Should you run a Black Friday sale this year?
As an online business owner, the prospect of running a Black Friday sale can be both exciting and daunting. On one hand, it presents a prime opportunity to boost sales and revenue during one of the busiest shopping periods of the year. On the other, it can be challenging to know if you're truly ready to take the plunge and whether a Black Friday promotion aligns with your overall business strategy.
In this comprehensive guide, we'll explore the key factors to consider when deciding if a Black Friday sale is the right move for your business. We'll walk through a series of essential questions to help you assess your readiness, and provide a step-by-step plan for executing a successful promotion that drives results without compromising your values or energy levels.
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3 Questions to Determine if You're Ready for a Black Friday Sale
Before you start planning your Black Friday offering, it's crucial to take a step back and honestly evaluate whether the timing and circumstances are right for your business. Here are the three key questions to ask yourself:
1. Do you have something appropriate to sell?
Not every product or service in your business is well-suited for a Black Friday promotion. I’d caution you against discounting your time-based offerings, such as coaching packages or done-for-you services.
Discounting your services, your time, only leads to you feeling resentful afterwards when you have to actually show up and deliver that!
Instead, I recommend focusing your Black Friday sale on more scalable, hands-off offerings like digital products, templates, workshops, or courses. These types of products allow you to offer a compelling discount without the burden of trading your time for money.
2. Do you have an audience to sell to?
A successful Black Friday sale hinges on having an engaged audience ready and willing to take advantage of your promotion. Ideally, this would be your email marketing list - a group of people who have already expressed interest in your business and offerings.
If you don't have an email list yet, then I suggest exploring other avenues, such as a social media following or an existing online community. The key is to have a base of people who are excited to hear from you and are likely to be interested in your Black Friday deal.
3. Do you have the capacity to execute the sale?
Running a Black Friday promotion requires a significant investment of time and energy, especially if it's your first time. I really wouldn’t advise taking this on if you're already feeling stretched thin in your business.
If you are in your busiest time of year, if you really are tapped out in terms of your capacity, is it the best idea to put together a sale? Is your energy, your space, your time, and your capacity going to be better off being spent somewhere else in your business?
Carefully consider your current workload and bandwidth before committing to a Black Friday promotion. If you don't have the capacity to give it the attention it deserves, it may be better to sit this one out and focus on other high-impact initiatives.
Why a Black Friday Sale May Be Worth Considering
If you've answered "yes" to the three questions above, here are several compelling reasons to move forward with a Black Friday sale this year:
1. Cash Injection
A well-executed Black Friday promotion can provide a much-needed cash infusion for your business.
Who doesn't want some more money in our businesses? When we are selling on Black Friday, you have all the permission you need to go ahead and sell!
2. Valuable Practice
Running a Black Friday sale, even as a newer business, can be a low-risk way to get comfortable with more overt selling and promotion.
It's really good practice to get used to selling more overtly, more like really out there and saying, 'Hey, I have a thing. Would you like the thing?' .
This experience can be invaluable as your business grows, preparing you for future high-stakes sales moments.
3. Future Opportunity
Black Friday and the surrounding holiday shopping season tend to be important revenue-generating periods for many businesses. By getting started now, you can start to build the systems and experience needed to capitalize on these opportunities in the years to come.
Think down the line, you know, 5, 10 years from now, if you've built up a really big business and the stakes are going to be super high whether your Black Friday sale works or not, you're going to be so thankful that back then, today, you decided to actually run a Black Friday sale!
How to Plan and Execute a Successful Black Friday Sale
If you've determined that a Black Friday sale is the right move for your business, it's time to start planning. Here are your next steps to get started:
1. Choose Your Offer
The first step is to decide what you'll be selling as part of your Black Friday promotion. As mentioned earlier, I recommend focusing on scalable, hands-off products like digital downloads, templates, or online courses - anything that doesn't require a significant investment of your time.
Avoid using Black Friday as a launch pad for brand-new offerings, as the crowded marketplace can make it challenging to gain traction. Instead, consider promoting existing products that align with your audience's needs and interests.
2. Determine Your Offer Details
Next, you'll need to decide on the specifics of your Black Friday deal. Will it be a percentage-based discount, a special bundle, or a value-added offer with bonus items? Regardless of the format, be sure to clearly communicate the details, including the duration of the promotion.
Traditionally, Black Friday sales run from the Friday after Thanksgiving through Cyber Monday, but you have the flexibility to adjust the timeline to suit your needs. So you could opt for a shorter, more focused sale or extend it to a full week depending on what works better for you.
3. Prepare Your Promotional Assets
With your offer finalized, it's time to create the necessary promotional materials. This includes email sequences, social media graphics and captions, and any other content needed to effectively market your Black Friday sale.
To streamline this process, I highly recommend leaning on tools like my Flash Sale Toolkit, which provides templates, a copy generator, and other resources to help you put together a cohesive, high-converting promotion.
4. Leverage Countdown Timers
One of the most powerful tactics for creating a sense of urgency and scarcity during a Black Friday sale is the use of countdown timers.
This lets people see really clearly how much time they have left to get this deal and could really increase the sense of urgency. I highly recommend using a tool like Deadline Funnel to seamlessly integrate countdown timers into your promotional materials.
5. Promote, Promote, Promote
Once you've got all the pieces in place, it's time to get the word out about your Black Friday sale. Don't be shy, though, this is the time to go "all in" on promotion, rather than holding back!
Leverage your email list, social media channels, and any other platforms where your audience is active. Share your offer enthusiastically and consistently, using the countdown timer to create a sense of excitement and urgency.
