What if I told you that setting up your email right now could make or break your Black Friday sales? Building a solid Black Friday email strategy isn’t just about flashy sales and countdown timers—it’s about groundwork: authentication, deliverability, segmentation, warming—and planning ahead. In this episode, Dawn Richardson of Flodesk joins us to share what you can do this week to ensure your emails land where they count and generate revenue for your Black Friday promotions.

Start Prepping Your Email List for Black Friday Now

Black Friday season often catches us by surprise, but you have to ensure your email is ready for it. If you’re not warming your sending domain, segmenting smartly, and building trust in advance, those emails could vanish into spam, making all of your efforts worthless.

A proactive strategy means your emails get seen by the right people at the right time. It means fewer tech headaches and more sales when it counts. Let’s walk through how to prepare your email list for Black Friday!

Step 1: Authenticate Your Domain

Using a custom business email (like hello@yourbrand.com) secured with SPF, DKIM, and DMARC gives email platforms the green light that you’re legit and not a scammer. These email authentication records verify your identity and signal to inbox providers that you’re safe to deliver.

You can use services like Google Workspace to set up a custom domain email and access helpful tutorials on how to authenticate your domain through your DNS settings.

Step 2: Clean Up & Segment Strategically

Bigger isn’t better if your list is filled with inactive emails. Remove cold or bounced subscribers every quarter. A lean, engaged list is far more powerful than a bloated one that harms your sender reputation.

Next, consider segmenting by behavior: who opens consistently, who clicks your links, who buys. You can also segment by topic interests or customer status. Platforms like Flodesk make this simple with tools like click filters and tagged forms.

Sending targeted content gets better engagement—and better deliverability.

Step 3: Warm Your Domain Before You Launch

Email platforms don’t love surprises. If you haven’t emailed in months and suddenly blast your entire list on Black Friday, you’re likely headed straight to the spam folder.

Instead, warm your domain. Start by emailing your most engaged subscribers—those who always open and click. Send to 50 people, then 150, then 300, slowly scaling to your full list. This trains inbox providers to trust your sends again.

This step is crucial if you’ve recently authenticated your domain, changed platforms, or haven’t emailed regularly. Trust is earned slowly—not in a single send.

Step 4: Build a Regular Sending Rhythm

Consistency is key. If you ghost your list for months, your domain goes cold. Try sending at least one email per month to stay top-of-inbox and maintain your sender reputation.

Monthly content doesn’t have to be salesy. Share personal insights, behind-the-scenes content, or helpful resources. Make it feel like a coffee date in their inbox, not a pushy promotion.

Step 5: Schedule Ahead (So You Can Actually Relax)

Batch your Black Friday email content now. Write the copy, design the graphics, segment the list, and schedule it all inside your platform of choice.

If you’re a Flodesk user, use scheduled emails for timely sends (vs. workflows). Keep an eye on performance during the launch week, but do the heavy lifting now, not while you’re baking pies.

And once it’s done? Debrief. In early December, review your open rates, clicks, and conversions. What worked? What didn’t? Use that data (not emotions) to improve your next launch.

Mentioned in this Episode

Flodesk

Google Postmaster

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The post 218: 5 Email Marketing Tactics to Nail Your Black Friday Promo with Dawn Richardson appeared first on Laylee Emadi | Coach for Creative Educators.