This document summarizes key aspects of habit formation and the HOOK model for designing habit-forming products. It discusses how habits are repetitive behaviors triggered internally or by cues in the environment. The HOOK model involves 4 steps: 1) triggers that cue users to take action, 2) a simple action or behavior, 3) variable rewards that satisfy cravings and motivate reengagement, and 4) investing small amounts of time/effort to increase engagement over time. The document provides examples of how products like LinkedIn, Cure.fit and others apply the HOOK model to form user habits.

1. ed- Author: Nir Eyal, Editor: Ryan Hoover
Book Summary
-Vivek D

2. “
Habits= Repetitive Behaviors
(often voluntary & triggered internally)
Eg: Checking your Whatsapp without
notifications

3. “
If being away from an action
causes pain, it’s a habit.
Eg: Checking or waiting for likes on your
recent Linkedin Post

4. “
Access + Data + Speed = more
Habit-forming products

5. Image Source: https://ui-patterns.com/

6. “
The HOOK MODEL is a go-to tool for PMs.
See how it works:
User Problem → Frequent Solution →
Habit = Higher CLTV

7. Smile Graph

9. How to move from Freemium to
Premium?
This graph shows how the subscribers of 'Evernote' initially fell
down sharply, but rose high once it became their habit.
y-axis= percentage of sign-ups
x-axis= time spent on the service

10. 9x Better

11. New products can mark their
presence only if they aren't just
better, but 9 times better.

12. Why such a high bar?
Because old habits die hard and new
products or services need to offer
dramatic improvements to change old
habits.

13. Better products don’t always win.

14. Example
“August Dvorak's Keyboard vs Qwerty”
QWERTY beat better keyboards since
people became habitual of using it and
resistant to change later.

15. “
Behaviors are LIFO — Last in, First out.

16. “
For new behaviours to convert into
habits, they must repeat.

17. Habit Zone

19. Frequency = how often the behavior occurs
Perceived Utility = how useful and rewarding the
behavior is in the user’s mind over alternative
solutions
Other examples: WhatsApp, Cure.fit

20. Vitamins vs Painkillers

21. “
Vitamins
become
Painkillers

22. Flipkart, WhatsApp, Twitter, Linkedin,
Cure.fit, Udemy
were vitamins.
Now, they are painkillers.

23. Now, how to make a Habit-forming
Product?
or
Simply, how to Hook Users?

24. HOOKED Model

25. Hold on - Just 4 Steps

26. Image Source: https://ui-
patterns.com/

27. 1

29. Triggers cue the user to take action and are the first
step in the Hook Model
External Triggers: bits of information in users’ surroundings
that prompt them to perform an action. Eg: notifications, ads,
app updates
Internal Triggers: driven by users’ emotions and associations
stored in their memory. Eg: Negative emotions like
loneliness, FOMO

30. Image Source: https://www.apptunix.com/

31. Image Source: Visme.co
Optimizing
External
Triggers is
“Growth
Hacking”

32. External → Internal Triggers
approach is the successful habit-forming
mantra
*External Triggers target our senses: we can see, hear or touch them.

33. When we are unhappy with our
health or shape

34. Image Source:Nir’s Presentation

35. When we seek an opportunity

36. Image Source:Nir’s Presentation

37. 2

39. “
The action is the simplest behavior in
expectation of reward.
*A trigger is effective only if it forces an action and promises a reward

40. Image Source:Nir’s Presentation

41. Connect & Apply

42. Image Source:Nir’s Presentation

43. Fogg’s Behavior Model
The user’s behavior (or action) depends on three pre-
requisites
Flow: T → A → M
Image Source: https://www.apptunix.com/

45. Motivation = “the energy for action”
Three Core Motivators:
1. Desire for pleasure and/or avoidance of pain
2. Desire for hope and/or avoidance of fear
3. Desire for social acceptance and/or avoidance
of rejection

46. 4 ways to Motivate Users:
● Scarcity Effect: We like to buy cookies from the jar which is going to be
empty.
● Framing Effect: Same violinist playing at subway or playing in the concert
hall. Whom'll you choose?
● Anchoring Effect: Sales or Buy-one-get-one-free things are generally costlier
than without offer goods/things.
● Endowed Progress Effect: People get highly motivated when they believe
they are nearing a goal. Eg: Cure.fit’s Energy Meter; LinkedIn Profile
Strength Meter- already begins with a partially filled bar to motivate people
that they aren't too far from the goal.

47. Cure.fit Energy Meter

48. LinkedIn Profile Strength Meter
Before:
After:

49. How to improve Ability?
“Focus on ease of use”
Elements of focus to make easy-to-use products:
1.The Time it takes to use it ⬇
2. The Money it costs ⬇
3. The degree of Physical Effort involved ⬇
4. Brain Cycles (The level of Mental Labor & Focus needed) ⬇
5. The product’s Social Acceptability ⬇
6. Non-routine: The degree to which it matches or disrupts current
routines

50. Something Really New

51. “easier equals better”
For Creating Truly Innovative Products:
1. Understand the reason why people use a product or a
service
2. Note the steps customer must take to get the job done
3. Remove steps → Filter for the simplest process
Eg: Instahyre (simplest job board to apply for a job) vs messy job boards
which take hours to complete an application; Cluttered SuperApps vs Cure.fit

52. 3

54. “
What draws us to act is not the sensation
we receive from the reward itself, but the
need to alleviate the craving for that
reward (Desire to get the reward).
Eg: Rewards fuel our desire to check Email, Check Application status on LinkedIn

56. a) Rewards of the Tribe: gratification
from others make us feel accepted,
attractive, important and included.
(Social Rewards)
Eg: When we get 500+ likes on a post; 100 pending
connections/friend requests on LinkedIn/Facebook

57. b) Rewards of the hunt: material
goods, food, money, or information.
(Survival Rewards)
Eg: Getting next job through LinkedIn

58. c) Rewards of the self: mastery, completion,
competency or consistency.
(Intrinsic Value Rewards)
Eg: Energetic and healthy feeling after an online Yoga session (on
Cure.fit); In video games - earning power, new stages, new
weapons.

59. “
The unknown is fascinating.

60. Rewards must not be Constant
1. Vary with time & process
2. Satisfy users' needs
3. Create re-engagement opportunities (for
wanting more)
Infinite Variability: Linkedin gives us something new to
explore every time

61. “But you are free to accept or refuse”
Always give the BOSS-FEEL to your customer. Let
him choose.
Eg: Gmail gave option to choose between old and new
version

62. 4

64. Investment phase leverages small
investments/inputs made by users for
future returns. It prompts users to do a bit
of work after they've received variable
rewards.
Eg.s: created content, inserted data, earned followers or
reputation (Social Capital), gained skill, money
In other words: Inviting friends, stating preferences, building
virtual assets and learning to use new features

65. “
Anything the user puts their
personal time & effort into, they
value it irrationally high (IKEA
EFFECT).

66. How does PUBG hook us?
Click here: https://www.linkedin.com/posts/vivek-
dangi_productpsychology-hookmodel-
productmanagement-activity-6668012835408371712-NEjD

68. End of HOOK Model

69. Let's crackdown to even simpler...

70. How to find your product’s hook?

71. identify, codify and modify
1. Analyse the data → Identify how people are using the product
2. Process → Codify the analysed data → Study variable users
(specifically habituals) → their actions, paths → generate new
hypotheses
3. Modify → Shape your product to suit the needs of habitual
users → reassess all users → evaluate changes → repeat the
process

72. “
Observe the user in you. You might
inspire the next-habit forming
product or improve an existing one.

73. Thanks!