Plesk Official Podcast

How to Run a Successful Black Friday / Cyber Monday Sale

Episode Summary

Black Friday and Cyber Monday (BFCM) can be a great time for store owners to generate some extra income for their business to bring them through the end of the year. Whether you’re in retail and it’s usually your best quarter, or you’re in services which tend to be slow, running a good BFCM sale can be a boon to your business at a time where you want to finish the year strong. That’s why we have Jason Coleman today. He’s the founder of Stranger Studios, the company behind Paid Memberships Pro and the new Site Wide Sales plugin for WordPress. He gives us tons of advice based on lessons he’s learned over the last 10+ years running a digital business, and 4+ years intentionally working on BFCM sales.

Episode Notes

Key Takeaways

• Some people worry about devaluing the product and hurting the brand, but people expect sales around BFCM, so there won’t be much devaluing around this time.
• Similarly, some worry about existing customers seeing the sale, but most people understand that they bought something when they needed it. It’s not as big a problem as most think.
• When setting a price, sell at a discount, but still a profit so it’s worth the extra customers. A 90% sale does devalue the product, and likely isn’t worth gaining that new customer. 
• Jason has found that 33% sales and 50% sales do well, so aim for one of those. 
• The sweet spot for a sale is less than a week. Make sure to create urgency, but don’t fake it. People will catch on if you’re always having a sale.
• Segment your list so your targeting warm, or warmed up, leads. They will be the most likely to buy. 
• Don’t worry about unsubscribes. The people unsubscribing from your lists are unlikely to buy from you anyway. 
• Don’t overthink the emails. Long, story-like emails work, but so do short, to the point emails. 
• Social Proof is key, and Testimonials are a great way to prep ahead of time. Make sure to get those early...don’t ask the week of Thanksgiving.
• Other good times to run sales are bumping slow months and natural occurrences in business. If you’re changing your offer or discontinuing a product, put it on sale one more time.
• Even if it’s late and feels last minute, run the sale and treat it as a test. Don’t expect to make a ton of money, but try to learn something!
• And remember: Sometimes business owners can be more sensitive to “tactics” than consumers. So running your sales or adding opt-ins are tried and true - that’s why they’re so common!