25 Best Black Friday Email Examples (+ Actionable Tips)

Sending emails on Black Friday is a complicated task that requires lots of time and creative efforts from your content and design teams, as well as financial resources for using a CRM.

Not to worry, though, because we’ve created a curated collection of the best Black Friday email examples. 

We’ve analyzed the key takeaways from each one of these email campaigns to help you get inspired and build your own.

Top 25 Black Friday Email Campaigns that Inspire 

If you’re just about to begin brainstorming your Black Friday email ideas, here are some of the best Black Friday emails to use as a solid starting point.

Pre-Black Friday Teaser Emails

To build anticipation, you can create a Black Friday teaser email. In your pre-Black Friday emails, make sure to add a sneak peek of what your customers can expect, but don’t give out all the information. You should keep them eager to visit your site.

Let’s explore some creative email examples:

Subject line: Snap. Share. SAVE! 🎁

Takeaways: 

In Canon’s pre-Black Friday email, they have picked the top three products to catch the customer’s attention, yet customers need to visit Canon’s website to learn more about the sale. What’s more, the main CTA button is placed above the fold to attract attention. They also have their main shopping categories linked at the bottom of the email for customers to explore further.

• Design: Their brand color ‘red’ is used for the CTA button and the background in order to make the button more appealing and the camera product stand out – the two most important things in this email communication.
• Content: They put emphasis on the reader’s strive for free time for “what really matters,” for “the moments that mean the world,” etc. Their subject line is also short, catchy, straight to the point, and it leverages alliteration.

Takeaways:

In Bellroy’s example, the things that catch one’s eye the most are the title – “your deal is waiting” – and the amount of the deal (up to $70 AUD). These are specifically created to attract the reader’s attention – the font is white on a black background, which makes it stand out; and the deal is a 3D-like credit card, which is inline with their brand’s products (wallets, bags, phone cases, etc.).

• Content: This is one of the best VIP customer email examples. The brand emphasizes the exclusivity of their deal, using phrases like “subscriber exclusive,” “your deal,” “you have early access,” etc. It appeals to the reader, making them feel special and appreciated, differentiating them from the “crowds.” The copy is actionable and reader-oriented.
• Design: They’ve used a black background and an orange button, as well as white and gray for the fonts, in order to make the most important aspects of their Black Friday message stand out.

Takeaways:

This teaser email is almost like a Black Friday newsletter example, as it’s heavily focusing on the product bundle offer. Yet it creates a sense of urgency even though it’s an early-access offer. This sense of urgency is completely logical here because the brand is promoting health-monitoring devices, and health is always the “most urgent” and important aspect of life.

• Content: The copy emphasizes how big their offer is in terms of products provided and the discounted amount of the total value. They’ve repeatedly used the word “big” to describe both the offer and the product bundle.
• Design: To achieve the above-mentioned effects, the brand has incorporated several elements in the email design. Their “blue” brand color is again used for titles and CTAs and made to stand out on a black background. There are different pictures of the products because here the focus is the bundle deal.

Takeaways:

Tinker Watches use the countdown concept, which in this case corresponds nicely with their brand, as it promotes watches. On top of that, they are planning to release a new product; hence, the countdown concept.

• Content: To stress the countdown allusion to watch sales, they use phrases like “watch for it,” “let the countdown begin,” “coming Black Friday,” etc. which makes it appealing to the reader.
• Design: The email design is inline with the whole countdown “mystery” concept of the upcoming release. The upcoming watch is in a black shade with blurred background, and the user can only see its outline – thus, the brand creates a sense of anticipation and excitement.

Takeaways:

Paper Collective’s example focuses on inspiration for Black Friday gifts. The email represents a gift guide divided into four main categories that are based on the brand’s products. They put emphasis on inspiring and guiding customers through Black Friday shopping, while also teasing them with the upcoming offer “this weekend.”

• Content: The brand focuses the email content on getting ideas for Black Friday gift shopping from their upcoming sale. The title is a question that appeals to the user to think about their art-print and frame preferences. 
• Design: The brand’s colorful art is the focus of the email design. They emphasize the art collection guide, putting it above the fold in different colors, and with large font titles for each one. They don’t focus so much on the CTA button – the art collection guide is meant to attract users’ attention.

