Hooked: How to Build Habit-Forming Products

You have to read lots of books to find the occasional gem. Hooked by Nir Eyal is one of the few great business books. It answers the fundamental and intriguing question: Why don’t you ever see advertising from Facebook, Google, Linked In, Twitter or Instagram? In its simplest form the answer is easy – they have a habit forming service that solves the users pain better than the alternatives. Change creates opportunity •You can no longer place lots of display advertising to occupy a space in peoples minds. Media is very fragmented so there is a lot of waste and it can be very expensive. •People are giving brands less and less attention: •There's more choice than ever before •There's more marketing messages than ever before •Peoples lives are busier than ever before •Devices to access the internet are getting smaller and smaller PC- laptop- tablet- smartphone-wearable So what do these habit forming brands do? Habit forming brands have worked out how to make consumers form new habits. •They connect the users problem with their solution frequently (many times a week) to create habit forming products. •They know, just like the old fashioned advertisers that money follows engagement because engagement keeps you top of mind. •They also consistently think of the users pain, if there isn’t pain, there isn’t a problem and there isn’t a need for the solution. Nir reminds us that the goal of a product or service is to satisfy a need and that marketing tactics should convert internal triggers in the customers mind into external triggers that they can take action on. They then get a reward for their action which triggers them to come back multiple times and often increase their investment of money and time. They also invest their personalise reputation by telling others. In other words, word of mouth which is the most powerful marketing tool available. This is a must read book for all entrepreneurs.

An easy read and well structured book about tips and tricks that can greatly enhance how your users interact with your digital products/apps/websites and become "hooked". It is accompanied by real life examples and two case studies which makes the concepts come to life easily. Overall a good read and a source of inspiration for product development.

Hooked is based around the four step process that causes products, apps to become habit forming. The battle most tech companies now face is the battle for consumer’s attention. The vast majority of the population now carry round with them a device that triggers their attention, businesses and services can get them thinking or acting in desired ways around the clock. Billion pound valuations have been drummed up for companies such as Whatsapp, Snapchat and Instagram without taking a penny, because these apps were to become so heavily engrained into peoples lives. Attention comes first, monetisation second. These wild valuations come from the ability these apps have to make consumers use them everyday, all the time, with minimal conscious prompting. The book helps to establish the process apps go through to get to this habit forming status, following a ‘trigger’, ‘action’, ‘reward’, ‘investment’. It takes all four to create a habit forming product and have a longevity to success. The book describes the reward elements that drive our actions. The needs of the self, the tribe, and the hunt. It puts many everyday things into perspective and gave me a greater understanding us to why we act as we do. I found this aspect particularly eye opening. Overall I found this book extremely useful, and look forward to referencing it in the future. Highly recommend.

I bought this book after seeing it recommended in a blog. I've recently taken responsibility for an online tool that isn't being used as much as anticipated. Being new to the area of product management I was looking for some guidance in how to convert people who try the product once, to people who are regular active users. This book fitted the bill perfectly. Written in a friendly manner it is an easy read that outlines the characteristics of the hook model, the features that can make a product truly habit forming. The model is backed up by many examples from some of today's leading online products - Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest etc. It has practical advice you can start acting on immediately. This has allowed me to identify exactly what areas I can work on to look to increase the number of regular active users for my product. Will I get more active users? Only time will tell. But if I don't I know it will be because the product just isn't what people want, and not down to bad advice from the book.

Decent read. Pretty obvious stuff for the most part so its not too long but not worth more than £5

This is an excellent primer on the ‘value unit’, the individual nugget that fuels the network effect, and helps explain what makes some products world-beating. Eyal explains how products are addictive, with a simple four-step model: - Trigger -What internal trigger is the product addressing or what external trigger gets the user to the product? - Action – What is the simplest behaviour in anticipation of reward? - Reward – Is the reward fulfilling, yet leaves the user wanting more? - Investment – What ‘bit of work’ is done to increase the likelihood of returning? For each stage of the model, there is an explanation of the science behind with some real-world examples of how these are implemented in products we all know. The great news is that the science is simply explained, and not too academic – and at the end of the chapters there is a list of key takeaways coupled with some practical actions you can take to help the design of your product. Later in the book, there is a chapter that deals with the ethical concerns of building an addictive product and an excellent case study of how to apply the theory in a real-world situation. Hooked is concise enough that it can be read in a couple of days, but comprehensive enough that you can walk away with a clear understanding of how products become addictive, and how you can design products that people cannot put down. I’d highly recommend Hooked to anyone that is looking to increase customer engagement with their product.

This is a good book about how to make your game more long lived however, I would exercise a note of caution in this regard as some of the techniques discussed border on trying to turn your audience into what amounts to junkies for your game. Constantly plowing their spare time and money into it and always looking for their next play session. Some ideas in here are great for enhancing replay but, I would draw the line at using the techniques to effectively bleed your audience dry of their cash especially if your audience consists of young children and teens.

I loved this book. It brings together all the elements you need to make your products come alive and stay relevant and fresh in the eyes of consumers and users of your product. Eyal uses the framework of Triggers, Actions, Variable Rewards and Investments to show how users are first made aware of their own need to use your product (their "itch"), then what you need to do in the way of actions to respond to those triggers, how you need to continually improve and change the rewards you give users in return for their use of your product and finally what and how users will invest their own time / energy / resources in order to get more from their own use. This is a great reference, and I'll be going back to this for years to come.

A must read for all product marketers looking to increase customer engagement with products In today’s competitive, digital and AI landscape, creating a product that not only sells but becomes an integral part of customers daily routine is the holy grail for product marketers Nir Eyal, provides compelling roadmap to achieve just this. Here’s the breakdown that highlights key takeaways and their applications for marketing leaders Nir Eyal, ends the book with critical reflection on the 𝗲𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗰𝘀 of these techniques, it’s our responsibility to use these insights to enhance customer experience, not to exploit them. Nir Eyal’s wisdom is roadmap for creating products that stick. He says ”𝗖𝗼𝗺𝗽𝗮𝗻𝗶𝗲𝘀 𝘄𝗵𝗼 𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗺 𝘀𝘁𝗿𝗼𝗻𝗴 𝘂𝘀𝗲𝗿 𝗵𝗮𝗯𝗶𝘁𝘀 𝗲𝗻𝗷𝗼𝘆 𝘀𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗿𝗮𝗹 𝗯𝗲𝗻𝗲𝗳𝗶𝘁𝘀 𝘁𝗼 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗯𝗼𝘁𝘁𝗼𝗺 𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗲” = 𝗖𝘂𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗺𝗲𝗿 𝗟𝗶𝗳𝗲𝘁𝗶𝗺𝗲 𝗩𝗮𝗹𝘂𝗲 Product marketers can use knowledge responsibly and shape products that aren’t just part of the routine but improve everyday life. Happy Reading!

本を読む醍醐味は多くの人が知らない事を知れる事ですが、その観点においてもこの本は非常に優れています。 既にこういった人達が仕掛けた習慣はあまりに強力すぎる故、依存症とまで呼ばれるようになってきました。そこの是非はさておき、それだけ強力に脳を支配して人間の行動を変えてしまう技術、それを体系化した素晴らしい本です。比較的読みやすい英語で書かれていた為スムーズに読めました。

"Hooked: How to Build Habit-Forming Products" is a deep dive into the psychology and science behind the products and services we can't seem to live without. Nir Eyal, with illustrative examples from Jamie Oliver, presents a compelling framework for understanding how habits are formed and how product designers can build solutions that cater to these ingrained patterns. Central to the book is the "Hook Model" – a cycle that involves a trigger, an action, a variable reward, and an investment. Eyal meticulously breaks down each component, explaining how successful products seamlessly integrate into this model to drive user engagement and create sticky user experiences. What sets this book apart is its blend of rigorous academic research with actionable insights for entrepreneurs and product managers. It challenges readers to think critically about the ethical considerations of creating habit-forming products while also offering tools and techniques to ensure that these products genuinely benefit users. For anyone in the product design and development realm, "Hooked" is an indispensable guide. It offers a fresh perspective on user engagement, helping professionals craft products that not only captivate but also provide lasting value.

New info , adds up to my knowledge ❤️

This book lays out important information in simple language and conceptual models about why people do the things they do and how to leverage that information ethically to build and sustain strong customer-client relationships. Of course this book is great for anyone with a business. But I discovered it’s also helpful in therapeutic practices that serve clients as opposed to customers. Behaviour analysts and psychologists will appreciate the reader-friendly and insightful interpretation of key behavioural and psychological concepts and be inspired to use these concepts to improve issues in their work such as therapeutic program retention or drop out of clients.