Avoid This Common Timer Mistake That Could Be Killing Your Sales

During a recent custom sales page design project, everything was coming together perfectly. The client was getting ready to launch, and as a final touch, she asked to place a timer at the top of her sales page. Her launch window was 12 days.

But here’s the problem—having a timer for such a long period can do more harm than good. When potential customers see a timer showing they have 12 days to make a decision, they often think, "I have plenty of time" and end up putting off their purchase. And as we know, once people leave the page, there’s a good chance they’ll forget about it altogether.

Here’s my tip:

• Activate the timer 24-48 hours before the end of the launch. This short window encourages urgency without giving potential buyers too much time to procrastinate.
• Ensure your timer is placed above the fold and is immediately visible when the page loads, so customers don’t miss the sense of urgency.

Check out the visual representation I created below to show how timer can impact conversions: