Black Friday & Cyber Monday Emails: 5 Ways To Make Your Campaign Land In The Inbox

Black Friday and Cyber Monday (BFCM) are the most intense periods of the year for marketing emails. 

The surge in Email Service Provider (ESP) activity, competitor emails, and sheer message volume can expose weak spots in your email program, such as list hygiene, domain authentication, sender reputation, and content filters. Many brands wait too long to get their deliverability and end up with strained performance: 

• Low open/click rates 
• High bounce/spam rates 
• Deliverability breakdowns

Inbox providers like Gmail or Outlook tighten their filters to protect users from spam. If your messages aren’t optimised for deliverability, they risk being throttled, delayed, or dumped into spam, right when you need visibility most.

The solution? Treat deliverability like a long game. Start building trust with inbox providers now, not when November rolls around. 

Here are five essential steps to get your deliverability in shape before the holiday surge.

1. Audit & Clean Your List Now (Not in November)

Waiting until November to scrub your list is too late. Unverified, inactive, or generic email addresses quietly erode your sender reputation. By starting now, you give inbox providers time to recognise your healthier sending habits.

What To Do

• Set up a sunset policy: Suppress subscribers with no opens or clicks in the past 6-12 months, or generic addresses that haven’t engaged.
• Remove or suppress hard bounces: Remove hard bounces and inactive role accounts (like sales@ or info@).
• Segment “never engaged” contacts: Test re-engagement flows or send minimal content. If they don’t respond, stop emailing them.
• Maintain preference centers: Allow subscribers to choose how often and what type of content they receive.

Spread out the list hygiene and sunset flows so the sender’s reputation gradually improves over time. 

2. Warm Up Your Domain and Sending Volume

Sudden spikes in volume are one of the fastest ways to get flagged as spam. Think of your sending reputation like a credit score: steady, consistent activity builds trust, while erratic bursts raise red flags.

What To Do

• Review authentication: Confirm DNS records (SPF, DKIM, DMARC) are correctly configured and aligned with your sending domain.
• Ramp up gradually: For new or inactive domains/IPs, start with low volumes, sending to engaged recipients first, then scale steadily.
• Plan sending cadence ahead: Don’t send huge blasts one day after no sends for a long time. Avoid sending at exactly 9:00 a.m. when servers are overwhelmed.
• Keep branding and content consistent: Familiar styles reduce confusion for inbox algorithms.

By the time BFCM arrives, inbox providers will see you as a trusted sender.

3. Segment by Behaviour First, Demographics Second

Inbox providers pay attention to how recipients interact with your emails. High engagement tells them your content is wanted; low engagement suggests the opposite.

What To Do

• Build engagement-based segments: Very engaged (recent opens/clicks), less engaged, dormant/unengaged. Adjust frequency and content accordingly.
• Use dynamic content or personalisation: Product recommendations based on past purchases, reminders based on browsing history & tailored subject lines.
• Avoid sending heavy promotional content: Send value-driven or teaser content first, not just discounts. For example, teasers or value content.
• Set up a “never engaged” segment: Suppress them from core campaigns, run re-engagement flows, or reactivation via other channels.

Sending to the right people at the right time boosts engagement, which improves deliverability across your whole list.

4. Audit Your Authentication and Technical Setup

Even the best content won’t matter if your authentication fails. Misconfigured DNS records or outdated policies can block your emails entirely.

‍What To Do

• Check SPF record: Ensure it covers all sending servers, not overly broad (don’t allow too many unrelated IPs), and ensure there are no syntax errors. 
• Check DKIM: Make sure signatures are valid, rotate keys regularly, and sign key headers (From, Subject, etc.).
• Check DMARC: Ideally, move toward a stricter policy (p=quarantine, p=reject) if you can safely do so. Ensure domain alignment as per DMARC requirements.
• Use a dedicated domain: Send from a dedicated domain or subdomain if possible, especially for large promotional traffic.

With inbox providers moving toward stricter standards, a clean technical setup is becoming non-negotiable.

5. Use Paid Ads for Safer Re-Engagement

It’s tempting to blast inactive subscribers with discounts, but emailing cold contacts can harm your reputation. Many may have abandoned the address, or worse, it may have turned into a spam trap.

What To Do

• Use tools to monitor deliverability: Use Google Postmaster Tools, Microsoft SNDS, Sender Score, ESP dashboards, and seed list testing.
• Test emails: Send test campaigns in advance, subject lines, content, rendering, and deliverability to see how ISPs treat them.
• Re-engagement strategy: Try value-based content or “we miss you” offers. If they still don’t respond, sunset them. This should be done gradually over time.
• Consider cross-channel reactivation: Lean on paid ads, SMS, or social instead of risky cold email campaigns.

Keep your sender reputation clean while still tapping into the revenue potential of your dormant list.

BFCM Prep Timeline

To maximise inbox placement and engagement during BFCM, here’s a streamlined timeline of deliverability tasks.

Foundation (3–4 Months Out)

• List audit: Remove dead/inactive contacts.
• Infrastructure: Warm new domains or verify setup.
• Authentication: SPF, DKIM, DMARC configured.
• Segmentation: Plan audience splits for engagement.

‍Testing & Monitoring (2 Months Out)

• Reputation checks: Track sender/domain health.
• Test content: Validate templates and flows.
• Light promotions: Send small pre-peak campaigns.
• Re-engagement: Start mild win-back flows.
• Fix issues early: Debug deliverability problems.

Ramp-Up (1 Month Out)

• Gradual sending: Increase volume stepwise.
• Finalise campaigns: Lock in creative and calendar.
• Compliance: Ensure unsubscribe/opt-out works.
• Ongoing monitoring: Keep tracking deliverability.

Execution (Final Weeks & BFCM)

• Run major campaigns: Avoid sudden spikes.
• Segment wisely: Targeted sends for higher ROI.
• List hygiene: Suppress bounces/complaints quickly.
• Real-time watch: Adjust based on live metrics.

Final Thoughts

Black Friday and Cyber Monday can make or break your Q4 numbers, but only if your emails land where they belong. Deliverability is not something you can fix overnight; it takes weeks, even months, to build the trust that inbox providers demand.

By cleaning your list, warming your domain, segmenting based on engagement, auditing authentication, and using ads for cold contacts, you’ll maximise both your deliverability and your holiday revenue. Start now, and by the time BFCM arrives, your emails will have a clear runway to the inbox.

Need a fresh perspective? Let’s talk.

At 360 OM, we specialise in helping businesses take their marketing efforts to the next level. Our team stays on top of industry trends, uses data-informed decisions to maximise your ROI, and provides full transparency through comprehensive reports.