115 Black Friday Email Subject Lines to Stop the Scroll and Command Attention

As the biggest shopping season arrives, your Black Friday email subject lines need to do more than just stand out—they should turn a quick glance into an actual click. With inboxes packed, even your best emails risk being missed as people scroll by.

Whether you’re looking for inspiration or need subject lines that’ll put you ahead of the competition this Black Friday, you’re in the right place.

We’ll give you a list of proven Black Friday subject lines, from catchy to creative, so you can boost engagement and drive results all season long.

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Pre-Black Friday Subject Lines

Black Friday may be a one-day event, but the key to maximizing sales is to build excitement well in advance. To generate buzz, create an email sequence to tease the offers without revealing everything. Your email marketing software should have the necessary features to automate the process.

You can also use countdown timers. Mention how many days are left until the event starts to build urgency and keep it top of mind.

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Best Black Friday Sale Email Subject Lines

People want one thing from a Black Friday email: savings. Whether it’s a discount, free shipping, or a limited-time offer, make sure to mention it in your subject line. Adding urgency can also boost open rates. Phrases like “Today Only” or “Ends at Midnight” encourage customers to act fast.

Pro Tip: If you mention “Black Friday” in your subject lines, your click-through rates will increase by over 60 percent.

Discount Email Subject Lines

The average Black Friday discount has gone from 34 percent in 2017 to 24 percent in 2022. So, offering a competitive discount can make you stand out from the crowd.

If your discount is above the average, highlight it boldly. Use specific numbers to make a big impact. Instead of saying “Huge Discount,” try “Save 45% this Black Friday.”

Pro tip: Pairing your discount emails with an email nurture campaign can make them more effective. Since you’ll warm up your audience ahead of time, they’ll be more likely to open and act on your offers.

Flash Sale Email Subject Lines

A flash sale is a limited-time event where an online store offers big discounts for a short period.

Flash sales encourage impulse purchases, drive quick sales, or clear out extra stock. These campaigns are especially effective on Black Friday since they play into the high energy and demand for quick, exciting deals.

For your Black Friday flash sale subject lines, focus on capturing urgency and excitement.

Free Shipping Email Subject Lines

Offering free shipping is a simple way to boost sales on Black Friday and stand out from competitors. However, it can also be costly.

To balance this, you need to set a minimum order amount. Many shoppers are willing to spend around $40 to qualify for free shipping, which helps increase both cart value and customer satisfaction.

In your email subject lines, highlight free shipping to grab attention and drive clicks—but avoid mentioning the minimum order requirement.

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Black Friday Sale Extended Subject Lines

Black Friday quickly leads into Cyber Monday. So, it’s common for Black Friday sales to be extended by a few extra hours or even days.

These extensions are a win-win: customers who missed out get another chance to score deals, and sellers gain more opportunities to boost their sales and engage with a wider audience. A no-reply email can be a great way to send these updates since you don’t expect recipients to respond.

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Post-Black Friday Subject Line Examples

Once Black Friday is over, keep the momentum going by focusing on Cyber Monday. This is an excellent time to segment your audience instead of sending an email blast to your entire email list. A behavioral segmentation strategy, paired with the right trigger email, works best here.

For those who made a purchase during Black Friday, send a thank you email and offer an exclusive bonus for Cyber Monday to keep them engaged. Using an email chain for follow-ups can help maintain a seamless flow of communication.

For those who didn’t buy, send an email invitation for the upcoming Cyber Monday deals to encourage them to take advantage.

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Black Friday Newsletter Email Subject Lines

Black Friday doesn’t have to be limited to discounts and deals. Even if you don’t sell products or services, you can still offer value to your subscribers. Think outside the box and use your newsletter to strengthen your relationship with your audience.

You don’t have to create a long newsletter to deliver value. The table below presents a list of content ideas for your newsletter.

