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The 10 Black Friday email marketing ideas below all pair a creative angle with a brand example you can copy. Each gives your customer a reason to open and buy: early access, social proof, a mystery reveal, a deadline, and of course, discounts.
Use the examples in this roundup to increase the quality of your Black Friday emails, and visit our additional resources for more marketing tips.
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10 Black Friday email marketing ideas
The best Black Friday email ideas we see come from brands that take the effort to know their audience and give them a reason to open. They also map the customer journey over the BFCM period, providing emails that span the build-up to post-event.
Here are 10 email ideas you can use for Black Friday Cyber Monday (BFCM) 2026:
1. Tease the sale early
Subject line: You’re the first to know
Waterproof shoes retailer Vessi starts its Black Friday marketing early with a countdown email that builds anticipation for the event.
The example above is one of the first in the series, offering no discount yet but inviting customers to browse the store and build a wishlist.
The subject line, “You’re the first to know,” makes customers feel they’re getting an exclusive, early notification, which helps to increase open rates.
Why it works
BFCM emails flood inboxes and make it difficult to stand out on the day. A teaser creates early affinity and gets customers to engage with the brand, in this case with a wishlist, making future Black Friday emails more likely to be opened.
What to copy
Give your subject line an exclusive feel and use the words “Black Friday” in your email’s first heading to leave customers in no doubt about the context.
Add a countdown timer as a helpful reminder for your sales, and look for ways customers can interact with your store, be that a wishlist or a competition.
Additional Black Friday email ideas:
Early bird Black Friday: Winning sales before the rush
100+ best Black Friday email subject lines [backed by data]
2. Give early access to VIPs and loyal customers
Subject line: Black Friday Early Access continues…
Hello Fresh’s Black Friday email marketing idea is to provide VIPs with early access and an offer: $90 off with free shipping across five meal kits.
Past purchasers are the target for this campaign. The discount framed as a reward makes them feel like they’re getting something exclusive.
Why it works
Previous customers are warm and ready to buy again. Hello Fresh’s offer before the big event reaches VIPs and other high-value customer segments with an exclusive that’s less likely to get buried in their inbox.
What to copy
Create a Black Friday VIP segment based on order value and frequency for your early access campaign. Use the phrase “early access” in your subject line and heading or first image so that customers know what they’re getting.
Place a monetary value on your offer to appeal to the 68% of U.S. shoppers who say discounts are their top priority during BFCM.
SM Global Shop: 65% open rate on VIP emails
SM Global Shop used email subscriber segmentation to identify repeat and high-value buyers, reaching a 65% open rate on its VIP emails.
→ Read the case study
3. Lead with social proof and bestsellers
Subject line: 5🌟Rated Styles In Black Friday Sale! 🖤
Children’s clothing brand Rachel Riley uses social proof in its Black Friday emails with star ratings and written reviews. It leads with the heading “5 Star Rated Style” and uses reputation as its core selling point for the campaign.
The pink and white design matches Rachel Riley’s store, and the image of a child wearing the reviewed product makes it feel authentic.
An “As Loved By You” heading preps the reader to click the CTA button to other fan favorites, and a “Selling Like Hot Cakes” section has additional product recommendations with crossed-out prices showing the savings customers can expect.
Why it works
A five-star review from another parent answers the doubt a gift-buyer has: will this be worth it? That reassurance does more to move a hesitant shopper than another few percent off.
What to copy
Build positivity into your Black Friday sale with a mixture of reviews and lifestyle photos. Push recommended products with savings on show, and get creative with your headings, should your audience appreciate a bit of personality.
Rachel Riley: BFCM revenue up 77%
Rachel Riley grew its Black Friday and Cyber Monday revenue 77% year over year with emails, with 48.1% of total store revenue during the period coming through emails and 46% of that from automations.
→ Read the case study
4. Run a gamified or mystery offer
Subject line: 🤩 Black Friday in July! Round 2!
Swimwear brand Cupshe borrows Black Friday’s urgency for a mid-year July promotion. It buries its savings behind a wall of question marks, with a magnifying glass revealing just enough (“$”, “%”, “OFF”) to tease without telling.
There’s also the offer of a $5 coupon, equivalent to 500 points, for filling the profile, on top of any other savings the customer finds.
Why it works
A click, scratch, spin, or quiz with an unrevealed discount creates intrigue that people struggle to ignore. Even hesitant shoppers are likely to participate, one reason gamification is an effective Black Friday email marketing idea.
What to copy
Turn your offer into something the reader plays with, such as a spin-to-win or click-to-reveal. Cupshe’s idea to use Black Friday wording in July is another interesting email idea; consider it during any slow months.
5. Offer bundle or tiered deals
Subject line: Black Friday Deals are here 🖤
Counter Culture Coffee stacks two bundles in one email, coffee up top with a “Save up to 30%” badge, merchandise below. That single send covers both the shopper buying for themselves and the one buying gifts. One “Bundle & Save” button invites customers to shop.
Why it works
The email’s promise of 30% savings is large enough to make the bundle worthwhile and get customers to click. The sales strategy also makes sense for BFCM, helping to shift more stock per customer and increase average order value.
