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The end of Thanksgiving kicks off the countdown to the two busiest shopping days of the year – Black Friday and Cyber Monday.
While most Black Friday marketing strategies are full of classic tactics, the shift toward shopping exclusively online means you can’t rely on discounts alone to drive results.
Try these Cyber Monday and Black Friday marketing strategy ideas to increase your holiday sales and take your online store to the next level.
Black Friday strategies and why they matter
Black Friday and Cyber Monday kick off the holiday shopping season – and online shoppers worldwide mark their calendars for these two massive events.
They browse online stores and marketplaces for the best deals, making it a prime opportunity to attract new customers and grow your business.
- In 2024, shoppers spent $10.8 billion on Black Friday deals and $13.2 billion on Cyber Monday sales.
Join the fun and participate in this multi-billion-dollar shopping journey with clever Black Friday and Cyber Monday campaigns.
- In 2024, 197 million shoppers turned to online retailers during the Black Friday season.
Prepare your store in advance, inform customers about upcoming deals, and drive sales throughout the holiday season.
- Top product categories during Black Friday sales are apparel and accessories (49%), toys (31%), gift cards (27%), food and candy (23%), and personal care (23%).
The beauty of being a print-on-demand (POD) merchant is that you can customize almost anything in all these categories to fit the right target audience.
Key aspects of Black Friday marketing and Cyber Monday deals
To run a successful Cyber Monday campaign and capture Black Friday shoppers, focus on what drives real results during the Cyber Monday weekend – from building anticipation to re-engaging customers after the sale.
- Target audience – Focus on price-conscious customer behavior.
- Timing – Start early with sneak peeks, early access offers, and pre-event campaigns.
- Marketing channels – Use email marketing, social media, and site banners to maximize visibility across every touchpoint.
- Offer structure – Highlight your sales event, savings deals, free gifts, and significant discounts to spark interest.
- Urgency triggers – Add countdown timers, “only X left” alerts, and time-sensitive offers during Cyber Week sale.
- Mobile-first experience – Optimize your store for mobile devices, as most shoppers browse and shop online via smartphones.
- Personalization – Tailor promotions using browsing history and past order data for new and existing customers.
- Abandoned cart recovery – Win back lost sales with retargeting ads and timely email reminders featuring follow-up Cyber Monday promotions.
- Building hype – Share teasers, product sneak peeks, and behind-the-scenes prep in the weeks before to warm up your target audience.
- Customer experience – Offer fast support, clear return policies, and friction-free checkout to ensure a smooth Black Friday period.
- Post-event strategy – Keep the momentum going with extended sales, cross-sells, or loyalty rewards to encourage repeat purchases.
Make it happen today!
20 Cyber Monday and Black Friday marketing ideas
Let’s look at 20 Cyber Monday and Black Friday marketing strategy ideas. Choose the right one for your business and turn those on-the-fence shoppers into paying customers.
1. Start planning your Black Friday campaign early
Even though Black Friday falls on November 28, online shoppers start searching for deals in late October – so be prepared.
Advertise Cyber Monday promotions with consistent updates throughout November, using social media posts and email newsletters to alert customers about promotional discounts ahead of time.
Decorate your store and create a dedicated landing page
A landing page is an informative section of your eCommerce store that showcases specific products, events, and marketing campaigns. It tells your visitors about offers, upcoming sales, and exclusive deals.
Update your landing page with banners, ads, background themes, and other attention-grabbing elements to promote your upcoming Cyber Monday and Black Friday sales.
3. Engage your social media followers
Most retailers schedule their social media posts before their promotional campaigns begin to generate traffic and build buzz.
TikTok, Instagram, and Facebook are great for Black Friday promotions. They let you interact with your followers, reach a global audience, and snag more sales.
Post interactive reels, videos, and images to ask your community for feedback, suggestions, and ideas.
Add a countdown timer to your posts and stories. This creates urgency and anticipation, encouraging followers to act before your Black Friday sale ends.
4. Create irresistible deals
Black Friday and Cyber Monday are all about deals that shoppers eagerly anticipate worldwide. Flash sales and irresistible discounts are at the core of these events, so incorporate them into your Black Friday marketing strategy.
Offer exclusive deals on select products, special discounts when customers spend a certain amount, or a sitewide Black Friday sale across your entire inventory.
5. Promote special offers via email marketing
Black Friday email campaigns are one of the most reliable ways to keep your potential and loyal customers invested.
Time your Black Friday marketing emails strategically to encourage shoppers to visit your site. Make your emails clear and concise, with a strong value statement and a call to action (CTA) button right when the email is opened.
Offering early access deals to email subscribers creates a sense of exclusivity and urgency, prompting faster responses from your customers.
For more email marketing tips, check out our article on creating a mailing list for your online store.
