To make the most of Black Friday, plan early, know exactly what you are offering and why it is worth having, get your website and ad accounts ready for extra traffic, warm up your audience before the day and follow up afterwards. The businesses that do well are rarely the ones with the biggest discount; they are the ones that are best prepared.
Black Friday falls on the Friday after US Thanksgiving, at the end of November, and in the UK it now usually stretches into a week or more of offers leading into Cyber Monday. Whether you sell products online or offer a service, this guide covers practical steps to plan a Black Friday campaign that brings in profitable sales without damaging your brand.
Decide whether, and how, to take part
Black Friday is not right for every business. Deep discounts can eat into margins, attract one-off bargain hunters and train customers to wait for sales. Before you commit, ask:
- What can you afford to offer while still making a profit?
- Do you have the stock, staff and delivery capacity to cope with demand?
- Would an alternative suit your brand better, such as free delivery, a gift with purchase, bundles or a donation to charity?
Some businesses deliberately opt out and use the moment to promote their values instead. That can be a valid choice too.
Research your competitors
Look at what competitors did last year and what they are doing now. When do they start their offers? What do they discount? How do they promote it? Understanding the landscape helps you choose your timing and find a way to stand out, whether that is starting earlier, offering something different or focusing on service and reliability.
Get your website ready
Every pound you spend on promotion is wasted if your website lets you down on the day.
- Speed and stability: test your site on mobile, check hosting can handle extra visitors and remove anything that slows pages down.
- Clear offer pages: create a dedicated Black Friday landing page that is easy to find from your homepage and menus. Reusing the same URL every year helps it build up search visibility.
- Smooth checkout: make sure codes work, payment options are clear and delivery costs and cut-off dates are shown early.
- Test everything: place test orders and submit forms before the campaign starts.
Our conversion rate optimisation service can help identify where visitors are dropping out.
Build your audience before the day
Email marketing
Email is often the most profitable Black Friday channel because you are talking to people who already know you. Plan a short sequence: a teaser, early access for subscribers, the main launch and a final reminder. Make emails visual, put the offer and call to action near the top and keep an eye on unsubscribe rates so enthusiasm does not tip into annoyance. Only email people who have agreed to hear from you.
Sign-up pop-ups
Used carefully, a pop-up inviting visitors to sign up for early access can grow your list in the weeks before Black Friday. Keep it simple, easy to close and not too intrusive on mobile.
Social media
Build anticipation with sneak peeks, behind-the-scenes content and reminders. Paid social campaigns can grow your remarketing audiences in advance, so you have warm audiences to target when the offers go live.
Plan your paid advertising
Competition for clicks rises sharply around Black Friday, so preparation pays off.
- Agree budgets in advance and monitor spend closely during peak days.
- Write specific ad copy that mentions the offer and any end date.
- For ecommerce, make sure your Merchant Center product feed is accurate, with sale prices set correctly, before running Google Shopping campaigns.
- Use remarketing to reach people who have visited your site or joined your list.
- Check conversion tracking is working so you can see which campaigns are profitable.
Our guide to optimising PPC campaigns for profit covers bidding and budget control in more detail.
Offer more than a discount
A percentage off is easy to copy. Consider what else you can add: free delivery, extended returns, bundles, loyalty points, a free gift or a charity donation. For service businesses, think about packages, bonus sessions or booking incentives for the new year.
Keep it honest
Create interest with clear messages about what is on offer and when it ends, but avoid manufactured urgency. Only use genuine end dates and stock levels, and make sure any “was” price is one you have genuinely charged. UK consumer law and the Competition and Markets Authority take a firm line on misleading discounts and false scarcity, and customers notice too.
Follow up after Black Friday
- Thank new customers and invite them to leave a review.
- Send helpful follow-up emails so first-time buyers become repeat customers.
- Review your results: which channels, products and messages performed best, and what was the true profit after costs?
- Note what to change for next year while it is fresh.
FAQs
When should I start planning Black Friday marketing?
Ideally a couple of months ahead. That gives time to plan offers, prepare your website, build your email list and set up ad campaigns without rushing.
Can service businesses benefit from Black Friday?
Yes. Packages, bonus extras, gift vouchers and incentives to book early can all work, as long as they make sense for your margins.
Should I discount heavily to compete?
Not necessarily. Value-added offers, great service and a smooth buying experience can win sales without cutting your margins too far.
Is Google Ads worth it during Black Friday?
It can be, but costs per click often rise. Clear budgets, focused targeting and accurate tracking make sure spend goes where it earns a return.
Plan a Black Friday campaign that pays
Pure Marketing is a Google Partner agency in Birmingham’s Jewellery Quarter, helping UK businesses plan and run profitable seasonal campaigns across Google Ads, Shopping and social media. Find out more about our Google Ads management or get in touch to start planning.
