This is the first of our Black Friday basics series, where we’ll teach you how to pull off a Black Friday/Cyber Monday sale with ease, in three simple steps.

This week? It’s all about the hype.‍

You’ve seen the emails. The Instagram Stories. Facebook ads. It’s everywhere. Everyone seems to do Black Friday so easily, right? You know the sales are coming, the proof is right there in front of you. But how do you make it work for your business?

One of our favorite tactics is the tried and true teaser campaign.

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Why tease your campaign?

• Curiosity - one of the biggest psychological triggers, with all the attention focused squarely on your business
• Hush hush – it'll keep your full promo details hidden from your competitors, making it easier to keep that differentiation strategy under wraps until the big day
• Anticipation – your followers know you’re doing something, so you’re officially on their sales radar for Black Friday.
  

Okay, great! But also, how?!

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There are three simple steps to a great small biz teaser campaign:

1. Build your follower list‍

For a small business, this is essential to maximize your reach during peak sale time. If you haven’t already, start this now. Here’s how we’d play it:

Idea 1 – Tell everyone

Post your product/sale teaser and ask followers to like and share with their friends (ever used “tag a friend who needs to see this”? Now’s your chance!).

Idea 2 – Drop the hints

Whether it’s a single product or a new collection — hint at it, flash it, show a corner or zoom in on a feature — show juuuust enough to get your followers excited.

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Hot tip: Now is not the time to be shy. Take a “support small business” angle and ask for their business this Black Friday.  

2. Build your email list ‍

A good mailing list is an e-comm goldmine. Give yours a little (or a lot of) love to get it looking its best before Black Friday and the silly season.

Here are five ways to help build your list for your Black Friday sale:

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1. Get signups by offering early access to your sale ⏰
2. Can you offer a special bonus? People love: sign up discounts, free shipping, competition entries 🎉
3. Show subscribers some love with an offer only they can redeem, e.g. extra 10% off clearance stock, refer a friend and get a discount, or a free download 💛
4. Make your emails shareable, and ask your followers to refer their friends! 🤝
5. Partner up with some small biz buddies, and cross–promote each other! 👯

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‍3. Build anticipation

Getting followers and subscribers is only half the battle. Your next task? Keep them engaged. Post regularly in the lead up to your promo, so you stay top of mind for when sale time hits. Here are some ideas:

• Tell people what they’ll be missing if they’re not on your list (think about what you’re doing for BFCM, as well as what you send your subscribers outside of big days)
• Ask your followers to weigh in on what they think you’re teasing — Instagram poll and quiz stickers make this super easy! (bonus: this will give you valuable insight into what your customers are hoping for)
• Run a competition or giveaway that requires engagement with your account – email signups, likes, tags, followers, shares. Every little bit helps!

Once they sign up, thank them for their support and let them know when your promo starts.

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Hot tip: send a calendar link to sync with your sale launch if you want to be extra fancy!

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