Black Friday

  • Four Email Sequences: Your One-Stop Shop for Black Friday Success

    Black Friday is the most important day of the year for many businesses, and email marketing can be your one-stop shop to convert more customers. Today, I’m walking you through the four sequences that you can set up ahead of time so that they go out automatically on Black Friday… Not only will they be ready to send out to your audience ahead of time, but they will also generate an increase in sales.

    Be sure you have an abandoned cart sequence for your Black Friday Sale.

    The first and probably most important sequence you need is an abandoned cart sequence. I’m sure you’ve heard me say this before, but up to 70% of carts get abandoned before potential buyers finish their purchase. There are a lot of reasons behind this, but most often, it’s because they have an objection or question about your offer. If that’s not the case, then they may have gotten distracted or side trakced and never finished what they started.

    An abandoned cart sequence will go out automatically to anyone that didn’t complete their purchase after adding items to their cart. Sometimes people just need the friendly reminder that they left something behind. Sending this sequence also gives your the chance to answer questions and bust objections. Both of these things can lead to the completion of sales that wouldn’t have happened without those emails.

    You want this sequence set up ahead of time so that it goes out on autopilot the second your Black Friday sale starts! Without a doubt, this one will be well worth your time!

    You need a sequence that goes out to people that didn't open your original Black Friday offer email.

    There is also great value in setting up a sequence that’ll go out to the people in your audience that didn’t open your initial offer email. This is a great way to get your offer out there. Sometimes people’s inboxes are flooded with messages. This will be especially true over the Black Friday shopping weekend. There are BILLIONS of emails sent during the five days around Thanksgiving (Campaign Monitor). 

    Maybe your first email got overlooked. Or maybe someone in your audience hasn’t checked their emails in a few days and the only ones they actually notice the next time they’re in their inbox are the ones from the last 24 hours.

    By sending out that follow-up sequence for unopened emails, you’re dramatically increasing your chances of being seen. You never know… That follow-up sequence could be offering someone exactly what they needed. They just didn’t know about it before.

    Upsells and downsells... They need a seqeunce for your Black Friday sale, too.

    The next sequence that yields huge results is an upsell sequence. By offering your audience something else in addition to your main offer can really benefit you and them. You’ll increase your cart value and overall sales by offering an upsell. Your customer will also get several products/services that solve more than one problem for them– for a great deal.

    Bonus tip– include a downsell sequence, too! This is a great option for you if you have something in your offer ladder that has a lower cost than your original offer. 

    Making a downsell is SO much better than not making a sale at all! 

    If you have a waitlist offer for Black Friday, it needs an email sequence, too.

    Finally, be sure you have an email sequence ready if you’re creating a waitlist offer. By setting up a sequence for this group, you are making sure they’re getting all the information they need leading up to the launch they are waiting for. You can also use it to send them special offers and insider tips. It’s a great way to really build relationships with a specific segment of your list.

    There is a lot on your plate during the Black Friday shopping weekend. Having email sequences written and set up to go out automatically will eliminate a ton of stress from your sale week. Plus, setting up these four sequences can make a huge impact on how much revenue you make during your sale. 

    Be sure you get these four sequences set up ahead of time to make this your best Black Friday yet. 

    Want some more fabulous tips and tricks to get that Black Friday sale planned and organized so your sale is SUPER successful and stress-free? Download my FREE Black Friday and Beyond checklist so you know exactly what you need to do to be ready for the big day!

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  • 3 Ways to Avoid Abandoned Carts for Black Friday Sales

    In the world of online shopping, 60% of all shoppers will abandon their cart. That number is utterly shocking. 

    A lot of times customers abandon carts because of unexpected charges on their order. Anything from upsells to bonuses, taxes, fees, or shipping costs can change their mind. If it’s beyond your advertised price for your product,customers could abandon their cart. 

    Some customers get frustrated with lengthy checkout processes or having to set up an account on your platform to complete their purchase. 

    When you’re selling a physical product, sometimes they are looking for specific shipping options you may not have. 

    If 60% of your potential customers abandon their cart, you are leaving a TON of potential revenue on the table… Especially if it’s Black Friday and you’ve got high expectations for your day. 

    Luckily, there are ways to capitalize on (and avoid) abandoned carts. Having a solid plan in place for when  your shoppers leave before completing their purchase will have a huge return on investment for you!

    Prepare an Abandoned Cart Sequence Specific for Your Black Friday Sale

    First, you should have an abandoned cart email sequence ready to send out to any customer that doesn’t complete a sale. 

    An abandoned cart email will automatically follow up with that customer and remind them (and sometimes incentivize them) to complete their purchase.  

    It’s a great way to remind them of the benefits your products and services can give them. There’s a reason they started the process after all. 

    Sometimes your customers just need a question answered or clarification on something.  An abandoned cart sequence will provide them with the information they need to finalize their purchase. 

    Research shows that the conversion rate of those abandoned cart emails is 59% on Black Friday and 49.2% on Cyber Monday (omnisend.com).

    With conversion rates like that, you can’t afford to not send abandoned cart emails. You can recover a huge portion of your sales just through this strategy alone. 

    Warm Your Audience Up for Any Upsells or Add-on Offers You’re Planning

    Second, warm your Black Friday shoppers up for any upsells or add-ons you plan to offer. While you are sending out emails leading up to your Black Friday sale, be sure you highlight any bonus deals you’re including. That way they know exactly what to expect when they click “add to cart”.

    When you are offering products or services at a discounted rate, and you let your audience know about ALL of them ahead of time, you’ll have much more positive results.

    If your customers don’t know about your “bonus” offer ahead of time, it can have the opposite effect you want it to. 

    You think you’re giving them a great deal and a FABULOUS product. But sometimes all they see is you pushing more sales. 

