

You can experiment with formatting and style:

• Capitalize words or use lowercase for a casual look.
• Try symbols or creative wordplay.
• Add relevant emojis — such as 🖤, ⚡, ⏰, or 🎁 — but don’t overuse them.
• Keep your tone consistent with your brand and your audience’s expectations.

A bit of creativity and emotional expression helps your message break through the inbox noise.

Are emojis good for Black Friday subject lines?

When used wisely, yes.

Companies using emojis saw up to a 56% increase in open rates. Emojis save space, add emotion, and make your subject lines visually distinctive — as long as they fit the context and don’t feel forced.

What are some good ways to tease my Black Friday sale?

Send teaser and early-access emails before the main event.

We recommend using teasers to build curiosity (“Sneak peek,” “Get early access”) and giving loyal subscribers early deals or “secret” offers. This lets you warm up your list and get a head start before competitors launch their main promotions.