Steps for a Successful Black Friday and Cyber Weekend Promotion

You only get one chance to prepare for the biggest SELLING weekend of the year—Black Friday and Cyber Monday! 

Here are some stats to get you motivated: 

• During the 2022 holiday season in the US, Cyber Monday was the day with the highest e-commerce conversion rate for online shopping.
• Black Friday came in second place, with a desktop conversion rate of approximately 5.6% and a mobile conversion rate of 3.3%.
• Busiest holiday sales days research by Statista shows that Black Friday was the most popular sales day in 2022, with over 50% of American shoppers planning to buy gifts!

That’s A LOT of shoppers! Let’s review the checklist so you can have the best-selling season you’ve ever had!

STEP 1: Go to the Holiday Resource Hub.

The amount of resources you’ll find in the Holiday Resource Hub are plentiful, not just for this topic but for maximizing your sales throughout the holiday season. The hub is also where you will find another crucial tool, the Countdown Calendar, but we will cover that in detail below. 

STEP 2: Prepare Promo Codes and Promote.

Did you know that fans who visit a store off a promo code like are 25% more likely to purchase?

It’s an opportunity you can’t afford to pass up. When you choose to promote your products on social media, it’s good to have a promo code. These can be planned in advance and switched on when you’re ready. Make sure to have different promo codes for different times – it helps with tracking, what is working, etc.

Don’t fret—making promo codes is super easy! You can create them within the Promotions section of your dashboard. Line up your promo codes in advance and follow your calendar as to when they will activate. Find out more about creating promotions and promo codes here.

Promo codes can be applied to all of your products.

Reminder: You’ll need to ensure there’s enough profit margin to support the promo—no matter what product is being purchased, so do that math ahead of time.

More promo hacks:

• Create effective promotional content. Canva is a great tool for creating eye-catching images on social media. You can also get 40% off Kittl using Spring’s partnership to create sale announcements when you use the code: SPRING23 at checkout. There are hundreds of templates—just don’t forget to include the promo code, the dates your sale will run, and the discount type.
• Feature samples. Creators who highlight samples in promotional content earn as much as 200% more profit from their products. Make sure you’re doing it too!
• Use integrations. Make sure fans can find your products easily. Pair social content with a link straight to your listing. Present products underneath your videos using the YouTube Integration, or set up the Instagram Shopping Integration to begin tagging your products in posts (and more). Don’t have access yet? Start using the Linktree Integration, available to all creators right now.

STEP 3: Go to the Countdown Calendar.

The Countdown Calendar will give you key dates through the Holiday Season, including cutoff dates, shipping deadlines, and some key dates we’ll mention below. 

First, create your own “content & sales” calendar.

Calendars are super helpful, especially since you might run multiple sales leading up to Black Friday (for example, you might do your sales in one burst the week before, or several pre-sales in the weeks leading up—or both!). Plus, it’s not only sales you’ll be planning, but also promo codes you’re offering, when you choose to promote them on socials, and so forth. We recommend having your promos ready by November 1st. 

Second, mark these key dates on your calendar:

OCTOBER 10: Get your holiday products designed and sample orders in by October 10th so you can start promoting. 

NOVEMBER 1: Have all your promotional materials and promo codes ready by November 1st – Create your promotions in your dashboard so that you can switch them on when the time comes.

EARLY NOVEMBER: Include hints in your social content about upcoming sales and promos. 

• Build anticipation early with pre-sale benefits (like giveaways). 
• Run mini sales.
• Run different promo types to the ones you plan to run during Black Friday/ Cyber weekend. Example: offer free shipping early in the month, then switch to percentage discounts as you get closer.

NOVEMBER 11 thru THANKSGIVING DAY: Offer discounts for early birds. Continue excitement & anticipation with pre-sale benefits.

BLACK FRIDAY thru CYBER MONDAY (CYBER WEEKEND):

• Black Friday: Make the biggest impact on socials. Share promo codes in your content and be sure to feature sample imagery. See how other creators do it here. 
• Offer a percentage discount promo (ex. 15% off). Run it through Cyber Monday to maximize orders.
• Cyber Monday: Highlight your newest digital products. You might add a bonus gift as part of your listing. Example: a free bonus wallpaper.
• Giving Tuesday (day after Cyber Monday): Thank fans for their support. Offer a giveaway, or an extra discount for the rest of the week.

DECEMBER 1 – 18: Thank fans with more promotions

• Use the beginning of December to continue running other mini sales leading up to the shipping cut-off dates for Christmas. 
• Mid-December onwards is the prime time to start offering digital products. With instant delivery and no shipping or logistics to worry about, there’s every reason to create a variety of digital content. In fact, you can sell digital products up to and through Christmas Day! 

Here’s a free content schedule template you can use for November through the holidays.

We’ve armed you with everything you need to blow your previous holiday sales records away. Stay on course in the Countdown Calendar and utilize the Holiday Resource Hub as your Creator Bible. Get your designs, samples, and promo codes out there, Happy Holidays, and Happy Prospering!