Small online stores can handle Black Friday in one of two ways. You can rush a discount onto everything and hope more orders make up for the thinner margin. Or you can prepare your offer, emails and ads a month ahead so the sale actually pays off. This article is a plan for the second option – week by week, from deciding on the offer to launch day and the wrap-up.
First, decide: do you even want to do Black Friday?
Black Friday isn’t mandatory. If you make things by hand and your capacity is limited, or you sell on thin margins, a store-wide discount can take more than it gives. Shoppers compare prices closely this time of year, and if you have nothing that stands out, you’ll get lost in a flood of similar deals.
Ask yourself three questions:
- Do you have enough of the stock you want to sell, or can you reorder it in time?
- Can your margin absorb the discount and still leave you a profit on every order?
- Can you handle more orders at once – packing, shipping and answering customers?
If the answer is “no” even once, you don’t have to back out. Pick a format that doesn’t come straight out of your margin. You’ll find options below.
How to keep discounts from burning through your margin
Before you offer any discount, work out how much you really make on a product after the purchase price, shipping, payment fees and packaging. Only then do you know what discount you can afford.
A worked example
You sell a product for €40, and after all costs you keep €12. Give a €6 discount and you’re left with €6 – so you need twice as many orders to make the same profit. On top of that comes advertising, which tends to cost more this time of year because more businesses are competing for the same people.
You can quickly work out how much your ads need to bring in to pay off with our ROAS calculator. ROAS is the ratio of ad revenue to the amount you put into ads – in other words, how many euros come back for every euro you spend.
Alternatives to a store-wide discount
- A gift with orders over a certain amount – a sample or an add-on that costs you less than it’s worth in the customer’s eyes.
- A bundle – two or three products that go together, at a better price. It raises the order value.
- Free shipping above a certain order amount.
- Discounts on selected products only – for example, on items you have plenty of in stock, not on bestsellers that sell without a discount anyway.
- Early access for newsletter subscribers – it gives people a reason to sign up before the sale.
If you want to know why winning customers with discounts alone doesn’t pay, read our article on why customer lifetime value matters more than the first purchase.
Mind the rules, too. Under EU rules, when you announce a discount, you also have to show the lowest price you charged for the product in the 30 days before the discount. Artificially raising the price just before a sale misleads customers – and people often notice on their own. If you’re not sure how to display discounts correctly, check with a lawyer.
The four-week plan
Week 1: offer, stock and tracking
- Pick the products for the sale and decide on the format: discount, gift or bundle.
- Check your stock and your suppliers’ delivery times.
- Set the dates: one day, a weekend or a whole week. A shorter sale creates natural urgency; a longer one spreads the load on your stock – and on you.
- Check that order tracking works in Google Analytics 4 and in your ad accounts. Without it, you won’t know what made money once the sale is over.
- Prepare the sale page on your website and keep it hidden for now.
Week 2: copy, visuals and ads
- Write the copy and prepare visuals for your website, emails, social media and ads all at once, so you say the same thing everywhere.
- If your platform allows it, set sale prices with start and end dates both in your store and in your product feed (the product file for Google Shopping and price comparison sites). They’ll then change automatically.
- In Google Ads, prepare a promotion asset that shows your offer right next to the ad.
- Check your remarketing audiences – ads for people who have already visited your website. Before a sale, they’re among the most valuable.
Week 3: warming up your audience
- Send subscribers a heads-up: what you’re planning, when, and that they’ll get first dibs.
- Add a newsletter sign-up prompt to your website and social media.
- Test the whole purchase – cart, payments, shipping, confirmation emails – on both desktop and mobile.
- Prepare answers to common questions: delivery, returns, exchanging gifts after Christmas.
- Plan your ad budget for each day of the sale.
- Check your automated emails, such as the abandoned cart reminder. For inspiration, see our article on five automations for online stores.
Week 4: launch day and the days after
- Launch the sale in the morning: publish the page, send the email and switch on the ads.
- During the sale, check stock and ad performance at least twice a day. Pull sold-out products from your ads.
- Before the end, send a “last day” reminder – only to people who haven’t bought yet.
- After the sale, thank your customers and ship orders as fast as you can. Fast delivery is the best invitation to buy again.
How to evaluate the sale
Don’t look only at revenue. These questions matter more:
- How much did you make after discounts, advertising and shipping?
- How many customers were new and how many came back?
- Which products sold and which didn’t, even though they were on sale?
- How many orders were returned?
Write down the results and the mistakes. A year from now, you’ll have better guidance than any article – this one included.
Frequently asked questions
When should you start preparing for Black Friday?
Ideally a month ahead. Four weeks gives you time to prepare the offer, copy and ads and to test your store. If you start a week before the sale, all you’ll manage is a rushed discount.
Is a one-day sale better, or a whole week?
It depends on your capacity. One day creates stronger urgency, but the rush of orders hits all at once. A week-long sale spreads the work, but customers have less reason to decide right away.
Do I have to discount my whole range?
No. A discount on selected products, a gift with orders or a bundle often makes more sense. You don’t need to discount bestsellers that sell anyway.
Is Black Friday worth it for a store with few subscribers?
Yes, if you treat it as a chance to win new customers and contacts, not just a quick profit. Make sure new customers come back after the sale, too.
If you want your Black Friday ads to bring in customers who buy at a profit, not just people who click, see how our Google Ads management works. We’ll set up campaigns, tracking and budget so every euro counts.
