Black Friday Is a Funnel-Clearing Event, Not List Growth

"BFCM is a funnel clearing event, not a list growth event." Jimmy Kim has spent 18 years in email. He built an in-house email tool for his men's clothing store, turned it into Sendlane, and built his own sending network along the way. Now he co-hosts Send It! with Chase Dimond. His view of Black Friday: stop casting a wide net and move every segment one step down the funnel. Jimmy explains why you ramp send volume in October instead of November, how many emails to send on Black Friday and to whom, and why a new product launch beats another discount. SPONSORS Swym - Wishlists, Back in Stock alerts, & more getswym.com/kurt Promo Party Pro - Free gifts that drive bigger orders apps.shopify.com/promo-party-fgwp Zipify - Build high-converting sales funnels zipify.com/KURT What you'll learn: Why Black Friday should move every segment one step down the funnel instead of growing the list Getting VIPs to raise their hands for early access, so they reserve a budget for you The segments to build now: prospects, first-time buyers, repeat customers, VIPs, and lapsed customers Where identity resolution works (browse and cart abandonment) and where it doesn't (list building) Why unengaged prospects get cut, while lapsed buyers from the last 365 days get one more shot Ramping send volume in October, because a 2 to 3X spike in November is a red flag to inbox providers Adding unengaged contacts at 10% of your list, never doubling it Five to eight emails on Black Friday, with different messaging and frequency per segment SMS as an urgency channel, not an echo of your email What unsubscribe rate means pull back: 0.2 to 0.5% is normal, worry at 20 to 30% above your baseline Why a new product launch beats another discount, plus bundles, gift with purchase, and tiered spend The post-BFCM lag, the second purchase, and faster abandoned cart timing for the holiday week Guest: Jimmy Kim, co-host of the Send It! podcast and founder of Sendlane. LINKS The eCom Email Marketer (Jimmy's daily newsletter): https://ecomemailmarketer.com Send It! podcast on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@SendItPodcast Send It! on Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/send-it/id1772942834 Montana Knife Company's Black Friday episode: https://ethercycle.com/blogs/unofficial-shopify-podcast/inside-montana-knife-companys-black-friday-2025-the-unofficial-shopify-podcast WORK WITH KURT Apply for Shopify Help ethercycle.com/apply See Our Results ethercycle.com/work Free Newsletter kurtelster.com The Unofficial Shopify Podcast is hosted by Kurt Elster and explores the stories behind successful Shopify stores. Get actionable insights, practical strategies, and proven tactics from entrepreneurs who've built thriving ecommerce businesses.