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Black Friday email setup checklist for Klaviyo, Mailchimp, Shopify Email and Omnisend

Writing the emails is half the work. The other half is getting them built, tested and scheduled in your email platform before the week of November 23. This checklist works in any of the four.

Updated October 26, 2026 · By Doorbuster Studio

Before you open the editor

1. Write the offer in one sentence with its start time, end time, any code and any limits.
2. Gather your assets: logo, six to ten product photos, a banner image about 1200 pixels wide, and the exact product page links.
3. Decide your shipping and pickup dates and write them where you can copy them into every email.
4. Create the discount code or automatic discount in your store, and test it in a real cart.

Build the emails

1. Start from one saved template with your logo, colors and footer, and duplicate it for each send. Consistency makes the emails look like one campaign.
2. Keep the width near 600 pixels and put the offer in the first screen on a phone.
3. Add alt text to every image, so the offer is still readable if images are blocked.
4. Use one main button per email, and link it to the exact page where the offer applies, not your home page.
5. Add a preview text line. It is the second line people see in the inbox, so do not leave it on the default.
6. Keep the unsubscribe link and your business address in the footer. Your platform will usually insert these; check they are there.

Platform notes

These are general pointers. Menus change, so check your platform’s own help pages for the current steps.

• Klaviyo: good for splitting by purchase history. Build segments such as “bought in the last 180 days” and “opened in the last 90 days,” and exclude recent purchasers from the last-chance email.
• Mailchimp: use tags or segments for VIPs, and its A/B test option for the main subject line. You can also paste in finished HTML with its custom code template option if you have it.
• Shopify Email: built into Shopify and simple, with its own editor. You rebuild the layout there from your text and images instead of importing HTML.
• Omnisend: offers segments and scheduling by time zone on many plans. Check the plan you are on.

Segments to set up

• Best customers, for the early-access email.
• Everyone else on your list, for the main announcement.
• Non-openers of the main announcement, for a resend with a new subject line.
• Recent buyers, to exclude from “last chance” emails.

Test before you schedule

1. Send a test to yourself and one other person, and open it on a phone and a computer.
2. Click every link, and confirm each goes to the right page.
3. Check the code works at checkout and the dates are right.
4. Read it aloud once for typos.
5. Schedule in your store’s time zone, then confirm the scheduled time on the campaign list.

Mistakes that trip up small shops

• Scheduling for the wrong year or the wrong time zone.
• Linking to the home page instead of the offer.
• Leaving a test subject line, such as “TEST – do not send,” in a live campaign.
• Sending to a segment that includes unsubscribed or suppressed contacts.
• Forgetting to turn the offer off, so the code works in December.

What to read next

Use the 2026 send schedule for dates, the subject line list for the headlines, and the free email kit for templates you can edit.