As I get better at product marketing and consumer psychology, I feel like a witch.
A Little Marketing Witchcraft
As I get better at product marketing and consumer psychology, I swear—I feel like a witch.
Every button, headline, and color palette has power. The “Pro” plan that seems smarter. The “Try Free” button that flips to “Upgrade.” None of it is random. It’s design, backed by behavioral science.
These are nudges: tiny cues that make one choice feel smarter or easier without taking away your options. Once you start to see them, you can’t unsee them. Especially when that “subscribe” checkbox is magically prechecked for you.
That’s the premise of Marketing Magic, my mini series breaking down the science behind why we buy, click, and subscribe. Because marketers are casting spells, and I’d like to give you some counter-spells.
WHAT TO EXPECT FROM THIS SERIES
Each episode will uncover one piece of everyday “marketing magic” that shapes your behavior online:
The Nudge Spell — how design makes decisions feel effortless.
The Voodoo Doll — how marketers build user personas that predict your every move.
The Cursed Button — how friction, color, and placement control your clicks.
We’ll look at what the science says, how product marketers use it, and where the line is between smart design and manipulation.
WHY IT MATTERS
In a world where attention is the new currency, understanding behavioral science is power.
Marketers call it choice architecture. Psychologists call it cognitive bias. I call it Marketing Magic.
Product marketers use these principles to make digital experiences intuitive and delightful, but the same tools can also be used to trap you in friction loops or subscription renewals you didn’t mean to click. It happens to me all the time.
The goal of this series isn’t to ruin the fun, it’s to teach you how to see the hidden structure behind your everyday decisions, so you can build or buy with more awareness.
WHY I’M DOING THIS
I’m building three apps in three months, a personal “snapback” challenge to prove I can ship, learn, and grow as a product marketer. Marketing Magic is where I share what I’m learning along the way: the behavioral triggers, UX patterns, and product decisions that make users act.
This isn’t a masterclass. It’s a build-in-public field journal with a side of behavioral science. I’m learning more myself.
If you’ve ever wanted to know how marketing actually works, or how to protect yourself from the tricks, this series is for you.
TAKEAWAY + CTA
The next time a button glows brighter or a “Pro” plan looks too good to ignore, pause for a second. Ask: Who wrote this spell?
Then come back here as we decode the next one.
Subscribe to my newsletter and learn the science, and the counter-science, behind every scroll, click, and purchase.