Black Friday SMS templates: 11+ ready-to-use text examples, tips, and timing

Black Friday and Cyber Monday are no longer new.  

Generic “50% off!” messages won’t cut it anymore – at least if you don’t use them together with other tactics like urgency or creative messaging.

To actually grab attention and ultimately convert, your SMS campaigns should feel new, personal, and useful to your prospects. So if you want to get the most out of the year’s biggest revenue opportunities, get inspired by these templates, tips, and ideas for Black Friday text marketing.

Before we get to Black Friday and Cyber Monday text examples, let’s make sure you’ve got the right success framework. In general, successful BFCM texts provide one great offer, have a strong call-to-action, and come with a good sense of personalization (and respect for the inbox). We’ll break down each best practice below.

A general rule of thumb is not to bombard your entire audience with random texts. Instead of sharing a constant stream of alerts, stick to three timely messages. Also, segment your list by customer type and past purchase behavior so you can offer early access to top customers and flash deals for those who just subscribed.

For instance, here’s an example early access text that ticks all boxes and builds loyalty while enticing urgency:

Need exact time frames for when to send your Black Friday text campaigns?

Early-morning texts like those between 7 a.m. and 9 a.m. are likely to grab shoppers who might be eager to start shopping for deals right away. For example: 

Send this in the morning:  

Then follow it by an afternoon nudge at around 2 p.m:

Evening texts from between 7 p.m. and 9 p.m. are also strong for last-chance offers. For Cyber Monday, a morning kickoff text and an evening urgency push has worked well. For example: 

Send

Then follow up later with

The ideal Black Friday SMS texts are short, no more than 160 characters (so they fit into one message).  

This helps keep the offer unambiguous and sends the recipient immediately into action. No one is going to read a long-winded text. Cutting to the chase makes it more likely your message is read and acted upon. 

When it comes to Black Friday SMS marketing, one of the greatest motivators to use in your strategy is to create an offer so good it’s hard to pass up.  

One way is urgency. “Ends tonight,” “Limited stock”, and “Only 3 hours left” all prompt more shopper action than without.  

You can also pair urgency with exclusivity for an even bigger punch with a message like: “VIP Early Access: 25% off starts NOW just for you.” This makes your recipients feel part of a special segment and therefore be more inclined to act. 

The short message allows it to stand out right away on small screen sizes and ensures it won’t get cut off.  

An alert like this gets straight to the point, encouraging proactive action: 

Exclusive discounts make customers feel special, promoting increased engagement and conversion rates. The messages themselves often contain mentions of special access or unique promo codes.  

When creating these, make sure to always emphasize that it’s an exclusive offer and the need to act immediately to get in on that special deal: 

Flash sales work well for SMS because they resonate with how instantaneous texting is in nature. Quick, timed sales announcements pique interest and create an atmosphere of FOMO that encourages your customers to be prompt about their purchase.  

Consider short countdowns or reminders that this deal is ending “soon”, “today only”, or even “in the next 10 minutes” which add urgency: 

By offering simple rewards such as free shipping or bundle discounts in your SMS campaigns, the value you’re giving customers increases. This often leads to people spending more for added convenience.  

For maximum appeal, communicate what the offer entails and how long it lasts: 

You can’t use the same SMS templates for all businesses though. Your industry and type of audience sometimes matter more than the offer itself. 

For retail and ecommerce companies, the Black Friday SMS campaign should focus on putting different product categories out there, emphasizing mega discounts, and eliminating common barriers such as shipping fees. 

Shoppers will also love a flash update on doorbusters, new arrivals, or exclusive online-only deals. Personalization based on past purchase behavior or browsing history can further enhance relevance.  

Effective restaurant SMS campaigns are all about convenient and attractive, time-based offers, especially when it comes to take-out and delivery. Push exclusivity forward by promoting a limited number of Black Friday meal bundles, discounts on popular dishes, or free add-ons. 

In beauty and fashion, SMS promotions revolve around exclusivity, limited edition products, and bundles with loads of extras. Bringing attention to a “free gift with every purchase” or early access to new collections creates buzz and makes customers feel special.  

