Black Friday email templates and subject lines (2026)

Short answer: A full Black Friday email sequence has eight moments. These are a VIP teaser, the sale announcement, launch day, a mid-sale reminder, Cyber Monday, last chance, a shipping cutoff reminder, and a thank-you after purchase. Copy-paste templates for all eight are below, with subject lines grouped by type. Every marketing email in the US also needs a working unsubscribe link and your physical address, by law.

Facts last checked on October 18, 2026, against the sources linked below.

Early access or VIP teaser

Send this a few days before launch to your email list or loyalty members, so they feel like insiders.

Sale announcement

Send this a day or two before the sale goes live, to build anticipation without giving away the offer details yet.

Launch day

Send this the moment the sale goes live.

Mid-sale reminder

Send this partway through, for anyone who hasn't opened or clicked yet.

Cyber Monday

Send this the morning of Cyber Monday, especially to anyone who didn't buy during Black Friday.

Last chance

Send this on the final day, ideally a few hours before the sale ends.

Shipping cutoff reminder

Send this once the discount sale is over, to push holiday shipping deadlines instead. See holiday shipping deadlines 2026 for carrier dates to fill in.

Thank-you after purchase

Send this right after someone orders, or add it to your automatic order confirmation.

20+ subject lines by email type

Swap in your own numbers, dates and product names before sending.

Timing and sending: a few practical tips

• Send the teaser and announcement as separate emails, a few days apart, so people see your offer more than once before they decide.
• Don't send more than one sale email a day during the main sale window. Two a day, on launch day and the last day, is usually the most a small list can take without people unsubscribing.
• Send the last-chance email with a specific end time, instead of a vague "tonight." A deadline with a clock on it gets more clicks than a vague one.
• Test every link and discount code in the actual email before you send it. Your email tool's preview doesn't always match what a customer sees. See the Black Friday checklist for small stores for the full pre-sale testing list.

We didn't find send-time or open-rate numbers we could verify directly from a source we opened, so we've left specific hours and percentages out. If a tool you use publishes its own benchmark report, treat it as that company's data, not a universal rule.

US CAN-SPAM basics for sale emails

If you email customers in the US, the FTC's CAN-SPAM compliance guide sets the baseline rules. Two matter for every template above:

• Every email needs a clear way to opt out. The guide requires "a clear and conspicuous explanation of how the recipient can opt out." The opt-out link has to keep working for at least 30 days after you send, and you must honor a request within 10 business days.
• Every email needs your physical address. The guide says to tell recipients where you're located. It allows "your current street address, a post office box you've registered with the U.S. Postal Service, or a private mailbox you've registered with a commercial mail receiving agency."

This isn't legal advice, and other countries have their own email rules, so check what applies where your customers are. Most email tools (Mailchimp, Klaviyo, Shopify Email) add the unsubscribe link and address fields automatically, but it's worth checking they're actually filled in before your first send.

Keeping replies fast during the rush

Sale emails bring a wave of replies asking about shipping cutoffs, discount codes and returns. If you're answering the same few questions over and over, a chatbot like Chatbait can answer them straight from your site's shipping and return policy pages, any hour. That frees you up to handle the questions that need a real person.

Frequently asked questions

How many emails should I send during a Black Friday sale?

A common pattern is a teaser, an announcement, a launch email, one mid-sale reminder, a Cyber Monday email, and a last-chance email. That's six to eight emails over about a week to ten days. Spacing them out, rather than sending several in one day, reduces unsubscribes.

Do I legally need an unsubscribe link in a Black Friday email?

Yes, if you're emailing customers in the US. The FTC's CAN-SPAM guide requires a working opt-out method in every commercial email, kept active for at least 30 days.

Do I need my store's physical address in every email?

Under US CAN-SPAM rules, yes: every commercial email needs a street address, registered PO box, or a registered private mailbox.

What's the difference between the launch email and the sale announcement?

The announcement goes out before the sale starts, to build anticipation. The launch email goes out the moment the sale is live, with a direct link to shop.