Black Friday: 8 email deliverability best practices to boost conversions

Black Friday might be the most lucrative day of the year for online retailers. On Black Friday 2019, 93.2 million people shopped online, generating a total of $7.4 billion (source: Spendmenot).

But you know what’s even more interesting? The emails sent on Black Friday have the greatest number of openings and link clicks (source: Campaign Monitor).

Even more, MailUp data indicates that Black Friday newsletters are the year’s most anticipated promotional emails. Italy tracked up to 50% more customers that can lead to +25% in transactions. 

Now popular among Italian consumers, Black Friday and Cyber Monday have turned into a much anticipated weekend to buy discounted items and pick up some early Christmas gifts.

This is the top shopping context for any retailer. But how can one get a piece of the pie in an increasingly crowded market and stand out among dozens of other promotional emails in someone’s inbox?

Any Black Friday Email Marketing strategy should start with improving deliverability. If you haven’t already done so, here are some tips to put into practice right now.

1. Have a good sender reputation

Build a sender reputation first if you want your deals to reach your email marketing contacts. This tells email providers that your messages may be relevant to the recipient. Sender reputation is a key reliability indicator and can be a shoe in when it comes to your contacts’ mailboxes.

Here’s how to build and protect your reputation as a sender: adhere to ISP policies, implement email authentication protocols like DKIM and BIM, use a professional mailing infrastructure and be sure to address SMTP bounces and errors.

2. Have a genuinely interested and active mailing list

Oftentimes, an Email Marketing strategy fails due to the mistaken perception that more contacts equal more conversions. However, the reality is that if you want your mailings to convert, you first must proactively establish a database built on contact quality.

Quality means that your contacts really belong to your business target. You also need content that aligns with what had led people to subscribe to your mailing list. By following these two guidelines, you can count on active contacts who open your emails and click on your links. This sends very positive feedback to ISPs, resulting in better deliverability.

3. Get noticed right from the subject line

Bet everything on a good subject line to stand out among dozens of emails that arrive more or less at the same time. These days, consumers seek discounts, deals, and coupons more than anything else. If that’s your Black Friday deal, then say it right away in your email subject line.

Add the deal’s duration (Black Friday discounts usually last one full week or just a weekend, from Friday to what’s known as Cyber Monday). Your mailing list subscribers will feel urged and this will trigger purchases (it’s a very effective marketing tactic).

Subjects that intrigue also work really well. These are less commercial but stand out from the usual messages. Go with your brand’s tone of voice and amaze your subscribers with an original item.

4. Send the right message at the right time

Personalization and segmentation are the 2 keys to a successful Email Marketing strategy and the extra edge over the competition.

Personalized subject lines get +26% open rate, while segmented emails can generate up to +760% revenue.

User data can help personalize your mailings and segment your offers. Be sure to use dynamic fields for more interactions.

5. Create anticipation for Black Friday deals

Tease your database with sneak peeks of what they’ll find in a Black Friday email, and keep engagement high through a strategic countdown. With these tactics, users will stay interested until the all-important week of discounts—when they receive your best email.

6. Promote last-minute subscriptions via social media

Harness the power of social media by encouraging new contacts to subscribe to your mailing list. For example, you can create stories on Instagram (if your target audience is here) where you announce that only newsletter subscribers can access exclusive Black Friday and Cyber Monday discounts. As always, go into urgency mode: just 2 more days to subscribe to the newsletter; only 20 more people will get discounts, etc…

You can also do the same on your website. Benefit from pop-ups that invite users to sign up, highlighting all the Black Friday advantages.

7. Mailing frequency: don’t overdo it

Do not uproot your sending habits. Ok, so you want to deliver your best offers to your database, but if you suddenly start sending dozens of promotional emails within a few days, you risk your reputation.

Nagged by your emails, users may not longer open your messages. This sends negative feedback to ISPs. This would eventually impact your brand reputation. Even worse, it could generate spam reports from users and damage your deliverability.

So be careful not to overdo it, and keep a regular frequency that just slightly goes up ahead of Black Friday.

Always remember to insert the unsubscribe link and the Preferences Center link for users who want to change their email preferences. This sidesteps any issues.

8. Send reminders with an additional discount for abandoned carts

Retrieving customers who, for various reasons (distraction, comparison with other competitors, loss of interest, etc.), didn’t make it to the check out is an excellent tactic in boosting conversions.

Create automatic flows to deliver emails with more deals on Black Friday. For those potential yet undecided customers, this could be just the right nudge to conclude the transaction. Flag the discount right from the subject line to increase openings and improve your deliverability.

Don’t miss this opportunity to beef up your mailing lists, boost conversions, and build user loyalty from Black Friday. This month, capitalize on engaging users and enticing them with the year’s best online shopping weekend!

For more tips on creating successful email campaigns for Black Friday 2020, request a free consultation with our experts.