A Black Friday skincare strategy is five moves: open early to your list, use SMS for opted-in customers, bundle rather than discount deeper, give product instead of percentage, and let real customers sell the ads. Eight brands below, one takeaway each.
Black Friday is the biggest revenue week most personal care and skincare brands get, a way to clear old inventory, to turn subscribers into customers, and to turn customers into brand loyalists. This is the one sale of the year that you cannot and do not want to mess up.
Get this one right and your whole year looks different.
You have seen every 30% off email already. So has your customer. So, are you tired of stale Black Friday ideas?
Do you want to know which copy, emojis, subject lines, and strategies work and are tried and tested?
We've come to your rescue.
Thanks to the competitor tracking platform Panoramata, where you can find email and ad inspiration for all kinds of events and purposes, we have curated our best picks from personal care brands who do Black Friday the right way.
In case you missed it, we also listed awesome campaign ideas from the fashion industry in a previous article. We’re super excited to bring you some more insights, this time from the personal care brands.
As we start the countdown to the busiest shopping day of the year, you’ll definitely get yourself on the right track with these examples of email newsletters and ads along with tips and tactics for your own business.
Black Friday campaign ideas for skincare and personal care brands
- Early access by SMS. Mented Cosmetics put the Black Friday preview behind a text signup, so the sale built a channel as well as revenue.
- A one-day-only window. Kiehl's ran deals good for the day, which makes the deadline the offer rather than the discount.
- Let them pick the gift. La Mer let customers choose their own free item, so the incentive fits the customer instead of clearing whatever is in the warehouse.
- Sitewide plus free shipping. Disco went early and simple: one discount, everything included, no thresholds to work out.
- BOGO - Buy one, get one free. Black Wolf gave away product rather than margin percentage, which protects the perceived price of the range.
- Let customers do the talking. Billie built the ad around real people using the product instead of the offer.
- Compare yourself directly. Dossier put itself next to a designer fragrance and let the price difference make the argument.
- Spell out the one thing you do. Pai led with what the serum is for, not with a percentage — the only ad in the set that would still work in March.
Best Email Strategies for Skincare and Personal Care Brands on Black Friday
Promote your deals with early access and SMS alerts
Securing your audience before Black Friday is a very crucial point in promoting your deals. The goals here are to raise awareness and build excitement for your brand. In the end, all you want are an excited audience who wants to buy from you.
You can send email newsletters as early as October to encourage customers to subscribe for early access. Most customers want to be part of the select group so they sign up for early access to the best deals and offers before the general public gets them.
There’s also a fear that if everybody has the opportunity to grab the deals, stocks might run out for them.
A lot of brands from various industries are now using SMS (Short Message Service) marketing to reach out to their target audience.
Statistics show that the SMS open rates are as high as 98% and many people prefer receiving texts over other forms of communication since they always have their mobile phones handy.
Take this email example from Mented Cosmetics, a brand known for cruelty-free & vegan makeup products for all women.
Here, they promoted early access by subscribing to SMS. They also mentioned the specific date when subscribers would actually get a special offer, what to text, where to send, and what to receive (a code, in this case).
Clear, clean, and simple copy.
Black Friday Early Access Inside! 👀
Sent by Mented Cosmetics
Put the early-access list behind a text signup instead of an email one. You end Black Friday with a channel you did not have in October.
Play on scarcity with deals good for the day only
Scarcity can be an effective tool during big holiday events. Offering one deal per day can boost spending. It can also keep your deals fresh and exciting to follow through.
Just like this marketing campaign from Kiehl’s, a skincare brand that also offers a variety of hair and body care products.
They called this BF campaign Deals of the Day where they offered big discounts on select products for one day only. These products were also shown right away with slashed-off prices.
BLACK FRIDAY DEALS ARE HERE!
Sent by Kiehl’s
Make the deadline the offer. "Today only" needs no extra discount depth and it gives you a clean reason to send again tomorrow.
Incentivize them with custom gifts that they can freely pick
Black Friday is an ideal time for gifting, hence a gift guide has been proven effective during this shopping season. You can promote your products as a collection of gift guides. You can highlight them on-by-one and in pairs or packs.
Here’s how La Mer created its version of a gift guide with its wide range of skincare products. One thing we love about is how they gave power to the customers to pick their choice of watercolor for the accessories and to fully customize their gift bag.
You too can also create your own version of gift suite and make it as personalized as possible.
Black Friday just got better
Sent by La Mer
Let the customer choose the free item. Same cost to you, and it stops the gift feeling like inventory clearance.
Ease their shopping with sitewide discounts and free shipping for all items
During huge holiday savings events like Black Friday, if you can go big time on your deals, do so.
Businesses are competing with each other in terms of compelling offers – the most generous brand magnetizes the customers. You can experiment with sitewide discounts and see how it works wonders. Free shipping can be an added attraction too.
This email copy from a men’s skincare brand Disco simplifies their BF campaign with a sitewide sale plus free shipping for all items.
In this email, they also showcased their whole set of products. And, the statement No code needed. Just shop. is enticing, especially since the main buyers are males.
When the customer sees that everything is taken care of, from discounts to the whole selection of items to free shipping, they just proceed to checkout. Quick conversion!
Wondering if it's the right pick for you? You can compare: five offers, and here's what each one actually costs you.
Black Friday Came Early 😳
Sent by Disco
If you are going to run sitewide, include shipping and skip the threshold. Thresholds create abandoned carts on the busiest cart day of the year.
