With two weeks left until Black Friday, youâre officially past the traditional preparation timeline. But donât panicâAI tools can compress weeks of work into focused days of execution. Whether youâre keeping it simple with one strong offer or getting creative with tiered promotions, the key is knowing exactly where to direct your energy. Hereâs your priority hierarchy.
Important Note About The Prompts Below: These prompts work best when youâve already trained your AI tool on your brand voice, values, and product details. Additionally, donât use these prompts verbatim, instead review and customize each one to align with your specific business goals, brand positioning, and current BFCM priorities.
Day 1: Get Your Offer Sorted (~2-3 hours)
This is the decision keeping you up at night. Stop overthinking it.
Action: Use AI to Help Make the Call
The Prompt:
I sell [product category] with these details:
- Average Order Value: $[X]
- Profit Margin: [Y]%
- Main goal for BFCM: [revenue/new customers/inventory clearance]
- I'm attaching last years offer as perspective [only add this if it adds value to the prompt]
Give me ONE clear offer recommendation for Black Friday-Cyber Monday.
Tell me:
1. What the offer should be
2. Should it be the same all weekend or different for BF vs CM
3. The exact promotional copy to use
Keep it simple and margin-protecting.
Pick Your Model:
Protecting margin? â Tiered discount (Spend $75, Save 15%)
Have slow-moving inventory? â Bundle 3 products, price it at 25% off
Want to reward existing customers? â VIP early access (Nov 27-28) then public launch
Need simplicity? â Free shipping on orders over $[threshold]
Done. Lock it in. No more changes.
Time: ~2-3 hours total (including making the decision and getting buy-in if necessary)
Day 2: Write All Your Marketing Copy (~3-4 hours)
Let AI write everything in one sitting, but remain the human in the loop and critique the copy before using it.
Action: Generate Your Complete Copy Package
The Prompt:
Write all my BFCM promotional copy in a [describe your brand voice] tone.
My offer: [the offer you decided on Day 1]
My audience: [who you sell to]
I need the following promotion copy:
1. 5 email subject lines for BFCM launch
2. 5 email body copy matching subject lines and highlighting the offer(s)
2. 3 SMS messages (under 160 characters each)
3. Website banner text (10 words max)
4. Social media captions (3 variations - Instagram, Facebook, TikTok style)
5. Cart page urgency message
6. Shipping deadline website and email copy [my shipping deadlines are]
Avoid fake scarcity and overused phrases like âdonât miss out.â
Set Up Your Email (and SMS) Sequence:
Use your email platform (Shopify Email, Klaviyo, Mailchimp, Omnisend, etc.) to schedule. Dates and times should be adjusted to match your BFCM promotion schedule.
Nov 25 (Monday): Teaser email - âHereâs whatâs happening starting Friday...â
Nov 27 (Wednesday PM): VIP early access (if youâre doing this) OR final reminder
Nov 28 (Friday, 6am): Black Friday launch
Nov 29 (Saturday, 6am): Small Business Saturday promotion reminder (only if you doing this)
Nov 30 (Sunday, 6pm): Last chance for Black Friday pricing
Dec 1 (Monday, 6am): Cyber Monday (if different offer) OR âFinal Hoursâ
Dec [pick date based on shipping deadline]: Last day to order with [shipping method] to arrive before Christmas.
Time: ~3-4 hours (AI writes it in 5 minutes, you spend the rest reviewing and scheduling)
Day 3: Speed + Mobile Check (1-2 hours)
70% of your sales will be on mobile. If your site is slow or checkout is broken on phones, youâre toast.
