#304: How to Turn a Last-Minute Black Friday Sale into a Massive Win

ByJillian Leslie

In today’s episode, I’m sharing how I stumbled into success offering a Black Friday sale and made $5k in 4 days and you can too!

My On-The Fly Black Friday Sale That Paid Off Big-Time

It all began when we decided to take a break from our usual Thanksgiving spent with family and instead headed to Las Vegas.

Little did I know that this trip would turn out to be a turning point in my entrepreneurial journey. I woke up the day before Thanksgiving and started scrolling on my phone. I saw all these incredible Black Friday deals and discounts.

I started to wonder if there was a way I could tap into this Black Friday craze and boost my own business. As a blogger and entrepreneur, I was always on the lookout for innovative ways to sell my products and services. This seemed like the perfect opportunity to do just that.

How to Turn a Last-Minute Black Friday Sale into a Massive Win | The Blogger Genius Podcast with Jillian Leslie

My Black Friday Offer

I decided to lean into the excitement of entrepreneurs growing their businesses in the New Year and offered a one-hour coaching session where I would also email them 5 action steps they could use in their business. I decided to charge $250 per session, a discount from my current $350 per hour coaching rate.

I slapped together a landing page and buy button and started sending emails.

Each day I’d send a new email that I wrote on the fly, and each day I got sales.

I ended up making over $5k in just 4 days. This paid for our Vegas trip and all our Christmas presents that year.

What surprised me most was how there was an income stream I didn’t know was there. And all I had to do was tap into it.

This unexpected success taught me a valuable lesson about the power of seizing opportunities and thinking outside the box. It showed me that sometimes, the most significant breakthroughs can come when we least expect them.

Show Notes:

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Taking Action and Making Things Happen

So, my fellow entrepreneurs, I encourage you to embrace the unexpected and seize every opportunity that comes your way. Whether it’s a chance encounter, a new tool, or a unique event like Black Friday, remember that success can be found in the most unexpected places. Trust in your abilities, invest in the right resources, and never be afraid to take that leap of faith. Who knows, you might just stumble into your own version of success.

I urge you to internalize this mindset and avoid overthinking things. Instead, take action and make things happen. I assure you that I am on your side and will be there to support you every step of the way.

By emphasizing the power of being authentic and providing genuine solutions, I want to remind you that you have the ability to make a difference in your businesses. Don’t get caught up in the uncertainties of the industry. Embrace this mindset and make things happen.

Simplifying Sales with MiloTree Cart

If you have an audience and aren’t selling something for Black Friday, I recommend you don’t overthink it and try launching your own sale.

And with a tool like MiloTreeCart, it’s never been simpler. MiloTreeCart offers features like fill-in-the-blank sales pages, check-out pages, a sales dashboard, upsells, and over 100 done-for-you marketing materials. The best part? MiloTree Cart offers support from people who genuinely care about their users’ success.

A Special Deal for You

Currently, MiloTreeCart is offering a special deal for a one-time lifetime price of $349, with the option to pay in three easy installments. If you act now, you can also get a one-hour coaching call with me to strategize on how to sell your products and services during Black Friday and Cyber Monday using discounts, bonuses, and upsells.

I assure you that there is no risk involved, as MiloTree Cart offers a 30-day money-back guarantee. I encourage you to visit milotree.com and join hundreds of others who are using MiloTree Cart to tap into a new income stream.

Focusing on What We Can Control

In the ever-changing landscape of online advertising, it’s important to focus on what we can control. We cannot control the fate of third-party cookies or the advancements in artificial intelligence that may impact ad revenue. However, we can control how we show up as a real person with real solutions. This is the key to staying competitive.

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A Word About MiloTreeCart

Before we wrap up, I’d like to mention MiloTreeCart, the platform we built to help bloggers, online entrepreneurs, and coaches to sell digital products. With Black Friday and the holidays coming up, it’s a great opportunity to make money. Sign up for MiloTreeCart with a one-time payment or three payment option. They also offer a 30-day money-back guarantee and the opportunity to have a call with me to develop your Black Friday strategy.