Offer a free product with every purchase
Instead of discounting your products, you can do BOGO (Buy 1 Get 1) promotion instead. Some brands like Black Wolf did it a little differently last year using their sitewide Buy 2 Get 1 Free Black Friday sale.
Customers always want to get a free product out of their purchase. It’s almost the same as getting a 50% discount. By the time they check out, they feel like they won a prize.
For business owners, BOGO also has an advantage. They can clear out their inventory and still drive revenue.
So, give a second product rather than a deeper percentage. You keep the list price intact for January and the customer gets more in the box.
Want more email ideas and inspiration beyond just Black Friday? Check out our email swipe file with over 100 newsletter ideas you can use for your next campaign.
Best Advertising Techniques for Skincare and Personal Care Brands on Black Friday
Use reviews: let customers do the talking
Billie is a fun razor brand who embodies their brand spirit in their Black Friday ads.
The simple image of three razors is accompanied by copy that emphasizes their free shipping perk (a very effective offer), plus social proof in the form of five-star reviews and beauty awards.
This is proof that you can say more with less in a static ad.
Compare yourself to other brands
Dossier is a fragrance brand that offers perfume dupes that come at a fraction of the cost of designer perfumes.
They lean on the “designer-inspired” perfume angle by making a direct price comparison with the original scent they are inspired by.
Their already affordable prices are reduced even more with their Black Friday deal, which makes this ad appealing to potential customers.
Plus, they emphasize the urgency of the discount through the copy (“Once a year only”) which motivates immediate action.
Also, name the comparison: if your price argument only works when stated next to something, state it next to something.
Spell out your unique value proposition
The skincare brand Pai pushes their uniqueness forward with this ad, calling out who their product is for (sensitive skin) and the benefits that come with it. It rings true with their vision as a natural skincare brand geared towards sensitive skin types.
Black Friday Email Subject Line Ideas for Personal Care Brands
These are some of the best subject lines for Black Friday that we’ve come across.
All emails can be found on Panoramata, the best, most comprehensive email newsletter search engine for marketers.
- BLACK FRIDAY PSA 📣 Save up to $72
- Our best deal of the year is here ⚡️
- Black Friday Steals: Skincare You Can’t Miss 🖤
- Black Friday Deals Ending Soon❗
- Extra 10% off our Black Friday sale
- black friday is here early 🥳
- BLACK FRIDAY SALE. No code necessary.
- Black Friday Sale Starts Now 🔥
- BLACK FRIDAY EARLY ACCESS RIGHT THIS WAY 🎟️
- Finally Black Friday! Save over 45% 📢
- BLACK FRIDAY: ⬇️⬇️ Take up to 50% OFF
- BIGGEST & EARLIEST. BLACK. FRIDAY.
- Black Friday Sale! 30% off EVERYTHING 📣
- Save over $250 this Black Friday
- Black Friday is here: Get 25%
- BLACK FRIDAY: 40% OFF SITEWIDE 💫
- Black Friday is ON: 40% off sitewide 🖤
- Black Friday - Our biggest sale ever
- Black Friday is here and so are the deals
- BLACK FRIDAY: Best. Sale. Ever.
- 6 5 % O F F ‼️
- ⏰ Tick Tock: Last Chance For Black Friday Savings
- Black Friday Sale CONTINUES! Welcome [your product name here]
- Black Friday has arrived
Notice that the subject lines are short and direct. They have an emoji or two but nothing too excessive. They also emphasize the savings a shopper can get, whether in percentage or in dollar amounts.
At the tail end of Black Friday sales, brands also have a last call email to persuade undecided buyers to buy before it’s too late.
Sitewide sales are also emphasized on Black Friday, which sets it apart from the usual sales events.
Aside from these basic tips, you don’t have to try too hard because the mere mention of Black Friday already triggers anticipation and the expectation of a massive deal.
As long as you emphasize urgency and numbers and inject creativity through emojis, puns, and the like, it’s hard to go wrong.
Try out these tips and see how they work for your campaigns this Black Friday.
FAQs
When should personal care brands start promoting their Black Friday deals?
Brands can begin sending email newsletters as early as October to encourage customers to subscribe for early access to deals.
What are some effective deal types for Black Friday in the personal care industry?
Effective deal types include daily deals, custom gift options, sitewide discounts, free shipping for all items, and "Buy 1 Get 1" (BOGO) promotions.
How can brands make their advertising more compelling for Black Friday?
Brands can make their ads more compelling by featuring social proof, comparing their offerings directly to competitors, and clearly stating their unique value proposition.
How much should a skincare brand discount on Black Friday?
Maybe less than you think, and not as a flat number. Every brand in this article that protected margin did it by changing the shape of the offer rather than the size: Black Wolf gave a second product, La Mer gave a chosen gift, Kiehl's used a one-day window. A flat percentage applies your worst margin to every order, including the ones that would have converted at ten percent. If you tier it, the deepest cut only reaches the baskets that grew to earn it.
When should skincare brands start their Black Friday campaign?
Mid-October for the warm-up, mid-November for the save-the-date. Mented sent their early-access signup email in October. The reason is not urgency, it is inbox competition: an email that lands on Black Friday morning is one of forty. An email that lands on 10 November is one of four, and it makes the later ones expected rather than intrusive.
Should skincare brands use SMS for Black Friday?
Only for people who asked for it, and only for things that are time-bound. Mented used SMS as the early-access channel, which is the right shape — a text is good at "this opens now" and bad at "here is our range". If you do not already have consented numbers, Black Friday is the campaign that collects them, not the campaign that uses them.
