Question: When is the best time to start thinking about your next Black Friday? 

The day after the last one ends. 

But here’s the painful truth. Most brands are scrambling to find new customers right before (and during) Black Friday, when ad costs are at a premium while everyone else is competing for attention.

But smart brands? They’re already sitting on a goldmine of fresh, engaged emails, people who are warmed up and ready to buy the moment BFCM deals drop. 

They are looking for the right brands and the right deals.

In this article, we’ll talk about the one thing every winning brand will have this Q4: A fresh email list that’s ready to buy.

Why Most Brands Fail at Pre-BFCM List Building?

Every day that passes without strategic list building means:

• Higher acquisition costs when Q4 competition heats up.
• Cold audiences that need extensive nurturing during your busiest season.
• Missed revenue from people who would’ve bought if they knew about your deals.
• Extreme clutter to push through noise for shopping only during BFCM.

The brands crushing it this Q4 started building their lists months ago. Here’s exactly how they did it.

How we built a BFCM email list-building strategy that’s generating $1 CPLs? 

Losing brands are paying $15+ to acquire a customer in November when Black Friday is in full swing.

However, winning brands use strategic giveaways to build massive email lists for under $1 per lead beforehand.

And to convert in an email later on…

Here’s our exact playbook.

Step 1: Create an Irresistible Giveaway

Launch a giveaway (or 2) 6-8 weeks before your BFCM deal goes live, featuring your best products or best offer. 

• Give it your best – 12 months supply of X, bundle prize pack worth $500, buy additional gifts to add to your prize (eg. $550 of our goods & an iPhone!)
• If you get other brands, get items that complement your brand.
• You can also partner with other brands to cosponsor a giveaway. You can cross-promote on both email lists and socials. This usually has a good ROI. 

Here’s an example of how our Black Friday giveaway looks like:

This is a typical pre-BFCM list building giveaway campagin that generates qualified leads at a super low CPL.

Step 2: Gamify Your Giveaway

Add bonus entry actions like liking posts, following on social platforms, and commenting on your running ads. 

This creates social validation AND signals to Meta’s algorithm that your content is engaging, lowering your ad costs.

Step 3: Leverage Your Existing Customers

Ask current customers for referrals. 

They’re a trusted source and will bring in higher-quality leads who are most likely new and will hopefully convert. It’s like gamified word of mouth. 

Step 4: The “Loser’s Discount” Strategy

After picking a winner, send a discount code to everyone who didn’t win. This is where the magic happens:

• 6-8% bounce (expected – they just wanted the free prize)
• 30% immediately engage and use the discount code
• 60%+ stick around and convert after 3-5 touchpoints

The Result: A Pre-Warmed BFCM Audience

By the time Black Friday hits, you have:

• A fresh list of new potential customers
• People who are already familiar with your brand
• Emails that cost you under $1 each (vs. $15+ during peak season)
• An audience that’s been nurtured and is ready to buy

*Results may vary on how you promote (amount of spend, organic only, email campaigns…) 

Why This Works Better Than Traditional List Building

Pop-ups capture browsers, but giveaways capture people willing to engage. Someone who enters a giveaway might not be ready to pay full price yet, but they’re signaling genuine interest in your product. They’re willing to take that first step, do a bunch of bonuses for just a SHOT to try – and once they do, they often become your most valuable customers.

Giveaway entrants are relationship-ready. They may need a small incentive to make that first purchase, but once they experience your product and brand, they typically have much higher lifetime value and engagement rates than cold traffic. They’re not just looking for deals – they’re looking for brands worth following.

The timing is everything. Starting this process 6-8 weeks before BFCM gives you enough time to nurture these leads so they’re warm and ready when your biggest sales event hits. If not for BFCM, typical run time is 3-4 weeks. 

Your Q4 Action Plan

With a few days until Q4 kicks off, here’s what you need to do this week:

1. Plan your giveaway – We use Blitzrocket
   1. What’s your most attractive prize?
   2. Do you have a budget?
   3. How long will it run?
2. Set up your funnel – Landing page, email sequences, bonus actions.
3. Launch your ads – Target that $1 CPL goal (this is very dependent on the industry. The higher the price and more niched the audience, the CPL typically goes up.)
4. Prepare your nurture sequence – How will you warm these leads over the next 6-8 weeks?

The brands that start this process now will have a massive advantage come Black Friday. The ones that wait will be fighting for scraps at premium prices.

Don’t let another day pass without building your pre-BFCM email list. Your Q4 revenue depends on it.