Content Idea	Benefit to Subscribers	Example Subject Line
Black Friday shopping tips	Helps subscribers plan their purchases better	Plan your Black Friday with these top tips
Gift guides	Helps with holiday shopping	Your ultimate holiday gift guide
Entertainment	Engages subscribers with fun	Take our Black Friday quiz
Exclusive interviews	Gain insights from well-known experts	A special Black Friday interview
Webinar invitations	Attend a live session	Join our exclusive Black Friday prep webinar
Downloadable resources	Get special resources like ebooks and checklists	Your Black Friday shopping checklist is here

If you do sell goods or services, your newsletter is a great place to reintroduce the benefits of what you offer before the campaign.

Remind your audience what makes your product or service special. And highlight testimonials from satisfied customers to build trust.

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Funny Black Friday Email Subject Lines

People find funny brands more attractive and engage with them more often. Humor makes your emails stand out and creates a positive association with your brand.

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Catchy Black Friday Email Subject Lines

An effective subject line is short, clear, and often personal. It builds curiosity or shows value. But bad subject lines rely on overused phrases, too much punctuation, or misleading content that hurts trust.

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How to Overcome Email Fatigue on Black Friday

When people get flooded with emails, they start ignoring or deleting them without even opening them.

This is called “email fatigue” or “inbox saturation,” and it’s most intense on Black Friday when brands are competing with endless discounts and deals. Mass email service providers send hundreds of millions of marketing and transactional emails on Black Friday.

So, how can you make sure your emails don’t get lost in the Black Friday crowd?

Fortunately, neuroscience offers some helpful insights.

Attention is a Limited Resource

The human brain only fires neurons when it encounters new, surprising, or emotionally charged stimuli.

When we keep seeing emails that don’t feel immediately relevant, the prefrontal cortex tags them as non-essential. Over time, it starts filtering them out on its own, almost like a “mental spam filter.”

To avoid getting ignored, make sure your Black Friday email subject lines feel fresh. Swap out overused words like “sale” or “discount” for something more specific, like “holiday steal” or “price unlock.”

Words that create vivid imagery—like “treasure” and “reveal”— also grab attention.

Alternatively, you can tap into a sense of discovery. Instead of directly stating what’s on sale, hint at a hidden offer or an exclusive benefit, such as “Unlock your private Black Friday vault” or “Unveil a Black Friday surprise just for you.”

If you haven’t reached out to your audience in a while, they’re less likely to pay attention to your emails. Sending a reconnecting email first helps warm them up and boosts your chances of higher open rates. This way, your promotional emails are more likely to get noticed.

The Brain Seeks Closure

Incomplete or interrupted experiences remain active in our minds. They create an almost obsessive need to “finish” them. This phenomenon, called the Zeigarnik effect, can be a powerful tool for driving email engagement.

Teasers, cliffhangers, and open-ended questions create mental loops that the brain wants to resolve. They lead to a feeling of tension that draws people in and makes them more likely to open your emails.

To use this effect for your Black Friday email campaigns, hint at something intriguing, valuable, or time-sensitive without giving away everything in the email subject line.

For example, you can incorporate mystery or use incomplete questions.

People Expect Personally Relevant Messages

The brain prioritizes information that feels personally relevant or connected to our identity. This bias makes us more likely to notice content related to our interests, goals, or experiences.

When something aligns with our identity, the brain releases dopamine—the “reward chemical.” This signals the information is valuable or enjoyable, which boosts our attention and motivates us to keep engaging.

That’s why a well-written welcome email makes it easier to engage your audience with future offers.

To make your messages stand out, reference your audience’s aspirations or goals.

You can also frame the subject line around their future self to highlight how they’ll feel after taking advantage of your offer.

Pro tip: The old advice suggested adding the recipient’s name in the subject line because people are drawn to seeing their own names. However, a recent study shows this tactic has lost its impact. So, avoid first names in the subject line and use that space for something more creative.

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Dominate Black Friday Email Marketing with Campaign Refinery

A catchy subject line is only the beginning of a successful Black Friday campaign. With the high volume of messages you send during this peak shopping day, you need a platform designed for large-scale success.

With Campaign Refinery, you’ll have a premium email service that handles the technical side while you focus on creating compelling campaigns for your audience.

Apply now and see the difference of a robust platform.