Holiday and Black Friday Email Campaigns: A Small-Business Calendar and Checklist

Plan your Black Friday, Cyber Monday and holiday emails: a week-by-week calendar, email ideas, deliverability tips and a pre-send checklist.

In short: Plan six to eight weeks ahead, grow and warm your list in October, tease offers before Black Friday, send clear deadlines through December and finish with thank-you and January emails. Ramp volume up gradually and send more to engaged subscribers.

The holiday season is the busiest time of year for inboxes — and for many small businesses, the most important sales period. Planning early is the difference between being lost in the noise and having your best month ever.

The key dates (US and Canada)

Canadian Thanksgiving: the second Monday in October.
Halloween: October 31.
US Thanksgiving: the fourth Thursday in November.
Black Friday: the day after US Thanksgiving (big in Canada too).
Small Business Saturday: the day after Black Friday (US).
Cyber Monday: the Monday after Black Friday.
Giving Tuesday: the Tuesday after Cyber Monday.
Last shipping days: usually mid-December — check your carriers.
Christmas and Boxing Day: December 25 and 26.
New Year's.

A week-by-week plan

Six to eight weeks before Black Friday

Decide your offers and stock levels.
Grow your list: add a "Get early access to our holiday sale" sign-up.
Clean your list (remove bounces and long-inactive subscribers).
Make sure your domain is authenticated (SPF, DKIM, DMARC).

Two to four weeks before

Warm up: send your usual emails consistently — don't go silent and then blast.
Tease: "Something big is coming — subscribers get first access."
Publish a gift guide.

Black Friday week

Early access email to subscribers (the day before or morning of).
Launch email on Black Friday.
Reminder to people who opened but didn't click.
Small Business Saturday email (if you're local).
Cyber Monday offer.
Last chance email when the sale ends.

December

Gift guides by budget and recipient.
Gift cards (they're perfect for last-minute shoppers).
Last shipping day reminder.
In-store or pickup options after shipping deadlines.
A thank-you email with no sales pitch.

After the holidays

Boxing Day / end-of-year sale.
A "New year, new…" email tied to your business.
A welcome series for everyone who joined in the season.

Deliverability tips for the busy season

Increase volume gradually — don't suddenly send five times your normal amount.
Send your biggest emails to your most engaged subscribers first.
Keep unsubscribing easy; complaints spike when it isn't.
Avoid misleading urgency in subject lines.

Pre-send checklist

☐ Offer details, codes and end dates are correct.
☐ Every link works and the codes work at checkout.
☐ Mobile preview looks good.
☐ Subject line and preview text are clear.
☐ Address and unsubscribe link in the footer.
☐ Sent to the right segment, at the right time zone.

Holiday emails that aren't just discounts

Discounts work, but every store is shouting about them in late November. Stand out with emails people actually want to open:

Gift guides by person ("for the coffee lover", "under $25") make buying easy.
Shipping and pickup deadlines — genuinely useful, and they create honest urgency.
Gift cards for last-minute shoppers, often your best seller in the final week.
Behind the scenes of your busiest season.
A thank-you with no sales pitch, to your best customers.
Local events — a late-night shopping evening, a workshop, a tasting.

Subject line examples for the season

"Gifts for everyone on your list, sorted by price"
"Last day for delivery before the holidays 📦"
"Black Friday starts now for subscribers"
"Still need a gift? Our gift cards arrive instantly"
"Thank you for an amazing year"

Keep them honest: if a sale ends Sunday, say Sunday, and don't send "last chance" three times.

After the rush

January emails are often overlooked. Send a thank-you, share how to return or exchange gifts, welcome new subscribers who joined during the holidays with your normal welcome series, and invite gift card recipients to visit. New subscribers from the holiday season are worth keeping — treat them well.

In Reepio

Reepio's AI campaign planner can build your holiday month around your goals and the dates above — you approve each email before it's scheduled. Send-time optimization delivers each email when each subscriber is most likely to read it. Start free.

Frequently asked questions

When should I start Black Friday emails?

Plan six to eight weeks ahead, start teasing two to four weeks before, and give subscribers early access a day before the public sale.

How many emails should I send during Black Friday week?

Several is normal — early access, launch, reminder, Cyber Monday and last chance — as long as each one is relevant and unsubscribing is easy.

Do Canadian shoppers care about Black Friday?

Yes. Black Friday and Cyber Monday are major shopping events in Canada too, alongside Boxing Day after Christmas.