What to copy
Use gift-like imagery to appeal to gift buyers in addition to your regular customers, and offer more than one bundle type. Frame your subject line for deals, and use descriptive headings in your email template to help customers jump to what they like.
Additional reading:
What is product bundling? 7 examples & tips
6. Add a countdown for urgency
Subject line: Get $50 off your reMarkable paper tablet
reMarkable’s Black Friday email shows a live clock so customers can see how long they have left. Image via Really Good Emails.
reMarkable makes paper tablets with e-ink displays. Its Black Friday email marketing efforts include last-chance campaigns, with the email above using a countdown timer for urgency and an orange “Buy now” button for the next step.
Why it works
Black Friday is ending and reMarkable lets customers know that its sale is too. That message encourages hesitant customers to act before it’s too late.
What to copy
Your BFCM urgency emails don’t need to be extensive or detailed. A logo, heading, countdown timer, offer description, and CTA button are all reMarkable’s email has, and that’s enough to get the click.
7. Go anti-Black Friday with a values angle
Subject line: No sales, just values
Amundsen Sports uses “BLACK FRIDAY” in its top heading, but then leans into a larger “NO SALES, JUST VALUES” heading. There’s a black-and-white photo of an airship to set the scene for the brand’s Spirit of Adventure positioning.
Why it works
No discounts preserve Amundsen Sports’s premium positioning and avoid training customers to wait for deals. There are also still opportunities to shop, with two product recommendations themed for the season catering to men and women.
What to copy
Don’t be pressured into discounts and offers if you have a luxury brand or high-end positioning. You can stay visible with any brand story or values email, and move into other reward types, such as loyalty points, if you don’t want to discount.
Amundsen: an order-confirmation email generates 16.7% of yearly revenue
Black Friday isn’t Amundsen Sports’s only email marketing win. Its order-confirmation automation is only 2.4% of its sends, yet it generates 16.7% of yearly Omnisend revenue, with a 32% click-to-repurchase rate and revenue per email 9.5 times higher than promotional sends.
→ Read the case study
8. Curate a gift guide
Subject line: Your RØDE Gift Guide has Arrived
Audio brand RØDE builds its Black Friday email around three named kits, the Signature Studio Kit, the Street Interview Kit, and the Ultimate Podcast Kit, each with a line on the kind of creator it suits.
A “Shop All Kits” button provides a next step for customers, and a P.S. offering a free beanie with any December purchase adds a reason to buy now.
Why it works
Gift-buyers are usually shopping for something they don’t know much about. Faced with a page of individual mics and cables, they stall. A kit named for the person makes the call for them, and turns a browse into a buy.
What to copy
Decide what products you’ll push this Black Friday and create kits for different customer groups. Sort your range by the person receiving it, not by product category, and give each option a name and a line on who it’s for.
9. Map out the weekend with daily deals
Subject line: 🛍 Black Friday Weekend Guide is Here!
Island Olive Oil Company has one of our favorite Black Friday email marketing ideas: list the dates, rewards, and savings in series. Customers can then plan their shopping and reduce the chance of missing out on deals.
A festive image and an exciting intro paragraph leading with “Our biggest weekend of the year is here!” set the scene for gift giving and impulse buys.
Why it works
Not every Black Friday shopper wants a last-minute deal. Some want to plan and have the important dates written down. Island Olive Oil takes the pressure out of the event and encourages customers to drop by in their own time.
What to copy
Segment your window shoppers and hesitant buyers and send them a Black Friday email listing your dates. They’ll then have time to plan. Design your email with the offers easy to find, and give each day a different type of deal to keep things interesting.
Island Olive Oil: a boutique Hawaii brand growing with emails
Island Olive Oil Company uses campaigns alongside flows. Its automated emails make up 1.22% of sends, yet they generate 39% of its total email marketing revenue.
→ Read the case study
10. Extend past Cyber Monday with a last-chance email
Subject line: Still Shopping? Black Friday Prices Continue 🔥
Black Friday Cyber Monday is the main event, but it isn’t the end for revenue. Coffee brand Intelligentsia has a post-event Black Friday email marketing strategy, sending tiered discounts from 10–20% to entice customers who might want more.
Another thing Intelligentsia does well is introduce a new release in the email, building additional interest among customers who know the range.
Why it works
Some customers miss deals and others hold out hoping for more savings. A last-chance email after Cyber Monday targets both groups. Tiered discounts are an effective tactic for encouraging larger checkouts.
What to copy
Copy the tiered discounts to reward customers who spend more. Add a time limitation to your additional sale, too, and fold in any new releases or bestsellers to steer customers toward the products you’re promoting.
Conclusion
The email marketing ideas you use this Black Friday should be chosen to move customers toward purchase and retain them with post-purchase flows.
Start your Black Friday email marketing with a teaser for early birds and early access for your VIPs. A reputation angle can then prep your customers ahead of gamified, bundle, and discount emails where the goal is revenue.
The next step: build your campaigns and flows for a welcome series, abandoned cart, and follow-up email to create a high-quality BFCM customer experience. Our Black Friday checklist will help you with the additional steps.
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