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BFCM Email Marketing Strategy: Keep It Simple, Focus on the Offer

BFCM Email Marketing Strategy: Keep It Simple, Focus on the Offer

BFCM doesn’t have to be complicated.

Mark Daming Mei
November 02, 2024

Welcome back to The DTC Insights newsletter. It’s Mark there from Dahaus Digital.

Before you read, be sure to follow me on YouTube, Instagram, LinkedIn, and X/Twitter.

In today’s newsletter, we are going over BFCM.

Shower Thought of the Week:

“Running email campaigns without flows is like building a house without a foundation—it might stand for a while, but it won’t survive the first storm.”

The Insights

BFCM doesn’t have to be complicated. It’s about putting a compelling offer front and center, building anticipation, and keeping communication consistent throughout the sale period. Here’s a straightforward BFCM email strategy designed to maximize engagement and revenue without overcomplicating things.

1. Craft an Irresistible Offer

The success of your BFCM campaign starts with the offer itself. Choose one that aligns with your brand and resonates with your audience:

Percentage Off: “20% Off Everything” or “Up to 50% Off Select Items.”
Dollar Off: “Save $50 on Orders Over $200.”
BOGO: “Buy One, Get One Free” or “Buy X, Get X% Off.”
Automatic Discounts: Use Shopify POS to apply discounts at checkout based on product or order amount—no codes needed!
Early Access for VIPs: Reward your top customers with exclusive early access to deals.
Free Gifts & Bundles: Offer a small gift with purchase or create curated product bundles to increase cart values.
Daily Deals & Countdown Timers: Feature “deal of the day” items and add countdown timers to emails to create urgency.
Free Shipping: A simple, yet effective perk for boosting conversions.

Keep it clear, straightforward, and valuable. Your offer should be too good to ignore.

2. Build an “Interested List” Early

Objective: Create an email list of customers specifically interested in your BFCM offer.
Start building excitement with teasers and opt-in opportunities:

Early Teaser Emails: Let your current list know that a BFCM deal is coming.
Join the BFCM List: Create a “VIP BFCM List” or “Early Access List” to collect sign-ups from those who want early access.
Tease the Offer: Mention that joining the list means they’ll be the first to hear about the sale, get exclusive discounts, or receive early access to inventory.
Engagement Tactics: Encourage replies to your teasers. Ask them to reply with what they’re hoping to see or to confirm their interest. This primes deliverability and ensures your emails land in the primary inbox.

Pro Tip: Use segmentation to create a primary list of interested subscribers, increasing the chances of high engagement when the sale launches.

3. Warm-Up and Prime Your List for Deliverability

Objective: Ensure emails are reaching inboxes by increasing engagement and establishing sender credibility with ISPs.

Regular Pre-Sale Emails: Send a few pre-sale emails to your list with valuable, relevant content.
Encourage Replies: Ask questions, request feedback, or invite them to share what they’re excited to buy. This keeps engagement high and boosts deliverability.

4. Run the Sale: Timing and Frequency

Here’s the core of your BFCM campaign. Don’t overthink it—just keep the offer in front of them consistently with announcements, reminders, and last-chance messages.

Pre-Announcement: Send an email 1-2 days before the sale goes live to your interested list. Include the offer details and when it starts.
Announcement Email: The sale is live! Make this email bold and engaging with the full offer, and include a clear CTA to shop.
Reminder Emails: Don’t be afraid to send reminders. They can be as simple as “The sale is on!” to help those who may have missed the first email.
Plain Text Reminders: Midway through the sale, send a plain-text email. It should look like a personal check-in: “Just wanted to make sure you saw our BFCM sale is live. Don’t miss out on [Offer Details]—click here to shop!”
Last Chance: As the sale winds down, send 1-2 “last chance” emails. Highlight the urgency and remind them of the value they’ll miss if they wait.

Pro Tip: Your last email can include a countdown to emphasize urgency.

5. Post-Sale Engagement

When BFCM ends, follow up with a “thank you” email to everyone who purchased. This simple touch builds goodwill and keeps customers engaged for future campaigns

Can I Help You?

If you like this newsletter and you want to work with me, there are a few ways we can do so:

If you own/run an e-commerce brand and are looking for a best-in-class email marketing agency that contractually guarantees $50K-$500K/mo in email revenue, please book a call here.
Retention Marketing Service Overview: https://gamma.app/docs/eCommerce-Brands-Well-Add-50K-500K-Per-Month-In-The-Next-60-Day-ej87j1t8n88imgx
Dahaus Digital Website: https://dahausdigital.com/
If you own/run an e-commerce brand and are looking for trusted partners for other services like Meta Ads, Google Ads, CRO, TikTok Shop, or others just reply “ECOM” to this email and I’ll help you out.