Black Friday and Cyber Monday – newsletters, email marketing and campaigns that sell

If you want to work in a more structured way with campaigns, you can also read our guide to email marketing, where we go through strategy, content and automation in more detail.

Black Friday and Cyber Monday are no longer just…

Black Friday and Cyber Monday are no longer just single campaign days. For many companies, it is a whole period of intense communication where the right message, the right timing and a clear offer can make a big difference. For you who work with newsletters in Paloma, this is one of the best opportunities of the year to create attention, build buying interest and increase sales.

In this guide, we go through how you can plan newsletters, campaign sends, automated flows and follow-up for Black Friday 2025, Black Week and Cyber Monday. You also get tips on how to strengthen deliverability, segmentation, subject lines and content, so that your sends actually reach the inbox and create results.

What does BFCM mean and why is the period so important?

BFCM stands for Black Friday and Cyber Monday. Together, they mark the start of one of the most intense periods of the year in retail and e-commerce. For many companies, the campaign work starts already during Black Week, continues over the weekend and only ends after Cyber Monday.

That makes the period extra important for companies that want to work more actively with email marketing, send newsletters and coordinate campaigns in several channels. When the competition increases, clear communication and relevant segmentation are often decisive.

Plan Black Week, Black Friday and Cyber Monday as a whole

A common mistake is to put all the focus on Black Friday itself. In practice, the period works better when you see it as one connected campaign journey where every day has a clear role.

• Before Black Week: build anticipation and collect interest.
• During Black Week: warm up the target audience with teaser sends and segmented offers.
• On Black Friday: go out broadly with the main message, clear offers and high visibility.
• Over the weekend: follow up interested recipients and highlight new angles.
• On Cyber Monday: create new energy with last chances, online-exclusive offers or complementary campaigns.

For companies that work with newsletters for businesses, this is often more effective than sending a single email and hoping for maximum effect on the same day.

How to use newsletters for Black Friday 2025

Newsletters are one of the most accurate channels during the Black Friday period, since you communicate directly with a target audience that has already shown interest in your brand. You own the relationship, control the message and can measure opens, clicks and conversions continuously.

That makes newsletters especially valuable when you want to:

• build anticipation before the campaign starts
• launch offers quickly
• remind people about time-limited deals
• segment messages by interest and engagement
• follow up customers who have not bought yet

If you want to work in a more structured way with campaign sends, a clear setup for creating and sending newsletters is often the foundation of the whole Black Friday strategy.

Start with the target audience and segmentation

Not all recipients should get the same message during BFCM. This is where segmentation becomes decisive. When the communication is adapted to behavior, customer value or interest, the sends become more relevant and conversion improves.

You can, for example, create segments for:

• VIP customers and returning buyers
• new subscribers
• previous Black Friday customers
• recipients who opened but did not click
• recipients who clicked but did not buy
• inactive contacts who need to be reactivated

If you want to go deeper here, you can read more about segmentation in email marketing. Segmentation strengthens not only Black Friday campaigns, but your whole newsletter cluster over time.

How to build a newsletter campaign plan for Black Week

A strong campaign plan makes it easier to hold the whole period together. Decide in advance what is going to be sent, when it will go out and what goal each send has.

Example of a simple plan

• 5–7 days before: a teaser that something big is on its way
• 2–3 days before: advance information or early access for selected segments
• Black Friday morning: the main send with a clear offer
• Black Friday evening: a reminder to those who have not opened or clicked
• Saturday or Sunday: a follow-up with new products, bestsellers or social proof
• Cyber Monday: a last chance or a new online offer

When you work like this, you get better control over frequency, content and results. It is also easier to schedule newsletters and prepare the whole campaign period in good time.

What should a Black Friday newsletter contain?

A good Black Friday newsletter should be quick to understand, easy to act on and clear in its offer. During this period, you compete with many other sends, so clarity often beats over-the-top design.

What usually works best is:

• a clear headline or subject line with an obvious value
• a strong intro that quickly explains the offer
• few main messages per send
• clear CTA buttons
• products or categories that feel relevant to the recipient
• a clear deadline or a sense of exclusivity

If you want a more consistent look in your sends, you can use newsletter templates. This is especially valuable during campaign periods, when the pace is high and several sends need to be produced quickly.

How to write subject lines for Black Friday and Cyber Monday

The subject line often decides whether your email is opened or disappears in the inbox. During BFCM, it is extra important that the subject line feels clear, relevant and credible. Too much hype, too many special characters or exaggerated promises can hurt both the open rate and deliverability.

