It’s that time of year again, the one all ecommerce businesses look forward to and quietly dread in equal measure. Yeah, that’s right, Black Friday is just around the corner.
It started life with our transatlantic cousins as the kick-off to the Thanksgiving weekend, a lot like our Boxing Day sales. Now it’s a worldwide event, and every year shoppers try their luck at getting the best deals they can. Many will go to great lengths to snatch a bargain, and for some people the snatching is fairly literal. We’ve all seen the videos.
Black Friday should be on every ecommerce business’s calendar. It’s a chance to make real money, build your customer base and capture repeat shoppers. At Blaze, we’ve seen businesses earn real growth from their Black Friday performance, and how you approach the event can have a lasting impact.
One of the biggest mistakes we see is not getting ahead of Black Friday marketing and missing out on major sales.
If you’re an ecommerce business owner or employee reading this, you need to start your marketing right now. Well, after you’ve read our campaign timeline.
Keep reading to learn how to prepare for Black Friday.
Your September Black Friday Action Plan
For all of you reading this and thinking, “September feels a bit early to start preparing”, you couldn’t be more wrong. There are businesses out there that started prepping for Black Friday 2026 the day after Black Friday 2025 wrapped up, so now’s the time to get your ducks in a row.
Nail Your Value Proposition
Before anything else, decide what deals you’re actually going to offer. Tiered discounts, bundles, free gifts with every Black Friday purchase- whatever it is, you need to decide early.
Your discounts will shape the rest of your strategy and ultimately determine how successful your marketing campaign is, so take the time to think it through or talk to a team who knows what works and can help you build the offer.
Audience Building
With your offer locked in, the next job is building an audience for it. You could have the best products in the world, but none of that matters if nobody buys them. Remember, you’re competing with thousands of other ecommerce brands trying to capture attention, so you need to make sure potential buyers see your business.
There are a number of ways to build an audience ahead of Black Friday, and most of them cost you nothing but a bit of planning.
Offer VIP Early Access
A simple callout on socials asking people to sign up for early access does two jobs at once. It grows your list, and it makes the people on that list feel like they’ve been let in on something special.
Make the process easy for them; a name and an email address are plenty. Then tell them exactly what they’re getting, whether that’s a 24-hour head start, a bigger discount, or first shot at the products you know will sell out. Vague promises don’t convert, so be clear about what they gain by signing up.
Tease Your Offers Over Email and SMS
Your existing list is your warmest audience, so make sure they get the attention they deserve.
Launch a simple Black Friday email marketing reminder or text so that they know Black Friday is just around the corner and your deals are on the way. It reminds them you exist and gets them hyped and ready to spend.
Grow Your Social Presence
The bigger your reach going into Black Friday, the less you’ll need to spend buying attention during it. Post more often in the run-up, lean into whatever format is performing for you, and make sure your bio and pinned posts point straight at your sale sign-up. Not sure how to grow your social presence quickly? Don’t worry, our social media team can help.
Paid social has its place too, but use it now to build the audience rather than only switching it on when you’re trying to sell. Retargeting a warm crowd in November is far cheaper than cold pitching one.
Refresh Your Social Proof
Nobody wants to be the first person to buy from a brand they’ve never heard of, so sort this out before the traffic arrives.
Chase reviews on your best sellers, pull recent customer photos into your product pages, and update any testimonials that are gathering dust. If a product has picked up a decent review count since last year, say so. Shoppers comparing three tabs at once will pick the one that looks like other people have already taken the risk.
Not sure how to get fresh testimonials quickly? You don’t have to bring out the big guns. Send customers a little thank-you message for their custom and let them know you’d appreciate their feedback; you’re bound to get replies.
Email List Growth
Email marketing is the unsung hero of Black Friday. Nobody goes a day without checking their inbox, whether it’s for work, tracking a parcel or checking a receipt. If someone logs in and sees an offer ahead of Black Friday, it’s a nice break from the monotony of their day-to-day emails.
Growing your mailing list in September should be a priority for all ecommerce businesses. It keeps your brand at the forefront of your audience’s mind and showcases your products in the run-up to Black Friday.
