November is officialy here !
When we think of November, we think…winter blues ? 😅
Ha.
Just kidding - of course we'll cover everything on Black Friday, of course.
Because when Black friday approaches, email marketing inspiration is at its peak.
Today, Black Friday is no longer confined to a single day.
It often starts end of October/early November, with a clear objective: warm up your audience before the promotional peak.
Successful November strategies don’t jump straight into promotions.
Instead, they focus on progressive engagement: teasing upcoming offers, product selections, early access or VIP waitlists.
During Black Friday, clarity wins.
When the promotional peak hits, your emails should be: readable, visually impactful and clear on value.
After Black Friday, retention starts now.
Post-Black Friday emails are a key lever to turn first-time buyers into long-term customers, especially ahead of the holiday season: loyalty points, member-only perks, exclusive access, thank-you messages.
Beyond promotions, keep your brand desirable during November.
Not every November email needs to sell. November also offers opportunities beyond promotion: Cozy, “hygge” lifestyle content, winter routines and self-care, product education or inspiration.
The main November moments
- November 8th: Diwali
- November 11th: Single’s Day
- November 13th: World Kindness week
- November 27th: Thanksgiving
- November 29th: Black Friday
November 8th: Diwali
Diwali is a major cultural and commercial moment across several markets, strongly associated with gifting, celebration, and promotions..
For brands operating in or targeting these regions, Diwali offers anopportunity to combine festive storytelling with clear commercial discount.
Diwali acknowledgment
Some brands choose to simply acknowledge Diwali with a dedicated email. These campaigns lean into festive visuals, warm copy, and cultural references, without pushing a strong promotional incentive. This approach is particularly effective for: maintaining brand presence, showing cultural awareness, avoiding promotional fatigue.
Blume, for example, uses this format to wish subscribers a happy Diwali, keeping the message simple, contextual, and respectful.
Diwali sale / limited-time promotion
Many brands use Diwali as a trigger for timely promotions. These campaigns typically highlight: “Biggest discounts of the year”, Limited-time offers, Clear start and end dates
This format works especially well for conversion-driven goals, particularly for higher-consideration products.
Sleepycat, for instance, supported its Diwali campaign with discounts of up to 40%, using urgency as the primary driver.
Gifting-led campaigns
There is another opportunity like gifting. Brands can tap into Diwali by spotlighting: Giftable hero products, Curated selections, Ready-to-buy bundles.
Sunnamusk, for example, adds a complimentary candle to the purchase, increasing perceived value and encourages higher average order value.
Dedicated Diwali products or collections
Some brands go one step further by launching Diwali-specific products or collections.
Lush, for example, introduced a dedicated Diwali collection designed around the celebration.
This strategy allows brands to stay culturally relevant, sifferentiate from standard promotional emails, protect margins by offering something new, not cheaper.
November 11th: Single’s Day
Singles’ Day is an opportunity to celebrate self-love and personal treats. The goal isn’t necessarily to overcomplicate the message, but to acknowledge the moment in a way that feels timely and intentional — whether by sharing a small offer or sending a thoughtful note that makes the day feel special.
The One-Day Offer
This newsletter from The INKEY List is built entirely around Singles’ Day. The date itself (11.11) is the hero of the message and the main attention driver. The value proposition is simple and immediately clear:
- A single promotion
- Available for one day only
- No secondary messages or layered incentives
This simplicity works especially well for fast decision-making and audiences already familiar with the brand.
The gift included
Lancôme chose a gift-with-purchase approach instead of a traditional discount. The offer is unlocked at a specific spend threshold, encouraging higher basket value.
The execution clearly showcases What’s included and The perceived value of the gifts.
This makes the incentive feel tangible and premium — particularly effective for beauty and luxury categories.
The real advantage of Singles’ Day is that not all brands communicate on this date. This creates a less crowded inbox environment, making it a good opportunity to send a newsletter and capture attention.
One of Singles’ Day’s biggest advantages is that not all brands activate on this date. As a result: inboxes are less crowded, open and engagement rates can be higher, brands can stand out with relatively simple executions.
For B2C marketers, it’s a smart, low-noise opportunity to stay present and drive incremental revenue in early November.
November 13th: World Kindness Day
Brands don’t necessarily have to communicate on World Kindness Day — not every consumer has the date top of mind. But… why not? Mid-November remains a relevant window to send an email and stay top of mind. This is a great moment to test softer mechanics that feel thoughtful and customer-centric.
