How to write the perfect Small Business Saturday email

TL;DR: Want to keep your Black Friday momentum going through Small Business Saturday? Craft emails that share your small business roots and encourage subscribers to support local and small businesses like yours.

For decades, consumers have camped out in front of big-brand retail stores for hours just to get the best Black Friday deals before anyone else. And a few days later, they frantically open their computers, scanning sites like Amazon to find even better electronics deals. But as consumer behavior evolves, things change. For small business owners, the game-changing moment was when American Express (yes, the credit card company) introduced Small Business Saturday in 2010.

Falling between Black Friday and Cyber Monday, Small Business Saturday is a day dedicated to shopping locally and supporting small businesses. Its goal has always been to increase awareness and demand for small and local businesses and emphasize what they bring to their communities.

But in just a few short years, Small Business Saturday became a shopping tradition, so successful that the Small Business Association co-sponsored it in 2011. Even the federal government and elected officials in every state have embraced it. 

Small Business Saturday is an opportunity to share your small business roots with your customers and boost sales by reaching an audience of shoppers looking to support businesses like yours.

Are you prepared? Getting ready for Small Business Saturday doesn’t have to be stressful or complicated if you do it right. But before you create your discount codes and promote Small Business Saturday on your socials and website, you’ll need to prepare by creating a series of emails. They should tell your story, share exclusive subscriber-only deals, and encourage their support. We’ll show you how!

Of course, you want to plan for Black Friday and Cyber Monday, but for small businesses, if you’re going to bet big on any holiday, Small Business Saturday should top your list. It’s dedicated to celebrating small businesses, shopping locally, and supporting communities.

We recommend you create an email series that:

While Small Business Saturday hasn’t been around nearly as long as Black Friday and Cyber Monday, it has quickly established itself as a shopping holiday that many consumers love supporting. Despite its popularity, many of your subscribers might need a little reminder to shop your small business during the chaos of the holiday season.

When you’re crafting your awareness email, emphasize why Small Business Saturday matters. Yes, you want subscribers to buy your offerings, but you can also get personal. Tell your subscribers what Small Business Saturday means to you personally. Does it mean you can keep the business running next year? Will their support let you continue pursuing your passion?

Remember, it’s only one of the emails in your Small Business Saturday email sequence—keep it simple and focused on letting subscribers know that you will be participating in Small Business Saturday and why it matters.

With an entire day and hashtags like #ShopSmall dedicated to small and local businesses, you can’t afford to skim over your small business roots. Let your subscribers know:

Keep in mind that Small Business Saturday falls in the season of gratitude. This email is all about expressing heartfelt appreciation to your subscribers for their support. Thank your subscribers for their continued support, and tell them how much they mean to you. And don’t forget to share your story! Need some more ideas?

We love how Flodesk member, Chez Núñez, uses 20 questions in their email to show off their quirky personalities and build connections with their subscribers. Check it out!

Read next: Tips & examples to craft a small business thank you message to customers

With Black Friday and Cyber Monday, your subscribers’ inboxes are likely overly crowded. But they are expecting emails from their favorite brands, including yours. All you have to do is stand out in their inbox. And remember, you’re offering something that the retailers aren’t: a chance to support a beloved small business.

When writing your Small Business Saturday emails, share what you’re offering this year. While discounts are popular, customers also get excited about unique experiences, especially if you’re a brick-and-mortar small business. Small business owners have been creative in the past, offering things like:

Remember, you need to be able to deliver on what you promise. While donation matching sounds incredible, if your business can’t afford to match every donation, it won’t be well-received. 

Pro tip: If you can’t offer any discounts, create content specific to Small Business Saturday and any experiences you’re offering. If you’re hosting an event, share a blog that gives all the details of your curated experience for customers to show how much they mean to you.

Have you considered partnering with other local or small businesses? Whether you’re bundling products, co-hosting events, or doing a joint giveaway, working with similar companies can grow your audience and your sales!

Our very own Flodesk employee and small business owner, Erin, of Rad + Thrift, has a brick-and-mortar in a large market with a few other shops. She’s collaborating with small businesses in the area to host pop-up shops in the extra space in her market. She’s promoting their businesses and they’re encouraging visitors to shop at the market. It’s a win-win for everyone.

Partnerships can be a huge success if you choose your partner wisely. Ask yourself a few questions to help you choose the best small business to work with:

Once you decide whether a partnership makes sense, let your subscribers in on the secret! Promote the business you’re working with, let them know what deals they can expect, and share details on why you are collaborating.

Read next: ‘Just checking in’ email alternatives to engage your audience

Anyone can get caught up in designing a beautiful, on-brand email with stunning images and compelling copy. But don’t neglect your subject line. The subject line gets subscribers to either open or ignore your email. It’s so powerful that nearly a third of subscribers use it to decide whether they want to open your email.

Because many shoppers are more interested in supporting small and local businesses than getting the best deal, you can lean into shopping small and supporting local in your subject lines instead of just highlighting discounts.

Take time to craft an enticing subject line. And if you need some inspiration, look no further. We’ve rounded up some of our favorites:

Once you’ve figured out the details of your Small Business Saturday strategy, it’s time to design your emails! You already know about Flodesk’s beautiful, fully customizable email templates, but did you know you can set up workflows to schedule a sequence of emails for events just like Small Business Saturday?

After you design your emails and create your sequence, add your emails to a workflow. Then you can write the subject lines and set it and forget it. Speaking of workflows, look at the sample sequence below that engages subscribers without overwhelming their inboxes.

Not so long ago, Flodesk was just a few people coming together to solve a problem. Over the past few years, we’ve grown a lot, but we still have a small business mindset and dedication to helping other small businesses be as successful as possible.

And when it comes to your email marketing efforts and sales pages, we’re here to take your business to the next level. This Small Business Saturday, use Flodesk to:

1. Share offers. With Flodesk Checkout, you can list your goods and services on a highly-optimized sales page, complete with a seamless checkout and delivery experience. As always, you can customize everything to be on-brand, beautiful, and brag-worthy. Small Business Saturday is a great opportunity to experiment with witty and fun calls to action (CTAs) to stand out amongst other offers. Get creative with your CTA buttons.

2. Engage email subscribers. Use Flodesk Email to design stunning emails that make it easy to share your story and keep subscribers engaged. Add photos, embed videos, customize the fonts, and more. Whatever your brand, you can build an email to match.

3. Schedule email sends. The holiday season is crazy enough—you don’t need to stress about forgetting to send an email. Use workflows to schedule every send a week or so in advance and watch the anxiety melt away. Want to schedule a single email? You can do that in workflows too.

4. Nurture post-sales relationships by adding subscribers to varying segments. Did you know that you can add customers to different segments in Flodesk? And if they purchase through Flodesk Checkout, you can automatically add them to a Small Business Saturday segment and create a post-sales sequence to keep them engaged long after they buy from you.

You may be a small business, but that doesn’t mean you have to think small. This Small Business Saturday, we encourage you to dream big and find creative ways to engage and entice your subscribers to shop small. 

Consider partnering with like-minded business owners, offer your subscribers a special experience or curated event, and differentiate yourself from big retailers. Customers love supporting local businesses, and they want to hear your story. Don’t be shy about telling them about your small business roots, how much their support means to you, and giving them a peek at the people who benefit from them shopping small.

We are beyond excited to see how you make this Small Business Saturday a big success!