The Top 5 Do’s and Don’ts of Black Friday for Artists

I’ve heard it time and time again… 

A super talented artist, hesitating to put themself out there because they can’t fathom the thought of how much planning it’s going to take to create a marketing plan that will work and not suck all the creative life out of them. 

And a doozy like Black Friday? Fugeddaboutit!

Well, I’m here with a bit of news! Actually, a lot of good news because marketing as an artist for Black Friday can be easy peasy – if, you follow these five do’s and don’ts!

The Artist “Do’s” for Black Friday sales

#1 DO tweak your home page during the sale.

The “hero” section, also known as the first section of your homepage, is prime real estate! So, make sure your holiday offer is front and center. It might sound like having to create a whole new web page, but fret not! A great way to do this without creating a ton of extra work is to simply duplicate your home page and hide it. Then, tweak just the hero section on the original to highlight your offer. Once the sale is over, you can easily toggle off the temporary homepage and turn the duplicate one back on. That’s it!

#2 DO make a temporary landing page.

It’s true what they say – a confused mind never buys! So instead of directing your audience to your website that has, well, everything, create a temporary landing page and a redirect link (you can make a free one, here), instead. That way, you can easily share one link that will go to your Black Friday offer. Bonus points if you hide your navigation by adding in a special code on the backend. 

If you’re running your site on Squarespace 7.1, do this: 

In your left side panel in the Squarespace admin, go to ➡️Settings ➡️ Advanced ➡️ Code Injection ➡️ Header

Copy and paste this code to hide and voila, your top navigation will be hidden! 

<style>.header {display:none!important;}</style>

#3 DO make your shop page front and center.

If you don’t think you have enough bandwidth to create a temporary landing page, no sweat! No need to have anyone jump through hoops to make a purchase. You can easily just send your customer to your actual shop page. Just be sure to mention your discount code both in your promo copy that’s sending them to your shop page (i.e. Instagram post, email, etc.), AND on the actual shop page!

Buying your art couldn’t be easier.

#4 DO make sure your offer is clear on your product listings. 

Ok, so you’ve got all your ducks in a row on the backend, your shop page is ready and your discount code is all queued up. 

Are we forgetting anything? 🤔

Your 👏🏾 copy 👏🏼 copy 👏🏽 copy!

That’s right, make sure you have copy woven into your actual shop page that talks about your deal on the product page itself. This can be in both the header section as a callout and also in the product description as an additional few words. 

Also, make sure that the discounted price is reflected with a slash-through or other clear way to make it obvious that the buyer will be saving money – but only if they purchase during the specified sale period. After all, who doesn’t love a reminder to save some dough? 

#5 DO create bundle offers and free add-ons. 

Everyone loves when they can get a deal, and there’s no better deal than getting multiple items for the price of one (or for half off, depending on how you structure the sale). Bundling is also a great way to appeal to gift givers, which Black Friday is prime time for. Anyone else like getting their holiday shopping done early? 🙋🏻‍♀️

This also makes adding on free gift wrapping a no-brainer to pull the trigger on a unique art-filled gift for your customer’s loved ones. 

How fast can you say ‘one-stop art shop?’ 

✅✅✅

Now that you have a few ideas of what you should do for Black Friday, here are some definite don’ts for all you artists out there!

The Artist “Don’ts” for Black Friday sales

#1 DON’T have unrelated calls to action.

As I mentioned previously, a confused mind… Does. Not. Buy. This theory also applies here and it means that all your calls to action in your messaging should point to one and only one place – your Black Friday offer – whether that’s a dedicated landing page, a direct link to the shop page, or the applied discount link. The caveat here is that you can, and should, mention that call to action multiple times, but the actual link should be the same across the board. 

#2 DON’T have unclear calls to action.

Listen, I’ve been known to wordsmith like a messaging master in my day, but simple is always better when it comes to getting a clear sales-filled point across. You might be tempted to be cute and clever with a pun or a whimsical nod to your favorite cult classic. But if what you’re looking for is a click on the buy now button of your limited edition oil painting, then please, make that button say, “BUY NOW” or “ADD TO CART.”

Avoid things like, “interested?” “this offer is waiting for you.” and my favorite (*rolls eyes), “your art is calling.”

Just. Stop. 

#3 DON’T clutter your sales page. 

Avoid cluttering up your prime real estate on your website with too many photos or old copy. In the wise words of fashion icon Coco Chanel, “Before you leave the house, look in the mirror and take one thing off.”

The same goes here. When you’re creating a Black Friday offer, you’re essentially dressing your up copy for the holidays, and as you do, be tastefully mindful of not overdoing it with unnecessary extras. Let your art (and copy) speak for itself!  

#4 DON’T be afraid to ask for the sale – people expect it!

This is where all my artist friends and clients tend to experience the most difficulty – talking about their wonderful art to the world! 

I know it can feel icky talking about a passion that truly fills your soul in a way that sounds anything but…but, if you don’t ask for the sale, nobody else will. And especially when it comes to Black Friday, I promise you, people are expecting it! In fact, many consumers will hold off purchasing things they’ve been coveting specifically in anticipation of the holiday season!

#5 DON’T be afraid to add scarcity to your offer.

It’s true, no one likes to feel scarcity. But when it comes to our purchasing habits, a little nudge in that direction is actually a good thing, and this is where artists actually have the leg up! 

Most online businesses will add a scarcity tactic to help sell out an offer, and sure, many times it may be legit. An artist, however, is known to create limited edition items or collectibles meant to become archival pieces. 

A big sale, like Black Friday, is a great opportunity to leverage this aspect of your art business! In fact, it’s a great strategy to build your customer base because the ones who end up missing out on the purchase, will become loyal followers and will more likely jump on the sale next time around. 

Holiday offers can look different for many businesses, but the main takeaway here is that it doesn’t need to be complicated just because you’re an artist. And for a bonus DO, be sure to grab my Artist’s Launch Tool Kit, designed with you, the artist, in mind. It has everything you need to pull off a sustainable launch this holiday season, whether you’re selling a course, product, membership, service-based offer, or your next art collection. Your immediate do’s and don’t’s?

DO, bookmark this page. 

DON’T stress about Black Friday. 

And DO grab Artist’s Launch Tool Kit.