Welcome back to this week’s Side Income Roundup, Monday, November 2.
This week is about getting ready for Black Friday without wasting the run-up: a smarter email plan, two free tools, two deadlines that hit you by default, and a Google change worth knowing.
📧 The Black Friday email plan that beats one long blast
🎨 Free AI images in Canva and a no-website landing page
📅 An eBay payout switch and Amazon’s new returns rule
🤖 Google is putting AI review summaries in your ads
📝 The 15-minute email that wakes up quiet buyers
Let’s get into it.
THIS WEEK’S BIG IDEA
📧 How to plan your Black Friday emails
The biggest Black Friday email mistake is treating Cyber Week as one long blast, sending the same “sale is live” message to your whole list over and over. The fix isn’t to email less. It’s to raise the cadence but change the angle each time: one send leads with the offer, the next with bestsellers, then social proof, then the deadline.
Two things protect you. Drop people from the next send the moment they buy, and build the deal into a bundle or a spend threshold instead of slashing prices storewide.
Our Take: Before Black Friday, write three versions of your sale email, offer, bestsellers, deadline, and set your tool to stop emailing anyone the second they buy.
TOOLS OF THE WEEK
🎨 Canva Craft
Canva’s own AI image model, now free to every user. Describe a product shot, ad, or social graphic and it makes it in any size, with no designer and no stock photos.
🧩 Typeform AI Landing Pages
Describe the page you want and it builds a branded landing page with a form or checkout built in, so you can collect leads or sell without a website.
Our Take: Make a few fresh product images in Canva, drop them on a free Typeform page, and send this week’s traffic straight there.
TODAY’S QUICK WINS
💳 eBay is switching on “eBay balance” for sellers
From November 4, eBay automatically moves US sellers into its “eBay balance” program and switches payouts to on-demand. Your earnings stop landing in your bank on their own until you turn your schedule back on.
📦 Amazon’s holiday returns now run to January 31
Anything bought on Amazon in November or December can be returned through January 31, every year from now on, with no opt-out. Your Q4 sales stay open to returns weeks into the new year.
Our Take: After November 4, turn your eBay payouts back on so cash still lands, and hold back a little from December’s Amazon sales for returns.
FROM OMC
📝 The 15-Minute Win-Back Email
A big slice of your list has gone quiet, and that’s money you already paid for. This post shows the one short email that warms them up before Black Friday.
Our Take: The cheapest Black Friday sales come from people who already bought once. Spend 15 minutes waking them up before you chase anyone new.
AI SPOTLIGHT
🤖 Google is putting AI review summaries in Search ads
Google now uses AI to pull positive lines from your online reviews and drop them straight into your Search ads across the US, UK, and Australia. You can’t edit the wording, and it only shows when Google thinks it will lift clicks.
Our Take: Go collect fresh reviews this week. Google now feeds the good ones into your ads automatically, so newer reviews mean stronger ads you didn’t write.
UNTIL NEXT WEEK…
Here’s your short list this week:
📧 Draft three angles for your Black Friday sale email
🎨 Make one fresh product image in Canva
💳 Turn your eBay payouts back on after November 4
🤖 Ask three happy customers for a review
The email plan and the reviews both pay off most when you start them before the rush, not during it.
Talk soon,
Aidan
P.S. Next week, a simple way to turn Black Friday’s one-time buyers into repeat customers before the year ends.
