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Black Friday 2026
playbooks and guides

Make the most of the biggest online shopping weekend of the year, with playbooks and strategies to win it.

BFCM 2026 Playbook

Black Friday has two jobs: win new customers while buying intent is high, and bring past customers back for profit. The parts follow the order a media buyer sets up a sale; start anywhere.

More guides

1 guides

Coming before Black Friday

  • Releases Saturday, October 17
    Playbook

    GLP-1 and telehealth brands: Black Friday under Meta's restrictions

  • Releases Saturday, October 24
    Guide

    Set up Meta Conversions API before Black Friday

  • Releases Wednesday, October 28
    Playbook

    How to set up Meta ads for Black Friday

  • Releases Saturday, October 31
    Playbook

    Med spas and clinics: Black Friday promotions that produce booked appointments

  • Releases Wednesday, November 4
    Playbook

    How to set up Google Ads for Black Friday

  • Releases Saturday, November 7
    Guide

    First-party audiences before Black Friday

  • Releases Wednesday, November 11
    Playbook

    How to plan Black Friday email and retention

  • Releases Saturday, November 14
    Playbook

    Your Black Friday playbook checklist

  • Releases Wednesday, December 2
    Guide

    Post-Black-Week reconciliation: the attribution guide, updated with a live walkthrough

Free tools from Zappush

No signup. Each one reads your public pages or your ad copy; none of them can see inside your ad account, so treat a finding as something to verify in Events Manager.

  • Conversion Tracking Audit

    Scans your site for the Pixel, a Conversions API path, duplicate events and missing value or currency on the purchase event.

    Audit your tracking

  • Health & Wellness Restriction Audit

    Shows which category Meta is likely applying to your domain, and what on the page is triggering it.

    Check your domain

  • Ad Compliance Checker

    Paste sale copy to flag the claims and phrasing Meta's health and wellness policies reject, before review does.

    Check your ad copy

  • Ad Copy Writer

    Drafts policy-aware primary text and headlines for restricted categories.

    Write compliant copy

Running a Health & Wellness brand?

See how Meta is classifying your domain, and what is triggering it.

Free · No signup · Results under 30 seconds

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

How should I split budget between new and returning customers on Black Friday?

A common split is about 80% to new customers and 20% to past buyers, in one Meta campaign with two ad sets. Cap the past-buyer ad set with an ad set spending limit so the campaign budget does not drift to the cheaper retargeting conversions.

Should I make new ads for Black Friday?

Mostly no. Take ads that won in the last 12 months on reach cost, click cost and cost per new customer, and add the offer to them. Keep a small share of budget for new tests in the prospecting ad set.

What is a good Black Friday offer?

One your margins can carry. Check that product cost, shipping and fees, and your cost per new customer add up to less than the discounted price. Then set offer thresholds just above the order values your customers already spend.

Should I switch off my existing campaigns during Black Friday?

No. Add the sale campaign next to them. Pausing everything at once forces the delivery system to relearn at the most expensive moment of the year.

Who should get early access to a Black Friday sale?

Your champions: customers who bought recently, often and at high value. Early access rewards them and moves their orders out of the most crowded days.