The Holiday Content Timeline: What to Create Now to Win Black Friday and Cyber Monday

If you want your Black Friday and Cyber Monday campaigns to perform, you can’t wait until October to get started. The brands that win Q4 are the ones who plan their content early and execute it in phases.

This isn’t about working harder, it’s about working smarter with a clear timeline.

Here’s your month-by-month breakdown of what content to create, and when.

July: Plan and Prioritize

This is your foundation month.

• Finalize your Q4 promotions and messaging
  
  
• Identify the content you’ll need: product photos, videos, lifestyle images, email graphics, ads
  
  
• Book your shoot before studio calendars fill up
  
  

Key Content to Create or Schedule:

• Product photography for top-performing SKUs
  
  
• Website banners and landing page assets
  
  
• Paid social video scripts or shot lists
  
  
• Gift guide visual concepts

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August: Shoot and Build

Now that your plan is in place, it’s time to execute.

• Complete your photo and video shoots
  
  
• Start building content libraries across channels
  
  
• Begin A/B testing paid creative
  
  

Key Content to Finalize:

• Short-form videos for ads and Reels
  
  
• Lifestyle images for PDPs and emails
  
  
• Email headers and gift guide assets
  
  
• Fall and early holiday campaign creative

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September: Optimize and Expand

This is your opportunity to refine and fill in any content gaps.

• Review performance of early ads
  
  
• Test creative variations for late Q4 launches
  
  
• Expand into UGC-style content if needed
  
  

Key Content to Prepare:

• Flash sale and BFCM-specific creative
  
  
• Video variants for different audiences
  
  
• Countdown graphics, limited-time offer assets
  
  
• Content to support SMS and influencer campaigns

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October: Launch and Lead

By now, your content should be ready. This is not the time to start creating. It’s the time to focus on launching, optimizing, and scaling.

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What to Do Instead of Creating:

• Launch email and ad campaigns with tested creative
  
  
• Monitor performance and rotate content as needed
  
  
• Focus on conversion, not production
  
  

Bottom Line:

If you haven't booked your first shoot for holiday, you're already behind.

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The best way to avoid the content panic? Follow this timeline, and start ASAP.

soona helps you get your entire holiday content library done early, so you can go into Q4 with confidence. Talk to a content expert or book your shoot today.‍