How to Prepare your Online Business for Black Friday

Wondering how to prepare for Black Friday? These 9 proven strategies will help you plan early, drive sales, and stand out online this holiday season.

Black Friday might still feel far away, but if you run an online business, now’s the perfect time to get ready.

Because the businesses that win big during Black Friday are the ones who plan early, not the ones scrambling the night before to throw something together.

You probably already know how loud and crowded this sales season gets. Your inbox will be full, your social feeds packed with promotions, and your audience will be overwhelmed with choices.

Stand out by starting now, while most others are still waiting.

This post is your simple guide on how to prepare for Black Friday. We’re sharing easy, practical strategies that work (even if you’re a team of one), plus tools you can use to get everything set up ahead of time. 

Before You Start: Why Early Planning Matters

Before we get into the strategies, let’s talk about why you should start now.

Black Friday is hectic for you and your customers. Waiting until the last minute means rushed decisions, missed opportunities, and way too much stress.

Planning ahead gives you time to:

• Craft better promos that actually convert
  
• Get everything tested and ready (without panic)
  
• Show up in inboxes before the holiday email flood hits

9 Smart Strategies to Prepare for Black Friday

If you want this Black Friday to be your most successful yet, start with these simple strategies. They’ll help you plan ahead, attract more buyers, and avoid last-minute stress.

1. Partner With Similar Businesses to Expand Your Reach

One of the easiest ways to get in front of more people, without paying for ads, is by teaming up with businesses that serve a similar audience.

Think of it like borrowing each other’s spotlight. As long as you’re not direct competitors, there’s a lot you can do together.

Here are a few easy ideas:

• Swap email or social media shoutouts. Share each other’s Black Friday sales with your lists or followers.
  
• Offer a limited-time bundle. Pair your product or membership with theirs as a joint offer.
  
• Run a giveaway together. Ask people to follow both brands or sign up to win something valuable.
  

This kind of cross-promotion costs nothing, but it can boost your reach before your sale even starts.

2. Set Up or Promote Your Affiliate Program

If you have an affiliate program, or you’ve been meaning to start one, this is the time to use it. Your affiliates can be your biggest promoters during Black Friday. They already have trusted audiences, and they’re motivated to help you sell, especially when they know a good commission is on the table.

Here’s how to get things rolling:

• Use Easy Affiliate to create your affiliate program right inside your WordPress site. No need for third-party platforms – it handles tracking, payments, dashboards, and more.
  
• Send your affiliates an early email with everything they’ll need: sale dates, special coupon codes, promotional graphics, and pre-written copy they can copy and paste.
  
• Let them know this is a huge chance to earn more than usual and encourage them to plan their promotions in advance.
  

If you give your affiliates the tools early, they’ll be more likely to promote your offer and drive more traffic and sales your way.

3. Use Popups and Banners That Get Attention

Black Friday shoppers move fast. They’re often comparing deals, clicking between tabs, and making quick decisions. If your offer isn’t front and center, there’s a good chance they’ll miss it, and move on.

That’s where popups and banners come in. They help you stop the scroll and highlight your Black Friday deal at just the right moment.

Here are a few proven types to try:

• Countdown banners that create urgency by showing how much time is left before the sale ends
  
• Exit-intent popups that appear when someone’s about to leave your site, giving them one more reason to stay or buy
  
• Flash deal bars that stick to the top or bottom of the screen with your offer and a direct link
  

You can set all of these up with a tool like OptinMonster, which lets you design and place them on your site without needing to code.

Pro tip: Customize what people see based on their behavior. For example, show first-time visitors a welcome discount, and returning visitors a reminder that the deal’s ending soon. This small detail can make a big difference in conversions.

4. Add FOMO to Your Messaging

Most people need a little push to hit that Buy Now button. Use the FOMO (Fear of Missing Out) strategy here.

When shoppers know a deal is about to disappear, they’re far more likely to take action. It creates a sense of urgency that makes your offer feel too good to pass up.

Try using short, direct phrases like:

• “Ends in 24 hours”
  
• “Only 50 spots left”
  
• “This price won’t be back after Black Friday”
  

These kinds of messages let people know they have a limited window to act, and that waiting means missing out.

5. Set Up Email Campaigns Ahead of Time

If there’s one thing you don’t want to leave until the last minute, it’s your emails. During Black Friday weekend, your audience’s inbox will be flooded with offers. If your emails aren’t planned and ready to go, your deal might get lost in the shuffle, or worse, never sent at all.

