Your Q4 Ad Checklist: What to Do Before Black Friday

Emma Huschka
5 days ago
3 min read

Get your ad campaigns ready for the biggest shopping season of the year. This Q4 ad checklist covers everything you need to do before Black Friday to maximize ROI, conversions, and holiday sales.

1. Review Last Year’s Performance

Start with your data. What worked last year.. and what didn’t? Pull reports from Meta, Google

Ads, and your eCommerce platform to analyze:

Which campaigns delivered the highest ROAS and engagement
Which audiences converted best
Where you saw high spend but low results

Pro tip: Identify your top-performing campaigns and audience segments. Replicate those structures before layering in new creative or targeting.

2. Audit Your Tracking and Pixel Events

Broken tracking = bad data = poor decisions. Double-check that your:

Meta Pixel and Conversions API are firing correctly
GA4 and Google Ads conversions are tracking purchases
Your website platform events (Add to Cart, Checkout, Purchase, Lead) match up
UTMs are consistent across every ad platform

If you haven’t already, test your tracking events through Meta’s Test Events tool and Google Tag Assistant.

3. Build Your Warm Audiences Now

Don’t wait until November. Audience pools take time to grow. Start building:

Website visitor and add-to-cart retargeting audiences
Lookalikes based on high-value customers
Email and SMS list uploads for retargeting and cross-channel synergy

Driving low-cost traffic now means you’ll have more people to retarget when your promos go live.

4. Refresh Your Creative

Creative fatigue is real, especially in Q4. To stand out during the ad surge, rotate in:

5- to 15-second videos showing your product as a gift
Lifestyle photos that highlight emotion, not just features
Headlines that add urgency: “Limited Edition,” “While Supplies Last,” “Early Access Starts Now"

Test multiple formats (Reels, carousels, static images) early so your winners are ready for scaling.

5. Finalize Your Offers and Messaging

Decide your promos before the chaos hits.Ask yourself:

What’s your primary offer (discount, bundle, gift with purchase)?
How will you communicate exclusivity (VIP early access, subscriber-only deals)?
Is your landing page copy aligned with your ad messaging?

Plan your offer ladder for Black Friday, Cyber Monday, and post-holiday marketing now.. not later.

6. Schedule and QA Your Campaigns Early

Meta and Google both slow down during high-volume approval weeks.Launch your campaigns at least 3–5 days in advance to avoid delays. Check:

Ad creative sizes and placements
Active URLs and discount codes
Budgets, start/end dates

Set automated rules for budget scaling or pausing underperforming ads.

7. Prepare for Scaling

When your sales start rolling in, you need systems to keep performance strong.

✅ Increase budgets gradually (no more than 20–30% per day)

✅ Watch for audience overlap and ad fatigue

✅ Keep backup creative ready to rotate in

Monitor your blended ROAS and adjust daily during peak sale periods.

8. Optimize Your Website for Conversions

Your ad can only perform as well as your landing page. Run a pre-holiday audit to ensure your site:

Loads in under 3 seconds
Is fully mobile-optimized
Clearly communicates shipping deadlines and return policies
Has functional discount codes and trust badges

Add a simple banner or pop-up for “Order by [Date] for Christmas Delivery” to drive urgency.

9. Plan Beyond Black Friday

Don’t stop when Cyber Monday ends. Use your Q4 audience data to:

Retarget recent visitors and customers with loyalty offers
Keep building for momentum into Q1
Create post-purchase ads promoting add-ons or referrals

Your new customers are your biggest Q1 opportunity.

Ready to Win Q4?

The busiest season of the year doesn’t have to feel overwhelming. At Fiddle Leaf Marketing, we help businesses build profitable, data-driven ad strategies that thrive during Q4 and beyond.

🎯 Book your free strategy session to make sure your ads, offers, and tracking are ready before Black Friday hits.