How to Prepare for Black Friday as a Digital Seller
Are you wondering what to do to prepare for Black Friday?
Black Friday and Cyber Monday are quickly approaching. If you’re an online seller, you know that these days can be a golden opportunity to boost your sales and grow your business.
But how do you get ready for this massive shopping event? A handful of essential strategies can help you make the most of this busy time of year for online shopping.
🔎 In this article, I’ll cover:
Why It’s Important to Prepare for Black Friday
In the U.S., Black Friday and Cyber Monday (BFCM) occur annually on the day after Thanksgiving and the following Monday, respectively. They typically mark the beginning of the Christmas shopping season and can be significant revenue drivers.
According to Statista research, nearly 70% of consumers planned to shop online for Black Friday.
As an online seller, there are so many benefits to preparing for and participating in these seasonal sales.
Increase Sales
Black Friday and Cyber Monday sales offer a unique opportunity to boost revenue in a short period.
By offering deep discounts, limited-time offers, and exclusive deals, you can entice customers to make purchases they might not otherwise have considered. The surge in online traffic during these events can lead to a major increase in revenue.
Boost Brand Awareness
The heightened consumer interest and increased online activity during Black Friday and Cyber Monday give you a chance to reach a wider audience and enhance your brand visibility.
Actively promoting your sales and offers on social, email, and other marketing channels can attract new customers and potentially strengthen your brand recognition.
Attract New Customers
Black Friday and Cyber Monday can be key in acquiring new customers who may become repeat buyers.
Running compelling deals and discounts can draw shoppers who may not be familiar with your brand or products. These new customers can become long-term, loyal customers if they have a positive shopping experience.
Improve Customer Loyalty
BFCM also presents an ideal opportunity to reward your existing customers for their loyalty.
Exclusive deals, early access to sales, and personalized discounts are excellent ways to demonstrate your appreciation and encourage repeat purchases. This can help strengthen customer relationships and build a loyal customer base.
How to Prepare for Black Friday
To fully leverage these opportunities and maximize sales, it’s important to prepare for Black Friday and Cyber Monday — which involves strategic planning.
Below are some tips to help you get started.
1. Establish Your Sale Schedule
Timing is crucial when it comes to Black Friday sales. A common strategy is to start sales early and extend them past Cyber Monday.
Consider early bird deals
Starting your sale a few days (or even a week or so) before Black Friday can be an effective way to capture ‘early bird shoppers’.
For example, you could offer exclusive discounts to your email subscribers a few days before the official sale starts. This will generate excitement and anticipation among your most loyal customers.
Emphasize limited-time offers
Create a sense of urgency with time-sensitive deals, such as flash sales or countdown timers.
Offer deep discounts on a limited selection of products for a limited time only. Promote your limited-time offers prominently on your homepage and social media channels.
Consider post-BFCM sales
Continue the momentum with additional discounts or special offers to entice customers to make one last purchase.
Bundle products together to offer greater value and encourage higher-ticket purchases.
2. Create Compelling Deals & Discounts
To attract customers and encourage impulse purchases, you need to offer irresistible deals and discounts. There are a few pricing strategies to consider.
Percentage Discounts. | Offer a percentage discount on all products or specific categories. Consider offering higher percentage discounts for limited-time periods to create a sense of urgency. |
| Fixed Amount/Dollar-Off. | Another option is to provide a fixed dollar amount off purchases. This type of discount is particularly effective for high-priced items or large purchases. |
| Bundle Deals. | Package multiple products together at a discounted price. Bundle deals offer customers a greater perceived value and encourage them to purchase more items. |
| Tiered Discounts. | Offer increasing discounts as customers spend more. This strategy rewards customers for making larger purchases and encourages them to add more items to their carts. |
As I’ll cover in a section below, Easy Digital Downloads makes it easy to create and manage discounts within WordPress.
You can set up specific discount codes, apply discounts to entire carts, or offer product-specific discounts.
3. Test & Optimize Your Store’s Performance
One of the most important things you can do to prepare for Black Friday as a digital seller is to make sure that your online store performs well.
A slow site can really hurt your business. In today’s fast-paced world, people expect websites to load quickly and efficiently. If your store is slow, they are likely to move on to a competitor’s website that offers a better user experience.
The goal is to make it easy for visitors to start shopping, find what they’re looking for, and complete the checkout process as quickly and as smoothly as possible.
Testing Your Site
Start by using a tool like Google PageSpeed Insights to test your site speed.
Simply enter your site URL and click Analyze. Then it gives you a performance score as well as suggestions for how to improve it.
Visit your site from the front end and navigate it as an online shopper would. Does everything load quickly? Is your checkout secure and optimized?
Run test purchases from your store to verify that everything is functioning correctly. EDD integrates seamlessly with the Stripe payment gateway and lets you easily test payments.