Black Friday Announcement Emails

Your Black Friday sale email announcement is probably the most important email you’re going to send out. That’s why it needs to be carefully crafted and designed in order to achieve maximum results and attract as many sales as possible.

Here are the top Black Friday email examples we’ve curated especially for you:

Takeaways:

The Washington Post Black Friday campaign is one of the best discount email examples. It grabs the reader’s attention with the low price in a very big red font.

• Content: The content is short and straight to the point – that’s their best deal ever, for just 99 cents per month. They also emphasize the fact that this deal provides users with unlimited access to their content, making it even more appealing.
• Design: They’ve used only three colors, yet in a very impactful way – above the fold they have the low price in big red font, plus a red CTA button below, and both stand out on the black background. The text is in white, which also makes it easy to read, and it catches one’s eye.

Takeaways:

Orangewood uses a big, black, blocktype font for their above-the-fold Black Friday title, which is the main focus. The percentage discount and product images also take a significant part of the email design.

• Content: Their copy is short and straightforward – their biggest Black Friday sale is live. They also create a sense of urgency with actionable phrases like “shop early.”
• Design: The background color is inline with the guitar’s colors, yet it makes the rest of the content stand out.

Takeaways:

The brand has divided the email into several sections – the most important ones being in a bright color that catches the reader’s attention. 

• Content: The copy uses actionable phrases like “save 20%,” “save up to,” “shop now,” and “visit.” to encourage sales. It also creates a sense of urgency, because the offer will be valid “while supplies last.” 

• Design: The email design is creative and compelling. The product images create a 3D-effect that makes them appealing to the reader. The bright orange color, along with the gray sections, make the content stand out.

Takeaways:

Skillshare’s email design heavily appeals to “you,” the reader. It uses an image of a creative professional with whom the reader can identify. The brand has also placed their product on the image in a subtle, yet compelling way – their creative glasses are in a neon green color.

• Content: The content focuses on the reader’s needs with phrases like “treat yourself,” “give yourself the gift,” and “everything you need to.” It gives both a special offer (50%-off discount) and explains the benefits of their product – i.e. gives reasons why the reader should take advantage of the offer.
• Design: The bright orange background above the fold is used to make the offer stand out. There is one neon green creative line that goes through this section, emphasizing the creative product they’re selling and catching the reader’s attention.

Takeaways:

The email design is focused on the books that it offers for kids, providing images of some of the books. The CTA buttons are also squares with sharp edges, reminiscent of books.

• Content: The content emphasizes how big the sale is with phrases like “huge savings,” “get a third book absolutely free.” It also creates a sense of urgency with “only come around once a year” and “don’t miss out.”
• Design: The design relies on three CTA buttons, two of which are sales-oriented (“Shop now and save”), above the fold and below in the email. At the bottom of the email, they have a third CTA button for driving traffic to their website, encouraging users to explore more products. The bold and block-type font corresponds well with the book products, and the bright and black colors create an appealing look.

Last Chance Emails

Our set of Black Friday email examples wouldn’t be complete without last chance emails. Their main objective is to create a sense of urgency in order to boost sales even further. They are usually sent a few days before the sales ends, or during the last 48 or even 24 hours. Our selection goes like this:

Takeaways:

The sense of urgency is created in almost every single sentence, using phrases like “do it quick,” “the end is nigh,” “truly nigh,” “your last chance,” “while it’s cheap,” and “before someone else.”

• Content: The content uses creative language, playing with the usage of the word “nigh,” as well as “snap up” and “stock up.” It also leverages the alliteration “breakfast bargain” to stress both the product “breakfast” and the sale “bargain.”
• Design: Apart from their brand color, which they’ve used as a background, they have used pouring milk and scattered cereal on the design to make it look more appealing and outside-of-the-box.

Takeaways:

The most important part of the email is above the fold, and very appealing with lots of visuals and contrasting fonts. The main CTA button is within that part as well. 

• Content: There isn’t much content in the email, but it’s straight to the point with phrases like “Black Friday deals,” “last call,” “book today,” and “don’t miss out.” It also has two additional sections that help the reader find flights and places to go; thus enhancing their user experience even further.
• Design: The major thing about the design is that it includes photos from various locations. These are meant to inspire and encourage the reader to book their next trip with Booking and take advantage of the offer.

