How to run a Black Friday or Cyber Monday campaign from start to finish

Black Friday and Cyber Monday are two of the biggest spending days of the year — and they can be game-changers for tour and activity operators. Just ask Triton Charters, who made $250,000 in just six days during their Black Friday promotion. With the right planning, tools, and marketing, you can create a campaign that boosts year-end sales and brings in customers who will stick around for years to come.

Whether you want to offer a limited-time discount, run a gift card promotion, or create an irresistible package deal, this step-by-step guide will take you from idea to execution. Plus! We’ve included our recommended deadline for each action to ensure you stay on track. 

1. Plan early

The most successful campaigns start with planning several weeks (or even months) before the holiday weekend. Even though the campaign itself may last 48 hours, preparation is key.

Early planning gives you time to:

• Decide your offer: For example, a promo code, special package, or BOGO 50% gift card
• Set any limitations: Like blackout dates or inventory caps
• Create quality content: For your website, social media, and email
• Test your technical setup: To ensure everything runs smoothly the moment it goes live

By starting early, you’ll not only avoid last-minute stress, but also give your campaign the best chance to capture attention and drive more bookings.

When to nail down your plan: Earlier is always better, but for many folks in the Northern Hemisphere, Q3 is the peak busy season. If summer planning is impossible, we recommend strategizing as soon as things slow down in September, or by October 1st, so you can start implementing the plan. 

2. Start with the goal

Before you decide what to offer, know your goals. Do you want to fill your slow season? Bring in new customers? Sell more gift cards? A well-defined objective will guide every decision you make.

Black Friday promotions can help you:

• Capture new customers who haven’t booked with you before
• Fill slower periods in your calendar
• Increase brand awareness during a high-traffic shopping season
• Build your email and SMS lists for future campaigns

When to establish your why: Again it’s never too early to start these conversations, but we recommend finalizing your goal by September or October 1st at the latest. 

3. Choose your offer

You do not have to run a 50% discount to see great results! When choosing your promo, you need to consider what fits your margins and goals in order to have the most ROI. 

• % off all tours: A straightforward discount, great for creating urgency
• BOGO deals: Offer a second tour at a discounted price to boost total cart value 
• Discounts on slow-season tours: Use the momentum to fill your low-demand days
• Gift card sales: Perfect for holiday gift buyers (can also use a BOGO deal)
• Free upgrades or add-ons: Add perceived value without cutting your main price

Pro tip: Bigger, bolder offers are more likely to stand out in a competitive weekend. However, with the right marketing, any deal can shine. 

When to finalize your offer: Finalizing your offer early is key to giving yourself enough time to set up the promotion from a technical standpoint and to create marketing collateral. We also recommend finalizing this offer by October 1st at the latest. 

3. Keep building an engaged audience

A winning Black Friday or Cyber Monday campaign isn’t just about having the best deal — it’s about having people ready and excited to hear about it. Without an engaged audience, even the most irresistible offer can go unnoticed.

In the weeks leading up to your promotion, focus on growing your email list, SMS subscribers, and social media following. Offer small but meaningful incentives throughout the year to encourage sign-ups, such as early access to seasonal deals, a free add-on for their next booking, or exclusive behind-the-scenes content.

By the time your holiday promotion launches, you’ll have a warm audience who trusts your brand, looks forward to your messages, and is ready to book as soon as the deal goes live.

When to build your engaged audience: Always and often! An active custom-base can never be too big.

4. Set up the technical side

Before you announce your promotion, make sure your Dashboard and booking flow are ready to go. This is especially important because many tourists aren’t returning customers, so you want to make sure your promotion is super visible and can engage a new visitor. 

With FareHarbor, you can easily:

• Submit and activate your new promo code deal
• Add a gift card item to your Dashboard — and customize the design!
• Offer a Combo deal to effortlessly upsell extra tours or retail items in a single booking flow. You can even offer the second item at a discount to encourage more sales.
• Create an irresistible Package that bundles specific items together and requires customers to purchase both. This increases sales and can highlight less popular tours!

When to set up your promotion: We recommend starting this the first week of October in the event you need support or account management assistance. 

5. Market your campaign

Your offer won’t sell itself — spread the word everywhere your customers are!

• Website: Add banners, homepage features, and a dedicated promotions page
• Email: Send teasers before the sale, then reminders during the weekend
• Social media: Use posts, stories, and ads to keep the promotion top-of-mind
• Paid ads: If budget allows, target your ideal audience with Facebook and Instagram ads
• In person: Train staff to mention the upcoming sale to guests and hand out flyers with a QR code to your promo page

Pro tip: Always highlight the limited-time nature of your deal to create urgency, then pitch your tours as the perfect holiday gift.

When to start marketing: With Black Friday and Cyber Monday at the end of November, November is when you want to be messaging the sale the most. This can include both announcement, educational, and launch posts, preparing your audience for the offerings and increasing conversions.

7. Launch your offer

The moment has arrived! Your campaign is built, your audience is primed, and your deals are ready to go. When it’s time to go live, you want everything to run smoothly — and feel exciting. This is your first (and maybe only!) chance to make a big splash during one of the highest-intent shopping periods of the year.

Here’s how to make the most of launch day:

• Go live early: Schedule your promo to launch first thing Friday morning — or even the night before — to get ahead of the crowd.
• Flip the switch: Replace all “coming soon” messaging with live banners, updated ad copy, and urgent CTAs.
• Create urgency: Add countdown timers and post reminders every 12–24 hours to keep your offer top-of-mind.
• Send your launch email: Highlight the deal, expiration date, and why it’s a can’t-miss. Link directly to your booking page.
• Be ready to troubleshoot: Monitor your site, codes, and checkout flow so you can fix issues fast and keep the momentum going.

Pro tip: If your promotion has multiple phases consider refreshing your messaging halfway through to keep interest high and target shoppers who waited.

When to launch: If you want to keep it traditional, you can launch your campaign late on Thanksgiving Day or first thing on Black Friday morning. Or you can let it run for all of November to encourage more shopping. 

8. Track your results and follow up

Once your campaign wraps up, take the time to dig into the numbers using FareHarbor Reporting or Google Analytics to see exactly what worked best.

Review data to:

• Identify your top channels: Determine where the majority of sales came from — whether that’s email, paid ads, social media, or in-person promotion.
• Pinpoint your best-performing offer: If you ran more than one deal, review which promotion resonated most with your audience and delivered the highest conversions.
• Measure new customer growth: See how many buyers were booking with you for the first time versus returning guests.

Use these insights to shape your future promotions and refine your marketing plan, so each campaign becomes stronger and more profitable than the last.

When to track your results: You can run reports while your campaign is active to see if you should make any adjustments. However, for a full look at the campaign’s success, track your results by the end of the year — or before you start to plan your next promotion.

If you’re ready to create your own high-impact Black Friday or Cyber Monday promotion, explore the tools and features in the FareHarbor Help Center — and see how easy it is to set up campaigns that get results.