Hooked

Key takeaways

• Habit forming products run a loop of trigger, action, variable reward and investment
• External triggers get attention, but only internal triggers tied to emotions create lasting habits
• The easier an action is to complete, the more likely it happens when motivation is present
• Unpredictable rewards keep people coming back far more than predictable ones
• Each bit of effort a user invests, from data to followers, makes leaving harder

Inside this bit

1. Why some apps feel like reflexes

   Think about the last time you unlocked your phone. Did you decide to open Instagram or WhatsApp, or did your thumb just go there?

2. Triggers, from outside to inside

   Every hook begins with a trigger, a cue that tells you what to do next. External triggers live in the world: a notification, an email, an icon on the home screen, a friend saying you must try this.

3. Make the action easier than thinking

   After the trigger comes the action, the simplest behaviour done in anticipation of a reward: scrolling a feed, tapping a like, hitting search. Eyal draws on the behaviour model of researcher BJ Fogg, which says an action happens when motivation, ability and a trigger arrive together.

4. Rewards that you cannot predict

   Why do people keep pulling the lever? Because they do not know what they will get.

5. Investment closes the loop

   The last step is the one most products forget. After the reward, the user does a little work that makes the product better for them next time: following accounts, saving a playlist, adding contacts, typing a profile, uploading photos.

6. Put it to work

   This week, take one product you work on or use and write out its hook: what triggers use, what the smallest action is, what reward arrives, and what the user invests afterwards. Find the internal trigger by asking what feeling sends people to the product, then check whether the reward truly relieves it.