Episode 238: The 2025 Black Friday Cyber Monday Playbook with John Grimshaw & Ezra Firestone

Sep 24, 2025

John Grimshaw and Ezra Firestone are joined by Greg Zakowitz, an email and automation expert from Omnisend. They dive into strategies for maximizing holiday sales, sharing insights on why Black Friday and Cyber Monday only account for 16% of Q4 revenue. Listeners learn about tiered discounts, evergreen landing pages, and the importance of phased campaigns. Greg highlights three essential email automations—welcome series, product browse, and cart abandonment—that can drive significant revenue during the holiday rush.

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INSIGHT

BFCM Is Only Part Of Q4

Black Friday/Cyber Monday four-day window often represents only ~16% of November–December revenue.
Build a full Q4 system to capture the remaining 84% and sustain profitable momentum.

ADVICE

Use Tiered Discounts To Lift AOV

Use tiered discounting to nudge shoppers into higher cart values by increasing discounts at spend thresholds.
Structure thresholds that make sense for your margins to raise average order value.

ADVICE

Single Evergreen Holiday Page

Drive traffic to one evergreen holiday page and update its headline/offer per phase instead of building multiple separate pages.
Keeping the same URL preserves Meta auction history and lowers CPMs/CPAs.

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Episode 238: The 2025 Black Friday Cyber Monday Playbook with John Grimshaw & Ezra Firestone Episode Description

Want to crush Q4 this year? 💥 In this special webinar replay, John Grimshaw (Smart Marketer CMO), Ezra Firestone, and Greg from Omnisend reveal their proven 2025 Black Friday Cyber Monday Playbook.

From offer structures that boost cart value to ad strategies that cut through the noise to automation tweaks that unlock hidden revenue, this is the exact system Smart Marketer clients and brands are using to maximize profits this holiday season.

“The truth is if you just focus like a laser on Black Friday and Cyber Monday, you are leaving more than 80% of the money on the table.” – John Grimshaw

You Will Learn

Why Black Friday/Cyber Monday is just 16% of Q4 revenue—and how to win the other 84%.
The secret to tiered discounting (and why it increases average order value).
The “evergreen holiday page” strategy that makes ad costs cheaper all season long.
Ezra’s campaign phases (including the overlooked “Countdown to New Year’s Sale”).
How to use content marketing + merchandising together for maximum conversions.
Greg’s top 3 email automations to optimize before BFCM for easy, compounding sales.
Why cart abandonment flows, welcome offers, and product browse emails are goldmines.

Links & Resources

🎁 Get the full Holiday Marketing Toolkit (slides + swipe file): smartmarketer.com/toolkit
Omnisend (Email & SMS Platform) – https://omnisend.com/smart (Use code SMART for 50% off your first 3 months)
Smart Marketer – smartmarketer.com
Ezra Firestone – @ezrafirestone
John Grimshaw – @johngrimshawdigita

Timestamps

00:00 – Welcome & Why Q4 Planning Matters 06:39 – BFCM Is Just 16% of Q4 Revenue (The 80% You’re Missing) 10:19 – The Power of Tiered Discounting 14:31 – Evergreen Holiday Landing Pages Strategy 20:05 – Campaign Phases & Scarcity Done Right 29:02 – Ezra’s Holiday Framework: From Prime Day to New Year’s 38:31 – Content + Merchandising: How to Sell Without Just “Selling” 53:45 – Ezra’s 2x Buyer Flow (The Fastest Way to Unlock More Revenue) 56:06 – Greg’s Top 3 Email Automations for Q4 Wins 01:21:19 – Why Email Still Drives 50–60% of BFCM Revenue

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