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Black Friday is one of the biggest retail events of the year. It is the curtain for Christmas shopping and in 2020 it grossed a shocking $188.2 billion from online and mobile purchases alone. For many retailers, such as jewelers, it’s a significant day since up to 40 percent of their annual turnover can occur between Black Friday and Christmas. With sharp discounts and deals, it is not surprising many consumers want to fully leverage this occasion to stock on their wish list and get ahead of Christmas shopping in one go. Consequently, nearly all brands and online retailers are looking to make a difference on this day, starting with email campaigns that increase awareness and drive traffic to the websites. In today’s post, we share inspirations on Black Friday email subject lines along with a few not-so-traditional Black Friday email approaches, to help you distinguish your email campaigns from the very first impression!?
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Black Friday email subject lines are perhaps the most important text for your email campaign this season. Why? It’s the first thing, aside from the sender name, that will be perceived by the reader to determine whether it’s worth the time to open and read. Of course, the tone of voice, sense of urgency, and creativity will vary by verticals and types of audiences you are looking to reach. Another rule of thumb: use vocabulary and phrases that your audience is accustom to.
Here are some examples of industry verticals.
Based on global best practices and statistics from retail and email marketing experts, you can find below a selection of the 10 best Black Friday email subject lines so as to clarify the key elements for an effective Black Friday email subject line:
1) “🛠 BF Bonanza: Renovate at Half the Cost! 🏡” (Home Improvement Industry)
– Engagement: Utilizes emojis to grab attention and reflect the industry.
– Offer Highlight: Clearly highlights the value proposition of cost-saving.
– Relevance: Relevant to a target audience interested in home renovation.
2) “Sweat More, Spend Less: Exclusive Black Friday Offers! 🏃” (Fitness Industry)
– Motivation: Encourages action with a motivational phrase.
– Clarity: Provides clarity on the offer with the term “Exclusive Black Friday Offers.”
– Visual Appeal: Uses an emoji to add a visual element related to fitness.
3) “Pamper Your Pet with Purr-fect Black Friday Deals! 🐾” (Pet Care Industry)
– Play on Words: Utilizes a clever play on words to engage the reader.
– Emotional Appeal: Appeals to pet owners’ emotions towards pampering their pets.
– Visual Engagement: The paw print emoji enhances visual appeal and relevance.
4) “💄 Glam Up for Less with Our Black Friday Beauty Bargains! ✨” (Beauty Industry)
– Incentive: Offers a clear incentive to glam up for less, which is enticing for beauty enthusiasts.
– Visual Appeal: Emojis add a visual element that complements the text.
– Industry Relevance: Clearly targets the beauty industry audience.
5) “🚗 Drive Away with Black Friday Bargains on Auto Accessories! 🛍️” (Automotive Industry)
– Action-Oriented: Encourages action with the phrase “Drive Away.”
– Value Proposition: Highlights bargains, which is a key value proposition.
– Visual Engagement: Utilizes emojis related to the industry for visual engagement.
6) “👗 BF Fashion Fiesta: Trendy Styles, Tiny Prices! 💃” (Fashion Industry)
– Excitement: Creates a sense of excitement and eventfulness with the term “Fashion Fiesta.”
– Offer Highlight: Highlights the offer of trendy styles at low prices.
– Visual Appeal: Emojis add a festive, visual element to the subject line.
7) “🔌 Tech the Halls with Black Friday Electronic Deals! 🎄” (Electronics Industry)
– Play on Words: Clever play on words with “Tech the Halls” to engage and entertain.
– Seasonal Relevance: Incorporates seasonal relevance with a Christmas tree emoji.
– Industry Relevance: Clearly targets the electronics industry audience.
8) “🏕️ Outdoor Adventure Awaits with Black Friday Bargains! 🚀” (Outdoor and Sporting Goods)
– Adventure Appeal: Appeals to the adventurous nature of the target audience.
– Clarity: Clearly mentions the Black Friday bargains.
– Visual Stimulus: Emojis add a visual stimulus related to outdoor adventure.
9) “📚 BF Bookworm Bonanza: Dive into Unbeatable Deals! 🐛” (Books and Stationery Industry)
– Target Audience Engagement: Engages the target audience of bookworms with a playful term.
– Call to Action: Encourages action with the phrase “Dive into”.
– Visual Engagement: Utilizes emojis to enhance visual engagement.
10) “💍 BF Sparkle Sale: Dazzling Discounts on Jewelry! ✨” (Jewelry Industry)
– Engagement: “Sparkle Sale” and “Dazzling Discounts” evoke a sense of luxury and allure.
– Visual Appeal: Utilizes emojis to complement the text and add visual engagement.
– Industry Relevance: Clearly targets the jewelry industry audience with relevant terminology.
Clarity and Conciseness: Be clear and to the point about the offers or deals you are providing. Limit your subject line to about 50-60 characters to ensure it’s fully visible in most email inboxes.
Utilize Urgency and Scarcity: Words like “Hurry,” “Last Chance,” or “Today Only” can create a sense of urgency. Mentioning limited stock or time-bound offers can provoke action.
