Black Friday and Cyber Monday (BFCM) may be behind us, but for e-commerce solopreneurs like you and me, the lessons we’ve learned—particularly the BFCM email marketing mistakes to avoid—are just as valuable as the sales themselves. This year, I had some big wins—and a major mistake that I still can’t believe I overlooked.

In this episode, I’m breaking down what worked, what didn’t, and the one setting in Klaviyo that could make or break your next big sales event by highlighting the BFCM email marketing mistakes to avoid. Let’s dive in!

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Here’s what we’ll be covering:

• [00:00] Introduction to BFCM Lessons: Wins, fails, and lessons learned.
• [01:10] The Numbers That Tell A Story: Sales performance and key metrics from the weekend.
• [02:06] Segmentation Strategies: Why a high bounce rate hurt this year and how to fix it.
• [03:17] The Costly Klaviyo Mistake: How one missed setting cost over $1,000 in email revenue.
• [05:08] Key Takeaways from BFCM 2024: How to apply these lessons to your 2025 strategy.
• [06:20] Turning Buyers Into Loyal Customers: Post-purchase flow, loyalty campaigns, and data analysis.
• [07:34] Final Thoughts & Encouragement: Grace for mistakes and looking forward to growth.

The Numbers That Tell A Story

Let’s start with the wins. Total sales for the weekend came in at $2,722.55—an 81% increase over BFCM 2023! This growth reflects the power of consistent optimization in marketing strategies. Our add-to-cart rate hit 6.29%, which is a 41% increase compared to last year, while the conversion rate reached 2.9%, a 36% improvement.

Here’s a quick breakdown of the marketing channels that contributed:

• Email Marketing: 39% open rate, $415 in revenue (though it could have been higher—more on that later).
• SMS Marketing: 7.21% click rate and $154 in revenue.
• Paid Ads: $1,200 ad spend resulting in 9 purchases at $140 per purchase.

While the numbers highlight significant wins, they also shed light on areas needing improvement, especially concerning BFCM email marketing mistakes to avoid. For example, our email click-to-open rate (CTOR) was 2.3%. Given the flood of promotional emails over BFCM, this was a win, but it shows there’s room to optimize subject lines and CTAs for next year.

Segmentation Strategies

One challenge we faced this year was a higher-than-expected bounce rate of 7.34%. This happened because we emailed our entire list during the sale, including subscribers who hadn’t engaged with recent campaigns. To improve this for 2025, I’ll spend more time in November nurturing the entire list with valuable content, ensuring they’re added to engaged segments ahead of the sale. This will help avoid high bounces while keeping deliverability strong.

Quick Tip: Use segmentation to focus your efforts on subscribers who’ve opened or clicked an email in the past 60–90 days. Not only does this boost engagement, but it also reduces unnecessary costs in Klaviyo.

The Costly Klaviyo Email Marketing Mistake That Stopped Sales Cold

Saturday was our peak sales day, but it quickly turned into a nightmare when every single email scheduled for that day was canceled. Why? We hit our Klaviyo plan limit, and I hadn’t turned on the ‘Automatic Upgrade’ setting. This one oversight cost us over $1,000 in email-driven sales.

Here’s what happens when this setting isn’t enabled:

1. Your campaigns stop sending once you hit your limit.

2. Automated flows (like abandoned cart emails) also stop working, leaving revenue on the table.

Action Step: Log into Klaviyo right now, navigate to Billing > Preferences > Email Upgrade, and turn on ‘Automatic Upgrade.’ Trust me, you don’t want to learn this lesson the hard way.

Key Takeaways from BFCM 2024

Write down your lessons while they’re fresh. What worked? What didn’t? And what will you do differently next year? Put these notes somewhere you’ll see them—your 2025 calendar, a digital file, or even a sticky note. When BFCM rolls around next year, you’ll be grateful for this foresight.

Turning Buyers Into Loyal Customers

The real work starts now: turning first-time buyers into loyal customers. Here are three steps to focus on this week:

• Send a post-purchase flow. Thank your buyers, offer product tips, and plant the seed for their next purchase.
• Plan a loyalty campaign. Keep your audience engaged with exclusive offers or sneak peeks for the holiday season.
• Analyze your data. Look at what worked, what didn’t, and where you can improve. Use this as a springboard for 2025.

Pro Tip: Automating your post-purchase flows and loyalty campaigns through Klaviyo ensures you stay top-of-mind with minimal effort.

Final Thoughts & Encouragement

Every mistake is an opportunity to learn. This BFCM taught me some hard lessons, but it also reinforced the importance of preparation, automation, and grace when things don’t go as planned.

If you’re feeling overwhelmed by what didn’t go right, give yourself some grace. You’re doing your best, and every win or mistake is part of the growth process.

Ready to dive deeper?

Check out the Inbox to Income podcast for more tips on maximizing sales and streamlining your email marketing strategy. Free Download: Quick-Start Checklist to High-Converting Pop-Ups & Welcome Flows

• Related Blog: Turn First-Time Buyers Into Loyal Customers

Here’s to learning, growing, and making 2025 your best year yet!

Until next time,
Liezle 🦓