Black Friday — it’s either the most rewarding or most stressful time in a small business owner’s year. Or both.

But it’s just right around the corner and if you’re like most people, you’ll be pulling out all the stops to make it your biggest sale of the year. 

I gotta tell you though — you don’t have to do that. A successful Black Friday isn’t all about those big gestures and going all out. 

I see a lot of business owners make the mistake of thinking they need to completely reinvent the wheel since Black Friday is a BFD. Not true. Not even close! 

Black Friday is a big deal, but the truth is, it’s a lot more about careful planning and prepping than being the biggest and baddest offer on the block. 

So if you want to be cool as a cucumber during Black Friday weekend, then read on because knowing how to avoid these 5 mistakes will help make things a lot less stressful — so you’re not cramming pumpkin pie into your face over your keyboard.

You’re not planning ahead for your sale

Sure, I guess you could throw up a sale and get some quick cash from it. But flying by the seat of your pants is the last thing you want to do for Black friday. If you don’t prepare accordingly, the whole sale stands the chance of being a bust…and a stressful one at that! 

So before you go live, make sure you know the answers to these questions:

• How much time will it take you to get everything together?
• When will your sale start?
• Where will you promote it?
• What graphics will be needed?

Another tip that helps my ADHD brain stay focused on sales goals is keeping them S.M.A.R.T. — specific, measurable, attainable, relevant, and timely. Doing this makes it easier to brainstorm and stay on track, as well as gives you a basic framework for your Black Friday marketing plan. 

How far in advance should you prep?

We start prepping for Black Friday in December…I’m not kidding! 

Prepping is more than figuring out the logistics of your sale — it’s about warming up your audience as early as possible. I promo my offers all year long so that when it’s time to buckle down and focus on Black Friday specifically, I’m not looking at a mountain of work (and even better — my audience is already hyped up about what will be on sale!).

And no, you don’t have to start in December, but the earlier, the better!

You’re not marketing early enough

Look, we all know how crowded the internet is getting. And with these confusing algorithms, it’s so much harder to see every single post even from accounts you love. Or to read every single email in your inbox. It is crowded out there!

So don’t be afraid to promote it and then promote it again. And don’t wait until the last minute to do so either. 

Start with your email list. They’re already a pretty warm audience and are more likely to see what you send than people hanging out with you on social media. Let them know you’ve got something in the works, and then when it’s go-time, sound the alarms…errrr…emails!

Then, create content around your offer. This could be YouTube videos, social media posts, blogs, etc. Explain the value of what you’re offering. Show people what they can accomplish with it. 

Don’t just assume they will take the extra step and find out for themselves. Make that content valuable and let it support your offer like your BFF during a bad breakup. 

Or you’re marketing to the wrong customers

This goes back to the importance of marketing your sale early on. And getting to know your audience before you start the majority of the prepwork for your sale. Thinking about this giant sale ahead of time gives you space to figure out if what you’re offering your audience is what they want to see. 

I know it can be tempting to want to offer something that will appeal to MORE people, but more doesn’t always mean better. It’s much better to have a small pool of people to purchase from you than a sea of half-interested customers who probably weren’t going to buy your offer anyways (and then you just spent all that time promoting to them for nothing. Booo.) 

You haven’t communicated your value

Cheaper also does not mean better. Just because something has a smaller price tag doesn’t mean it’s the best Black Friday deal. 

Yes — your audience will be scouting out the best deals, BUT you can communicate value in ways other than money. This could mean:

• Showing them the time-value — ”This offer will save you tons of time!”
• Showing them the headspace value — “No more frustration or trying to figure it out on your own!”
• Showing them the knowledge value — “You won’t learn these tips from Google. They’re tried and true practices by someone who’s been doing them for years!”
• Showing them the long-term value — “This can help set your business up for success down the road by ____”

P.S. — Social proof is gold! If you have testimonials, USE THEM! There’s no better proof than the actual pudding itself (or whatever it is they say). And if you don’t have testimonials yet, you can beta test or send your product out as a gift in exchange for an honest review. 

You’re wasting time trying to create a new product

This is where working on building a recognizable brand and bad-ass products all year come in handy. 

Black Friday is also NOT the time to reinvent the wheel. You’re competing with too much attention already, and when you’re trying to spend all your precious marketing teaching someone about your new offer, you make it a lot harder to successfully capture their attention. 

But the biggest thing I can tell you for Black Friday is this — keep it simple. 

Get down to business before it’s go-time

Black Friday is coming in hot. Are you prepared? If not, if you still aren’t sure how to get it all done before it gets here, book a call with me and let’s see what we can work out!

During the 90-minute intensive, you can ask me anything. We’ll work to identify the root issue, and then we’ll create a personalized plan to help you get unstuck!

Whether you’ve attempted large-scale sales in the past that didn’t get the traffic you had hoped for, or you feel like your shop isn’t converting the way you need, we’ll get down to the nitty-gritty and find a solution for you!

BOOK YOUR CALL HERE!