It’s email season, babes!

And while the avalanche of Black Friday/Small Business Saturday/Cyber Monday/Giving Tuesday and all adjacent promos adds up to decidedly too much email – this is a great time to sit back and observe how other small businesses are using email marketing at this time of year!

Wading through the mostly bad and ugly, I did find a couple of gems – and trends – from creative small businesses that found cool ways to do promos without sacrificing their own brands and values.

As a small business owner trying to run your business with integrity and aligned with your values, I know making the decision to “do” – or not do for that matter – Black Friday sales isn’t one that you take lightly.

My hope is that this round-up shows you what’s possible for selling in with integrity and radical generosity while taking advantage of a time when many folks have their wallets open without taking advantage of folks.

So let’s dive in and don’t forget to bookmark this page for next year when you’re planning your own sales!

🏆 Best in Show: Kelsea Chatburn’s Art Friday Sale

The first thing I see every morning are three gorgeous Kelsea Chatburn prints. I love her art and I loved her Black Friday promo, which she cheekily rebranded Art Friday, offering a rare 40-50% discount on original, one-of-a-kind paintings.

*The email header for Kelsea’s Art Friday Sale*

The reason why this worked for me? It felt real - a truly rare offering with a significant discount, deep enough to make me consider making a purchase. (Unlike the brand that emailed me with 2% off the shoes I’ve been eyeing since summer).

I also liked the simplicity of the promo. Email subscribers got early access on Wednesday (which she also used as a lead magnet for signing up to her list ahead of the sale by promoting it on social) and come Monday, she added 20% prints to the sale too.

Black Friday By Any Other Name

Kelsea wasn’t the only one renaming Black Friday, this was a trend I saw a lot of in my inbox and participated in myself!

Case in point: The Snail Sale (which is still going on if you want to snag a spot in the Decelerator or work 1:1!).

A few others: Ceels Lockley hosted Bright Friday. Wider Visions offered a buy one, gift one for Bestie Friday.

*Wider Vision’s buy one journal, give one offer with early access for email besties*

Renaming BF/CM sales is an easy way to reinforce your brand values and offers a cute, micro-branding moment.

The idea of a Snail Sale echoes Slow & Steady. For Ceels, our fairy godmother of offers, Black Friday would be completely opposite to her fun, colourful, festive vibes which is much... brighter.

*Ceels’ on-brand Bright Friday email header!*

Interrupting Your Feeds with Care & Radical Generosity

I loved seeing small business owners and creators using the moment to offer a port in the literal storm of BUY NOW!

On the Off the Grid feed, Amelia Hruby shared a tiny pep talk for Black Friday feelings and holiday sales season.

The moment I saw this email subject line from Rachel Duncan in my inbox, I immediately felt a full body exhale.

As a certified financial therapist and host of the Money Healing Club Podcast, it was perfect timing for Rachel to share a chat with Angie Fitzpatrick to discuss the book No New Things. Chef’s kiss.

*The gentle nudge I needed at just the right time!*

Racheal Amber’s subject line “Choosing care over consumption” also caught my eye in the onslaught of emails in my inbox.

*A loving invitation to treat yourself* and *someone you love with nourishment, not just stuff*

Instead of pushing sales, they created one-click bundles on physical products built around care, reciprocity and resource-sharing in the Cyclical Roots shop.

**Offering more, not just less**

Here’s the thing, for many small businesses profit margins can be razor thin and offering discounts can actually do more harm than good — even if it’s a service based or online biz with digital offers.

But a promotion doesn’t always have to be about slashing prices, you can add value to an offer.

I don’t get her emails, but Emilie Sander’s Big Queso Blowout sale caught my eye on threads! Emilie if you’re listening please share your supporting email strategy!

If the numbers make sense in your business, adding on extras can make for an enticing promo that’s a win-win for you and your customers. They get a little something extra and you don’t have to sacrifice your revenue.

Resisting Urgency

Along with renaming sales, I also saw a lot of businesses – big and small – creating sales that started earlier and extended longer.

Now, for big business this was for sure a cash grab when “Black Friday” sales started in mid-October.

But I know that for many small businesses, including my own, this was a way to resist using urgency as a marketing tactic. I never want to manipulate anyone into a sale, whether it’s Black Friday or any other day of the year.

And many small business owners save large purchases on services, courses or subscriptions until this time of year when they can get a deal and/or need to spend down expenses. For Slow & Steady, it doesn’t feel like compromising to offer a sale at this time of year.

But I never want working together to feel like an impulse purchase. That’s why Snail Sale discounts on Strategy Roadmaps and early enrolment for the winter cohort of the Decelerator extend through the end of this year.

*The Snail Sale is on through Dec. 19 but tbh it will probably even go beyond that date because who’s updating checkout carts at that time of year!?*

Having more than 24 hours to make a purchase means you can make a calm, aligned decision about how you’re spending your money.

For a lower-ticket offer, I liked Dominique Riviere’s “Black Friday to Boxing Day Sale”, essentially a month-long sale on the Fictive Kin Equity Alphabet that also includes a donation to Hurricane Melissa relief efforts. Now she’s got lots of run way to promote the offer over five whole weeks.

Dominique’s preview text that got me to open immediately!

And for true one-day sales, a little pre-promo is a generous way to let people know what will be on sale and when. Knowing who is going to be hosting a sale and what the offer may be, can help you create a spending plan.

Here’s how Amelia shared that she’d be hosting a one-day Small Business Saturday sale on her fantastic new book, Your Attention is Sacred.

*Ready to buy and regulated! The dream!*

✨ Honourable Mentions: 98.5% Off & Nothing But Gratitude

Finally, I’d be remiss if I didn’t highlight these last two promos that I bookmarked in my inspo file!

*When you put it that way, books truly ✨are✨ magic*

Jessica Lackey’s “98.5% off” Black Friday deal… was really just the regular price of her book Leaving the Casino. Which when you calculate the value-to-price a book offers, is a crazy deal you can get 365 days a year.

And lastly, Heini Tallent from Elements Running Education sent nothing more than a personal note of gratitude on Small Business Saturday, with a gentle invitation to join the waitlist for Run Empowered, her virtual running group that kicks off in the New Year.

*Because behind every small business is a real human, sometimes more than one!*

Did you participate in Black Friday/Small Business Saturday/Cyber Monday this year? I’d love to hear why or why not, how your sales did and what you’re taking away from the experience.

And if you felt like you didn’t have enough time to get your stuff together to run a sale this year, let’s chat.

We can map out your sales and marketing so next year, you’re ready with an offer that’s aligned with your brand and values.

*While there are a few Slowpokes (a.k.a. Slow & Steady clients) on this round-up, I didn’t advise on any of these campaigns!

2025 Black Friday Email Marketing Round-Up