Black Friday email calendar.
Black Friday is the day after US Thanksgiving, and the winning email plan starts weeks earlier. Warm your list in October, give VIPs early access, send the main offer on the day, and manage frequency so the rest of the season does not suffer for it.
Key dates
- 2026: Friday 27 November
- 2027: Friday 26 November
Last reviewed 12 October 2026. Dates are calculated from the rule for the day, so they stay correct each year.
Why it matters.
Volume is the main risk. Sending far more than usual to a list that is used to a weekly cadence can hurt inbox placement, so warm up gradually and send most heavily to your most engaged subscribers first.
The brands that do well tend to have decided their offer, their stock and their schedule in September, leaving the final weeks for execution rather than debate.
Send plan.
1. 8 weeks before
Fix the offer, the stock plan and the schedule. Start warming volume with engaged segments.
2. 3 weeks before
Build a waitlist for early access and tell people when it opens.
3. 5 days before
Send the preview to VIPs and waitlist members.
4. Black Friday, early
Send the main offer to the engaged list and a second, later message to openers who did not click.
5. Black Friday, evening
Send a last chance to carts and clickers, then pause the less engaged groups.
Before you send.
- Warm volume gradually in the weeks before, starting with engaged subscribers.
- Run a test order with the real code through checkout on mobile.
- Check authentication records and that your sending domain is healthy.
- Prepare second send variants for openers who did not click.
- Agree who monitors inbox placement and replies on the day.
Segments to use.
- The waitlist and VIPs, for early access
- Cart and browse abandoners from the last 30 days
- Highly engaged subscribers first, then the wider list in stages
Subject line ideas.
- It starts now, your early access link
- The offer is live, and so is your size
- Last few hours, ends at midnight
- Everything we have left, in one place
More in the sale and promotion subject line library.
Common mistakes.
- Sending the full list at maximum volume with no warm up
- Discounting everything and leaving nothing for Cyber Monday
- Not checking that codes and inventory sync before the first send
This is a planning structure, not a promise of results. Your offer, stock, list and shipping options decide what is right, so test and adjust.
Want this planned and built for you? See our email deliverability service or book a free audit.
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