One of the best ways to encourage that growth is through your socials. Post about it frequently, tease special Black Friday deals and build the hype.
Building Black Friday Creative Assets
Now’s the time to start building a folder of creative assets. Nobody wants to see the same post 50 times in the months leading up to Black Friday, and you’ll need plenty to use across platforms. We’re talking socials, your website, ads and your email marketing. All of that adds up.
But do us a favour: don’t generate it all with AI, because people can tell and it will put them off. Start now, and you have plenty of time to make quality creatives that actually capture attention, or time to work with a content team who can create unique assets that capture your brand perfectly. If you want fresh product shots or video for the campaign, our photography and videography team can sort that too.
Early October: Get the Technical Stuff Right
With September’s tasks out of the way, October is another busy month of prep. This is when you make sure all the technical aspects of your site and campaign are ready to go.
Audit Site Speed and Checkout
If everything goes right, your site will be busy on Black Friday and the days around it, so make sure it can handle it. Get your whole team testing your site’s speed and check that people can browse and add to their basket without lag disrupting the flow. If you’re worried your site isn’t cut out for the job, there are ways to speed it up, or you can work with a web development team who can whip your site into shape.
You should prioritise the checkout process. On Black Friday, everyone operates at 2x speed, trying to secure the best deals across multiple sites before someone else snaps them up. If your checkout is long and drawn out, it’ll only put people off and lead to abandoned carts, which is the last thing you want when you’re trying to make money.
Simplify it as much as possible so people can get in and out fast. We’d suggest introducing guest checkout; it drives more conversions by letting new customers check out easily. If your ecommerce setup is fighting you on this, it’s worth fixing now rather than in November.
Warm Up Ad Accounts
Black Friday isn’t the day to launch a brand-new campaign and hope for the best. Meta and Google both need time to learn who your buyers are, and that learning period costs money. If you’re paying for it on the busiest, most expensive advertising day of the year, you’re burning budget on data you could have gathered weeks ago for a fraction of the price.
Get your campaigns live early so the algorithm has done its homework by the time it matters. Run prospecting ads through October and November to build up retargeting pools, then hit those warm audiences with your offers when the sales go live. People who already know your brand convert far faster than a cold click, and on Black Friday speed is everything.
It’s also worth scaling your budgets gradually rather than going from £20 a day to £2,000 overnight. Big, sudden jumps can spook the platforms and land you in a review at the worst possible moment.
While you’re in there, check the boring stuff too: card details up to date, no account restrictions lurking, and creatives submitted well in advance so nothing is sitting waiting for approval at 9 am on the day.
On Black Friday you need to run a tight ship, and overlooking anything can cost you.
Late October: Switch On Your Black Friday Advertising
With November looming, the latter weeks of October are when you make sure everything is technically sound, and your campaigns are ready. Late October is when you shift from planning to execution.
Go Loud on Your Offers
Now’s the time to start teasing your offers to potential customers, and this is where those creatives we told you to make earlier come back into play. Remind people that you’ve got offers on the way.
Send out ads, line up social posts and start being very loud about what customers can expect on Friday. Tease some of the products you’re putting on sale, too. It lets customers plan their shopping journey on your site in the midst of the Black Friday chaos.
Build Waitlists
Exclusivity sells, and what better way to imply exclusivity than a waitlist? A waitlist helps you capture high-intent demand and build anticipation, while also giving you a heads-up on expected sales so you can manage inventory and avoid over- or under-stocking.
It’s also a great way to collect emails, which you can then use to share deals beyond Black Friday and help retain new customers.
Reward early sign-ups with fast access or exclusive deals. It builds trust and makes the offer feel more premium and scarce.
Schedule Campaigns
Though it may seem early, you should schedule your Black Friday ad campaigns to go live in late October to early November. Consumers start browsing and planning purchases well ahead of the day, so getting your brand in front of them early is a smart move.
Something businesses often forget is that advertising costs spike significantly in November, with big brands flooding the platforms and inflating auction prices. Getting your ads out early saves you money and captures early attention at the same time.
