Your No-Stress BFCM Playbook: What Actually Works (and What Doesn’t)
Black Friday and Cyber Monday aren’t just about big discounts they’re about strategy. In this episode of the Scalability School Podcast, Andrew Foxwell, Zach Stuck, and Brad Redding broke down how top brands prepare for the busiest shopping weekend of the year. From how to structure your Meta campaigns to when to launch your offers and how often to email your list, here’s what really moves the needle for BFCM 2024 (and what to stop overthinking).
1. BFCM Is Not Just a Retention Play, It’s Your Best Acquisition Window
Many brands assume BFCM is just for bringing old customers back with a discount. It’s not.
“This is one of the best times of the year to acquire new customers at a discount,” Brad explained. Shoppers are already in “buy mode,” which means Meta’s algorithm performs better and CPAs often drop.
💡 Tip: Build a cohort in your CRM for customers acquired during BFCM. Compare their LTV against regular cohorts. Most brands find no drop in quality—so stop fearing “discount buyers.”
2. Campaign Structure: Keep It Consolidated and Let Meta Work
Zach and Brad agree simpler accounts scale faster.
One product = one campaign. If you introduce a new offer or pricing tier, then break it out.
Test creative efficiently: Use ABO for testing and CBO with minimum spends when scaling.
Avoid over-fragmentation. Consolidate learning so Meta can find signals faster.
Pro Tip: If you’re trying to scale from $10K/day to $100K/day on Meta, use lowest cost bidding. Cost controls can work, but they limit scale and often break without warning.
3. The Real Levers of Performance: Creative, Offer, CRO
When brands stall, it’s rarely because of bidding or structure. It’s almost always:
Creative – new angles, new hooks, new whitelisted pages.
Offer – a fresh incentive that reframes value.
CRO – rethinking PDPs or landing pages.
“Don’t try to ad-buy your way out of a problem,” Andrew said. “Change the offer, the pitch, or the page.”
4. Calendar Strategy: Start Early, Stay Consistent
Brad’s rule of thumb:
Mid-October: Gifting messaging starts (especially post Prime Day).
Early November: Soft launch or anniversary sale transitions into BFCM.
Mid-November: Drop your main BFCM offer don’t wait until Black Friday itself.
Cyber Monday → December 15: Shift messaging to gifting, not necessarily the offer.
Zach adds: “We’re basically rinse and repeat Labor Day, Fall Sale, Prime Sale, Anniversary, Black Friday, Cyber Monday, Holiday Sale, New Year’s. Slight tweaks, same playbook.”
✅ Recommendation: Launch your BFCM offer at least two weeks early. Test it before the big weekend so you have time to adjust if it flops.
5. Offers That Actually Convert
Forget the “mystery gift” gimmicks. They rarely move the needle.
What works every year:
Percentage-off (start at 20%+)
Up to X% Off (hero SKUs at 20–30%, deep cuts on slower movers)
Buy More, Save More (position as “up to 40% off”)
BOGO (if margin allows)
What to avoid: “Free gift with purchase.” It can bump AOV but doesn’t drive conversion volume.
Keep your offer structure consistent—you don’t need to reinvent it for BFCM. Position it differently instead.
6. Ads, Email & SMS: Stay Aligned and Go Big
Brad and Zach’s advice is simple: overcommunicate.
Evergreen ads stay live. Duplicate your best performers and add BFCM creative wrappers.
Update all messaging (site bars, banners, flows, and automations) with your BFCM offer.
Send more emails than you think.
Holo Socks sends 15+ emails between Friday and Monday.
Include 2–3 SMS per day plain text from founders crush.
Tip: Send “early access” emails to VIPs or subscribers with an extra 10% off before the public launch. It drives early momentum and loyalty.
7. Pacing & Scaling: Double Budgets, Then Double Again
BFCM weekend pacing is all about confidence and control:
Expect to double your spend on Black Friday.
The weekend dip is smaller than you think—keep spend stable.
Push again Monday; buyer intent peaks.
Track hourly performance and rely on a multi-touch attribution tool like Northbeam or Triple Whale. Platform ROAS will lag AMER or blended MER tells the real story.
“If the funnel’s working, spend more. Don’t overthink it,” Zach said. “The market will hold if your foundation is good.”
8. Quick Checklist Before the Chaos
Test your BFCM offer at least 2 weeks early.
Consolidate ad sets by funnel/product.
Refresh creative (new hooks + holiday wrappers).
Update site banner & landing pages.
Prep email/SMS flows with the BFCM offer.
Forecast pacing & double budgets Friday–Monday.
Measure LTV of BFCM cohorts post-sale.
Final Take
Black Friday and Cyber Monday are less about “perfect offers” and more about prepared execution. Don’t overcomplicate. Don’t overthink. If your funnel’s solid, your offer’s consistent, and your creative’s fresh, BFCM can be your biggest acquisition moment of the year—not just a discount weekend.