Let customers choose their Black Friday offer
This Black Friday email sent by Cupshe stands out by reversing the traditional discount logic. Instead of pushing a predefined offer, the brand invites customers to choose the discount they want— It feels thoughtful and well-executed.
Gifting made easy
An effective way to leverage this period is to focus on gifting rather than self-purchase. Bumble and bumble, for example, highlights its gift card: an easy-to-buy, reasonably priced gift that works for a one of your friend of family member.
Who doesn’t like tor receive a gift card? You get to choose whatever you need!
November 27th: Thanksgiving
Thanksgiving is one of those rare moments where brands can slow down before the Black Friday period rush. It’s less about promotions and more about connection, gratitude, and storytelling.
Thanksgiving emails offer a valuable pause — a chance to build trust before the busiest commercial moment of the year.
Wishing a Happy Thanksgiving
Here, simplicity works best.
Rooted nails it with a straightforward Thanksgiving message — no promotion, no pressure. Just a genuine thank-you to their community.
We love how the email opens up with: “Today, we’re pausing the usual hustle to say something important: we’re wildly, genuinely thankful for you.” It feels human, warm, and authentic — exactly what Thanksgiving emails should aim for.
Early Black Friday Access
Eight Sleep takes a slightly more commercial approach by sharing an early Black Friday promo code on Thanksgiving.
What works well here is the timing. Since many people aren’t working that day, they have more time to browse, explore, and shop online. Offering early access feels like a reward rather than a hard sell — and naturally builds momentum ahead of Black Friday.
Food, Family & Thanksgiving Moments
For food and lifestyle brands, Thanksgiving is a natural storytelling opportunity.
Material Kitchen uses this moment to share five essential kitchen tools for preparing a Thanksgiving meal with family.
The content feels useful and relevant, without relying on discounts. It positions the brand as a helpful companion during a meaningful moment.
November 29th: Black Friday
Do we still need to explain what Black Friday is?
Probably not.
What was once a US-centric shopping event has become one of the biggest global promotional moments of the year, often lasting multiple weeks — and sometimes even surpassing traditional holiday sales.
The real question is no longer what Black Friday is, but how to approach it.
For marketers, success lies in orchestrating the full journey:
- Before: build excitement and intent
- During: drive conversion
- After: turn one-time buyers into loyal customers
The teasing phase (Pre-Black Friday)
Countdown
A Black Friday countdown builds hype and urgency by reminding subscribers what’s coming.
Popilush keeps it simple with a clear subject line (“Black Friday Countdown: 2 days to go”), a strong visual countdown, and a clear CTA.
Early / VIP Access
VIP early access emails reward loyalty while driving early sales.
Lululemon does this particularly well with its Membership Early Access strategy, reinforcing exclusivity, giving members priority access to sales, and increasing the likelihood of finding the right size before stock runs out.
The product curation and wishlist
If you’re worried about overwhelming your audience, curated product selections are a strong alternative: wishlists, giftguides.
Alias Mae nails this with the tagline:
“The perfect reason to get your Christmas gifts sorted and save 30%.”
Waitlist & Reminder sign-ups
If your customers are not yet subscribed to your VIP waitlist, take inspirations from Arrae.
The brand uses a dedicated “Join the waitlist” email to turn anticipation into exclusivity.
Sending a similar email can help build engagement, identify high-intent shoppers, and make your audience feel valued before black friday.
The big day
Black Friday Launch day!
When it comes to Black Friday emails, strong visuals and a compelling offer are key. This is exactly what Starface did.
Starface delivers a bold, instantly recognizable email with a clear message: “30% ⭐ off ⭐ everything”
One strong visual, one strong offer — that’s it.
Free-gift
Another effective email is the one that make the black friday offer impossible to miss.
Three Ships places its free gift set at the center of the message, paired with 30% off.
Rather than relying on the discount alone, the free gift adds a sense of exclusivity and urgency for Black Friday — giving customers a reason to take advantage of the offer and place an order.
Exclusive product
Harry’s launches a product available only on Black Friday, tapping into urgency and FOMO.
The added value is that this limited offer also features a curated selection of the brand’s best sellers. It acts as a discovery tool for bestsellers, increasing repeat purchase potential post-event — increasing the likelihood of repeat purchases after Black Friday.
Buy 1 get 1
Here, Gleamin opts for a less conventional but highly effective Black Friday discount: Buy One, Get One Free.
Instead of a straightforward percentage discount, this offer reframes the value in a more tangible way. Customers immediately understand what they gain — twice the product for the same price — which often feels more rewarding than a classic discount %.