Incorporate Emojis Carefully: Emojis can make your subject line stand out, but use them sparingly and ensure they are relevant to your message and brand.
Personalization: Personalize subject lines with the recipient’s name or past purchase behavior if possible. Segmentation can also help in personalizing the message to different customer groups.
Use Action-Oriented Verbs: Start with verbs that encourage action, like “Discover,” “Save,” or “Get.”
Test and Optimize: A/B test different subject line variations to see what resonates best with your audience. Monitor open rates and click-through rates to understand what’s working.
Mention Black Friday: It’s crucial to mention Black Friday or BF in the subject line to set the context right away.
Highlight the Discount or Offer: Clearly mention the percentage off or the type of offer in the subject line to attract attention.
Avoid Spammy Language: Avoid ALL CAPS or excessive use of exclamation marks, as these can trigger spam filters.
Be Different: Try to stand out from the typical Black Friday subject lines. Incorporate humor or a play on words, if appropriate for your brand. Include Your Brand Name: Incorporate your brand name to build recognition and trust.
Optimize for Mobile: Ensure your subject line looks good and remains effective on mobile devices, where a significant amount of email is read.
Having delved into the art of crafting captivating email subject lines, let’s now transition into exploring other crucial facets of a Black Friday email marketing strategy. Each of these components, when integrated effectively, can significantly amplify your campaign’s impact, driving higher engagement and conversions during the bustling shopping season of Black Friday 2023. Below is a breakdown of the best Black Friday email marketing tips that will assist any retailer in achieving their Black Friday goals this year.
BF Tip 1: Plan Early Start planning your Black Friday email marketing strategy well in advance to ensure a well-coordinated and effective campaign.
BF Tip 2: Segment Your Audience: Segment your email list based on purchasing behavior, preferences, or demographics to send targeted and personalized messages.
BF Tip 3: Run Teaser Pre-Black Friday Email Campaigns: Whet your customers’ appetites with teaser emails showcasing a preview of the Black Friday deals to build anticipation.
BF Tip 4: Audit your Mobile UX: Ensure your emails and landing pages are mobile-friendly to accommodate shoppers browsing on various devices.
BF Tip 5: Include Clear Call to Actions (CTAs): Include clear and compelling CTAs to guide recipients towards making a purchase or exploring your deals.
BF Tip 6: Create Urgency in every BFCM newsletter: Use urgency-inducing phrases like “Limited Time Offer” or “While Supplies Last” to encourage immediate action.
BF Tip 7: Track and Analyze your Black Friday Performance on a weekly level: Utilize analytics to track email performance and be ready to adjust your strategy based on real-time data.
BF Tip 8: Secure Responsive Design: Employ a responsive design for your emails to ensure they look good and function well on all devices and email clients.
BF Tip 9: Offer Email-Exclusive Deals on your Black Friday email series: Reward loyal customers with exclusive deals or early access to Black Friday sales to foster loyalty and encourage purchases.
BF Tip 10: Schedule Follow-Up Campaigns targeting your BF customers: After Black Friday, send follow-up emails to thank customers, request feedback, or offer additional promotions to keep them engaged.
Most eCommerce businesses tend to use email campaigns to drive maximize traffic from Black Friday, either online or in-store, in a creative way. In this example, Apple used email campaigns to build awareness for its in-store sales:
Example: Apple Black Friday Campaign seeks to drive in-store traffic.
The rule of thumb dictates that Black Friday email campaigns must start building awareness about 2 weeks prior and intensify anticipation as time progresses. As more people choose to stay out of busy streets and cashier queues to enjoy Black Friday shopping from the comfort of their home, the need for brands to reach all possible digital channels is intense. Maximum visibility can be achieved via multi-channel campaigns, with integrated campaigns across online and offline channels which will spread awareness and create a top of mind effect to your audience.
eCommerce businesses generally opt to gain from the Black Friday & Cyber Monday momentum. However, as of the past 2 years, some brands decided to go against the tide, and as a result, further distinguishes the brand ideal from the crowd. A good example of such is REI, a retailer for outdoors apparels. In email message was sent directly from REI’s CEO, Jerry Spritzke, to its customers announcing that REI is closing all the stores on Black Friday.
REI choose an alternative approach for Black Friday Email
By choosing to uphold its’ brand values as an outdoors gear retailer, REI was able to garner brand recognition for its core customer base. Although forgoing the potential sales for Black Friday, such brand marketing and choices will have a significant effect on the company’s bottom line for years to come.
For additional inspiration, you can review the 30 best Black Friday campaigns ever in this article of ours.
Apart from the Black Friday email subject lines above, we’ve also created 3 new Black Friday email templates that will help you build your promotion campaigns quicker.
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Black Friday Email Template 1
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Black Friday Template 2
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Black Friday Template 3
Getting your subscribers to open your Black Friday email campaigns is really crucial and this is why selecting an optimized subject line is important. However, while good open rates are correlated with higher sales, it doesn’t necessarily guarantee increased sales. For increased sales result on your eCommerce business, you’ll need a comprehensive marketing strategy that ties together the messages, offers, creatives and all channels you’re using to reach the right audiences. This article is meant to help you with that.
Happy Black Friday sales!
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