Black Friday isn't something you plan a week ahead. The brands that get the best results start preparing 8 weeks in advance. Here's the exact playbook we use for our clients.
Week 1-4: Building the funnel
The first four weeks you run awareness campaigns on Meta Ads and TikTok. The goal: get as many relevant people into your retargeting pool as possible. Publish content that shows your brand, share behind-the-scenes content, and grow your email list with an early-access sign-up. Make sure your pixel is warm and your Conversions API is configured well.
At the same time you prepare your Shopify store: landing pages for Black Friday deals, speed optimisation, and a checkout that runs smoothly under high traffic. Test your server load, nothing is worse than a crash during your biggest sales day.
Week 5-6: Building hype
Two weeks before Black Friday you start with teasers. "Something big is coming." Email campaigns to your list, Stories on social media, countdown timers on your website. Make a VIP list for early access (24 hours ahead). This creates urgency and rewards your loyal customers.
Prepare all your Klaviyo flows: the announcement email, the early access email, the live email, the reminder email, the "last chance" email, and the Cyber Monday extender. Every email should be ready with dynamic content and tested subject lines.
Week 7-8: Execution
The week of Black Friday you raise your budgets to 3-5x your normal level. Your retargeting pools are full, your creatives are tested, your flows are ready. Turn on your Advantage+ campaigns and let the algorithm work with the huge amount of incoming data. Monitor your ROAS by the hour, not by the day. Pause underperformers quickly and shift budget to winners. After Cyber Monday: analyse everything and build a plan for December.