The BFCM SMS survival kit for SMB owners wearing too many hats

When the busiest shopping season of the year comes around, SMS marketing can help you bring in more customers and sales. When we surveyed businesses in 2025, 82% of them agreed that text message marketing is an effective way to drive more revenue. And what better time to try it than Black Friday and Cyber Monday (BFCM)? 

But, of course, the key to enjoying the benefits of SMS is to use it strategically. And if you’re here, you only have so many resources to build a campaign by yourself. 

Not to worry – we created this guide to cover everything you need to know to create a BFCM SMS campaign that makes the most of the holiday shopping season. 

3 BFCM SMS campaign examples to help you kickstart yours 

Before we dig into what goes into a BFCM SMS campaign, let’s see what one looks like. Here are BFCM messages from three companies that take different approaches to marketing. 

1. Micro Center: Urgency and social proof 

The electronics retailer Micro Center used two different techniques in one of its BFCM campaigns: urgency and social proof. 

For Black Friday, it sent out a concise and urgent call to find deals in stock near you: 

Then, for Cyber Monday that same year, it shouted out PC Mag’s endorsement to encourage recipients to explore its sales:

2. Holiday Stationstores: Prepping customers for shopping 

You don’t have to be a traditional retail or ecommerce business to run a BCFM campaign. If people shopping during that time will come across your business, you also have a reason to take part. 

Take Holiday Stationstores, a gas station chain, as an example. It advertised a drink and fuel deal the day before Black Friday so shoppers would know where to fuel up: 

3. Marleylilly: Nurturing future relationships 

Here’s an example from another BFCM guide of ours. Marleylilly, a monogrammed gifts store, encouraged ongoing relationships with BFCM customers by inviting them to its rewards program: 

BFCM text marketing checklist: where to begin 

Now that you know what your end result of your BFCM campaign could look like, here are the steps to take to start it: 

Set your campaign goals 

If you look at the examples we just shared, you’ll notice that they all had different goals for BFCM. While the overarching goal is usually “more revenue,” defining the stepping stones in between will make your campaign more strategic. Consider questions like: 

• At what points in your customers’ BFCM shopping journey do you want to be there for them? 

• What business metrics (like number of returning customers, average order value, etc.) would you like to improve on this BFCM? 

• Is there anything your business typically does well during BCFM that you could double down on? 

• Have you noticed any aspects of your business or marketing you could improve on compared to previous BFCM campaigns? 

Using the answers to those questions, set a few goals for your campaign that will move your business forward. For example, if you noticed a lot of people signing up for your rewards program last BFCM, you could turn that trend into a deliberate strategy this year. 

Start planning early 

Start planning your BFCM campaign at least a month or two in advance. We recommend this for two main reasons: It takes time to craft a well-thought-out campaign, and you have an SMS list to build. So if you’re reading this guide in September or October, the time to start is now. 

Use an easy, trusted text messaging service 

Due to texting regulations and limitations in technology, you need to use a mass texting service to send your BFCM texts in bulk. These platforms help you stay compliant (and therefore out of spam) and make it easier to manage a campaign. 

The right texting service for you will depend on your budget, familiarity with SMS marketing, and preferred features. We offer our own, but you can also find our recommendations for other options in our list of the best mass texting apps and our favorite apps for small businesses.  

Build your SMS list 

Once you have the SMS app of your choosing, you can start building your SMS list. Remember – you must have opt-in consent to text someone. With that in mind, here are a few methods for you to try: 

• Use keywords: One of our favorite ways to get new subscribers is SMS keywords that you put on marketing assets like your website and flyers. After you set up a keyword, someone can text it to your number to automatically join your list. You can also mix things up with text-to-win and text-to-vote keywords. 

• Add a sign-up form to your website: Tools like SimpleTexting offer sign-up forms that you can create in the app and then add to your website. As a bonus, you can also use this form to collect contact information like emails and birthdays. 

• Import contacts from a previous list: If you already had a texting list, it’s totally fine to import them to your current tool as long as you got their consent to text you when they first signed up. 

• Use your other channels: Promote your texting list in your other channels using your keyword or sign-up form. If you have a popular email list or social media account, for example, you can advertise your list in those places. With this tactic, you can build on the audience you already have. 

Segment your lists 

As you build your SMS list, you can segment it to organize it into groups with different backgrounds and interests. Some ways to segment your list include: 

• By sign-up source, such as a keyword or web form 

• By location 

• By store branch 

• By birthday month 

• By product interest (based on data collection or web form information) 

• By buying behavior (such as first-time or repeat buyers) 

As you plan your Black Friday campaign, consider who your messages will resonate with the most and consider sending them based on segment. If you want to get really advanced, you can even send one variation of a message to one segment and another variation to a different segment based on what details will land with each group. 

Work in harmony with your other channels 

If SMS isn’t your first marketing channel and you have an email list or social media following, coordinate your content among all of your channels. In other words, make sure your texts complement your emails and social media posts. 