How to Turn a Last-Minute Black Friday Sale into a Massive Win | The Blogger Genius Podcast with Jillian Leslie

Transcript: #304: How to Turn a Last-Minute Black Friday Sale into a Massive Win

Jillian Leslie (00:00:00) – My name is Jillian and I’m hosting the Blogger Genius podcast. Before we get into today’s interview, let me ask you a question. Are you wishing you could sell digital products like digital downloads or workshops, memberships, coaching, mini courses, but you don’t know where to start? And are you tired of complicated tech and spending way too much money on monthly subscriptions? Well, you need a tool that makes all of this simple, and the answer is MiloTreeCart. So this is the tool we built for non techies who want to tap into a new income stream. With MiloTreeCart, you get fill in the blank sales pages, check out pages, a sales dashboard, upsells, over 100 done for you, marketing materials and support from people who seriously care. If you’ve been dreaming about offering your own Black Friday sale to your audience, definitely had to Milo tree.com and get your payment tool for a one time lifetime deal price of 349. Or you can pay in three easy installments. And if you act now, I will get on a one hour coaching call and help you strategize on how to sell your products and services during Black Friday, Cyber Monday using discounts, bonuses, and upsells.

Jillian Leslie (00:01:22) – Pause right now, head to military.com and join hundreds of other entrepreneurs just like you, using Milo, GA to tap into a whole new income stream. And remember, no risk. We offer a 30 day money back guarantee.

Announcer (00:01:42) – Welcome to the Blogger Genius podcast, brought to you by MiloTree. Here’s your host, Jillian Leslie.

Jillian Leslie (00:01:50) – Hello, friends. Welcome back to the show. Because we are heading into the holidays, I wanted to share a little story today that was life changing for me and I hope inspiring for you. This is about how I stumbled into my first Black Friday sale. This was about five years ago, where I spent 30 minutes a day writing emails for four days and made over $5,000. It all started when we realized we were going to be alone for Thanksgiving. So my husband, daughter and I decided to do what anybody would do in that situation. Head to Las Vegas for Thanksgiving. Seriously, what could be better for your big Thanksgiving meal than an all you can eat buffet? Anyway, I was checking my email on the morning before Thanksgiving, and all I was seeing were these Black Friday emails talking about their sales that were going to be starting in two days.

Jillian Leslie (00:02:52) – And I said to David and my daughter that I was going to do an experiment. I was going to host a Black Friday sale and try to make $2,000, because this would pay for our trip and even some of our Christmas shopping. Now, I had no plan to do this until waking up that Wednesday morning. I think having though this clear monetary goal was helpful because it focused me. So at the time, my email list was about 2500 people and my followers on Instagram or say about a thousand. So we had been selling our military pop up app for about a year, and we’d never run a Black Friday sale for that. And also I had coaching clients, but I never looked for them. They always just reached out to me, so I didn’t really have any experience going out to my email list and selling. I took 30 minutes and I wondered, well, what could I sell? And I thought about how I’ve been taught to lean into the time of year. And I thought, well, what I could do is I could sell a coaching call where I gave people a roadmap for how to grow their businesses in the new year with, say, five actionable steps.

Jillian Leslie (00:04:11) – So after the one hour call, they’d get an email from me outlining these steps, and I decided to price it at $250, which is discounted from my regular coaching rate of $350 an hour. Now, I didn’t have a landing page, I didn’t have anything. So I took a page on my blog. I wrote up the offer I had to hack together a payment link like a buy button. I didn’t know how to do that, and that was actually the hardest part. And just so you know, it looked pretty awful. So then I got to work writing my first email. Here’s what I knew I knew people always said, there’s money in your list. I didn’t quite know what that meant, but I thought, well, I will start with this email. And I knew to lean into the benefits. I knew someone receiving a roadmap for the next year would be helpful, as long as the steps were actionable. Like, I know how people get stuck, myself included, in seeing our businesses with fresh eyes.

Jillian Leslie (00:05:15) – So I thought that’s what I could offer people. I also knew that I could offer a discount, a real discount, and create a ticking clock because the sale was going to end on Monday. I started the email by leaning into the pain of not knowing how to grow your business. I added a short bio about me to add to my credibility. I rounded up a few testimonials that I could pepper in, and I offered a money back guarantee. If someone didn’t think the session was helpful, I’d refund their money. And this felt scary because what if someone did the whole call with me and then said it wasn’t worth it? I realized, though, that all I’d really be losing is an hour of my time. So it seemed like a good gamble because this was me saying, I stand by what I offer and I will tell you that after doing this whole thing, nobody asked for their money back. I thought that was a really important risk worth taking. So both my husband and daughter were skeptical and honestly, I wanted to prove them wrong.

