Why I Hate Black Friday (and What to Do Instead)

Black Friday is supposed to be a marketer's dream. But sitting down on the Sunday after Thanksgiving with 133 unread emails in his inbox, Jeremy realized (again) that for most clinics, Black Friday week is the worst time to be screaming into people's inboxes. In this episode, he breaks down why traditional Black Friday plays are broken—and why a simple holiday gift card campaign in December quietly beats them every time.

📌 Episode Topics

Why Black Friday Feels Broken: 130+ unread emails, but zero interest.
Inbox Reality: Why Thanksgiving week is the noisiest, worst-performing email window of the year.
Intent vs. Timing: Why buyers decide before Black Friday.
How to Run Black Friday (If You Must): The only way Jeremy will do it anymore.
The Holiday Gift Card Campaign: The December play that actually fits how people think and buy.

💡 Big Idea

Black Friday is no longer about "sending the email on Friday." It's about intent and momentum. By the time Thanksgiving week hits, people already know:

Which brands they care about,
What they're planning to buy, and
Roughly what the deal will be.

If you're introducing your offer on Thanksgiving, Black Friday, or that weekend, you're just another subject line in an inbox war you can't win.

📬 Why Thanksgiving Week Emails Flop

Jeremy walks through his own week: travel, family, football, food, catching up with friends. Checking marketing emails is nowhere on that list.

By Sunday, even someone who normally keeps their inbox at zero is staring at 100+ unread emails. Most Black Friday blasts get:

Automatically deleted, or
Ignored while people unsubscribe from lists they forgot they were on.

It's not that people aren't buying. They've just already decided what to buy—and from whom.

⌚ Black Friday Is About Intent, Not "The Day"

Brands have trained consumers to expect:

Early access Black Friday,
VIP Black Friday,
Deals rolling out in the first half of November.

The brands Jeremy actually buys from didn't wait. They:

Warmed him up weeks before,
Told stories, teased the offer, and
Let him plan purchases before his inbox exploded.

By the time Black Friday arrived, their emails were just a deadline reminder—not the introduction.

🧨 Why Most Black Friday Campaigns Feel Gross

The lazy version of Black Friday looks like:

"Last chance!" every 12 hours,
Fake scarcity ("Deal ends Friday… just kidding, extended to Sunday!"),
Copy-paste discounts with no real thought about the buyer's headspace.

The problem isn't discounts—the deals can be great. The problem is the execution: crowded inboxes, zero differentiation, and timing that ignores how people actually behave.

📅 How Jeremy Ran Black Friday for Clinics (Without the Noise)

Jeremy's team did run Black Friday campaigns—but differently:

Started 2 weeks early: Not on Thanksgiving week.
Warmed the list: Stories, education, and teasing the offer before the pitch.
Built desire ahead of time: So Black Friday was only a , not a cold ask.

When Friday hit, interested people had already raised their hands. The final push was just helping them follow through—not fighting for fresh attention.

🎁 The Better Play: Holiday Gift Card Campaign

For clinics, Jeremy argues that December beats Black Friday almost every time.

Why the Holiday Gift Card Campaign works so well:

Timing fits mindset: People are reflecting on the year and thinking about their health, habits, and routines for the new one.
Inbox is calmer: Travel is winding down, routines are back, and the email noise has dropped.
Gifting fits your service: Easy to position as "invest in yourself" or "give someone a head start on their goals."
Clean, seasonal, and not spammy: It feels helpful, not desperate.

🧭 Your Playbook for Next Year 1️⃣ If You Must Run Black Friday

Start warming your list in early November.
Tease the offer, tell stories, share wins, and build curiosity.
Use Black Friday as the deadline, not the first time people hear about it.

2️⃣ Run a December Holiday Gift Card Campaign

Position it as: "Gift better movement/less pain/a stronger 2026."
Give people a simple, clear offer (e.g., eval + 2 sessions, or a dollar-value gift card).
Send a handful of thoughtful emails across December—not a firehose in one weekend.

📣 Share This Episode

Know a clinic owner who blasts three Black Friday emails and wonders why nobody buys? Send them this episode before they repeat it next year.

📱 Connect with Jeremy

Got questions about Black Friday strategy or the Holiday Gift Card Campaign? Send Jeremy a DM on Instagram: @jeremydupont.

Don't get lost in the Black Friday noise. Warm people up early, then let December be the month where your offer actually lands.

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