Takeaways:

The email follows a traditional structure, having a title, image, paragraph, and a CTA button. What makes it stand out is the banner at the top, and the content.

• Content: The email content urges the reader to “save now,” which is related in a clever way to their brand (as they sell pillows) with the phrase “sleep later.” The copy is short, yet actionable – “buy more” and “save more.” That makes the content both compelling and sellable. 
• Design: The main focus of the design is the actionable title and the image in the center that aims to appeal to the reader and have them identify with it. The CTA button is placed at the bottom of the email, while the Black Friday savings banner is above the fold.

Takeaways:

This last chance email, showing a woman running, corresponds in a subtle way with the brand, selling sports shoes, and with the “Black Friday finale,” which creates a sense of urgency for the final sales.

• Content: The content focuses mainly on the fact that it’s the Black Friday finale and on the percentage discount (60% off). That’s a great approach for a last chance email, since they want to make as much final sales as possible.
• Design: The email includes product images of the best-selling items to encourage readers to make a purchase. It also leverages bright colors that create eye contrast.

Subject line: It Ain’t Over Yet

Takeaways:

Veil emphasizes the product and the deal, while also creating a sense of urgency. They’ve added an extra incentive with a social media giveaway game.

• Content: The brand uses more casual language, starting with the subject line, the opening sentence, all the way to the CTA button. This casual language corresponds well with the brand item that’s being promoted. 
• Design: Their product image and logo are the main focus of the email design, whereas the most important things are in bold font. Thus, they catch the reader’s attention and encourage them to make a purchase.

Takeaways:

Adobe Creative Cloud has placed everything the reader needs to know above the fold – title (with a last chance vibe), deal description, CTA button, and their logo (the main thing that catches the reader’s attention).

• Content: The content promotes their creative apps (with short descriptions for each one), and their corresponding icons that appeal to the reader’s visual memory of these digital products.

• Design: The email design relies on a black background for the above-the-fold field in order to make the colorful logo of the brand stand out to the reader. The various colors in the logo represent the creative freedom approach that Adobe’s products provide to their users.

Extended Black Friday Emails

Oftentimes Black Friday deals get extended in order to attract even more customers and increase sales. If you are worried you’ll run out of things to say at this point in the sale, then worry no more. We’ve prepared extended Black Friday email examples as well in order to inspire your own email campaign.

Takeaways:

The email has a traditional structure with a header image, title, paragraph, and CTA button with the offer. That design decision corresponds well with Farewill’s brand identity, because their business occupation is wills, funerals, and probate.

• Content: The overall feel of the copy is that it’s funny (it even incorporates a joke), which is in contrast with the seriousness of writing a will. That makes the email content even more witty and compelling.
• Design: The design looks simple and clean, using mainly gray and yellow (for contrast), yet the offer and the CTA button stand out well on the white background.

Takeaways:

The National Geographic example of an extended Black Friday deal follows a newsletter-like structure in which the section above the fold contains all the vital information – title, deal, CTA button, and product images. The rest provides even more ideas for gifts, divided into categories.

• Content: The content is straight to the point and product-oriented. There are a lot of listed products with simply an image and title, including the discounted price and the original price, in order to make them more appealing to the readers.
• Design: The white background makes all the product images stand out with a nice contrast. This effect makes them the main focus of the email.

Subject line: ⚠️ We’ve extended our Best Black Friday Deal Ever!

Takeaways:

This is one of the free shipping email examples, as well as a great example of an extended Black Friday deal. It creates a sense of urgency, beginning with the emoji in the subject line.

• Content: With phrases like “while supplies last” and “ends tonight,” the email urges readers to make a purchase as soon as possible. 
• Design: The design follows a newsletter-like structure with multiple sections, starting with an above-the-fold section with the offer and call-to-action. The rest of the sections follow a zig-zag format in which every section ends with a CTA button, aiming at higher click-through rates.

Takeaways:

The whole concept of Casper’s example revolves around sleep, which corresponds nicely with the sleep products they sell. Their offer is stated explicitly, yet the main focus is the content and design, which together create the overall feel that there’s an attractive deal.

