If there’s one thing you can be certain of during the upcoming Black Friday season, it’s that your Black Friday emails are going to have plenty of company in the inboxes of customers. Thus, it’s of utmost importance that you write catchy Black Friday subject lines to enable you to stand out in the sea of holiday messaging.

In this write-up, we’ll provide you with a free buffet of the best Black Friday subject lines as well as some fresh tips to create impressive ones.

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General Rules of Great Black Friday Subject Lines

To get you all prepped up for the most hectic shopping season of the year, we’ve created a webinar on holiday email marketing.

You can rewatch our “Holiday email marketing: Best Practices and Case Study Analysis” webinar below.

Hey friends, do you know that recipients take less than 3 seconds to decide that they’ll click on your Black Friday marketing emails? There are several general rules to follow while composing Black Friday subject lines to get excellent open rates and improve email engagement.

Get Straight to The Point

With all the epic Black Friday deals flying around, shoppers don’t have much time to procrastinate and read all emails. Hence, you’d better get straight to the point. If it’s a sale, then say it’s a sale.

Moreover, your Black Friday subject lines don’t need to be overly complicated and flowery. Instead, they should be short and simple. Thus, the best practice is to put crucial information right at the beginning of your Black Friday subject lines in the most understandable words.

Here are some suggestions for you:

30% off side-wide
Black Friday is ON!
SALE is HERE!

Be Unique

During Black Friday & Cyber Monday season (BFCM), your customers are surely going to be bombarded with tons of promotional emails from different brands. Therefore, one key point to win Black Friday is to add some unique vibes to your Black Friday subject lines. This way, your BFCM newsletters will stand a higher chance of being clicked on.

Here are some tried-and-true tactics:

Use attention-grabbing words that sound pushy and urgent

Eg: “Finally! It’s Black Friday – GO GO GO!”, “Clock Is Ticking On Our Sale”, “Buy Now Or Cry Later”, etc.

Consider asking a question

Eg: “Is It Black Friday Yet?”, “Up 50% Off Storewide? You’d Better Believe it”, “What Are You Doing? It’s Almost Black Friday!”

Include some emojis

Eg: Stopwatch ⏱, shopping bags 🛍️, sparkles ✨

Add a fun twist

Eg: “TGI Black Friday”, “Leftover Turkey can wait. Black Friday can’t”, “OPEN ME (you won’t regret it)”

Make It Relevant to The Copy

Your Black Friday subject lines can be short and simple yet creative and one-of-a-kind. But the ideal one must also be in sync with your copy and design.

Below is one of the best Black Friday email subject lines that perfectly aligns with the copy and design. Let’s take a look!

Subject line: Snooze through the sale

The best thing about this example is the clever use of a Black Friday email subject line that aligns perfectly with imagery and Casper’s business. From the subject line “snooze through”, the copy with phrases like “early bird”, “get up”, “SLEEPIN” to the design with clock app, multiple alarms, everything is so connected with the brand’s business – bed mattress.

Therefore, make sure to take advantage of your Black Friday subject lines to motivate your subscribers to interact with your copy and design.

Further reading:

By this point, you have grasped the general rules of great Black Friday subject lines. Let’s take your time and experience them all ahead of BFCM 2022.

Now, let’s get your creative juices flowing with the best Black Friday email subject lines below!

Black Friday Subject Lines: Best Examples & Detailed Analysis

Pre-Black Friday Subject Lines

Cellular Outfit

Subject line: 🛑 It’s the Last Day 🛑

The brand leverages the red, octagonal emoji – known as a stop sign in many countries to attract its recipients’ attention. Furthermore, the clever use of the phrase “Last Day” clearly states that it’s the very last chance for early access shoppers to benefit from pre-Black Friday exclusive deals.

There’s nothing more to be said. Cellular Outfitter’s subject line is short and straightforward. And just like the rest of FOMO-infused subject lines, the brand has successfully motivated its clients to “stop everything”, open the email and do some shopping.

IKEA

Subject line: [Recipient’s name], escape the Black Friday chaos

IKEA’s subject line feels like a perfect relief from the holiday season madness that ensues in our inboxes during the BFCM season. No numerical statistics. No capitalized letters. No sense of scarcity or urgency.

The brand also opts for a personalized subject line by using the subscriber’s name at the beginning. This subject line from IKEA is truly intriguing and makes you want to open the email, just to get the sense of composure it offers.