What often works well is:

• clear offers
• concrete time markers such as “today”, “last chance” or “ends at midnight”
• subject lines that match the target audience's interests
• subject lines that feel straightforward rather than shouty

If you want to improve that part further, you can read our guide on newsletter subject lines. It also helps the newsletter cluster as a whole.

Examples of sends during BFCM

During Black Friday and Cyber Monday, you do not need to say the same thing every time. It is often better to build the campaign step by step.

Examples of different types of email

• Teaser: “Our biggest campaign week starts soon”
• Early access: “Get access before everyone else”
• Main send: “Black Friday is live now”
• Reminder: “Do not miss the offer that ends today”
• Cyber Monday: “Last chance – online exclusive today”
• After the campaign: “Thank you for shopping – here is the next step”

For many companies, it goes a long way to start with a well-thought-out setup for newsletters in Paloma and then add segmentation and automation where it makes the biggest difference.

Black Friday without discounts – is it possible?

Yes, it is. Not all companies want to compete on price. Then you need to highlight a different added value in your newsletters and campaigns instead.

It can, for example, be:

• free shipping or a free upgrade
• a gift with purchase
• early access to new products
• a limited edition
• a bonus for subscribers
• extra service or advice

The important thing is that the message feels clear and exclusive. A well-written newsletter for businesses can often carry that kind of offer much better than broad, general advertising.

BFCM for B2B – how to think

B2B companies can also use Black Friday and Cyber Monday, but often with a more business-like tone. It does not have to be about traditional sales. Instead, you can use the period to create activity, book meetings or give an incentive to try a service.

Examples of B2B angles:

• a demo or trial period
• packaged offers
• a bonus when upgrading
• consultation or onboarding included
• a limited campaign window for new customers

Email marketing works especially well here, since you can combine knowledge, offers and follow-up in the same flow.

Work with automation during Black Friday and Cyber Monday

Automation makes it possible to follow up customers' behavior in real time. This is extra valuable during campaign periods, when many people click, compare and consider purchases within a short time.

Examples of automated flows:

• a reminder to recipients who did not open the main send
• a follow-up to those who clicked on a certain category
• reactivation of previous customers
• an email or SMS for an abandoned cart
• a follow-up after a purchase with a thank-you, upselling or the next step

If you want to work more with this, you can read about marketing automation and about automated flows. For some campaigns, it can also be smart to combine email with SMS marketing.

Deliverability during campaign periods

When the pressure rises during Black Friday, deliverability is decisive. It does not matter how good the offer is if the sends end up in spam or are not opened.

To strengthen deliverability, you should:

• send to recipients who have actually given consent
• keep the list clean of inactive addresses
• have a clear sender and easy unsubscribing
• avoid exaggerated subject lines and spam signals
• make sure SPF, DKIM and DMARC are in place
• use a stable platform for your sends

To go deeper, you can read our guide on deliverability for newsletters. It is important both for this page and for the newsletter cluster in general.

Build your email list before Black Friday

Black Week is a good opportunity to grow the list. Many people are more willing to leave their email address when they feel they get something clear in return, for example early access, special offers or advance information.

You can use:

• a pop-up or a form on the website
• social media that drives sign-ups
• clear messages about early access
• campaign pages that collect leads

As the list grows, it becomes even more important to work smartly with segmentation, otherwise you risk sending too broadly and losing relevance.

After Black Friday – do not forget the follow-up

The long-term value is often created after the campaign. When someone has bought something or shown interest, there is a good opportunity to build the relationship further with relevant follow-ups.

Examples of follow-up:

• a thank-you email after a purchase
• product advice or onboarding
• complementary products
• an evaluation of which segments bought the most
• A/B test insights to use next time

That way, Black Friday becomes not just a short sales spike, but also a way to strengthen customer relationships and improve upcoming campaigns.

How to measure whether the campaign worked

To develop your Black Friday sends, you need to analyze more than just sales. Look at which emails were opened, which CTAs got clicks, which segments converted best and when during the period the purchases actually came.

Important metrics:

• open rate
• click rate
• conversion rate
• revenue per send
• engagement per segment
• unsubscribes

That way, you strengthen not only your Black Friday work, but also future newsletters and campaigns during the rest of the year.

Summary

Black Friday, Black Week and Cyber Monday are a period where clear communication, segmentation and good timing can have a very strong effect. For companies that work with newsletters for businesses, this is a natural opportunity to combine campaign sends, email marketing, automation and follow-up.

Work with a clear plan, build the whole period as a whole and let every send have a concrete purpose. Then you get more value from the traffic, the offers and the list you have already built.

If you want to work in a more structured way with campaigns, you can start by creating and sending newsletters in Paloma, and then build further with segmentation, templates, subject lines, automation and deliverability.