How Should I Advertise My Black Friday Special?
Short answer: advertise your Black Friday special in three places – your own email list, paid social (Meta) with a retargeting layer, and Google Ads for people actively searching. Start three to four weeks out with warm-up content, not on the day itself. The businesses that win Black Friday are the ones people already recognised before the sale started.
Black Friday 2026 falls on Friday 27 November, with Cyber Monday on 30 November. Here’s how to make it count.
The 3 ways to advertise your Black Friday special
1. Email and SMS your existing list
Your list is the highest-returning channel you own, and it costs you almost nothing to use.
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Send a teaser email a few days out so people know what’s coming
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Send the offer on the morning it goes live
- Send a “last chance” before it closes – this email usually outperforms the first one
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Segment VIP customers from those who have never purchased from you and offer each audience something different
2. Paid social with a retargeting layer
Meta (Facebook and Instagram) and TikTok is where the awareness gets built.
- Run warm-up content from early November – reels, behind the scenes, product or service highlights
- Launch the offer as its own campaign with clean, obvious creative
- Retarget video viewers, page engagers and website visitors – these are your cheapest conversions
- Keep the offer simple enough to understand in three seconds
3. Google Ads for high-intent searchers
Search volume for “Black Friday deals NZ” and category-specific terms climbs sharply through late November.
- Search campaigns targeting your service or product plus Black Friday terms
- Shopping or Performance Max if you’re an online store
- Point every click at a dedicated offer landing page, not your homepage
The 5 things every business should do before Black Friday
1. Decide the offer early. One clear deal beats five confusing ones. Percentage off, dollar off, bundle, or bonus – pick the one that protects your margin and is easy to say out loud.
2. Build your audiences now. Pixels, email list growth, retargeting audiences. These need weeks of data before they work properly, so setting them up in the last week is too late.
3. Warm your audience up. Three to four weeks of visibility before the sale. People buy from businesses they’ve already seen.
4. Get the landing page and checkout ready. Dedicated offer page, fast load, clear terms, working payment options. Sending paid traffic to a slow or generic page is how you burn budget.
5. Plan what happens after. Cyber Monday, an extension day, and a follow-up sequence for everyone who clicked but didn’t buy. Most businesses stop on the Friday and leave money on the table.
Do small businesses in New Zealand need to do Black Friday?
Not necessarily – but you do need a position. If discounting damages your brand or your margins, run a value-add instead: a bonus service, an upgrade, extended warranty, or a gift with purchase. The goal is to be part of the conversation in late November, not to be the cheapest.
How far out should I start advertising Black Friday?
Start your warm-up content three to four weeks out, have your ad campaigns built and approved at least a week before, and have your emails written and scheduled before the week itself. Ad platforms can take days to review and learn – last-minute launches underperform almost every time.
Need a hand?
We build Black Friday campaigns end to end for New Zealand businesses – offer strategy, creative, Meta and Google Ads, and the email sequence that ties it together.