A complete Black Friday email sequence with actual copy for every send: early access, VIP preview, launch day, midday urgency, evening final push, Cyber Monday pivot, and post-BFCM follow-up. Built from campaigns across 40+ ecommerce brands.
Last updated: March 2026 · 12 min read
Seven emails, timed across 18 days, covering every phase of the BFCM buying window from early access through post-sale retention.
The sequence is built around a simple principle: BFCM is not one day. It’s a 2-3 week buying window. Nearly 50% of Americans started holiday shopping before Thanksgiving in 2025 (Shopify, 2025). Your email sequence needs to match that timeline.A Black Friday email sequence is a pre-planned series of 5-10 emails sent across the BFCM selling window (typically 2-3 weeks), designed to build anticipation, drive peak-day conversions, and recover post-event revenue.
Ecommerce brands, D2C companies, and SaaS products running Black Friday promotions who want a tested framework instead of guesswork.
If you’re running a sitewide sale and need a complete email timeline, this gives you the structure. Adapt the copy to your products, drop it into Klaviyo or Mailchimp, and you’re set.
Use this as your BFCM planning document. The sequence includes segmentation logic, subject line variants, and send-time recommendations based on 2025 performance data.
SaaS brands running annual deal events can adapt this framework. The early-access and VIP mechanics apply to annual billing offers just as well as physical product discounts.
Here’s the complete timeline with send dates, audience segments, and purpose for each email.
| Email # | Send Timing | Subject | Audience | Purpose |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 weeks before BF (Mon) | Early Access Teaser | Full list | Build anticipation, prime the inbox |
| 2 | 1 week before BF (Mon) | VIP Preview | VIP segment (top 20% by spend) | Reward loyalty, capture early revenue |
| 3 | Black Friday (6 AM) | Launch Day | Full list | Announce the sale, drive first-wave purchases |
| 4 | Black Friday (1 PM) | Midday Reminder | Non-openers from Email 3 | Catch the afternoon inbox check |
| 5 | Black Friday (7 PM) | Evening Final Push | Non-purchasers | Urgency before midnight |
| 6 | Cyber Monday (8 AM) | Cyber Monday Pivot | Full list | Fresh angle, new offer or extended deals |
| 7 | Wednesday after CM | Post-BFCM Thank You | Purchasers only | Retention, cross-sell, set up December |
Hey [First Name], We’re putting together something we’ve never done before for Black Friday this year. I can’t share the details yet, but here’s what I can tell you: – It starts [date], two weeks from today – Subscribers on this list get access before anyone else – The best deals will go to those who open this next email If you want first access (and the biggest discounts), keep an eye on your inbox over the next two weeks. We’ll send one more preview email next Monday with the full details. Talk soon, [Brand Name] Team P.S. Reply to this email with “I’M IN” and we’ll add you to our VIP early-access list. You’ll get the deals 24 hours before everyone else.
Hey [First Name], You’re on our VIP list, which means you get access to our Black Friday deals before anyone else. Here’s the offer: [INSERT SPECIFIC OFFER: e.g., “30% off everything, sitewide. No exclusions. No minimum.”] This link is live for VIP members only until [date/time]: [SHOP NOW BUTTON] A few things worth knowing: – Our [best-selling product] sold out in 4 hours last year – We won’t restock until January – VIP pricing won’t be repeated on Black Friday itself This is the best price we’ve offered all year. If there’s something you’ve been waiting on, now is the time. [Brand Name] Team P.S. This link deactivates at midnight [day]. After that, you’ll get the same deals as everyone else on Friday.
Our biggest sale of the year is live. [X]% off everything. No code needed. Discount applied at checkout. [SHOP THE SALE BUTTON] What our team recommends: 1. [Product Name] – Our best seller. [X] units left. 2. [Product Name] – The one customers reorder most. 3. [Product Name] – New this season. First time on sale. Sale ends Monday at midnight. No extensions. [Brand Name]
[First Name], our Black Friday sale is live and here’s what’s happening: – [Product A] is already 60% sold out – [Product B] just hit our best-seller list – [New item] is getting more traffic than anything we’ve launched this year The [X]% off deal is good until midnight. No extensions, no rain checks. [SHOP NOW BUTTON] Quick heads up: if something’s in your cart, it’s not reserved. Once it’s gone, it’s gone until we restock in January. [Brand Name]
This is the last email you’ll get about our Black Friday sale. [X]% off everything ends at midnight tonight. After that, prices go back to normal. Here’s what’s still available: [2-3 products with stock levels] If you’ve been thinking about it, this is the moment. We won’t run this deal again until next November. [SHOP NOW BUTTON] [Brand Name] P.S. Cyber Monday will have different deals on different products. If what you want is on sale today, don’t wait for Monday.
