Ready, set, sale! Your last-minute Black Friday checklist
Written by Rachael
Black Friday is right around the corner, and if you're feeling the rush, you're not alone. It’s that time of year when all the late nights and planning pay off—or fall flat if the details slip.
So before you hit "launch" on your biggest sale of the year, check out our last-minute Black Friday prep checklist. It’ll keep your website smooth, emails landing in inboxes (not spam), and ads converting like a dream.
1. Stock and code checks.
Make sure your inventory is up-to-date and test out any discount codes. If your codes aren’t automatically applied at the checkout (or have formatting rules like all CAPS) then make those details clear to your shoppers from the start.
2. Basic SEO set-up.
Don’t forget the finer details. Check your page titles, meta descriptions, and social images to make sure they look good in search results or when shared. The more you can do to entice users to click through to your site, the better.
3. Easy-breezy navigation.
Keep your products easy to find with clean, clear navigation. If you know your best-sellers or want to showcase the products with the biggest discounts, then prioritise those in the nav. If you have a dedicated Black Friday landing page, make sure it’s easily accessible from the homepage.
4. Exit pop-ups with a twist.
Already got exit pop-ups up and running? Tweak your design and messaging when the sale drops so you can catch those about-to-bounce visitors with a last-minute offer they can’t resist.
5. Segmented email power.
Make sure you’re geared up to send targeted emails to your MVPs—repeat buyers, loyal fans, and anyone else already in your database. If there’s a list you aren’t already planning to target, it’s not too late to set something up.
6. Cart abandonment nudges.
The savviest shoppers will have their carts full before the sales drop. Get ready to nudge them over the line with checkout abandonment and browse abandonment email flows when the sale drops.
7. Copy that pops.
Remember: make it loud, make it urgent—and let people know this deal’s for a limited time only. Check out a tool like Mailboard to discover how other big brands tackled last year’s sale and see how your emails measure up.
8. Retarget like a pro.
Got site visitors who haven’t hit “buy”? Make sure you’re all prepped to run ads to bring them back. Trust us, retargeting ads are some of the most powerful tools in your Black Friday toolkit.
9. On-point landing pages.
Every ad and email should link to the exact page they need to be on—no detours. Trial all your user journeys before go-live and ask your teammates to do the same. If they aren’t seamless, do what you can to fix it.
10. Watch your ads live.
Make sure you’ve factored in time to keep a close eye on ad performance and tweak things as needed while the sale’s hot. You can always push your best-sellers, switch up your messaging or change your targeting depending on what’s selling.
Nail these, and you’re all set to crush Black Friday.
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