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In today’s episode, I’m recapping my 2025 Black Friday and Cyber Monday sales and pulling back the curtain on what really happened. After three years of running highly successful six-figure Black Friday seasons, I decided to try a completely different approach this year. I walk through how I structured the sale, the numbers behind it, the disappointment I felt when results didn’t meet expectations, and the biggest lesson I’m carrying into 2026: simplicity wins.

In this episode, I cover:

• How this experience is shaping my Black Friday plans for 2026
• How I used to run Black Friday and Cyber Monday—and how 2025 was intentionally different
• The structure of my five-day deals, Cyber Monday pivot, and overall November strategy
• Revenue breakdowns, customer data, and why I don’t count contracted revenue
• The emotional reality of missing a major sales goal after months of preparation
• What I learned about overcomplicating sales and why simple strategies scale better

Full transcription of episode:

I’m so excited to be recapping my Black Friday of 2025. But before I jump into the numbers, I want to talk about how I actually ran this year’s sale, because it looked very different from how I’ve run Black Friday and Cyber Monday in the past.

For the three years prior to 2025, I ran my Black Friday and Cyber Monday sales pretty much the same way every year—and it worked really well. For three years in a row, Black Friday and Cyber Monday combined brought in six figures.

This year, I wanted to try something completely different. I see Black Friday and Cyber Monday as a time to experiment and test new strategies, and that’s exactly what I did in 2025. Before getting into whether it lived up to expectations, I want to walk you through how my sales were structured in past years.

How I Used to Run Black Friday and Cyber Monday Sales

In previous years, I ran two to three short pre–Black Friday sales during the first one to two weeks of November. These were mini flash sales, separate from my main Black Friday offer.

My official Black Friday sale ran for three days—Black Friday plus the two days after—and featured one signature offer at a discount. Then, Cyber Monday was its own three-day sale with a secondary offer, usually something popular or a unique bundle I didn’t normally sell.

In total, I typically had four to five offers on sale throughout November. I was intentional about making sure pre–Black Friday offers didn’t compete with my main Black Friday or Cyber Monday promotions.

How 2025 Looked Completely Different

In 2025, I did things very differently. I launched Scalability during the first two weeks of November, which I considered a presale, even though it wasn’t a traditional pre–Black Friday sale.

I placed that launch strategically because November is a huge purchasing month. People are ready to spend, they expect discounts, and that makes any promotion during this time especially powerful.

After the Scalability launch, I took a one-week break with no promotions. I used that time to build awareness for what was coming next: five days of deals.

From November 24th through November 28th, I ran five separate 24-hour deals, starting the Monday before Black Friday and ending on Black Friday itself. Each deal either included a discount or a bonus.

One of those deals was a presale for an offer I won’t officially launch until February 2026. People who purchased got early access as beta members.

After those five days, I received a huge number of messages from people who missed deals or tried to check out right as they expired. Because of that demand, I brought all five deals back for Cyber Monday for 24 hours only.

Revenue Numbers and Black Friday Results

My goal for Black Friday and Cyber Monday alone—excluding my presale—was $100,000.

In November, between the Scalability launch and Black Friday/Cyber Monday, I added $14,000 in monthly recurring revenue, bringing my total MRR to $36,000.

The Scalability launch brought in $16,000 in November, although the total contracted revenue was closer to $100,000. I don’t count contracted revenue until it’s actually earned, so I only include money that hits my bank account.

Most participants joined on payment plans, with only three paying in full.

In total, November revenue was $73,370. I gained 98 new customers and had 174 repeat customers.

However, when looking only at Black Friday and Cyber Monday, I made just under $25,000—about a quarter of my $100,000 goal. This was my lowest Black Friday and Cyber Monday performance since starting my business.

The Emotional Reality of Missing the Goal

If I’m being completely honest, I was extremely disappointed. I cried a lot—and sometimes I still feel emotional thinking about it.

I spent about three months preparing for November. I built landing pages, sent more emails than ever before, and increased my content significantly. We scheduled 42 sales emails in November, compared to six in a normal month.

I posted two to three times per day on Instagram, showed up constantly in stories, broadcast channels, communities, and sent segmented emails to past customers. I truly did everything I possibly could.

What made it harder is that Black Friday and Cyber Monday are time-bound. Unlike a launch you can extend, once those days pass, they’re over.

The Biggest Lesson: Simplicity Scales

After sitting with this for a few weeks, I don’t see it as a failure—just a big learning experience.

Looking back at the past three years, the Black Friday strategies that worked best were also the simplest. This year, I overcomplicated everything.

Our brains like to think that more complexity equals more success, more money, and better results—but that’s not true. The lesson I keep coming back to in business is this: simplicity wins, and simplicity scales.

Moving into 2026, the question I’m asking myself is, How can this be simpler than I’m making it?

What’s Next

Inside Scalability, I’m breaking down:

• Every email I sent
• Which offers performed best and worst
• What I’ll do again and what I won’t
• A sneak peek at my 2026 Black Friday strategy

You can find the link to join Scalability in the show notes. If you have questions, my DMs and email are always open.

That’s my Black Friday 2025 recap.

Resources & Links:

• Join Scalability
• 30 free selling on stories prompts
• Scaling Unlocked Mastermind Application
• Kajabi 30-day free trial + 2 bonuses
• Manychat
• IG University

Some of the links mentioned are affiliate links, which help to support this podcast at no additional cost to you.

Connect with Mya:

• Follow on Instagram @myanichol 
• Join my email list
• Check out my website
• Now on YouTube

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