So as soon as Halloween is over for businesses, it usually means the countdown to Black Friday (and Cyber Monday) is on! Although it seems as if it’s basically a weekend or week-long event rather than just two days anyway.

And it is the biggest online shopping weekend/week of the year. And that’s not only in the US now either - even though we don’t celebrate thanksgiving it’s huge here in the UK too and it’s growing in popularity across Europe, Australia, and elsewhere across the world.

Take a look at the some of the stats here…

So here are just a few things to consider and think about this Black Friday as a small business… (and it’s not just running your own sale and leaving it at that)

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So, Firstly, Make The Most Of The Sales!

There will no doubt be deals on machines, SVGs, fonts, vinyl, Christmas blanks, packaging, design software, and anything else you may need to run your small business.

For instance, I know Design Bundles will be running their Ultimate $1 event between the 26th November and 2nd December, for lots of great priced fonts, SVGs and designs - great if you’re planning for next year as well as selling at Christmas.

And then you could also bookmark my vinyl suppliers page so you can make sure you’re checking out all of the different businesses for any sales they are running throughout the sales week.

Vinyl Suppliers

And then Cricut always runs good sales, although whether their discounts are any bigger during black Friday, I’m not sure. Worth looking at if you have anything on your list though.

However, and this is something I have been guilty of previously, make sure you don’t buy anything for the sake of it just because there is a bit of a discount. It’s easy to get swept up in the excitement but even with a 50% discount, you’re still spending the other 50% on something you don’t really need.

If you think that’s something you might end up doing, perhaps make a list of everything you need, use regularly and buy a lot anyway, or anything you have been coveting for a while that could help your business and set the minimum discount or price you’re looking for, and be really strict with yourself.

Are You Going To Run A Sale?

If you haven’t already, decide whether you want to have a sale (your prices should be high enough in order to be able to have sales occasionally, but I know sometimes that’s difficult when you have to take Etsy fees and stuff into account)

And then also if you are having one, you need to decide how long it will last, and how much you can afford to offer as a discount. Some selling sites give you tips on what percentage to offer, but really it’s up to you and what you can afford… I think any kind of percentage off should stand out and will be shown when people select the sale tab. And then you can set it so it only applies if they buy a certain amount of items or spend a certain amount.

Or give them free shipping instead.

Or only apply it to certain items

There are plenty of ways you can do it, that work for both you and your customer.

If you’re unsure of your pricing, then don’t forget I have a course on Skillshare (still free for 2 weeks for new members) all about how to price your handmade items and make sure you’re making a profit.

Then make sure to set your sale with a definite end date so that you don’t forget about it and leave it running.

Let Your Customers Know

If you are going to have a sale, you may want to let your customers know a little bit in advance and give them a bit of a teaser, or not at all so that they continue to buy from you up until sale day. Or you could even give a special or an early discount to just your followers or email list and create a bit of exclusivity around it.

But then when sale morning rolls around, throughout the weekend and just before the sale ends, you definitely want to be letting everyone know what's on offer across social media and anywhere else you post.

Probably just showing your lovely products with a little percentage off sticker or a catchy caption should do the trick, but Canva do also have lots of templates if you want it to stand out a little bit more.

Or Don’t Run A Sale

Of course, there’s no requirement that you do actually have a sale at all. Lots of people are shopping online anyway so chances are they will still buy from you if they have had your items in their basket for a while.

So now is a good time to make sure your pictures are bright and stand out, that you’re using all of your tags and have plenty of keywords in your descriptions and titles and your reviews are up to date.

You could also consider doing vouchers for a percentage off, that way you’ll get more money upfront to spend at Christmas, and if you’re super busy in December usually, it will mean you can make those items next year when the person claims the voucher instead.

You could also do a gift guide of other businesses that are running sales and share that. This is especially great if they have affiliate links you can add and get a little percentage from if anyone buys.

Get Ideas

And then lastly, it’s also a great time to get some ideas, especially if your business is very new - look at how others are promoting their products and sales and see what is doing well.

Also, look out for what’s trending and what people are buying a lot of… this might give you some more ideas for what will be popular sellers at Xmas as well if you still need to add a few more products to your shop.

Photo by **picjumbo.com** from **Pexels**

I hope that helped! Let me know in the comments if you have any other tips for making the most of the black friday selling week/weekend.