2063: [Part 1] The Hooked Model: How to Manufacture Desire in 4 Steps By Nir Eyal of Nir And Far on Driving User Engagement

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[00:00:58] This is Optimal Work Daily. The Hooked Model. How to Manufacture Desire in Four Steps. Part 1. By Nir Eyal of nearandfar.com.

[00:01:11] Type the name of almost any successful consumer web company into your search bar and add the word addict after it. Go ahead, I'll wait. Try Facebook addict or Twitter addict or even Pinterest addict and you'll soon get a slew of results from hooked users and observers deriding the narcotic-like properties of these websites.

[00:01:31] How is it that these companies, producing little more than bits of code displayed on a screen, can seemingly control users' minds? Why are these sites so engaging and what does their power mean for the future of the web? The Hooked Model. We're on the precipice of a new era of the web. As infinite distractions compete for our attention, companies are learning to master new tactics to stay relevant in users' minds and lives.

[00:01:56] Today, just amassing millions of users is no longer good enough. Companies increasingly find that their economic value is a function of the strength of the habits they create. But as some companies are just waking up to this new reality, others are already cashing in, using what I call the Hooked Model for building habit-forming products. What is the Hooked Model? The Hooked Model is a way of describing a user's interactions with a product as they pass through four phases.

[00:02:23] A trigger to begin using the product, an action to satisfy the trigger, a variable reward for the action, and some type of investment that ultimately makes the product more valuable to the user. As the user goes through these phases, he builds habits in the process. First to mind wins. A company that forms strong user habits enjoys several benefits to its bottom line. For one, this type of company creates associations with internal triggers in users' minds.

[00:02:53] That is to say, users come to the site without any external prompting. Instead of relying on expensive marketing or worrying about differentiation, habit-forming companies get users to cue themselves to action by attaching their services to the user's daily routines and emotions. A cemented habit is when users subconsciously think, I'm bored, and instantly Facebook comes to mind. They think, I wonder what's going on in the world. And before rational thought occurs, Twitter is the answer.

[00:03:22] The first-to-mind solution wins. Manufacturing desire. But how do companies create a connection with the internal cues needed to form habits? The answer? They manufacture desire. While fans of Mad Men are familiar with how the ad industry once created consumer desire during Madison Avenue's golden era, those days are long gone.

[00:03:44] A multi-screen world with ad-wary consumers and a lack of ROI metrics has rendered Don Draper's big-budget brainwashing useless to all but the biggest brands. Instead, startups manufacture desire by guiding users through a series of experiences designed to create habits. I call these experiences hooks, and the more often users run through them, the more likely they are to self-trigger.

[00:04:08] I wrote the book, Hook, How to Build Habit-Forming Products, to help others understand what is at the heart of habit-forming technology. The book highlights common patterns I observed in my career in the video gaming and online advertising industries. While my model is generic enough for a broad explanation of habit formation, I'll focus on applications in consumer internet for this post. The Hooked Model How does the Hooked Model work?

[00:04:33] The cycle in the Hooked Model is comprised of a trigger, action, reward, and investment. As the consumer passes through these phases, he builds habits in the process. After the cycle is complete, his habits have been reinforced, and the product even has more value to him. Here's how it works in four steps. 1. Trigger 2. Action 3. Variable Reward 4. Investment

[00:05:02] 1. Trigger The trigger is the actuator of a behavior, the spark plug in the Hooked Model. Triggers come in two types, external and internal. Habit-forming technologies start by alerting users with external triggers like an email, a link on a website, or the app icon on a phone. By cycling continuously through these hooks, users begin to form associations with internal triggers, which become attached to existing behaviors and emotions.

[00:05:32] Soon, users are internally triggered every time they feel a certain way. The internal trigger becomes part of their routine behavior, and the habit is formed. For example, suppose Barbara, a young lady in Pennsylvania, happens to see a photo in her Facebook news feed, taken by a family member from a rural part of the state. It's a lovely photo, and since she's planning a trip there with her brother Johnny, the trigger intrigues her. 2. Action After the trigger comes the intended action.

[00:06:01] Here, companies leverage two pulleys of human behavior, motivation and ability. To increase the odds of a user taking the intended action, the behavior designer makes the action as easy as possible, while simultaneously boosting the user's motivation. This phase of the hook draws upon the art and science of usability design to ensure that the user acts the way the designer intends.

[00:06:23] Using the example of Barbara, with a click on the interesting picture in her news feed, she's taken to a website she's never been to before, called Pinterest. Once she's done the intended action, in this case clicking on the photo, she's dazzled by what she sees next. To be continued. You just listened to part one of the post titled, The Hooked Model, How to Manufacture Desire in Four Steps, by Nir Eyal of nearandfar.com.

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[00:07:46] Sign up for your $1 per month trial at Shopify.com slash special offer. And thank you to Nir, who holds a degree from Stanford Graduate School of Business, has sold multiple companies, taught at two different schools at Stanford, and he's a best-selling author. He actually mentioned his book, Hooked, in this post. And he also has an excellent blog, which is where this post comes from that I'm reading today. Again, that's all at nearandfar.com, and please note that Nir is spelled N-I-R, like his name.

[00:08:16] And for more insights on using psychology to change behavior, join Nir's newsletter and receive a free workbook at nearandfar.com. But that is it for today. Hope you're having a great day, and that you enjoyed part one of the post. And I'll see you right back here tomorrow for part two. And that is where your optimal life awaits. Thank you.