Hooked by Nir Eyal
July 16, 2024 2024-11-04 10:22Hooked by Nir Eyal
Build Habit-Forming Products
Key Lessons from Hooked by Nir Eyal
The most successful products in the world make us form habits around them
9 Key Takeaways from the Book
The Power of Habit-Forming Products
Successful products like smartphones and social media platforms become part of users’ daily routines. These products create habits that are hard to break, making customers loyal and less sensitive to price changes.
The Hook Model
Eyal introduces the 4-step Hook Model for building habit-forming products: Trigger, Action, Variable Reward, and Investment. This model helps designers create products that people keep coming back to.
Triggers Drive User Action
A habit-forming product starts with a trigger, either external (like a notification) or internal (like boredom or fear). These triggers prompt users to take action and engage with the product.
Make the Action Easy
The easier it is to use your product; the more likely people will engage with it. Reducing friction at the point of action is crucial to forming habits, whether it’s signing up or making a purchase.
Variable Rewards Create Addiction
Variable rewards are key to habit formation. By offering unpredictable outcomes, such as likes on social media or surprise offers, users become hooked, continually seeking the next reward.
User Investment Increases Retention
The final step in the Hook Model is investment. When users invest time, money, or data into a product, they are more likely to return. This builds long-term loyalty.
Mix Different Types of Rewards
To keep users engaged, offer a mix of rewards. These can be rewards of the tribe (social validation), rewards of the hunt (searching for information or products), or rewards of the self (personal achievements).
Ask If Your Product Should Form Habits
Not all products need to form habits. Ask yourself two key questions: Does this product improve the user’s life? Would I use it myself? If the answer is yes, then habit formation may be the right approach.
Ethical Considerations
Building habit-forming products comes with moral responsibility. Eyal emphasizes that products should only create habits if they genuinely improve the user’s life, like fitness apps or productivity tools—not harmful addictions.
Product Success = Triggers + Easy Actions + Variable Rewards + User Investment
If you want users to keep coming back, you need to trigger engagement, make it simple, reward unpredictably, and encourage investment. That’s how habit-forming products thrive.
To build a habit-forming product, start by asking: Does this product improve users' lives, and would I use it myself?
Summary Note
Hooked by Nir Eyal explains how to design habit-forming products using the 4-step Hook Model: Trigger, Action, Variable Reward, and Investment. By understanding user behavior and offering unpredictable rewards, companies can create products that people can’t resist using.
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