Strong calls to action within the email lead to direct clicks for fast purchasing of curated selections at great prices.  

Health and fitness SMS deals are a bit trickier since you have to motivate clients to start or restart their journey. This often includes huge discounts on memberships, classes, or starter kits for those who aren’t sure what they want.  

The messaging plays well into New Year’s resolutions so you can use Black Friday as a starting point for a campaign that will continue into the new year. 

Black Friday SMS ideas for service businesses may look a bit different than the usual retail sales promos. Instead, a great tactic is to offer savings on appointment bookings, consultations, and servicing options.  

The key is exclusivity, convenience, and the reassurance that booking now prevents missing out. You’ll also want to give heavy personalization a try by speaking directly to every person – especially if you offer a high-ticket or premium service.  

Cyber Monday is great to pair with Black Friday for certain industries like the tech space. This day is more centered around late-to-the-party online deals with an emphasis on urgency and exclusivity.  

SMS campaigns to consider here should provoke a scarcity mentality, using the urgency people feel with knowing that this is their last chance before prices for holidays start to rise again. 

These messages use clear timeframes and urgency to motivate customers to buy. On a day like Cyber Monday, when deals tend to be even more limited relative to Black Friday’s, minutes make all the difference. A text message will often tick down the time remaining in a sale or emphasize that supplies are running low. 

This one introduces mystery deals and a sense of urgency with a ticking clock, sparking curiosity and the desire for action without the standard percentage-off words. 

Last chance texts are meant to convey the urgency that’s felt at the tail end of a holiday sales season, reminding people that it really is their last chance to take advantage of price breaks. Such templates can also tactfully nudge you to purchase gifts through seasonal nudges, heightening the emotional motivation along with the scarce supply. 

The “final call” clock has urgency ticked off, but it’s the personalization and the complimentary gift that add a bonus to make this deal even more valuable. 

Want to stand out from the noise with your Black Friday SMS? Let’s try this exercise and start thinking outside the box: 

1. Don’t just copy your competitors. 
2. Be willing to offer bigger or bolder offers if you want to really stand out. 
3. Humor can be surprisingly effective. Just make sure you know your audience.  

Here’s everything else you can try across personalization, CTAs, A/B testing, and more.

You can do better than first names and get creative with the data you have in your CRM:  

Besides looking at past preferences or purchases, you can also identify products shoppers keep looking at or items left in the shopping cart: “We see that you have been eyeing those sneakers… today is your lucky day!” 

For the brave, test out extreme personalization using social proof: “125 people just snatched this up. You? Do you want to miss out on 30% off?” Or more personal and special countdowns like “Your exclusive 2-hour countdown begins NOW, [name].” 

You don’t have to stick to the boring, typical call to actions like “click here”. Have some fun! Get creative with CTAs like: 

• “Make your friends happy” 
• “Feed your shopping addiction” 
• “I want it now!” 
• “Unlock this mystery deal” 
• “Snag your favorite(s) before they run out” 

Not only do these unique CTAs make your text messages more enticing to click, but they also encourage buyers to embrace the process and have a little fun with it. 

Make time to test messages. Start by looking at past SMS messaging performance and roll out an A/B test for this upcoming Black Friday.  

Consider sending a more unique message or discount along with your normal one. For example, test “If this deal was a movie, it’d be a blockbuster (and you’re the star). Ready for action?” vs. something totally different like “Final hour to save 95%.”  

With Sinch Engage, you can try out rich messaging like MMS, WhatsApp, and RCS (all in one platform) to make things more engaging for people who might not be ready to make a purchase yet. 

With Sinch Engage, it’s easy to send captivating Black Friday texts that lead to more sales. Our SMS platform has everything you need – with the bonus of being so easy to use that even non-technical users can get up and running fast:

• automated scheduling
• AI writing assistant 
• real-time analytics
• easy segmentation and personalization
• direct integration with existing tools in your stack like HubSpot, Salesforce, Shopify, BigCommerce, and more.

Try Sinch Engage for free or book a demo to discover how quickly we can help you increase your Black Friday and Cyber Monday sales using text marketing.