Key Takeaways and Tips From My 2025 Black Friday Sale (And How You Can Use It to Improve Yours)

If you’re a digital product creator (especially a knitting or crochet pattern designer) and you’re still finalizing your Black Friday plans for this year, I would like to give you a behind-the-scenes look at my own Black Friday sale.

I hosted mine early (I called it “Not Black Friday”), and I felt like there were some incredibly clear insights into what’s working in 2025… and what absolutely isn’t. So I thought I'd share to help you out!

This isn’t a big “strategy breakdown” in the traditional sense; it’s more like a last-minute nudge in the right direction and a small lighthouse moment before you hit “publish” on your own promotion.

If you want to increase conversions, reduce guesswork, and avoid sinking time into offers that won’t perform, this is going to help.

Let’s dig in.

My 2025 Black Friday Sale Strategy: 5 Days, 5 Different Deals, 2+ Weeks Early

This year, I experimented with a new (to me) format: Five consecutive days, each featuring a single product at 50% off.

I chose this structure because:

• It builds natural urgency

• It keeps the content fresh

• It lets me spotlight multiple offers without overwhelming my audience

• And honestly? As a consumer, I tend to love this format, so it felt good to try it myself

It’s also been a few years since I’ve been able to show up fully for Black Friday. One year I was pregnant, the next year postpartum, and overall I’ve been less active in my business than I used to be.

So this was my first “proper” Black Friday event in several years, and it served as a real-time industry temperature check.

Why I Hosted My 2025 Black Friday Sale Early

If you’re a fiber arts business owner (or, just a human in general), you know: Black Friday is noisy.

Between the Indie Gift-A-Long, Fasten Off Yarn-A-Long, and the dozens of pattern sales all happening at once, it’s incredibly easy for smaller offers (and, honestly, larger offers, too) to get lost.

Designers feel the noise. Customers feel the noise. And honestly? I feel it too.

Hosting my sale early helped:

• Remove the “I’m one of 1,000 pattern sales this weekend” problem

• Make space for meaningful communication

• Reduce inbox clutter for my subscribers

• Support people who want to avoid the chaotic corporate Black Friday messaging while still shopping small

You don’t have time to shift your dates this year, but it might be something to consider for 2026.

How My 2025 Black Friday Sale Performed

I felt like there were some clear patterns (no pun intended) that showed up loud and clear in the results of my 2025 Black Friday Sale.

Here’s how it played out:

✔️ My Day 1 offer was the strongest performer

Even though the available online data suggests Days 2 and 3 of an event like this are typically the top performers, my opening day outpaced the others by a noticeable margin. I think this was a combination of:

• Audience excitement

• Clear product-market fit

• A price point that felt accessible and valuable

✔️ Single, focused products outperformed bundles

The offers that did best were the ones that:

• Solved one clear problem

• Came with straightforward value

• Didn’t require much decision-making

Bundles didn’t convert nearly as well unless the value relationship was obvious.

✔️ Beginner-friendly content did moderately well

This surprised me… but also didn’t. Beginners are highly motivated during the holiday season, and educational content feels like a concrete, long-lasting investment.

But I don't cater to beginners in my content, so I knew that this offer likely wouldn't be my top-performer.

✔️ Patterns were the lowest performing category

This felt like the biggest light bulb moment for me. When I thought about it, I realized it makes a lot of sense, but as a pattern designer, it initially took me back a bit.

My offers that were structured around patterns were at the bottom of the list… and it wasn’t even close.

This lines up with what almost every designer I’ve spoken to is seeing this year: Patterns simply aren’t converting like they used to.

And it’s not because your designs aren’t good. It’s not because the price is too high. It’s not even necessarily because people don’t want to knit.

Instead, buyers are being more intentional with their money, and they’re choosing things that:

• Solve a specific problem

• Create long-term value

• Feel “worth it” beyond inspiration

Patterns can be all of these things, but they are not currently perceived that way in the market.

Right now, stocking up on patterns feels like a nice-to-have, while investing in courses and other printable products that seem more tangible (even though they're all digital products) feel more valuable in the longterm.

Which means that folks are still willing to pay money - and even willing to pay more money than they would've for patterns, as long as they see the value in it for themselves.

✔️ And finally: the sweet spot price point really showed itself

Across my entire event, the offers priced around the $18-ish range consistently converted the strongest.

High enough to feel substantial.

Low enough to feel like an easy “yes.”

This doesn’t mean everything you sell should be $18 — but it does mean you may want to include at least one offer around that threshold.

What’s Not Working in 2025: A Reality Check on Patterns

Let’s talk about the elephant in the room: patterns aren’t selling

At least not the way they used to.

Here’s what I believe is happening:

• People are buying fewer “just in case” patterns

• Buyers want more depth, more meaning, more transformation

• The economy is prompting more selective spending

• Designers have trained buyers to wait for sales

• There’s a lot of noise and sameness, which reduces urgency

Patterns can still shine, but not as the backbone of your Black Friday sale this year.

If you sell anything beyond patterns — classes, printables, workshops, digital tools, memberships, courses — lean there for your sales this year. Patterns can still be part of your event, but they shouldn’t be the star.

And this also applies beyond Black Friday.

Plus, bonus! These products are great additional revenue streams to have in your business, and they tend to have a higher price point, which makes it easier to earn money in your business. I call that a win-win-win!

Email Subscriber Behavior During a Big Promotion Event: Unsubscribes & The Bigger Picture

Across my five-day event, I lost just over 2% of my email list.

Even though I "know better," the perfectionist, people-pleasing, “I hope everyone likes me” part of me tends to struggle with that. It's easy to spiral and wonder if I should've done something different, changed the wording of the email or the sales page, etc, etc.

But here’s what’s also true:

• Every sale that performs well comes directly from someone receiving an email

• The more emails I send, the more revenue that comes in

• The people who unsubscribe are likely never going to buy

• And — this shocked me, in the best way possible — two people emailed to say thank you for selling to them (what!?!)

That last part was a huge reminder for me: When selling comes from a place of service, your right-fit customers feel it.

Key Lessons You Can Apply to Your Black Friday Sale This Week

Even if your sale starts in a few days, you still have time to implement the most important takeaways:

1. Lead with one clear, valuable offer

In a noisy weekend, a focused offer stands out.

2. Prioritize products that create transformation

Think education, systems, organization, clarity, tools; not just inspiration.

3. Consider including a mid-range price point

$15–$25 seems to be an especially effective window right now.

4. If you sell patterns, feature them sparingly

One day? Sure.

Five days? Probably not.

5. Don’t fear unsubscribes

They’re part of doing business, especially during a promotion period. Remember the people who love you and your work will stick around, no matter what.

6. Remember that selling is service

Your customers want support, tools, and clarity. If your work creates that… sell it.

Final Thought: You Still Have Time to Pivot Your Black Friday Strategy

I know it’s last-minute.

I know it feels like changing anything now might be too much.

But a few small shifts — a clearer offer, a different product choice, a stronger subject line — can dramatically change your results.

If you want to talk through your offer or brainstorm how to adjust your strategy, reply to this post or email me anytime. I’m here to help you make this season feel aligned, intentional, and profitable.

You’ve got this.

Now go prep that sale.