Eight-Step Black Friday Sales Strategy Guide For Artists

Jan 2, 2025

Tis the season for deals! As a creator, the autumn and winter months are an ideal time for shopping and there is a huge opportunity to increase your income in these months. Black Friday is among the most important times for businesses to generate huge profits. In fact, that's how it got its name as many companies wouldn't be financially successful (or "in the black" according to accounting slang) prior to the time their Black Friday promotions became a success.

In order to maximize your time when consumers are in spending-mode to maximize the time spent, you'll require a strategic plan of sales that can get current and new customers excited about your online products. Check out this article for a comprehensive Black Friday sales strategy guide which will assist you in creating an impressive, income-generating campaign in the fall.

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Why do I need a seasonal campaign for Black Friday?

Seasonal campaigns are marketing efforts that occur during a certain season, which is that are based around a holiday or event which is pertinent to the season. In the case of for instance, Black Friday promotions always occur in November since they are right in the middle of the major holiday gift giving season and is the best time of year for people to stock up on presents.

Since most companies are using this holiday season to increase sales, it's now become an extremely sought-after opportunity for customers to try brand new products that they might not otherwise have afforded.

This is also true to encourage upsells from current customers!

What is the best time to I plan an Black Friday sales strategy?

Planning for seasonal campaigns starts a few months in advance of each season. It takes time to strategize, plan, craft and develop all the components that go into an effective campaign. Some large companies even plan a year in advance. Usually marketing, sales, and product creation teams are all involved in the campaign development. If you're a solopreneur are able to do this too!

In this regard, aim to start planning your Black Friday sales strategy planning during the months of August and September. The possibility of last minute sales is there too, especially if you have a smaller and fast team, but certain paid media channels may become crowded. The best way to plan your campaign is to create your template for your campaign as soon as possible and finish smaller elements, like messaging and calls-to-actions prior to the go-live date.

8 Steps to creating an extremely successful Black Friday sales strategy

Whatever size your team of content creators is, Black Friday sales strategies are achievable in 8 easy steps. The breakdown into these steps will help you plan in advance and assures you've hit your goals prior to the holiday.

If you're short on time take one action each week until your date for live! If you're planning to launch an teaser campaign in order to drum people up prior to the launch of your official campaign then use the teaser announcement date as the date you'll go live.

Do research & set your budget

Research is essential in order to make your Black Friday campaign a success. Things to look into are:

  • Which issues are relevant for your market in the present?
  • What strategies are successful or not working? Why?
  • What makes your approach different from other options?
  • What is the best place for your audience to look to find information on options?
  • What do your customers expect from what they can expect from a Black Friday sale? For example, are they motivated by discounts, multi-item packages, or exclusive access to your learning community?

Although this may seem like a lot of questions, it can map a clear picture of where your target audience will be online in your Black Friday rush. And it will help you discern what message and product to present on their screens.

It's also important to consider the existing and new customers. If the two types of customers require a very different approach to messaging, channels and promotions It's suggested to divide the two campaigns in this point.

Another thing you must make is your budget. What amount of money are you prepared to put into advertising? What is the amount you are anticipating to earn as a return in your investment (ROI)? In general, you should aim for at least 300% ROI on any campaign (but higher is more effective).

Promote on channels where your audience is

Marketing channels can be described as any online or physical place that you can use to promote your offer. Digital channels are easier to monitor, particularly when you're selling your digital product on the internet too.

The table below provides channel options to consider. You have the choice between organic channels, as well as "free," channels which don't come at an additional cost but which take longer to establish the engagement of users and convert them into customers. Paid channels, on the other hand, come at different costs but yield higher-quality results more quickly. Of course, the more you spend, the better result you can expect.

It is possible to mix strategies with channels. However, it's not recommended to only use one channel for your sales strategy.

Organic (free) channels Pay-per-view channels
Organic social media Website Email Social media paid for Paid-for search Advertising for industry
LinkedIn

Facebook

Instagram

TikTok

YouTube

Pinterest

X (Twitter)

Blogs

Pages for product landing

Newsletter

Drip-based campaigns

Webinar

LinkedIn

Facebook

Instagram

TikTok

YouTube

Pinterest

X (Twitter)

Google Ads

Bing Ads

Amazon

Physical magazine

Digital magazine

Trade shows

A few things to keep in mind when creating content that goes on your channels. You should

  • Has fast loading speed so that people don't bounce or forget to buy
  • Clearly state the offer along with the purchase instructions right above the fold, so that it's quick to get conversions
  • Not focus too much on items that are not part of the Black Friday promotion, as it is important to get maximum results with some of the core items

Map how conversions will happen

  • Lead collection and form forms. What will customers do to have the ability to provide the details of their contacts with you?

This is also the perfect opportunity to understand the distinction between the top and bottom funnel. The funnel at the top is an early awareness stage and the bottom one is the one that happens before your lead converts. If you're using blogs, as well as other organic channels make sure you map the path that leads take through the top funnel to bottom funnel content.

Commerce offers a complete set of features for selling and payment that have been proven to aid our creators boost conversion rates as well as average order value:

  • Purchase Now, Pay Later: Giving customers the option of paying over time has helped users boost the size of their orders by three times.
  • Order Bumps: Suggesting complimentary products at checkout help customers increase the size of their orders by 98percent on average.
  • Abandoned Cart: just started Abandoned Cart emails in time to prepare for Black Friday. This feature will help to recover sales that might have been lost and increase revenue.

Make an irresistible deal

What's the exact Black Friday deal that you're offering?