Don’t forget to visit and browse your site from a phone or tablet to ensure mobile optimization.
Optimizing Your Online Store
There are so many ways to optimize your eCommerce site.
In addition to implementing the suggestions provided by your page speed test, I also recommend looking for opportunities to improve your checkout.
For example, minimize the amount of steps involved as much as possible. Only ask customers for necessary information.
Consider enabling guest checkout, even if it’s just for the busy holiday season.
Another reason to use Stripe is because it lets you accept digital wallet and mobile payment methods like Apple Pay and Google Pay. This can help ensure your customers complete their transactions with ease.
💡 Learn more ways to optimize your checkout process and improve your site speed.
4. Highlight BFCM Sales Across Your Site
Plan ahead of time where and how you’ll highlight the sale across your website. There are a handful of Black Friday promotion ideas you could incorporate.
For instance, a popular strategy is to create a dedicated landing page that showcases your best deals.
A plugin like SeedProd makes building a custom landing page super simple, even without any coding knowledge. There are also plenty of templates to choose from.
I also recommend using OptinMonster to add engaging banners, exit-intent pop-ups, and other on-site elements to promote the deals and optimize conversions.
When creating your campaigns, there are a few tips to keep in mind.
- Use a clean, minimalist design that focuses attention on your offers.
- Include clear Calls to Action (CTAs). Make sure your buttons are visible and easy to click, even on mobile devices.
- Feature your top deals and promotions prominently on the page. Use bold headlines, bullet points, and contrasting colors to make them stand out.
- Consider adding a countdown timer to create a sense of urgency.
- Build trust with potential customers by including security badges, customer testimonials, and contact information.
5. Promote Sales Across Multiple Channels
To make the most of your Black Friday marketing campaigns, start early and incorporate multiple channels.
Send targeted email marketing campaigns to your subscribers and existing customers.
Create engaging social media posts and run contests and giveaways.
Consider sending push notifications to inform users when the sale begins.
If it’s in your budget, you could use paid advertising to reach a larger audience. Another option is to use affiliate marketing and partner with influencers/other marketers in your niche to promote your sales.
💡For more ideas, check out our eCommerce content marketing guide.
Creating Black Friday Discounts in EDD
If you’re selling digital products, you’re probably using Easy Digital Downloads.
One of the many benefits of this complete digital selling WordPress plugin is that it streamlines and simplifies discount code creation and management.
You can set up specific discount codes, apply discounts to entire carts, or offer product-specific discounts.
Everything you need is under Downloads » Discounts.
To create a new discount, select Add New.
Next, name your discount and add the code for customers to apply at checkout. You can enter your own or, if you have EDD Pro, use the Generate Code button.
Then, choose a percentage (%) or fixed amount ($) discount from the Amount drop-down menu. Next, add how much you want the deal to be.
The next few settings let you define which product(s) this discount applies to and what requirements must be met.
Under Start date and Expiration date, you can pick the dates and times to begin and end the Black Friday and Cyber Monday sales.
When you’re done, select Add Discount Code.
🏷 For more, feel free to check out the following guides:
- Creating and Using Discount Codes
- Add Discount Code Field to Checkout
- Create a First-Order Discount
- Recurring Renewal Discounts
FAQs on Preparing for Black Friday
Let’s wrap up with some frequently asked questions.
What are the best pricing strategies for Black Friday?
A combination of percentage discounts, dollar-off discounts, and bundle deals can be effective. Experiment with different pricing strategies to see what works best for your audience.
How can I optimize my site to prepare for Black Friday?
First, test your site. Thoroughly test your store to ensure it can handle increased traffic.
Second, secure your site. Implement strong security measures to protect your customers’ data.
Third, optimize your checkout. Look for ways to streamline the checkout process to reduce cart abandonment.
How do I prepare customer support for Black Friday?
Providing solid customer service and support is crucial during any time of year, but especially so during the peak season of shopping.
If necessary, you might consider hiring temporary staff to handle increased customer service and support inquiries. However, you can set up automated responses to common questions and assistance to customers by using chatbots and AI tools.
When should Black Friday Sales start?
Traditional Black Friday falls on the Friday after Thanksgiving. But many retailers start their sales earlier to capitalize on the holiday shopping season. Consider starting your sale a few days before or even a week in advance.
Prepare for Black Friday With EDD
By following these tips and leveraging the power of Easy Digital Downloads, you can prepare for Black Friday and help ensure it’s your most successful yet. Don’t miss this opportunity to boost your sales and grow your business.
Don’t have Easy Digital Downloads yet? Grab a pass and enhance your online store in minutes.
Want even more ways to drive revenue? Learn how to boost sales with upsells and cross-sells!
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