Jillian Leslie (00:06:23) – So I created this whole offer on the fly to lower the stakes, though, I told myself I was just running an experiment, and while my husband and daughter went to breakfast, that’s when I crafted my first email and I sent it. Lo and behold, we are out walking around shopping and I got my first sale. And I panicked because, oh my God, I had to quickly put together a calendly link so people could book their sessions. And then I got my second sale and I didn’t expect that. And then another sale. And the next morning I woke up. I duplicated the email that I sent. I made a bunch of tweaks. I kept poking at my customers pain. I kept selling the transformation. And I did this every day from Las Vegas. I think I posted 1 or 2 stories on Instagram about the sale, but that was it. Now, by the end of my Black Friday sale, I ended up selling over $5,000 worth of coaching calls. And remember, my goal was $2,000.

Jillian Leslie (00:07:25) – So I paid for my Vegas vacation and all of our Christmas gifts just by taking a risk and doing something on a whim. But it changed something in me. It showed me that there were these income streams that I could tap into that I didn’t even know existed. It made me think selling is something I should really lean into because this is a superpower. I also learned that I didn’t have to overthink things. It was just better to do it and figure it out and deal with whatever came my way. So I challenge you to think about what kind of product or service you could offer for Black Friday. Now this is going live on Wednesday, and you might be starting your Black Friday sale in just a little over a week. So I know that feels super stressful to think about doing, but I recommend you do. Now let’s be honest, for this to work, you need to have people there that you can sell to. If you have an email list, social media following blog traffic, I’m talking to you.

Jillian Leslie (00:08:36) – To wrap up this episode, I want to leave you with my key takeaways. Hopefully when you hear them, you’re raising your hand and you’re saying, this is something I’m going to try. The first one is to set a clear monetary goal. So pick a revenue target that feels challenging but attainable because this raises the stakes and focuses your effort. The next takeaway is to create an irresistible offer. Brainstorm on something that you could provide that taps into one of the six buying triggers I talk about. This moves your product from a nice to half to a must have. Could your product make somebody money? Could your product save somebody money? Could your product save somebody time? Quantifiable time? Could your product move somebody toward happiness? Could your product move somebody away from pain? Or could your product raise someone’s social status? So this is where I would start. Next I would highlight the transformation your customer will experience. Clearly communicate the benefits in the email. Yes you want to say what you get. So in my situation somebody got a one hour coaching call and they got a follow up email with five actionable tips.

Jillian Leslie (00:10:08) – That’s what you get. But the benefit I am selling is you could explode your revenue in the next year. Who doesn’t want that? Also, in your communication, use testimonials and I’m going to say it a guarantee because this seriously builds trust. My fourth takeaway is to use a platform like military cart that will make all of this simple. You will not have to hack together a sales page and buy buttons and stuff, tons of marketing materials, and you get to own it forever because it’s a lifetime deal of 349 if you purchase right now before Black Friday, not only will I get on a free one hour coaching call with you to help you map out your Black Friday strategy, but I will give you my Black Friday email templates so the whole thing is more or less done for you. My fifth takeaway is all about messaging. You want to craft a compelling message. You want to be putting in discounts or bonuses. Urgency. And remember, this is a time when people are ready to spend money.

How to Turn a Last-Minute Black Friday Sale into a Massive Win | The Blogger Genius Podcast with Jillian Leslie

Jillian Leslie (00:11:17) – You want to get right in front of them. My sixth takeaway is you want to promote this across all channels. Email. Yes, that is probably your most successful channel, but also on social media. Maybe in a collaboration. Yell this offer from the rooftops because you want to rise above the noise. My last takeaway is just to try it. Do B minus work. Don’t take yourself too seriously. Hey, if it doesn’t work, you’ve learned a ton for your next offer and you haven’t invested that much. We are talking low stakes with a potentially high payoff. If you want to get on a quick call with me so that I can really light a fire under your butt, just go to military slash meet and we can get on a 15 minute call. Otherwise, if you’re ready to take the plunge, I recommend you do it. And if you want my lottery card, go to Military cart.com and check out what we offer. I hope you found this episode inspiring. My prediction for 2024 is we are all going to be selling more of our own products and services, because that is something we can control.

Jillian Leslie (00:12:31) – We can’t control what happens to third party cookies and therefore ad revenue. We can’t control what happens with AI, but I promise you, showing up as a real person with real solutions is how we compete. So put that in your brain and tell yourself you’re not going to overthink stuff. Get moving and go make it happen. I’m in your corner and I will see you here again next week.