More Pre-Black Friday Subject Lines

❗[Recipient’s name], get 25 to 40% off BEFORE. EVERYONE. ELSE.
You were Chosen for our early Black Friday flyer
Can’t wait until Black Friday? Save now…
We’ve begun our countdown to Black Friday
Pssst! Get The Scoop on Black Friday
Now that Turkey is out of the way, it’s time to SAVE!
Closed for Thanksgiving, Back on Black!
Be the First to Shop Black Friday Sets! 60% Off Everything!
Skip the Line – Shop Early
Why wait? Save now.
Exclusive Black Friday sneak peek. Save up to 30% off.
Trust Us, You’ll Want To Open This Sale Email
Your Invitation To Our Exclusive Black Friday Shop
Pssst… This Sale Is Secret
Why Wait Until Black Friday? Access Our Sale Early!

Let’s explore the world of flyer design, where creativity meets information to grab attention, especially during Black Friday, and convey messages in a visually appealing way.

Black Friday Day Subject Lines

SassySpud

Subject line: IT’S BLACKBEAN FRIDAY!

Black Friday subject lines like SassySpud’s are marvelous examples of how small businesses can exercise creativity to boost visibility and build more engagement.

We love how they use wordplays, all-caps and the emoji of a smiling face with sunglasses in their subject line. This is a great attention-grabbing technique that piques subscribers’ interest while still embodies a cheery attitude.

Also, the subject line works well with the copy and design from the discount code – “BLACKBEANFRIDAY” to the CTA button “shop right meow”.

Tone It Up

Black Friday Email Example from Tone It Up Brand

Subject Line: The Clock’s Ticking

If you’re anything like us, you are usually running a little behind the Black Friday schedule and doing the shopping at the very last minute. Even when there are hours left before Black Friday sales end, you can still make one last attempt to convert this special clientele: Late shoppers

In this subject line by Tone It Up, the brand grabs the opportunity to engage its audience with a touch of urgency. The copy and the countdown timer emoji perfectly enhances the fear of missing out on Tone It Up’s special deals.

More Black Friday Day Subject Lines

Happy Black Friday: 30% off EVERYTHING!
Free Shipping on ALL ORDERS—today only!
24 hours. 24% Off Store Wide
[Name], don’t stress: 25% off for Black Friday
Black Friday Doorbusters END TODAY. Snag ’em before it slams shut.
Why Settle For Less? Shop Best Of Sale, Up To 50% Off
Your Black Friday Treat’
The Black Friday Ad is here. Spread the word.
Don’t Wait Until Next Year For A Deal Like This Again
Our Black magic will vanish at midnight ⏰
Your Boss Is Shopping Today Too
Better Than Their Deals ☝️ 40% OFF
Blink & You’ll Miss It
Up to 65% off sitewide – you’re not dreaming
What’s on sale? Anything & everything.
Reminder: Black Friday 40% OFF is closing

Post-Black Friday Subject Lines

Clarks

Subject Line: Start Your Sunday With 40% Off

It’s a lazy Sunday morning. Imagine that rain is falling, you’re laying in bed and Maroon 5 is singing that Sunday song on the radio. Then comes an email saying “Start your Sunday with 40% off” and you’re like: “Really? There are more deals today?” Yes yes yes, my dear friend!

Though being plain – no capitalized letters, no emoji and definitely no fun twist, this subject line from Clarks has the right incentive to put a smile on its subscriber’s face.

Furthermore, Black Friday subject lines like this also work perfectly if you want to run a sale when your competitors just ended theirs.

Happy Socks

Subject line: You deserve something special ❤️

Well, this is definitely the usual Post-Black Friday subject line you expected, right? It doesn’t look like a promotional newsletter at all.

With the use of phrases like “deserve”, “something special” combined with a red heart emoji, the subject line sounds heart-warming and you can’t help but click on the email as soon as it pops up on your screen. And for Black Friday subject lines, we just simply couldn’t ask for more!

However, the best thing about Happy Socks’ subject line is that it makes customers feel valued and that’s when your brand credibility grows.

Best Black Friday Subject Lines – FAQs

What is a good piece of advice for subject lines?

Keep your Black Friday subject lines unique, don’t beat around the bush, and make it relevant to your copy.

What is an appropriate Black Friday email subject line?

Your Black Friday lines should get straight to the point. It should be able to communicate precisely the main topic of your email and convey your intention. Keep it catchy to lure customers in but don’t use “click-bait”.

How do you write an email for Black Friday?

Black Friday email should be bold enough to capture customers’ attention. However, make sure to keep it aligned with the core value of your brand, and don’t forget to add a strong call-to-action button.

Bottom Line

Whether you’ve already planned your email marketing campaign or you’re just getting started, you now have plenty of Black Friday subject line ideas to choose from or get inspired by. Let’s put your creative hat on and see where it takes you!

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Happy selling!

Best Black Friday Subject Lines to Shine Bright in Recipients’ Inboxes