6. Upsell and cross-sell
No list of Black Friday campaign ideas would be complete without upselling and cross-selling. This strategy tempts shoppers to upgrade their purchases or add complementary items.
Offer upgraded versions or related products at discounted prices to increase the overall order value and boost customer satisfaction throughout the Black Friday weekend.
Create gift guides featuring these items to help holiday shoppers quickly find the perfect gifts and add more to their carts. Share the guides on your social media, blog, and through targeted ads to drive traffic and maximize online sales.
7. Attract new customers with product bundles
Make shopping easier for your customers by offering ready-made bundle deals as a part of your Black Friday marketing campaign.
Combine complementary products – like t-shirts and hats or phone cases and stickers – into a tempting package deal and showcase it on your eCommerce store as an exclusive Black Friday offer.
It’s a great way to showcase and offer your target audience more products at a great price.
8. Offer exclusive deals with limited discounts
Black Friday is a frantic period both online and in physical stores. Use this urgency, FOMO (fear of missing out), and desire to find a good deal to your advantage.
Create limited Cyber Monday offers to gamify the shopping experience, encouraging consumers to compete for the best deals and increasing the average order value.
This is where newsletters, social media posts, and other repeated media mentions of sales come in handy. Offer limited-time exclusive discounts that expire just as Cyber Monday closes to potentially skyrocket your user traffic.
9. Offer free shipping
Free shipping motivates 49% of online shoppers and can significantly increase your Black Friday sales.
Implement conditional free shipping to encourage higher cart values, such as offering free shipping on orders over a certain amount or selected high-priced items. Promote this across your marketing channels to drive interest and impulse purchases, increasing conversions while maintaining profitability.
10. Set up cart abandonment emails
Abandoned online shopping carts drastically reduce sales. This issue may arise from pricey shipping rates (the most common factor), undecided shoppers, better competitive rates elsewhere, or window shopping.
Creating automated abandoned cart emails can bring buyers back to the page they left, increasing your chances of closing the deal.
Make it happen today!
11. Encourage customers with a free gift or coupon
Build shopper loyalty by offering a free gift or coupon during your Black Friday promotions. For small business owners, this strategy can effectively target customers who appreciate personalized touches. Once a customer completes their purchase or interacts with promotional content, reward them with a coupon code or a small gift.
These gifts don’t have to be extravagant – unique packaging, downloadable content, or product-specific accessories can create a memorable shopping experience. Coupons, however, add an exclusive feel, encouraging customers to take action.
12. Make an interactive experience
Add fun, interactive elements to your Black Friday campaigns to truly engage and captivate online shoppers.
Try a discount wheel, where customers spin to win discounts, bundles, or even a generous gift card. This gamified approach adds excitement and encourages larger carts.
You can also use well-timed pop-ups to showcase mega deals, limited offers, holiday promotions, or coupon codes, creating urgency and prompting immediate purchases.
Interactive experiences like these increase participation and drive sales throughout the holiday season.
13. Use hashtags
Here’s a Black Friday marketing idea you don’t want to overlook – hashtags. Use them in promotional social media posts and add them to quotes, titles, and announcements about your sales to help even more customers find your store.
Use specific hashtags for your Black Friday and Cyber Monday campaign, including:
#ShoppingDay
#BlackFridayDeals
#BlackFridaySale
#CyberWeek
#BlackFriday
#CyberMonday
#Shopping
#BlackFridaySpecial
#BlackFridayShopping
#CyberMondaySpecial
#CyberMondayDeals
#SuperSale
Add other hashtags relevant to your brand and recent trends, but don’t use so many that they’re spammy or intentionally mislead customers.
14. Don’t forget about customer satisfaction
To make the most of the Black Friday rush, focus on delivering value and cultivating VIP customers.
Engaged existing customers are likely to promote your brand to friends and family – especially when their efforts are rewarded.
Many brands offer incentives like:
- Discounts
- Early releases
- Gifts
- Coupons
These rewards can be given for leaving testimonials, subscribing to newsletters, making large purchases, or creating media content that reviews or showcases your products.
Include user-generated content in your Black Friday marketing strategy to maximize sales, build a trusted brand identity, and gain loyal customers.
15. Try paid ads
Paid advertising is one of the most popular ways for an online business to promote its brand, products, and unique sales.
It’s a direct and immediate way to gain visibility and attract new audiences. But do keep in mind that, of all Black Friday and Cyber Monday campaign ideas, this one will require a budget.
Strategically run displayed ads on Google, Instagram, and other popular channels to reach the right audiences and encourage them not to miss out on epic deals this Black Friday.
16. Partner with influencers
Influencer marketing may be one of the best Black Friday promo ideas. It’s a prime opportunity to showcase your products to a global audience of potential buyers.
In fact, 92% of businesses say their influencer marketing strategies pay off, making it a smart tactic for seasonal sales.
