Last week I took a whack at my first Black Friday sale and Launched The Cedar June Shop, something I’ve been dreaming up for the last year.  

If I’m being entirely honest – it came together a bit more last minute than I would have liked. And although I’m feeling a little burnt out now – it was worth it, and I’m super proud.

If you are thinking of holding your own Black Friday promotion this time next year, keep these three lessons (that I learned the hard way) in mind.

Lesson #1: Keep it simple.

There was one specific thing I wish I had done differently, and that is the way I set up the discounts for sale. For some reason, I got it in my head that there would be the lowest discounts on Friday, and then they would change on Saturday/Sunday and again on Monday. 

In theory – it seemed like a good idea, but in practice, it was a lot for me to keep up with – while in the middle of 3 straight days of family events. I dropped the ball on an Instagram post (well, It didn’t fully post when I thought it did). I couldn’t be on my stories as much as I wanted to – altogether, it was a bit of a headache.

If I had kept just one discount all weekend, it would have been easier for me to market and for my audience to understand.

Lesson #2: Start Earlier.

This lesson is more specific for my audience of creative entrepreneurs. For next year, I will aim to start my sale on Tuesday or Wednesday – because, by Friday, most of us are pretty checked out.

I will also have a longer pre-launch and promotional period that primes my audience for the launch and solutions I am selling.

Lesson #3: Market your sale in 3 seconds

Tying into my first lesson, the Brands that kept their sales offer simple – spelled out the savings in as few words and as much imagery as possible THE BETTER. That isn’t the approach I took > but a lesson I will quickly apply to my marketing as I roll out a few more announcements before the end of the year. 

Our attention spans are short – we are bombarded with content, sales, visuals, video, animation, and gifs. Look around, and you can see how hard it is to get our attention. Think about your behavior over the last week. I launched with a strategy I knew was well thought out and based on a lot of research. 

But I should have taken into account that right now – a lot is pulling at people’s attention; I genuinely think that people want to be present and that when it comes to promotion – keeping it quick is the name of the game. People need simplicity. Hell, I need simple.

Granted, things will change in the next year, the internet always seems to be moving at warp speed – but if you ask me, these lessons will become even more important over the next year.

Go ahead and check out The Cedar June Shop and let me know what you think!