The key is to start early and build a simple email plan that keeps your offer top of mind.

Here’s how to get started:

• Segment your list.
  Not all subscribers are the same. Send one set of emails to new leads who haven’t purchased from you yet, and another to current members or customers. Your messaging should reflect where they are in their journey.
  
• Plan your core email sequence.
  At the very least, write and schedule:
  
  • A launch email announcing your Black Friday deal
    
  • A reminder email midway through the sale
    
  • A last-chance email right before the offer ends
    
• Make your emails hard to ignore.
  Add countdown timers, coupon codes, and even a quick testimonial or two to build trust and urgency. Subject lines that create curiosity or emphasize time limits work well this time of year.
  
• Don’t wait to hit send.
  Write and schedule your emails in advance so you’re not scrambling during Thanksgiving weekend, and so nothing slips through the cracks.
  

Need a step-by-step guide to help you build your campaign? Check out our guide on How to Run a Successful Email Campaign

6. Create Coupons That Actually Convert

It is expected that everyone is looking for a deal during Black Friday. It’s not optional; it’s expected. If you don’t make your discount clear and compelling, potential buyers will simply look elsewhere.

Set up targeted, time-sensitive offers in just a few clicks with MemberPress Coupons.

You can also:

• Offer limited-time discounts that automatically expire after Black Friday
  
• Choose between percentage-off or flat-rate deals, depending on what works best for your pricing
  
• Control how the coupon is used, such as one-time per customer, valid only on specific plans, or for a limited number of redemptions
  

This gives you full control over the offer, while still giving your audience a great reason to buy now instead of “later.”

In MemberPress you have a ton of flexibility when it comes to creating coupons. Read all about creating different kids of offers using MemberPress Coupons here.

7. Make a Black Friday Landing Page

Every great Black Friday sale needs a landing page different from your regular homepage or pricing page.

You need a clean, focused space that puts your offer front and center and makes it easy for visitors to take the next step.

Because during Black Friday, attention spans are short. People are scanning fast, comparing deals, and bouncing quickly. A cluttered or confusing page could cost you the sale.

You don’t need to be a designer to build one. Use any of these WordPress-friendly page builders. These tools help you launch a high-converting page fast, without touching a single line of code:

• Divi – sleek templates and full design control
  
• Elementor – intuitive drag-and-drop editing
  
• Beaver Builder – simple and beginner-friendly
  

8. Host a Pre-Sale Giveaway to Build Hype

A simple giveaway can build excitement before your Black Friday sale even begins. Doing this a week or two before Black Friday is a great way to attract attention, grow your email list, and get your audience engaged ahead of your launch.

You can use RafflePress, to collect email signups from people who want to enter and to encourage social shares by giving bonus entries for following you, tagging friends, or reposting

Pro tip: Announce the winner just before your sale goes live, and include a thank-you discount for everyone who entered. That way, even those who didn’t win still have a reason to buy.

9. Bonus Tips to Finish Strong

A few small details can make a big difference in how smoothly your Black Friday promotion runs (and how many sales you actually close).

Here are some last steps worth checking off:

• Speed up your website.
  Black Friday shoppers won’t wait around for slow pages to load. Test your site’s speed and make sure everything runs smoothly on both desktop and mobile.
  
• Schedule your social posts ahead of time.
  Use tools like Buffer or SocialBee to queue up promo posts across Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter. That way, you stay visible without being glued to your phone all weekend.
  
• Prepare quick replies for support questions.
  Issues like coupon errors, login trouble, or payment hiccups can pop up. Draft a few ready-to-go responses so you’re not scrambling to reply in the middle of your sale.
  
• Plan your post-sale follow-up.
  Once the sale ends, don’t go silent. Send a thank-you email, offer an upsell, or give buyers something extra.

Bottom Line

Start early, keep it simple, and focus on what your audience actually needs. You don’t have to tackle every strategy at once. Pick two or three that feel doable, get them in motion, and build from there.

And if you're using MemberPress, you’re already ahead of the game. From coupon creation to affiliate tools to email integrations, everything you need to run a smooth and successful Black Friday sale is already built in.

This could be your best Black Friday yet, and you’ve got everything you need to make it happen. Let us know if you have any questions in the comments below. We would love to hear from you.

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