Hooked

How to Build Habit-Forming Products

by Nir Eyal

EbookFirst published 2014Marketing★★★★★ 4.5 (4 reviews)

Why read it

A model for how habit-forming products are built, written for product teams. Worth reading with an ethical eye, since the same loop can help or harm.

Key ideas

1. Habit-forming products run on a loop of trigger, action, variable reward and investment.
2. Outside prompts get people started; inner ones, like boredom, keep them coming back.
3. Every bit of effort users put in makes the product more valuable to them.