Action: Test and Fix the Obvious
Step 1: Speed Test (15 min)
Go to PageSpeed Insights: https://pagespeed.web.dev/
Test your homepage and top 3 product pages
Feed results to ChatGPT: âGive me 3 non-technical fixes I can do in 30 minutes to improve mobile load timeâ
Common Quick Fixes:
Compress images (use TinyPNG.com - drag and drop, done in 10 min)
Remove apps you donât use
Disable pop-ups during BFCM (they kill mobile conversion - donât forget to turn them back on)
Step 2: Mobile Checkout Test (30 min)
Pull out your phone
Add item to cart â go to checkout â complete purchase
Time it. If it takes more than 90 seconds or requires more than 3 taps, you have a problem
Ask AI:
I timed my mobile checkout at [X] seconds and it requires [Y] steps.
Common friction points I noticed: [describe - too many form fields, unclear shipping costs, payment buttons hard to tap]
What are 3 quick fixes I can make without hiring a developer?
Step 3: Add Buy Now Pay Later (30 min)
BNPL now accounts for 20% of Black Friday transactions. Enabling it removes a major purchase barrier, especially for higher-priced items.
Important: Review the fee structure before enabling. Most BNPL providers charge 2-6% per transaction, which can impact your margins.
Shopify: Enable Shop Pay Installments (Settings > Payments > turn it on)
WooCommerce/BigCommerce: Install Afterpay, Klarna, or Affirm plugin
Time: ~15 min-1 hour total
Day 4: Operations Reality Check (1-2 hours)
Donât let the back-end kill your front-end.
Action: Lock Down Fulfillment
Shipping Deadlines (30 min):
Calculate your actual shipping cutoffs. If you are dropshipping, talk to your suppliers. If you are using a 3PL fulfillment center, make sure you know their shipping deadlines and if you are self-shipping, check with your shipping carriers.
Add the deadlines EVERYWHERE:
Header banner: (e.g. Order by Dec 18 for Christmas delivery)
Product pages
Checkout page
Footer
Send out emails ahead of deadlines (see âDay 2 - Setup Your Emailâ above)
AI Prompt:
Write customer-friendly shipping deadline messaging for my website.
Our cutoff dates are:
- Standard shipping: [date]
- Express shipping: [date]
- Overnight: [date]
Give me: header banner copy, product page text, email campaign and cart/checkout reminder text.
Inventory Check (30 min):
Export your product list (or run a bestsellers report)
Identify your top 20 sellers
Ask AI:
Based on last yearâs data [paste numbers], which of these products will sell out first? What should my reorder triggers be?
Customer Service Prep (30 min):
Create 5 templated email or chat responses for common questions:
Whereâs my order?
Can I change my order?
Whatâs your return policy?
Is this item in stock?
When will you restock?
AI Prompt:
Write 5 customer service email templates for BFCM in a [friendly/professional] tone covering: order tracking, order changes, returns, stock questions, and restock notifications.Time: ~1-2 hours total
Day 5: Set Up Post-Purchase (1 hour)
This is your December revenue insurance.
Action: Build Your Retention Sequence
The Critical Flow:
Day 1 after purchase: Thank you email
Day 3: âOrder Updateâ + review request
Day 7: Loyalty program invite OR exclusive offer for repeat purchase
January: âWe hope you had a great Holiday Season. Check out our January deals.â
AI Prompt:
Create 3 post-purchase emails to convert BFCM buyers into repeat customers:
1. Day 1: Thank you (warm, genuine)
2. Day 3: Review request (not pushy)
3. Day 7: Exclusive offer for second purchase
Brand voice: [describe]
Product type: [describe]
Set these up in your email platform to trigger automatically after purchase.
Time: 1 hour (AI writes it, you schedule the automation)
The Final Checklist (30 min on Day 5)
Before you launch, verify:
[ ] Offer is finalized and wonât change
[ ] All emails are scheduled
[ ] Mobile checkout works (you tested it yourself)
[ ] BNPL payment options are enabled (if applicable)
[ ] Shipping deadlines are visible on the site and everywhere else
[ ] Customer service templates are ready
[ ] Post-purchase emails are set to auto-send
Now go execute. You have 5 days.
Happy BFCM!