• Content: The content uses creative language with phrases like “choose snooze” and “the gift of sleep.” It also creates a sense of urgency saying that they can use the code “through tomorrow.”
• Design: The main focus of the email is the Z-like images of gifts, which represent sleep and the gift that’s part of their Black Friday deal. This once again appeals to the reader’s subconscious in order to encourage them to make a purchase.

Bonus: Cyber Monday Emails

What about Cyber Monday, you would ask. And you’d be right, because in the last (few) years, Cyber Monday has become a vital part of the whole Black Friday shopping frenzy. Cyber Monday is another great opportunity for boosting your sales this sales season.

That’s why we’ve also selected some Cyber Monday email examples:

Takeaways:

In this example, the brand has put the three most important things above the fold – title, CTA button, and product image. They’ve also used a different background color for this section in order to make it stand out.

• Content: The copy is short and clear – Cyber Monday has started, and subscribers are encouraged to “shop now.” The rest of the email focuses on the products on sale – they are presented with a featured image, title, short description, and, most importantly, a discounted price. This is compared to the original price, including the percentage discount for boosting sales. All these encourage the reader to buy as soon as possible.
• Design: The main focus of the design is the product images of the TVs. Each TV screen is made very colorful to attract the reader’s attention. The CTA buttons are in red, which contrasts well on the white background.

Takeaways:

In the first section, which is above the fold, the brand announces that Cyber Monday is here, what their deal is, and the categories in which they sell products. It’s basically a summary of all that their subscribers need to know.

• Content: The content is very short and actionable in terms of CTA buttons. They use the simple, yet effective “shop” CTA button. The main focus is on the products and their reduced prices in an attempt to attract more customers.
• Design: The product images complement the main message. The brand has picked product images from each category – women, men, and accessories, in order to attract more customers. The product image color palette is inline with the overall look and feel of the email, and they represent each product in its best light to increase sales.

Takeaways:

This Cyber Monday email example creates a retro overall look and feel, especially with the computer image. It corresponds well with the brand’s business with cards – combining the retro element of a card with the modern touch of online cards that are sent via computers.

• Content: The content is straight to the point – it introduces Cyber Monday and the deal that goes with it in two short sentences, which is a great hook for the reader to visit the website and make a purchase.
• Design: The red background used for the main section makes it appealing and compelling for the readers. They’ve also used a very creative element for the label “sale,” which they’ve inserted on a computer’s screen for more effect.

Takeaways:

The email creates a sense of urgency with the countdown timer at the top of the email, which is also in a bright color that contrasts well with the rest of the email.

• Content: The content is very short – a title, CTA button, and percentage discount. The focus is on the product images that are placed in a creative way across the email to attract their target group – the younger audience.
• Design: The design uses bright colors in correspondence with the brand’s products. Also, the title’s font is not traditional, but rather creative and outside-of-the-box in order to appeal to the younger audience.

Subject line: 🔮 Manifest miraculous writing with Grammarly Premium

Takeaways:

In Grammarly’s email example, the main focus is the discount – 50% off any plan. They’ve also included their plan description in order to attract customers and upsell their premium plan.

• Content: Since the brand is a writing assistant tool, the content of the email heavily relies on word play and appropriate word choice, starting with the subject line. The overall feel of the email is that words create magic.

• Design: The design focuses on the “magical” header image that is used to emphasize the main idea about “magical words.” It’s the only colorful element in the email that stands out on the black background.

How To Build Your Black Friday Email Marketing Campaign

Now that we’ve looked at the Black Friday email marketing examples, it’s time to build your Black Friday email marketing campaign. Email marketing will be the backbone of your business success this shopping season. It’s important to create your Black Friday email strategy well in advance, in order to have time to implement and execute it.

Here’s all you need to know about every aspect of your Black Friday email:

Create Catchy Subject Lines

Begin by creating a Black Friday catchy subject line. Make sure it’s unique and compelling so that it can boost your open rates and click rates. Tailor it to your campaign – whether it’s a teaser, a sale announcement, last chance or extended sale. Keep it short, straight to the point, and valuable. Above all, it should spark your subscribers’ curiosity and make them want to open your email.

