Black Friday is coming on November 28th, and it's one of the biggest opportunities of the year to give your business a solid cash injection before the holidays hit. 

This is something we all need to talk about because, for many small business owners, November can sneak up on us. We get caught up in delivery, client work, end-of-year fatigue, and suddenly the biggest sales weekend of the year has passed. Then we tell ourselves, "next year." 

Let's not do that again.

Over the next couple of weeks I will recording a LIVE podcast series, breaking down the essential elements of a successful Black Friday campaign. I will be joined by with my good friend, Content Catalyst Member and Facebook Ads expert Stacey Hughes to unpack why Black Friday marketing isn't just for retailers, and why every service provider, coach, and course creator should be part of it this year. 

People are ready to buy

Here's what really hit me when I was doing research for this series. Australians spent 6.8 billion dollars over the Black Friday weekend. Six point eight billion. That's not a typo. 

And yet, so many of the business owners I talk to tell me, "Oh, I don't do Black Friday because it's just hype," or "I don't want to cheapen my brand". I've talked about selling without being salesy before, and this is exactly one of those situations where you can participate strategically.  

The reality is, Black Friday has evolved. It's no longer just about discounting products. It's about being visible at the exact time people are online, shopping, and in the mindset to buy. As Stacey said in episode part 1, "Everyone's online looking for deals. It's a real opportunity to get your brand out there and create something that gets people excited". 

So even if you don't sell physical products, your audience is still paying attention. 

It's not about discounting, it's about being strategic

I know a lot of coaches and service providers feel uncomfortable offering discounts. You've worked hard to position your expertise and don't want to undercut it. I hear you—some people literally tell me they don't want to "bastardize" their brand. 

But there are other ways to play this game which we will talk about in more detail in tomorrow's episode PART 2 - CREATING YOUR MONEY MAKING OFFER.

And here's something Stacey and I both agree on: even if you don't want to discount your core product, you can still use Black Friday for list building and lead generation. Create a valuable lead magnet that helps your audience with something they need, get them on your list, and then nurture them about who you are and what you stand for. 

This is exactly what we teach inside the Content Catalyst Membership, where we focus on positioning your message and planning strategic lead generation campaigns. 

You don't need to "slash your prices" to take part. You just need to meet your audience where they already are—online and ready to buy. 

Learn from last year

Before you start planning this year's campaign, take a moment to look back. 

Did you do anything for Black Friday last year? What worked? What didn't? When did you start list building? How many emails did you send? What kind of content got engagement? 

That data tells you exactly where to focus this time. As I mentioned in the podcast, pull up your old stats and audit what actually drove results. Go back, have a look at those statistics, pull out that report, and analyze what worked for you. 

You can't fix what you can't see.

Keep your tech simple

When it comes to your Black Friday funnel, simple wins. 

You don't need fancy automations or ten-step funnels. You just need a clean landing page, clear call-to-action buttons, and a checkout that works. We will be covering this in more detail in episode 3.

The Black Friday Lead Machine Challenge

Here's the part I'm most excited about.

Stacey and I have created a 3-day live challenge called the Black Friday Lead Machine to help you get your Black Friday campaign up and running before November. 

It's happening 22–24 October and it's designed to get your campaign built, launched, and ready in three days. 

Here's what we'll cover:

Day 1: Create your offer and build your sales page using templates and AI assistants  
Day 2: Make your content and short videos to build trust and momentum  
Day 3: Launch your Facebook Ads with Stacey guiding you through it live 

It's practical, it's hands-on, and it's designed for busy business owners who want results, not more theory. We'll be doing hot seats, breakout rooms, this is a very practical implementation sprint. This is not sit back and learn. This is about doing it. 

If you've ever said, "I'll do it when I have time," this is your time.

👉 Register for the Black Friday Lead Machine Challenge

Before you go

If you think Black Friday isn't for you, I want you to ask yourself one question:

Do you want to bring in more cash before the end of the year?

If the answer is yes, then Black Friday is for you. 

I know that for many of our online coaches or service-based businesses, they start to wind down in December. So Black Friday really is that final opportunity to get that much-needed cash injection to get you through those couple of months of the holiday season. 

The truth is, people are already spending. The only question is whether they're spending with you.

So let's get your campaign ready. Join Stacey and me for the Black Friday Lead Machine Challenge, and we'll help you build it together. 

If you're thinking, "That sounds great, I want that, but I just don't have the time," we do have a done-for-you service where Stacey and I will actually take care of your whole campaign for you. But we only have five spots available for that. 

🗓️ 22–24 October
💻 Register now: https://www.debszabo.com/black-friday-lead-machine