How to Run Time-Limited Deals Honestly (Without Fake Urgency)
A countdown can help people decide, but only when the deadline is real. A timer that resets every day, or a "last chance" that is never the last chance, teaches your audience to ignore you, and in some places misleading urgency can also break advertising rules.
Use the real end time
- Take the deadline from the offer itself, for example the store's sale page or the coupon's terms.
- Enter that exact time in the link's Deal ends field. The card shows a countdown, and after that time the link stops sending people to the offer.
- If you are not sure when it ends, leave the end time empty and say "while it lasts" in your post. Do not guess.
Schedule a deal that has not started
For a launch or a sale that begins later, a start time (a Pro feature) makes the link show "this deal has not started yet" until the moment it begins. That way a link shared early does not send people to a price that is not live.
Plan for people who arrive late
Links live on in old posts, chats and screenshots. Visitors will keep arriving after a deal has ended. Decide what they should see:
- Your other live deals (the default). The ended page lists up to four of your active deals, so a late visitor can still find something.
- A page you choose, such as your store's sale page or a category page.
- Just the notice, if the deal was a one-off.
Open Stats on a link to see how many people reached it after it ended and how many were sent on to another deal.
When the price changes
Prices change without warning. If the deal price or coupon changes, edit the link the same day, and take it down if the offer is gone. A card with a wrong price costs you trust faster than a missing one.
Checklist
- The end time is the real end time, or empty.
- The price and coupon were checked today.
- You chose what late visitors see.
- Your post says it is an affiliate link. See the disclosure guide.
New to deal links? Start with how to create one.