It's okay to include different offers as part of a sales strategy. However, if you're trying the promotion of multiple offers for various audiences, think about splitting your marketing by dividing it into smaller efforts. It will enable you to focus your efforts more precisely and achieve a better result.

Some example offers include:

  • 50% off any of the courses you choose for first-time customers
  • 25% off any new course for customers who are already members.
  • 2-for-1 deals or digital bundles of products for a reduced cost
  • Exclusive access for those who are the 100 first customers who become part of your Online Learning Community
  • Access to only the 50 first sign-ups and receive your new course for absolutely no cost.
  • Coaching sessions for VIPs one-on-one

Pro-sales strategy tips when deciding your offer:

  • Do not have more than three offers running at the same time as you do not want to divert prospects.
  • Each offer should be straightforward, so that it's simple to understand and generate excitement
  • It is the only offer you are able to obtain at another season.

Craft messaging that converts

Messaging (also called advertising copy) is what communicates the benefits of your business to customers. Messaging should be specific to the audience you're targeting as well as your company's brand and the channel you're promoting through in your Black Friday campaign. Keep in mind that many channels have a preferred way of communicating. As an example, although Instagram captions allow the posting of as long as 2,200 characters, the majority of posts must contain captions of less than 500 characters, making it easier for customers to understand.

  • Download now
  • Access this page
  • Sign up
  • Click to register
  • Join the community

Tease and promote it

Now is the time to get started!

If you're a self-employed solopreneur or ready to get started with your next campaign, a great tip is to schedule your content ahead of time. Applications such as Hootsuite, Meta's Business Center and Letterdrop are great platforms that allow you to build and schedule content prior to your scheduled go-live date.

Many Black Friday campaigns are starting with earlier, and earlier each year. Based on the strategy you choose for your sales it is possible to offer a one-day only discount. Or, you can make your Black Friday deal a week or so prior to the holiday. Given the short duration for this promotion, you might consider sneaking in an earlier "light" launch, which offers previews of the deals to come.

Optimize and track

Don't forget about your campaign when it goes live. Monitor it from the moment it's live. In the beginning make sure to check it multiple times during the day to verify there weren't any technical issues. Then, daily monitoring is recommended. Again, Black Friday campaigns have such limited time span, therefore you'll need to pay to your reporting. A single day gone awry can lead to an enormous loss of opportunities.

Continuous optimization is key for a successful Black Friday sales strategy. If your advertisements or other content isn't performing as well, change them up! Quick experimentation can help you see what works best for your audience.

Be aware that any changes to campaign content needs a bit of time before they show results. it won't be evident within just a few minutes. Organic content can take longer, possibly even longer than your campaign window. The paid content will usually show improvements in results within a few hours up to the duration of a full whole day.

Engage post-campaign marketing

Give your loyal and new customers with a few more exclusive deals. You could, for instance, offer them an additional, but lower, discount if they are looking to purchase more of your courses!

Some great Black Friday promotions for digital items

Are you ready to begin working on planning your Black Friday sales strategy but seeking some inspiration? Take a look at the most successful campaigns listed below.

The Audible Subscription Offer for New Members

Audible is an Amazon-owned company which allows its customers to listen to podcasts and audiobooks. Customers pay on a subscription basis, and are able to subscribe on a monthly or annual basis to access a collection of digital audiobooks and other content.

To celebrate Black Friday in 2023, they ran a wonderful marketing campaign that encouraged new sign-ups and customer loyalty. What they offered which was fantastic:

  • It offers a low introductory cost of four months that's enough time to allow new users to fully explore the platform.
  • Also included Audible credits as part of the promotion, allowing users to get access to other information "for absolutely free" in case they were not satisfied with the contents included.
  • Purchasing the deal was easy since users could make use of their existing Amazon account and payment information to make the conversion. The removal of this obstacle to conversion led to higher sales.

Classy Yet Trendy's eBook Sales

Classy Yet Trendy is an online learning center for anyone who is looking to design capsule wardrobes. It offers a variety of ebooks and digital downloads to help readers visualize their own style and create a simple style to complement their.

In the year 2020, they launched a Black Friday sale on all of their Capsule Wardrobe eBooks. What's great about their approach to sales?

  • They set the right time according to what their customers would like to see. At a time when people were staying home more frequently and emptying their closets, they marketed ebooks on how to accomplish this.
  • They made the offer, discount code, and landing page for redeeming the offer accessible.
  • The eBooks were teasered with images of the contents of the ebooks would look like in order to stimulate purchases by more risk averse buyers.

Ran Segall's Webflow Course

Ran Segall first started out as a web designer, and then shifted to teaching his web design course skills through YouTube and now has 400K+ viewers. So far, he's earned more than $3 million from the sale of his digital goods.

In the last few months, he promoted the launch of his Webflow Course. Although this isn't strictly a Black Friday promotion, it is full of laudable aspects that are similar. This is what makes this campaign great:

  • The offer was promoted on LinkedIn which is where he currently has an audience of 9,000+ users.
  • An urgency for buy is generated. In his blog post, he writes, "And to make this launch more delicious, we're giving you a special 30% off the course. However, don't hesitate - this offer ends the Friday before midnight."
  • The 30% deal can be found right in the middle of the picture, making it impossible to miss.

Conclusion

Following this Black Friday sales strategy guide can assist you in deciding the best way, what to do and where to focus on your existing and new customers over the next few days. Be sure to conduct the research in advance and start planning early. There is a lot of activity and buzz during the time of year So being thoughtful and loud in your promotions can help your brand stand out in the crowd.

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