Hooked

by Nir Eyal & Ryan Hoover

How do successful companies create products people can’t put down?

Why do some products capture widespread attention while others flop? What makes us engage with certain products out of sheer habit? Is there a pattern underlying how technologies hook us?Nir Eyal answers these questions (and many more) by explaining the Hook Model—a four-step process embedded into the products of many successful companies to subtly encourage customer behavior. Through consecutive “hook cycles,” these products reach their ultimate goal of bringing users back again and again without depending on costly advertising or aggressive messaging.

Hooked is based on Eyal’s years of research, consulting, and practical experience. He wrote the book he wished had been available to him as a start-up founder—not abstract theory, but a how-to guide for building better products. Hooked is written for product managers, designers, marketers, start-up founders, and anyone who seeks to understand how products influence our behavior.

Eyal provides readers with:

  • Practical insights to create user habits that stick.
  • Actionable steps for building products people love.
  • Fascinating examples from the iPhone to Twitter, Pinterest to the Bible App, and many other habit-forming products.

Our thoughts on Hooked

When you reach for your phone, does your finger ever reach for Instagram or Twitter without you consciously meaning to? This is the power of habit-forming products. The world's most successful digital products, like smartphones, social media platforms, apps, websites, make us form these habits.

What made the iPhone the most profitable product in the world? Why does the average person check their smartphone is 110 times a day? As of the fourth quarter of 2019, Facebook has almost 2.5 billion monthly active users. What is it about these products? According to Nir Eyal, it's because they make use form habits, wedge themselves into our lives, and offer variable rewards.

Nir Eyal is a behavioural design and consumer psychology expert with a focus on helping businesses change user behaviour and retain customers. Hooked is a distillation of his knowledge, after years of research and working with clients. It's a fascinating read and insight into why we do the things that we do. Eyal explores the 4-step framework that makes these products so successful, with practical insights to create user habits that stick.

“When it comes to driving engagement and building habits, Hooked is an excellent guide into the mind of the user.” —Andrew Chen, General Partner at Andreessen Horowitz

Our favourite quote from Hooked

Users who continually find value in a product are more likely to tell their friends about it.

9 recommendations for Hooked

9 recommendation for Hooked

Book Summary

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Users who continually find value in a product are more likely to tell their friends about it.

— Nir Eyal & Ryan Hoover, Hooked