Limited Supply S14 E9: Last Minute BFCM 2025 Playbook

Host: Nik Sharma
Date: November 26, 2025

Episode Overview

In this jam-packed, tactical episode, Nik Sharma serves up his no-BS, last-minute Black Friday/Cyber Monday (BFCM) checklist—culling from his own hard-won insights as a DTC growth and brand operator. With BFCM just days away, Nik breaks down step-by-step what direct-to-consumer brands must double- and triple-check across website tech, email, paid media, organic social, influencer ops, and customer service to avoid nightmares...and capitalize on the biggest e-commerce event of the year.

Nik’s tone is candid, direct, and energetic—akin to “a behind-the-scenes conversation you won’t hear anywhere else.” Brands are warned: skip the puff PR and focus on what actually works.

Key Discussion Points & Tactical Insights

1. Website & Tech (02:55 - 15:50)

• Test Every Customer Touchpoint

  • “Test every variant selector, add to cart, slide out cart, and checkout button… on both mobile and desktop, especially custom landing pages or collections pages.”
  • Make sure every CTA works, variants display correctly, bundles show accurate imagery and pricing, and subscriptions/promo logic are right.

• Promo Codes & Auto-Applies

  • “Make sure if you’re linking from an ad or newsletter, the promo code auto-applies to the right page. ChatGPT can give you the URLs—just do it, it helps conversion.”
  • Double-check manual codes, auto-apply links, and test everything.

• Discounts: Start/End at the Right Time Zone

  • “Start on East Coast time and end on West Coast—shopping spikes at night. Don’t screw over your west coast buyers.”
  • (06:05) Example: Cyber Monday starting at 12:01 a.m. EST, ending 11:59 p.m. PST.

• Homepage Hero & Announcement Bar

  • Update homepage hero for BFCM: “Push the sale—make it stupid simple for somebody to know what the deal is.”
  • Use a clickable announcement bar, formatted cleanly, ideally with multiple rotating messages.

• Countdown Timers & Site Speed

  • Add countdown timers to landing/key product pages for urgency (acceptable here, even if normally tacky).
  • “Site speed is massive—people don’t have patience on Black Friday. They just want their deal. Make it frictionless.”

• Pixel, Analytics, and Tracking

  • Ensure all marketing pixels are firing—Meta, Klaviyo, Google, TikTok, etc.—even on custom pages and subdomains.
  • Run heat maps/scroll maps (Clarity, heatmap.com), and cross-device/browser checks (Browser Stack, Litmus).

• Code Freeze

  • “If it’s not mission critical, freeze your code. Last-minute changes are how stuff breaks.”

• Reviews Across SKUs

  • Merge reviews for duplicate SKUs and bundles for maximum social proof (shouts out Caraway for best-in-class execution).

• Vanity URLs & Redirects

  • “Never give creators, affiliates, or texts long URLs—use vanity URLs so tracking is clean and attribution is clear.”
  • Example: “[Brand].com/creatorname” instead of “brand.com/products/item?utm…”.

• Back in Stock Alerts

  • Set up “back-in-stock” widgets to capture demand if things sell out. Collect emails/SMS—and be ready with product-specific segments.

• Tag BFCM Customers

  • “Every BFCM new customer, tag ‘BFCM 2025’ so you can cohort and study them later.”

• Check Shopify Scripts

  • Ensure scripts (bundles, auto-adds, discount logic) don’t collide in a way that double-discounts or breaks the cart.

Memorable Quote

“People don’t care about your brand on Black Friday. They just want their deal.” — Nik Sharma (09:35)

2. Email & SMS (16:25 - 20:50)

• Lock in Your Email Schedule

  • Prep sends, segmented resend groups (didn’t open/opened but didn’t click), and set up exclusions (e.g., don’t blast recent buyers).

• Dynamic Sale Banners & Popups

  • Use dynamic banners in Klaviyo: update sale messaging in one place, reflects everywhere.
  • Popups: “Call out the discount. No one wants ‘sign up for updates’—tell them what they get, make the exchange clear.”

• SMS Strategy

  • Announce via SMS, do a mid-sale nudge, then a last-call. “Segment smartly—SMS is expensive. Prioritize high-potential segments.”

• Emergency Templates (Pre-written)

  • Draft three blast-ready emails: site emergency, shipping delay, product sold out/waitlist. “Have 80% written, fill in missing blanks as needed.”

• Personal Founder Email

  • Send a plain text “from the founder” nudge. “Always hits—feels personal, drives engagement.”

• VIP Early Access

  • Segment for “VIP”s and send early access/preview sale emails.

• Test Everything With Litmus

  • Run every email across device/dark mode combos (calls Litmus the go-to app).

3. Paid Media (20:51 - 23:30)

• Upload All Ads Early

  • “Approval gets slow this week—upload Cyber Week ads NOW.”