Last chance email
End-of-event emails are essential.
Armani Beauty, for example, leverages classic urgency triggers like “Final hours” to capture last-minute conversions.
It could be as simple as “Last chance,” “Ending tonight,” or “Final hours”.
Post Black Friday
Thank you emails
Thank-you emails humanize the relationship after the sale.
Lecenté uses gratitude to close the Black Friday moment on a positive, relational note — setting the stage for loyalty.
The brand sent a thank-you email to acknowledge and appreciate the support of its community during Black Friday.
This type of message helps customers feel valued, setting the foundation for long-term loyalty rather than one-off sales.
Missed out campaigns?
Missed-out campaigns are a powerful way to re-engage shoppers who didn’t convert during Black Friday.
Poo-Pourri reactivates non-buyers by extending the sale for two extra days — the brand sent a clear and direct message: the sale is back, but only for 2 days. It’s effective for capturing late buyers, cart abandoners, or subscribers who may have overlooked earlier emails.
Month Long Events
Movember
Movember is a global initiative taking place throughout November, aimed at raising awareness and funds for men’s health — particularly prostate cancer. Not every brand is a natural fit — relevance is key.
The most effective campaigns either:
- Support the cause
- Align clearly with the product
- Donate part of revenue
Product Spotlight
War Paint highlights a beard & brow gel tied directly to the cause.
The message works because it stays close to the product’s core use while clearly supporting awareness for the cause, reinforced by the slogan “Do it with confidence.”
Donating for a cause
Another common and effective approach is direct donation.
Ballsy, for example, commits to donating a percentage of its profits to a charity supporting the cause. The brand contributes to the cause while giving consumers a clear reason to engage beyond the product.
Hygge & Cozy Season
Hygge season is about warmth, comfort, and spending more time indoors. It marks the transition into winter — when colder weather is already present, but the season hasn’t fully started yet.
For brands, it’s less about urgency and more about setting the mood ahead of winter.
Cozy season announcement
This type of email works as a soft seasonal kickoff. The objective is to introduce the cozy mindset through warmer visuals and indoor, comforting moments.
There’s little to no hard CTA. Instead, brands use this format to announce a shift in tone for the coming months and reposition their products within a winter lifestyle context.
It’s about inspiration first — conversion later.
Cozy Routine storytelling
Routine-based emails are particularly effective during hygge season.
Using familiar hooks like “It’s officially the brrr season”, brands like Tyler Aromatherapy taps into a shared experience everyone can relate to. It is showcasing products that naturally fit into evening indoors, self-care moments, or slow weekends.
Cozy Bundle set offer
Bundles like the one proposed by Jambys are a natural extension of cozy season storytelling.
Jambys groups products into winter-ready sets, positioning the bundle as everything you need to get through colder days.
Other Cozy / Hygge email ideas to explore
- Focus on wellbeing themes: rest, slow living, self-care
- Highlight home-centric use cases (staying in, creating comfort)
- Launch limited seasonal products, scents, or formats
- Share community content or customer routines to build relatability
- Showcase behind-the-scenes seasonal rituals
- Reduce pressure with a slow-shopping tone and fewer CTAs ahead of Black Friday
Other Month Long November Events
- World Vegan Month
- No-Shave November (related to Movember)
Week-long November Events
- World Kindness Week (around Nov 13)
- Global Entrepreneurship Week (mid–late November)
- Get Ready for Winter / Seasonal transition weeks
Special Days in November
- November 1 – World Vegan Day
- November 8 – Diwali (date varies by year)
- November 11 – Singles’ Day
- November 13 – World Kindness Day
- November 19 – International Men’s Day (Nov 19)
- Fourth Thursday of November – Thanksgiving
- November 29 – Black Friday
- Following Monday – Cyber Monday
In November, build your momentum
November is not just about Black Friday — it’s about orchestrating attention over time.
From cultural moments like Diwali and Singles’ Day, to trust-building touchpoints like Thanksgiving, cozy storytelling, and finally the Black Friday peak, the most effective email strategies are those that balance awareness, timing, and promotion.
The brands that stand out in November aren’t necessarily the ones shouting the loudest. They’re the ones that:
- Build anticipation before the big day
- Stay relevant and present during quieter moments
- Deliver clarity and value when it matters most
- And continue the relationship after the sale has been done
Email remains one of the most powerful way to guide your customers — not just to drive conversions, but to create long-term loyalty.
As you plan your November campaigns, think beyond the offer.
Think about the experience you’re creating in your subscribers’ inboxes.
