Dark Patterns in Email Marketing: Coercion or Conversion?

In today’s hyper-competitive digital landscape, brands are under intense pressure to convert visitors into customers, subscribers, or leads. But, in chasing those conversions, many resort to tactics that obliterate the ethical line between friendly persuasion and outright manipulation.

These tactics are dark patterns. We've heard the ethics of dark patterns discussed in web design conversations, but dark patterns are woven into many email tactics throughout the entire customer journey, from acquisition to retention and beyond.

Some of these dark patterns are legal (for now). Many are effective in the short term. But the risk side is growing larger than the reward side. Customers are catching on and pushing back – even taking household brand names like Nike and AT&T to court.

I've fought for years against these tactics that trick visitors and customers into converting or just outright lie about costs or conditions of a purchase. They're ethically questionable. They destroy trust. They put the company's goals ahead of customer needs, and it's time we stamp them out of email.

What are dark patterns?

UX expert Harry Brignull coined the term in 2010. In his definition, a dark pattern is “a user interface that has been carefully crafted to trick users into doing things.”

I can think of four classic email dark patterns right off the top of my head. Are you thinking what I'm thinking?

• Pre-checked opt-in fields on web pages and in transactional emails
• Camouflaged unsubscribe links and fields in minuscule, non-contrasting type and stashed below inches of blank space in an email message
• Forced opt-ins for promotional emails blended into the terms and conditions of a sale, account registration, download, contest entry, or information request
• Fake urgency such as low stock claims or phony purchase deadlines in subject lines and email copy

That's just for starters. I'll discuss more in depth in the next section.

Elsewhere in the digital universe, dark patterns emerge in purchase agreements, where customers find they have signed up for features they didn't want or for contracts that last longer than they expected. They discover that an email address they gave for one brand ended up on every list a brand owns. How did they get there?

Think of sneakily mislabeled button labels and message copy that uses psychology to bully or bamboozle users into doing things they didn’t consciously choose, such as signing up for a free subscription without realizing they would begin paying for it eventually, or paying for extras they didn’t realize they agreed to.

As Laura Klein, author of UX for Lean Startups, writes:

“To me, dark patterns are very effective in their goal, which is to trick the user into doing something that they would not otherwise do.”

But just because something works doesn’t mean it’s right or sustainable.

Why dark patterns hurt your brand

Let’s be clear: these tactics can work, at least temporarily. You might see higher click-through rates, more email signups, and even some quick revenue boosts. But the long-term cost is high. Here's why:

• They erode trust. Once users realize they’ve been tricked, they feel deceived. They won't come back. They'll tell other people what happened in reviews and on social media. That's the other bad thing about dark patterns: They don't always stay in the dark.
• They harm Customer Lifetime Value (CLTV). Tricked customers don’t become loyal customers. If they report their experiences to other people, the bad word of mouth can snowball.
• They increase friction. This frustrates users, especially when they try to cancel, unsubscribe, or find what they wanted.
• They can cause legal and reputational damage to your brand and company. Regulators are cracking down hard on deceptive marketing practices. Consumers are publicly calling out bad actors.

More importantly, they violate the fundamental principle of ethical, customer-first marketing: Help your customers. Don’t trick them.

Types of dark patterns

As promised previously, here are some of the most common dark patterns in email marketing, ecommerce, and subscription services:

1. Email marketing

"Manipulinks:" Links or buttons that guilt-trip the user.
Example: “No thanks, I prefer to pay full price” instead of a simple “No, thank you.” This really makes me grit my teeth.

Roach motel: Your programs are easy to sign up for but almost impossible to leave. The unsubscribe process is buried or requires logging in, adding unnecessary steps, and violating email laws against burying opt-outs behind a permission gate.

Deceptive subject lines: Emails claiming “Your order is waiting…” when you never placed an order or put items in a cart. These inflate open rates and destroy trust. Very efficient, that, but hardly the foundation of a trusted and successful email program!

A better approach:

Use persuasive, honest subject lines. Make it easy to unsubscribe in one click and honor that opt-out. Work to create value, not confusion.

2. Ecommerce

Sneak into basket: The purchase process adds items like extended warranties, donations, or shipping upgrades to a customer's cart without consent or even notification.

Hidden costs: Waiting until the final checkout step to reveal expenses such as taxes, shipping, donations, or service fees.

Fake scarcity: “Only 1 left!” or countdown timers that reset upon page reload. This is classic manipulation.

A better approach:

Be transparent with pricing and stock. Use urgency only when it reflects real inventory or events.