• Keep Evergreen Winners

  • Don’t pause evergreen winners; instead, redirect destination URLs at the CMS level to the sales page: “If you change it in Facebook, you reset ad learning. Change it on the site, not Ads Manager.”

• Retargeting & Budget Scaling

  • Scale retargeting budgets to match increased site traffic.

• Check Product Feeds Everywhere

  • Sync sales pricing and creative across TikTok Shop, Marpipe, Google Shopping, etc.

• DPA Ad Accuracy

  • Double-check Dynamic Product Ads (DPAs) are reflecting correct sale prices everywhere.

4. Organic Social (23:31 - 28:42)

• Social Bios & Highlight Stories

  • “Update your bios with your BFCM offer. Pin a story highlight (‘BFCM’) and keep it updated each day.”
  • Remove old highlight slides so users see only the current deals.

• Links, Pinned Posts, and Reducing Clicks

  • Minimize barrier: “One link in bio is best—get straight to your offer, ideally with unique UTM tracking. Two or more links is two clicks, not one.”

• Daily Stories, UGC, and Timers

  • Post daily stories detailing sales, products, bundles, countdowns, UGC, social proof.

• Live Streams

  • If possible, go live on Instagram or TikTok during peak hours.

• Founder Video

  • “Film a quick iPhone founder video about the sale—personal anecdotes sell. High conversion, minimal work.”

5. Influencers & Affiliates (28:43 - 31:10)

• Affiliate/Influencer Enablement

  • Send all codes, auto-apply links, and a reference sheet with sales dates/times to every affiliate/creator.
    • “Assume they lost it—over-communicate. Make it so easy a five-year-old could copy the right link.”

• Incentivize Top Partners

  • Special commissions, year of rent, even cars—“If your top affiliates go hard, the prize pays for itself.”

6. Operations & Customer Experience (31:11 - 35:19)

• Internal BFCM FAQ & Macros

  • Build a “BFCM FAQ” doc for CX reps: shipping times, return policies (many brands allow post-holiday returns), all active discount codes/logic.

• Return Policy Notice

  • Make extended return windows clear, as platforms favor brands with generous holiday returns.

• Preload Macros for Issues

  • Write canned replies for shipping delays, missing orders, etc. Under-promise and over-deliver.

• Flag Warehouse/3PLs for Volume

  • Make sure fulfillment teams are briefed on expected order spikes.

• CX “Issues” SWAT Channel

  • Create a Slack channel for BFCM emergency issues; have reps from CX, marketing, tech, and retention on call.

• Order Confirmation Messaging

  • Add BFCM-specific language to order confirmations to set expectations about potential delays.

7. Final Details & Power Tips (35:20 - End)

• Gamification & AOV Boosts

  • Gamify first X orders, offer mystery gifts, or bonus cards for comeback in January.
  • Tailored bundles, replenishment upsells, double (or “upsell-plus-downsell”) offers on the Thank You page.

• Continuous Testing

  • “Stress test checkout. Every few hours, go incognito and do a test purchase. Stuff breaks for dumb reasons—catch it early.”

• Self-Care Reminder

  • “Get espresso ready, hydrate, block your calendar, text your team—this is your Super Bowl. Everything that goes right or wrong is your fault.”

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On relentless last-minute testing:

  “Even though everything might work properly, something might still break. So just keep testing everything.”
  (37:05)

• On BFCM customer priorities:

  “People don’t really care about your brand on Black Friday—they just want their deal.”
  (09:35)

• Real talk on founder presence:

  “Just record a founder video...it feels like you’re telling somebody as a friend—not as a company.”
  (26:15)

• Battle-hardened wisdom:

  “This is the Super Bowl and everything that goes right or wrong is your fault. So make sure you get it done.”
  (38:05)

Key Takeaways

• BFCM success is all about detail: test relentlessly, prep every message, and segment every push.
• Focus on functional excellence—user friction kills sales when shoppers are in “deal mode.”
• Over-prepare for operational chaos: CX, fulfillment, and technical infrastructure must all be watertight.
• Make it stupid easy (and crystal clear) for affiliates, customers, and your own team.
• Personal touches (founder videos, hand-written emails) cut through the Black Friday noise.

Useful Timestamps

| Segment | Time | |---------------------------|------------| | Website & Tech Deep Dive | 02:55-15:50| | Email/SMS Playbook | 16:24-20:50| | Paid Media Tactics | 20:51-23:30| | Organic Social Checklist | 23:31-28:42| | Influencers & Affiliates | 28:43-31:10| | Ops & Customer Experience | 31:11-35:19| | Advanced Tactics/Win Tips | 35:20-38:50|

In Nik’s Words (Closing):

“Good luck on Black Friday. Hopefully you found one or two tips here that saved you and I’ll see you next week.” (38:45)