15 Black Friday emails: Examples and templates to drive more sales in 2024

Black Friday is the premier event of the year for shoppers and retailers alike.

As the competition heats up, standing out in a crowded inbox can make all the difference between a successful campaign and missed opportunities.

With consumers eagerly awaiting the best deals, your email marketing strategy needs to be on point to capture their attention and drive conversions.

In this post, we’ll showcase 15 compelling Black Friday email examples and templates that are designed to boost your sales in 2024.

Ready to elevate your Black Friday email game?

1. The teaser email

A teaser email is designed to spark curiosity and excitement among subscribers. It provides subtle hints about upcoming deals without revealing too much, creating a sense of anticipation.

Since the main goal is to build anticipation, teaser emails should include subtle hints about deals, such as vague mentions of discounts or exclusive promotions, to pique interest.

Engaging visuals are critical, using eye-catching graphics and minimal text to grab attention and pique curiosity.

Lou & Grey’s “Get Giffy with It” campaign effectively hints at a 50% off deal, creating excitement without giving away details.

2. The sneak peek email

Very similar to the teaser email, a sneak peek email provides subscribers with a preview of upcoming deals, generating excitement and encouraging them to plan their purchases early.

The sneak peek email is all about building hype and anticipation.

Highlighting top deals is crucial to grabbing attention with the most attractive offers. Including exclusive previews gives your subscribers a special first look at the sales, making them feel valued and in-the-know.

First shared with Snapchat and Instagram followers, Sephora’s sneak peek email gave the subscribers an early look at Black Friday deals.

3. The VIP access email

A VIP access email rewards loyal customers with special access to deals before the general public, fostering a sense of exclusivity and appreciation.

This type of email is crucial for enhancing customer loyalty and driving engagement, as it taps into the desire for exclusive, personalized experiences.

In a VIP access email, several key elements work together to create a compelling and personalized experience. TANIT Botanics invites its loyal customers to join its loyalty program, granting them early access to Black Friday deals and special offers.

This approach ensures that their most dedicated shoppers feel valued and appreciated.

By focusing on existing customers before launching broader Black Friday campaigns, TANIT aims to boost customer retention, kick-start sales, and generate buzz around the brand.

4. The early access email

An early access email gives loyal customers the opportunity to shop deals before anyone else, driving early sales and rewarding customer loyalty.

In an early access email, key elements are creating exclusivity, driving early sales, and rewarding customer loyalty.

Clear messaging is crucial, using straightforward and enticing copy to communicate the benefits of early access effectively. These elements ensure the email captures attention, boosts engagement, and encourages early shopping.

For instance, the Washington Post announced its Black Friday limited-time offer with an early access email to urge subscribers to act quickly.

5. The save-the-date email

A save-the-date email informs subscribers about the upcoming Black Friday event, ensuring they mark their calendars and are ready to shop.

Clear date announcements, engaging designs, and concise, direct messaging are the main components.

The email prominently displays the exact date and time of the sale, often with visually appealing graphics to capture attention. Brief and direct copy emphasizes the importance of the date, ensuring subscribers remember to participate.

Apple's "Save the Date" email features a clean and simple design that prominently displays the sale date while keeping the mystery alive to capture subscribers' attention and get them to actually mark their calendars.

6. The countdown email

A countdown email generates excitement and anticipation as Black Friday approaches, leveraging urgency to prompt immediate action.

Effective countdown emails incorporate a visual timer counting down to the sale, teaser deals to provide early hints of discounts, and engaging graphics to maintain interest. These elements together create a sense of urgency and anticipation, encouraging subscribers to act quickly.

Your subscribers won't want to take the chance of missing out on Black Friday deals, so add a countdown timer to your emails, like this one from Vodafone.

7. The announcement email

An announcement email officially kicks off Black Friday sales, informing subscribers that the deals are live and encouraging immediate action.

These emails feature bold headlines, strong CTAs, and clear, concise messaging.

The aim is to grab attention and convey essential information about the sale, prompting subscribers to click and shop.

Nike's Black Friday email is a great example of how sometimes it is better to be direct. By using a bold headline and listing a few styles from the Black Friday sale, the brand gives its subscribers a heads-up while highlighting its Black Friday deals.

8. The bundle offer email

Emails with bundle offers promote groups of products at a discounted rate, increasing the average order value and offering greater savings to customers.

Attractive bundle deals, clear savings highlights, and limited-time availability are essential.

By emphasizing the urgency and showcasing the savings, these emails target to drive higher sales volumes and larger purchase amounts.

Herschel Supply Co.’s email highlighted bundled discounts, using a clean and minimalistic design that showcased the savings effectively.

9. The abandoned cart email

Abandoned cart emails aim to recover lost sales by reminding customers of items left in their cart, often accompanied by a special discount code to encourage completion of the purchase.

These emails typically list the items left in the cart, offer a special discount code, and use urgency messaging to encourage quick action. The goal is to remind and incentivize customers to complete their purchases.

Pulp and Press’s abandoned cart email included a reminder of the items and a 30% off Cyber Monday sale, effectively prompting customers to complete their purchase.

10. The free gift email

Free gift emails entice customers by offering a free gift with purchase, adding extra value and encouraging more sales.

To create a rewarding free gift email, highlight the free gift clearly and use appealing visuals to make the offer attractive and encourage purchases.

Storq's email offered a free tank top with purchases over $75, using a simple design and honest messaging to appeal to their target audience.

11. The limited availability email

Limited availability emails create a sense of urgency by highlighting scarce stock or time-sensitive offers, prompting quick action from subscribers.

Creating a sense of scarcity is crucial for this type of email.

You can benefit from countdown timers and urgent CTAs.

By emphasizing the limited quantities and limited time, these emails encourage people to buy immediately to avoid missing out.

Machine Fitness’s email used a bold black design with clear, urgent messaging to highlight limited-time offers, effectively driving urgency.

12. The referral incentive email

Referral incentive emails encourage customers to refer friends in exchange for discounts or rewards, expanding the customer base and rewarding loyal customers.

Clear referral instructions, attractive incentives, and sharing options are essential for this type of email as they make it easy for customers to refer friends and earn rewards, boosting both customer acquisition and retention.

OffCourt’s referral email provided clear instructions and attractive rewards, motivating customers to refer friends and earn discounts.

13. The last chance email

Last chance emails are designed to encourage subscribers to act quickly before offers expire, leveraging a strong sense of urgency to drive last-minute sales.

To be effective, these emails must clearly communicate the limited time remaining, using compelling language to highlight the deadline.

By combining a clear deadline with urgent messages and strong CTAs, these emails create a sense of urgency that encourages quick action.

Skillshare uses a colorful yet simple design to remind people of their 50% discount offer. While the time remaining is not highlighted, there is a 'use your discount' button followed by motivational messages, which fits with the brand's overall aesthetic and motivation.

14. The social proof email

Social proof emails use customer testimonials and reviews to build trust and drive sales, using positive feedback to influence purchase decisions.

Highlighted reviews, user-generated content, and social proof testimonials are key. By showcasing positive customer experiences, these emails build credibility and drive new customers to the point of purchase.

Bose's social proof email included 5-star customer reviews for its best-selling products, effectively using social validation to drive purchases during the Black Friday period.

15. The extended sales email

Extended emails aim to inform subscribers about the extension of Black Friday deals, giving them another opportunity to shop and drive additional sales.

These emails need to announce the extension, provide new deadlines, and renew the sense of urgency as they inform about the extended sale period.

National Geographic's extended deal email offered continued discounts beyond the typical Black Friday period, maintaining interest in special sets and driving further sales.

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