Not sure how to navigate your Black Friday ad campaigns? Worry not, you’re in the right place. Our paid media team is here to help you understand your ads and build ads that actually convert.
Early November: Prepping for the Big Day
November is when everything starts firing on all cylinders and businesses across the world buckle down. For some businesses- the ones who didn’t read this super handy blog- this is when preparation starts. For savvy ecommerce owners, this is when early prep starts to pay off.
Launch Early Access
Black Friday isn’t just a day anymore. With most ecommerce brands offering deals early, Black Friday can span the whole month. We’re not saying launch everything at once, but you should trickle in some early November deals to drive early sales and capture attention.
Plenty of people hate the Black Friday rush, so you’ll cater to those who want early deals while spreading sales across a longer window, which prevents bottlenecks and disruption to your shipping process.
If you don’t want to open it up to everyone, give access to people who joined waitlists early and VIP subscribers who have engaged with your newsletters and ads. It’s a nice way to say thank you while building momentum and capturing attention with some limited time offers.
Black Friday Week
The big day’s arrived. You’ve tested your site a million times, your ads have been circulating and your social media presence has been consistent. Now’s the time to reap the rewards of your hard work and pre-planning.
Execution and Monitoring
Whether you want to run your Black Friday strategy across the whole week or on the day itself (big brands like Amazon offer deals for the full week, and they’ll be your biggest competitor), now’s the time to launch.
Trigger discounts on your site, update imagery to capture the Black Friday buzz, and do one final push across socials to remind customers the deals are live. Once everything is live, monitor EVERYTHING. Keep an eye on your website, your stock and your customer service inbox to make sure it’s all running smoothly.
The last thing you want is for something to go wrong on Black Friday, but if you did all the testing ahead of time as we suggested, you should be good to go and ready to turn a tasty profit.
Cyber Monday to December
Your efforts don’t end after Black Friday. That shopping event is just the beginning. It’s not solely about attracting one-time buyers, it’s about building long-term relationships, and with the right approach, you can turn these customers into loyal repeat buyers.
Cyber Monday and the Christmas season are critical periods to strengthen those connections and sustain engagement.
Make sure you reach out to anyone who purchased from you in November, whether through social media or email, and keep that momentum going.
Not sure how to sustain these relationships? We have your back. When you work with an expert ecommerce agency like Blaze Media, retaining customers and building long-lasting relationships is easier.
Black Friday Mistakes to Avoid
Now that you have a Black Friday ecommerce marketing strategy ready to go, take note of these common mistakes.
Ignoring Mobile Optimisation
It’s 2026, and if your shop front isn’t already optimised for mobile, you’re putting yourself at a disadvantage. Mobile now accounts for the majority of ecommerce store visits, and if your website isn’t built for those shoppers, you’re losing customers before they ever reach the basket.
Before Black Friday, make sure your website is mobile-optimised and runs smoothly. It will make a big difference to your Black Friday success.
Overlooking Payment Options
Limited payment options are another big disadvantage on Black Friday. People expect to make some fairly large purchases on the day, so they want a fast, convenient checkout and the option to use PayPal, Klarna or Clearpay to spread the cost.
Offering these payment options opens the door to bigger baskets and gives customers more reasons to spend. The more options you offer, the higher the chance of a completed purchase.
No Upselling at Checkout
Black Friday feels like the one time of year when the concept of overspending goes out the window. When people see a good deal, they want to make the most of it, and a big mistake many ecommerce businesses make is not upselling at checkout.
Upselling doesn’t need to be complicated. Recommend popular products, or set up a function that suggests items related to what’s already in the basket. While people are in the mood to spend, spotting another Black Friday offer on the way out is an easy win, and you’ll boost your average order value by capturing sales at the exit.
Get Your Ecommerce Business Ready With Blaze
So there you have it, your Black Friday timeline outlined for you. Black Friday can be a great opportunity to grow your business, make money and retain valuable customers, but only if you go about it the right way.
At Blaze Media, we’ve seen far too many businesses waste the opportunity through a lack of preparation. If you’re worried you’re going to fall into the same trap, we’re here to help.
Get in touch to find out how we can help you.