Influencers provide authentic promotions to a dedicated following in your target market, helping expand your brand’s reach and drive more sales during the year’s biggest shopping events.
Partner with content creators who align with your principles and brand values, as many customers base purchasing decisions on the trustworthiness of who’s promoting the products.
17. Partner with other brands
Another great Black Friday marketing idea is co-branding. Team up with brands that share your values and promote each other’s sales for a win-win deal!
Co-branding means you share your audiences, budget, resources, and ideas. When two businesses come together, it raises the credibility and customer loyalty of both participants, further maximizing your sales potential during the Black Friday weekend.
18. Reward loyal customers
When developing your Black Friday campaign ideas, don’t focus solely on the potential customers you’re about to attract. Remember the loyal existing customers who have already purchased your goods and might return for more.
Reward them with recognition and gratitude by offering discounts, early-access deals, gift guides, and sneak peeks into your upcoming sales.
This is one of those Black Friday marketing tips that will help you gather positive feedback, harness customer loyalty, and maximize your sales by reminding your devoted customers how much they matter.
Check out our gift guides to help you prepare your own:
19. Design a Black Friday / Cyber Monday contest
When your gift guide is ready, head to social media to spark excitement with unboxing challenges, Cyber Monday scavenger hunts, Black Friday trivia, or other fun contests. This will attract the attention of potential shoppers, drive social sharing, encourage user-generated content, and spread the word about your brand and promotions.
Make sure to offer a prize that’s worth participating for. People love free products, discounts, and exclusive deals – and you can offer all these without breaking the bank.
20. Extend your offers for the whole Cyber Week
We’ve mentioned that Black Friday, Cyber Monday, and the two weeks that follow Thanksgiving weekend are somewhat interchangeable. Your Cyber Monday promotion ideas are just as relevant for Black Friday and vice versa.
Top discounts happen during Cyber Monday, but customers still provide significant traffic during the December holiday season. Extend your Black Friday promotions to get as much profit as possible from your hard work and planning.
FAQ
It refers to a major annual sales event where brands use strategic promotions to drive traffic, increase conversions, and clear inventory before the end of the year. These campaigns typically involve huge savings.
Black Friday marketing campaigns create urgency and capitalize on consumer demand by targeting existing and new shoppers. They often lead into Cyber Monday sales, creating a multi-day spike in purchases. For many online retailers, this period represents the highest-grossing weekend of the entire holiday shopping season.
Start by preparing for Black Friday at least a month in advance. Identify your ad spend limits and allocate your budget across email marketing, social media ads, and landing page promotions. The best Black Friday marketing ideas include offering early access to loyal customers, using countdown timers, and bundling popular products.
Make your visuals bold, your copy urgent, and your offer impossible to ignore. Then track performance and adjust your ads in real-time to maximize every euro you spend.
Use clever promotions, sales, banners, pop-ups, discounts, and strategic email marketing to attract customers on Black Friday. Advertise your deals through social media and ensure your store is visually appealing and easy to navigate. Early access offers and countdown timers can create urgency, enticing customers to shop sooner.
Just as you would with a Black Friday sale, you can spread the word about your exciting Cyber Monday deals by creating early bird discounts, great deals, fun contests, or challenges with prizes your buyers might want.
Send out emails, bedazzle your storefront, and don’t forget about social media. Interact with your customers to expand your brand reach and generate feedback around the Black Friday and Cyber Monday shopping season.
Offer conditional free shipping, create limited-time offers, and use countdown timers to build urgency. Use upselling and cross-selling strategies, provide exclusive deals to loyal customers, and keep customers engaged through social media and email marketing.
The most effective Black Friday marketing strategy combines significant discounts, bundle deals, and exclusive, limited-time offers. Use bold, clear messaging and promote consistently across email, social, and your online store.
Add urgency with countdowns or early access, and if you’re using Printify, tailor your POD products to match the season and your target audience. This multi-channel approach helps you maximize visibility and drive results during the holiday shopping season.
During Black Friday, the top product categories are apparel and accessories (49%), toys (31%), and gift cards (27%).
Market Cyber Monday by extending your Black Friday promotion, offering exclusive online-only deals, and using targeted ads to reach specific audiences. Enhance the shopping experience with interactive elements like discount prize wheels or pop-ups, and maintain engagement through email and social media marketing.
Cyber Monday and Black Friday marketing campaigns: Conclusion
For POD sellers, early Black Friday planning is everything. Use Printify to launch custom products, then promote your campaign with bold discounts, reminder emails, and social posts. Offer bundle deals, exclusive offers, and early access to engage loyal customers and attract new ones. Decorate your store, run contests, and stay visible all week.
With the right strategy, your Cyber Monday promotions can turn the holiday shopping season into your most profitable yet.