You can see some great examples from popular brands below:

• Snap. Share. SAVE! 🎁 (Canon)
• See what’s heating up on Black Friday (WeWork)
• These savings won’t stick around (Google)
• 50% off. Starting Now. (Brain.fm)
• Cards Against Humanity Pays You $5 (Cards Against Humanity)
• Black Friday Sale Starts… Now! ⏰ (Postable)
• Get $50 off your reMarkable paper tablet (reMarkable)

Keep in mind that you can also perform A/B testing with different subject line ideas in order to check which one works best for your audience. By rule of thumb, you can send Version A to 20% of your audience,  and Version B  to another 20%. Then allow some time to see the results (e.g. open rates), and let the rest of your audience receive the winning subject line version.

Use Appealing Black Friday Email Templates

The next big thing to think of is your email design. Does designing an email from scratch sound scary? That’s where Black Friday email templates come to the rescue. They not only save time and effort, but can also be very effective if used correctly.

To leverage Black Friday email templates, you will need a third-party email marketing service, or hire a developer to code some email designs for you. 

For instance, SiteGround Email Marketing allows you to create stunning emails fast with our free email templates. It includes templates for every need, including Black Friday and Cyber Monday, and lets you easily change colors, play with images, layouts, and everything else you need to create a beautiful email campaign in minutes.

Include a Strong Product Proposition

Now that you’ve got a beautiful email template design, you have to fill it in with value for your customers.

To succeed in ecommerce email marketing, you should have a strong product proposition and a valuable offer that goes with it. The same rule goes for your Black Friday ecommerce strategy.

If you offer a 10% discount for Black Friday, chances are that you won’t stand out among your competition. You need to come up with an attractive offer that your subscribers simply cannot pass by.

Do your research on competitors and offer better deals and more discounts. Keep your own inventory in mind as well. If you discount some of your best-selling products or services, you’ll have even better chances of boosting your sales.

Craft a Compelling Black Friday Message

Even the most appealing offer could remain unnoticed if it’s not conveyed clearly to your audience. That’s why you need to think carefully about your Black Friday messaging. 

Begin by learning how to write promotional emails and incorporate these guidelines in your Black Friday email promotion strategy. Make sure to:

• Communicate your value proposition in a clear, yet catchy voice
• Use short and actionable words and sentences
• Keep your overall message concise and straight to the point
• Engage your readers by making them feel special and appreciated
• Leverage phrases that create a sense of urgency

Creating compelling content is not that easy at all. You’ll need help and we’ve got you covered. With SiteGround Email Marketing service, for example, you get a powerful built-in AI writer assistant that basically writes for you. All you have to do is share a bit about what you want to say and set the tone of voice, then sit back and watch the AI write the perfect email message for you.

Leverage Beautiful Images

Your Black Friday email design won’t be of any use if you don’t include beautiful and appealing visuals. If you’re selling products, ensure to include pictures that represent these products in the best way possible. In case you’re offering services, use visuals that are somehow related to the service and correspond to your brand guidelines.

If you’re using SiteGround Email Marketing service, for example, you benefit from a free built-in, AI-generated image gallery. Instead of hiring a professional photographer, or paying for stock images, you can now simply generate the image you need – various topics and styles are available at no extra cost.

Make sure to keep all visuals and images inline with your brand style and guidelines so that your customers know and remember that this is your brand.

Pro tip: Use only high-quality images, but keep them low in size in order to have your site load as fast as possible for your visitors.

Include a Clear Call To Action

What if you accomplish all of the above, but you still don’t get sales? Then you’re clearly missing something – a clear call to action (button). Your CTA consists of two main parts:

• Copy

Your CTA copy should be as clear, short, and actionable as possible. Use no more than 2-3 words in total. Try to be creative, but stay clear as well. Some examples to begin with include “Buy now,” “Shop now,” “Start shopping,” “Start saving,” “Get your deal,” etc.

• Design 

Make your CTA stand out within the overall design of your Black Friday email. It doesn’t have to be big and in a very bright color in order to achieve this. All you have to do is incorporate it in a subtle way that is both inline with your brand, and appealing design wise. It should make your readers’ eyes stop and click on it. Don’t forget to place your buttons above the fold or, in case of a longer email, in several places.

On Your Way To Black Friday Email Marketing Success

With all these Black Friday email examples in your possession, you’re on the right track to create your own and succeed during the upcoming busy shopping season.

If you have other Black Friday email marketing ideas that have proven successful, feel free to share them in the comments below. We’ll be happy to hear from you.

Happy selling!