Happy Cyber Monday, [First Name]. Black Friday was our biggest day ever. Thank you. Today’s a fresh start with new deals: [OPTION A: New products on sale that weren’t included Friday] [OPTION B: Bundles or kits at exclusive Cyber Monday pricing] [OPTION C: Extended discount on everything + free shipping added] Here’s what we put together for today: 1. [Product/Bundle] – $[price] (normally $[price]) 2. [Product/Bundle] – $[price] (normally $[price]) 3. [Product/Bundle] – $[price] (normally $[price]) Everything ends tonight at 11:59 PM. No extensions. [SHOP CYBER MONDAY BUTTON] [Brand Name]
Hey [First Name], Thank you for shopping with us this weekend. Your order is being packed and shipped. A few things that might be useful: [SHIPPING TRACKING LINK OR ETA] While you wait, here are 3 things our customers love pairing with what you ordered: 1. [Cross-sell product] – [one-line description] 2. [Cross-sell product] – [one-line description] 3. [Cross-sell product] – [one-line description] These aren’t on sale, but they are the most popular add-ons for [what they bought]. If anything catches your eye, we’re offering free shipping on orders this week as a thank you. Happy holidays, [Brand Name] Team P.S. Our holiday gift guide drops next week. If you’re still shopping for others, we’ll have some ideas for you.
Three things separate high-performing BFCM email programs from average ones: 1. Segmentation over volume. Sending the same email to your entire list 7 times will damage deliverability. Notice that Emails 4 and 5 in this sequence are targeted: non-openers and non-purchasers. That segmentation protects your sender reputation while maximizing coverage. Automated flows deliver 3x higher click rates (5.58% vs. 1.69%) and 13x higher placed order rates than broadcast campaigns (Klaviyo, 2025). 2. Mobile-first design. 58.6% of Black Friday purchases in 2025 came from mobile devices (Adobe Analytics, 2025). If your email requires scrolling through a desktop-optimized hero image, you’ve already lost. Every email in this sequence is designed to work in a single-column, thumb-scrollable format. 3. Post-sale retention. Email 7 exists because BFCM is a customer acquisition event for most brands. The cost of that acquisition was your margin. If you don’t convert those discount buyers into full-price repeat customers in December and January, you’ve bought revenue, not growth. We use this exact 7-email framework inside our content strategy engagements. The copy changes for every brand, but the structure, timing, and segmentation logic stay the same because they’re based on what we’ve seen work across 40+ campaigns.“Most brands obsess over the discount percentage during BFCM. But the brands that win aren’t the ones offering the biggest discount. They’re the ones whose emails actually get opened. Inbox placement, send timing, and segmentation matter more than whether you’re offering 25% or 30% off.”
Hardik Shah, Founder of ScaleGrowth.Digital
All 7 emails in a Google Doc with subject lines, send times, segmentation rules, and copy you can customize. Download Free Sequence →
PDF format. No spam. Instant access.
120+ tested subject lines across ecommerce, SaaS, and B2B. Includes BFCM-specific subject lines with open rate benchmarks. View Examples →
BFCM cart abandonment rates spike to 77%. This 3-email recovery sequence pairs perfectly with your BFCM campaign. Get Template →
New subscribers acquired during BFCM need a proper welcome sequence. Don’t let them go cold between November and January. Get Template →
Between 7 and 10 emails across the full BFCM window (2 weeks before through the Wednesday after Cyber Monday). Klaviyo’s 2025 data shows that 8-10 email sequences do not increase unsubscribe rates during BFCM because subscribers expect promotional volume during this period.
Start teasing your BFCM sale 2 weeks before Black Friday. In 2025, nearly 50% of American shoppers started holiday purchasing before Thanksgiving. Over 40% of email campaigns containing Black Friday discounts were already live by the Monday before Thanksgiving.
Yes. Cyber Monday generated $14.25 billion in 2025, up 7.1% year-over-year. Treat it as its own event with a different angle: new products on sale, exclusive bundles, or added perks like free shipping on top of the existing discount.
VIP early-access emails average 65% higher open rates than standard BFCM sends. For your full-list sends, aim for 25-35% open rates. The overall average email open rate in 2025 was 43.46% (MailerLite, 2025), but BFCM campaigns compete against massive inbox volume, so 25-35% is a strong benchmark.
Yes. Replace product recommendations with annual plan pricing, feature highlights, or usage-based savings. The VIP email becomes an early-access annual deal for monthly subscribers. The sequence structure (anticipation, launch, urgency, retention) applies to any product sold during a time-limited promotion.
We build full email sequences, set up automation in Klaviyo or Mailchimp, and manage BFCM campaigns end-to-end. Let’s plan your best November yet. Talk to Our Email Team →