It’s common (and not a bad move) for companies to repurpose content among channels by reworking the same messages for each place. But, consider what the full picture will look like for someone who follows your social media, email list, and SMS list. Think of how you can stagger similar messages and rephrase your content so your content and messages feel natural and not repetitive. 

Our guide to email and SMS marketing can help you organize your channels’ schedule and messaging to create a cohesive experience. 

Create a campaign calendar 

Plan out your messages in advance by creating a campaign calendar – a document that organizes the messages you’ll send and when you’ll send them. One of the most common formats is a spreadsheet, but you can also create a text document or project in your project management app. Include these details: 

• The date and time you’ll send the text 

• The content of your message (make sure it stays within your message type’s character limits) 

• The list(s) and segment(s) you’ll send the message to 

If you’re creating campaigns for other channels like email, you can also manage that content here. In fact, keeping all of your content and messages in the same place will help you create campaigns that work together rather than against each other. 

Your BFCM SMS campaign timeline 

After following our checklist, you’ll have what you need to create your campaign. But how many texts should you send, and what’s the best time to send an SMS on Black Friday or Cyber Monday? There’s no one right answer for everyone, but we can give you a baseline schedule to work with. 

Generally, we recommend sending promotional texts once per week. The top reason customers cite for unsubscribing from text lists is receiving too many messages, so it’s better to focus on quality over quantity. But BFCM is a special occasion, meaning you can get away with a slightly higher frequency – about 3-4 texts over BFCM weekend. 

As for the best time of day to text, we recommend trying out different sending times in the period leading up to BFCM to see what times your customers like to receive texts, then using that information to send your BFCM texts at your best-performing times. Whatever time you discover, make sure you text between 11AM and 8PM Eastern time to ensure you stay compliant with texting laws. 

With this in mind, here are a few sending schedules for you to try, depending on what sales you plan to offer: 

Timeline 1: Black Friday and Cyber Monday deals 

If you plan on having deals on both Black Friday and Cyber Monday, you don’t have to stray too far from our once-a-week cadence. Send texts on these three days: 

• Thanksgiving: Tease your upcoming deals and tell customers to keep an eye out. 

• Black Friday: Promote your Black Friday deal. 

• Cyber Monday: Promote your Cyber Monday deal. 

Timeline 2: Countdown to Black Friday/Cyber Monday 

On the other hand, if your business plans on focusing on a time-sensitive Black Friday or Cyber Monday deal, you can focus all your texting efforts there. Here’s a countdown schedule you can adjust according to your sale day: 

• Two days before the sale: Announce that your sale is coming up and tease what could be on sale. 

• One day before the sale: Give a stronger hint about what you’re going to put on sale and urge customers to prepare (sign up for your website, plan on stopping by your store, etc.) 

• Day of the sale: Promote your deal and emphasize that it’s only available today. 

Timeline 3: Daily deals 

You might also be planning on having daily promotions throughout the weekend, which you can spread the word about with this simple schedule: 

• Black Friday: Promote your Black Friday deal and tease that more deals are coming. 

• Saturday: Promote your Saturday deal and tease that more deals are coming. 

• Sunday: Promote your Sunday deal and tease that more deals are coming. 

• Cyber Monday: Promote your Cyber Monday deal. 

How to create BFCM texts that convert 

With your preparation and schedule covered, we can now move on to the texts themselves. These tips can help you create compelling BFCM texts: 

• Personalize your messages: Use custom fields in your messages to address your customers by name and acknowledge their interests. 

• Keep them concise: Even when you use MMS or extended SMS messages that allow for more characters, keep your messages concise and to the point to direct your customers to action.  

• Give a great offer: Your offer itself will hold a lot of weight in your BFCM texts. Make sure your promotion offers a great deal compared to your usual promotions, and consider offering subscriber-only deals. 

• Include a call to action: Include a call to action in all of your BFCM texts, whether it’s to do something to get ready for your sale or visit the sale itself. 

Must-have tools for a winning BFCM SMS campaign  

Now that you know everything you need to do from planning to texting, here are the tools to make it all easier: 

• Creative, eye-catching product images: During BFCM season, don’t be afraid to use your best product images and promotional graphics in your texts. Even a Canva template can do the trick if you don’t have a large budget. 

• Clever automations: Automations like integrations, autoresponders, and scheduled texts can help you build your list and create a smooth BFCM campaign. 

• An easy-to-use platform like SimpleTexting: Whichever mass texting app you choose, make sure it’s easy to use like SimpleTexting. Look for straightforward pricing and an easy-to-understand interface. 

Get ready for BFCM with SimpleTexting  

We’d be honored to be your partner for this upcoming BFCM season. If you’re interested in our texting service, we offer two ways to test our product before you commit. Give us a try by signing up for a free 14-day trial, or book a demo using the button at the top of this page.