Black Friday Cyber Monday (“Big Frickin’ Coupon Month”) is almost upon us. Here’s a quick thought:

Don’t wait until the high-discount days to send out an email to your subscribers or past customers.

Instead, start to talk to your people now.

First, send your people an email and let them know what’s coming later this month as part of BFCM. Tell them so they can check their budget and start to plan their purchases. If they don’t know what’s coming, it’ll be harder for them to take part.

Next, take your list and segment it. Here’s what I’ve segmented mine into for my store:

• New shoppers: people who haven’t made a purchase yet
• Customers: people who have made a purchase already
• VIP Customers: people who have made 2+ purchases

Then, start talking with each segment:

• New Shoppers → Send them a pre-BFCM coupon and recommend a product for them that they’ll like
• Customers → Send them a short note thanking them for being customers
• VIP Customers (2+ purchases) → Send them a small gift as a thank you

And mention your upcoming Big Frickin’ Coupon Month event. These don’t have to be heavy-graphic emails. Text emails — like this one — work well at sharing a message. Don’t let graphics become a barrier.

The outcomes you’re aiming for here are two-fold:

• Let people know, today, that you’re going to be having an event
• Start conversations now, so you aren’t showing up on Turkey Day and saying, “Hey, haven’t talked with you since last year, here’s a coupon! See ya next year!”

Questions? Tap here and send them over.

Excelsior!

Kai