Deinfluencing yourself: Stop falling for marketing gimmicks
- Write Wiser
- 4 days ago
- 4 min read
I want to de-influence people into hyper-rational shoppers for everything you might spend money on: Services, products, experiences, even investments. The inspiration to do this came from personal frustration, born watching mediocre, gimmicky marketing tactics get rolled out and realising, if they're being used—they're working.
We've become easy to rush, scare, or manipulate. There are so many reasons why this happens, but what interests me is revealing the mediocre marketers for the benefit of consumers.
Once you understand how marketing works, two things happen:
You stop spending on products and services you don’t actually need.
You get better at promoting your own work without quietly eroding trust.
Below are five of the most common marketing gimmicks used during high-pressure sales seasons (December-to-New Year is their Olympics), and how to spot them before they empty your wallet.
1. False urgency as a marketing tactic
Countdown timers. Low-stock warnings. “Holiday pricing won’t last!” False urgency works because your brain is overloaded. When you’re tired or multitasking, anything that promises quick relief feels attractive.
Marketers compress your decision window so you don’t ask the obvious question: "Do I even want this?" Never mind if you need it.
Spoiler: most “urgent” offers either return next week or reappear on Boxing Day wearing a sparklier hat.
How to de-influence yourself
Assume urgency is manufactured unless proven otherwise.
Remember that hovers and pauses count as “interest”. You’re being retargeted even if you didn’t click.
Check price history (use CamelCamelCamel, Keepa for Amazon). If the price didn’t actually change, neither did the deal.
To avoid fake urgency, we need to deprogram ourselves over time. It requires repeated self-talk: "If an offer can’t survive a pause, it shouldn’t survive my scrutiny."
2. Price anchoring as a marketing tactic
Anchoring works by showing you a big number first, then making a smaller number feel like a bargain—even if it’s the item’s normal price.
A £300 coat, “now £120.” Sounds miraculous. But if you’d never seen £300, would £120 feel special? Or just… the price of a coat? Anchoring makes you feel clever for “saving,” even as you spend more than you planned. This doesn't mean all discounts are fake price anchoring, though.
When price anchoring is legitimate
When the previous price was real, consistent, and verifiable.
Seasonal stock rotation and regulated industries tend to be safer here.
How to dodge fake price anchoring
Track prices before sales seasons.
Check historical pricing during. If it’s been “on sale” for months, you’re not getting a deal, you’re getting a narrative.
3. Emotional priming as a marketing tactic
Emotional priming occurs when brands trigger a feeling before the sale, so you make a decision in that emotional state rather than a rational one.
And year-end is prime time. You’re tired, sentimental, a bit panicked, and trying to be a good human while finishing a year’s worth of admin in three weeks.
Three emotional levers dominate seasonal marketing:
Nostalgia Warm lighting. Soft music. Someone struggling with wrapping paper. Suddenly, a mediocre candle feels meaningful.
Guilt “They deserve it.” “Don’t forget anyone.” Guilt converts faster than any discount code.
Togetherness Every ad implies that belonging comes with a basket total. Buy this, and your relationships will upgrade too.
How to de-prime yourself
Name the emotion. Once you identify it, the spell weakens.
Wait 24 hours. Emotional states fade quickly—manufactured ones even faster.
Switch context. Emotional priming only works if the emotional environment stays the same.
Now this is not to say feelings aren't worth investing in. If a 20-pound candle makes you happy, have at it! But consider how long you'll feel happy, warm or nostalgic with that candle.
4. Social proof overload and suspiciously good data
Social proof overload is when brands drown you in other people’s opinions so you outsource your decision-making to the crowd.
“4.9 stars.”
“14,782 reviews.”
“Award-winning.”
It feels objective, but it isn’t. Large review volumes often cluster around launches, influencer pushes, or curated prompts. And when you’re rushing, your brain reads volume as truth.
Then, there’s data framing:
“97% saw results.”
“2× smoother skin.”
“Up to 70% faster.”
No denominator. No methodology. No context.
Because I’ve done this myself, I can tell you: brands cherry-pick the most flattering metric—tiny surveys, relative gains, ideal conditions—and let your optimism fill in the gaps. A number is only as honest as what it doesn’t say.
How to take the product out of the frame
Ignore ratings summaries. Read a handful of thoughtful reviews instead.
Strip away the numbers and ask: Does this solve a problem I actually have today?
Would you want it if no one else had bought it?
If the stats vanished, would the product still stand? Good marketers tell good stories. Savvy buyers fact-check them.
5. The decoy effect as a marketing tactic
“Good.”
“Better.”
“Best.”
The middle option isn’t there to be chosen. It’s there to make the expensive option feel reasonable.
Think coffee sizes. Think software pricing. The middle tier is often deliberately underpowered—just annoying enough that upgrading feels sensible.
This works because your brain hates:
running out
missing features
upgrading later
“wasting” money
So you spend more now to avoid a future loss that may never happen.
Here’s the tell:
If the middle option feels oddly useless, it’s just bait. Buying less can feel like losing. Marketers know that—and price accordingly.
De-influencing yourself is all about being harder to manipulate.
I don't see any of the above as anti-marketing. We can and should all continue to market our wares and affairs, because many people would benefit from them. But I am, indeed, anti-lazy marketing.
You can sell without:
fake urgency
inflated anchors
emotional pressure
meaningless data
decoy pricing
When you avoid these gimmicks, you attract better buyers—the ones who trust you.
If you want help pressure-testing your own offer, pricing page, or campaign, I do focused audits that flag:
decoy pricing
loss framing
emotional manipulation
fake certainty
Then we rebuild your content and brand message for clarity, credibility, and long-term trust. Harder to rush. Harder to scare. Much harder to bullshit.
Connect with me when you're ready to start attracting buyers who trust you:
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