3. Subscription services (SaaS contracts, streaming, product delivery services, or memberships)

Forced continuity: A free trial that auto-converts to a paid subscription with no reminder forces users into payments they didn’t expect.

Bait & switch: You sign up for a platform thinking it includes a key feature, only to discover after you have paid and are locked into a contract that the things you want are locked behind a higher-tier plan.

Upsells masquerading as setup: Onboarding steps that sneakily opt users into add-ons or upgrades through pre-ticked boxes or other devices, or imply that customers must pay for extras to use the service.

A better approach:

Send reminders before a trial ends. Clearly mark what’s included and what’s not. Make downgrades and cancellations easy and visible.

Shady patterns and the Nike lawsuit

Some patterns aren’t explicitly deceptive but still prioritize business goals over user well-being. These are shady patterns, and they’re just as damaging in the long run as dark patterns.

Two lawsuits in Washington state courts highlight this issue with dark and shady patterns and indicate where legal challenges are heading – mainly, that courts are coming down on the customer's side.

A 2025 class-action lawsuit alleges that Nike violated the state's Commercial Electronic Mail Act by using email subject lines that implied that sales promotions were time-limited but then extended the campaigns. This illusion of immediacy blew up when the brand extended the sale.

While not technically false, this tactic manipulates user psychology without full transparency. That's a shady pattern – not quite a dark pattern, but still problematic.

The Nike lawsuit comes after the Washington State Supreme Court ruled Old Navy had violated a similar section of the email law, establishing a legal precedent supporting customer claims about misleading subject lines.

That's the legal approach. It's telling marketers that they need to be more transparent in their emails.  It's a stark reminder that words carry weight, and consumers expect brands to live up to their copy.

Even if the content technically meets compliance, it can break trust with your customers. When that happens, no offer, no matter how enticing, will bring them back.

The ethical alternative: Persuasive, not deceptive

There’s a big difference between manipulating and motivating your users. I believe in

persuasive design, which uses cognitive science ethically to help users make informed decisions that benefit them and the business.

We don't intentionally mislead subscribers or customers or try to hoodwink them into action. Appealing to people's cognitive biases or shortcuts can help your emails break through the noise in their inboxes, clarify your offers and value, and make the decision to click through even easier.

You can read more about this philosophy in my Only Influencers post, Using Persuasion to Move Customers Along on Their Journey, and in an article on my Holistic Email Marketing blog, How cognitive biases shape email engagement.

Below are my key points for using cognitive science ethically to help customers make decisions without resorting to dark or shady patterns:

• Design for the entire customer journey, not just isolated clicks or opens.
• Make your focus human-centric, not brand-centric.
• Remove friction and align incentives with user goals.

My OI post included great examples of ethical persuasion using cognitive science from brands like Asda, Who Gives A Crap, and MoneyGram. Take a quick look for ideas about what to do.

Enter the BJ Fogg Behavior Model

Now that you know the background and why we need to be upfront in our methods, it's time to learn to put it into practice. I refer you to the BJ Fogg Behaviour Model, which provides a framework for ethical conversion-focused design:

1. Build motivation through value, relevance, and timing.
2. Make it easy to act by reducing friction and streamlining UX.
3. Trigger the action at the right moment using behavioral cues, not tricks.

Use this model to guide your decisions instead of defaulting to shortcuts.

Want to see it in action? My OI post has great examples of ethical persuasion using cognitive science from brands like Asda, Who Gives A Crap, and MoneyGram. Take a quick look!

Check yourself before you send another campaign

Before rolling out your next email campaign or onboarding flow, ask yourself these two questions:

• Do my subject lines reflect the message?
• Is the urgency real? Or am I planning to extend the sale no matter what?

Don't stop there, though. Take time to review both your email strategy and past and upcoming campaigns and answer these questions:

• Are we helping our customers reach their goals or just ours?
• Would we be proud to show these campaigns in teardowns?
• Are we focused on long-term loyalty or short-term conversions?

If you hesitate on any of those, it’s time to rethink your strategy.

Final thoughts

Shortcuts rarely lead to meaningful destinations. Yes, dark patterns can inflate your metrics – but they can cost you customer trust, loyalty, and brand integrity.

To quote Roger Dooley, author of Brainfluence: 100 Ways to Persuade and Convince Consumers with Neuromarketing: “If you are being honest, and if you are helping the customer get to a better place, it’s not manipulation and it’s not unethical.”

Let’s build brands that persuade ethically, respect the user, and grow sustainably.

Photo by Ron Whitaker on Unsplash