    If a potential customer is turned off or frustrated by your upsell, they aren’t going to purchase from you at all. 

    Be sure that you’re transparent about your offers before they get to their shopping cart. 

    You don’t want to give them any extra reason to abandon their cart. 

    Add an Exit Intent Pop Up to Your Black Friday Checkout

    One last tip: Add an exit intent pop-up when potential customers are near the end of the checkout process. 

    This will let you know exactly who is considering making a purchase versus those who aren’t interested anymore.

    Exit intents can feel weird, but it really is making the best of the situation. 

    It gives potential buyers one last chance to purchase before they leave your site. You never know who might just need that last little nudge or incentive to complete their sale. 

    And on the other hand, if the shopper is leaving anyway, having an exit intent will give you the opportunity to get their email address/contact information. 

    Then it could possibly turn into a connection that will last much longer than Black Friday. 

    There are a lot of Black Friday shoppers out there– which means there are going to be a lot of abandoned carts… Don’t let those interested customers slip away.

    Check out my full-length YouTube video to get more details on exactly how to make the most out of the abandoned carts this holiday shopping season.

    YouTube video

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  • How to Get the Most Out of Your Black Friday Sale: Pre-Sales Steps

    Three Easy Steps to Making the Most Out of Your Black Friday Sale

    It is that time of year again!

    The leaves are changing, the temperatures are dropping… and people are starting to think about the holidays… Which means they’re gearing up for Black Friday.

    Holiday sale season can be a great opportunity to increase your revenue… but you need to put in some work before the sale kicks off. In this blog post we will cover 3 important pre-sales steps that you should take before launching into your Black Friday sale.

    Planning early is a critical step to a successful sale. Black Friday and the Cyber 5 Weekend can be one of the most profitable times for your business.

    But, if you don’t take a strategic approach and plan in advance, you’ll end up stressed and frazzled in the days leading up to your launch… When you should be baking pies and spending time with your loved ones.

    Plan Exactly What Your Black Friday Sale Offer is Going to Be

    Are you offering a percentage off of all products?

    Are there offers, products, and services that you aren’t going to include in your sale?

    If you are selling products, what’s your plan for shipping costs? Will they also be discounted with this sale or not included at all?

    Have you thought about disappearing bonuses or how your customers can give your products/services as gifts?

    Depending on where you are in your business development, these questions can vary wildly, and it may take some time for you to figure out exactly how much savings customers should expect during your Black Friday Sale.

    However, you need to have a clear idea of what your Black Friday offers will look like before you start telling your audience that you’re having a sale.

    Strategy before marketing, friends.

    When you have a solid plan in place, it ensures that everyone (you, your team, and your customers) knows exactly what to expect when they shop with you over the holidays.

    You Need to Plan Your Open and Close Cart Dates for Your Black Friday Sale

    It’s SUPER important that you lay out the specifics of when your sale is happening. I’m talking nitty-gritty details here… You need to think about pre-sales, waitlists, open cart dates, time zones, close cart dates, bonus time extensions, and more 🤯…

    There’s a lot to consider and plan for– which is why you need to start planning so early.

     

    Questions to Consider When You are Planning Your Black Friday Open and Close Dates

    ❓  Are you going to offer exclusive early access to select groups of people?

    ❓  Are you planning on having a pre-sale? If so, when are the pre-sales going to start?

    ❓  Once your sale is live, how long is it running for?

    ❓  What is your closed cart date and time?

    *Pro Tip: The time element here is SUPER important… I would recommend closing a cart at 11:59 PM on whatever date you decide. Setting a close cart time of “midnight” can get REALLY confusing.

    ❓  Will you have an extended time option (for people in different time zones or just to be really nice 😉)?

    Having an understanding of how everything works together will help you have a strong handle on your sale offerings.

    Plus, once you start marketing, your audience will be completely clear on what your sale is and when it’s happening. 

    The last thing you want is frustrated customers because someone missed something important about your big holiday sale.

    All this planning ahead of time also gives you the chance to target your audience. Then you will have the time to send exclusive pre-sale offers to your VIPs.

    Get Your Black Friday Email Sequence Planned and Written Now!

    Everyone’s life gets chaotic during the holiday season.

    Your customers are busy, and they are being bombarded with emails from early November through the new year.

    So, the last thing you want to do is send out less than stellar emails to your audience–  all because you got busy (hello, holiday season 👋) and now you don’t have the time to devote to putting together those super catchy emails… Let alone a whole sequence that will dramatically increase your revenue. 

    You have to be ahead of the game… Your emails have to be planned, written ahead of time, and optimized to stand out among a sea of millions of emails that will be sent out.

    You know by now that email is your best weapon in the marketing game– and that only increases over the holidays.

    When consumers access sales through an email, they are likely to spend 138% more than people who don’t receive email offers (Campaign Monitor).

    You have to capitalize on that!

    Sending out a few promo emails that you threw together while you were on the road to grandma’s house isn’t going to do it.

    Your Black Friday Email Sequence Needs To...

    You need to warm up your audience… Then really turn up the hype in the final stretch leading up to the sale.

    Sending recurring reminders, abandoned cart emails, upsell emails, and delivery fulfillment emails will only make your Black Friday bottom line stronger.

    Having a good understanding of what to expect during Black Friday is important in making sure that you get the most out of this year’s sales!

    By taking these three steps to prep your sale, your life will be SO much easier during your sale. You can feel confident that you’re giving your audience the amazing deals (and service) they are looking for from their favorite eCommerce businesses.

    And, when you consider the fact that this is one of your best opportunities to turn a profit during the hectic holiday shopping season…

    You will understand why planning ahead really makes sense.

    Now get out there and start planning 😉!

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