The Hooked Model by Nir Eyal

Who Is Nir Eyal?

Nir Eyal is an author, lecturer and investor known for his expertise in behavioural design and habit formation. His book, Hooked: How to Build Habit-Forming Products, is widely used by growth marketers and product teams to create products users return to regularly.

Table of contents

What Is the Hooked Model?

The Hooked Model explains how successful products create habit loops, encouraging users to return regularly without relying heavily on external marketing. It leverages psychological principles to help marketers build sustainable growth loops that keep users engaged. Aha moments also play a vital role in this process, helping new users realise core product value early in their journey. If you’re interested in the behavioural economics behind why users return—or don’t—consider reading about loss aversion in marketing and growth as well. For another influential behavioural model, see our guide to the BJ Fogg Behavior Model and how it explains the drivers behind user actions.

The Hooked Model has four key stages:

• Trigger

• Action

• Variable Reward

• Investment

Trigger

A trigger is the prompt that encourages users to take action. Triggers can be external (notifications, emails, ads) or internal (boredom, curiosity, social connection). Effective triggers clearly communicate the desired action and occur at the right moment.

Action

The action is the simplest behaviour a user performs in anticipation of a reward. Examples include opening an app, clicking a link or scrolling through a feed. To maximise engagement, actions should be easy, intuitive and frictionless.

Variable Reward

Variable rewards are unpredictable incentives that keep users returning. The uncertainty creates anticipation and releases dopamine, reinforcing the habit loop. Examples include discovering new content, receiving social validation or achieving unexpected milestones.

Investment

Investment refers to the effort, time or data users put into a product, increasing the likelihood they’ll return. Investments create a sense of ownership and personalisation, making the product more valuable over time. Examples include following other users, customising preferences or building a personal profile.

Applying the Hooked Model to Growth Method

Here’s how the Hooked Model applies practically to Growth Method, the only work management platform built specifically for growth marketers:

• Trigger: Growth Method sends timely notifications and reminders when experiments move between stages or when team members provide feedback. These external triggers prompt users to log in and engage.

• Action: Users respond to triggers by logging into Growth Method to review experiment progress, submit new ideas or check analytics. The intuitive interface ensures these actions are effortless.

• Variable Reward: Growth Method provides variable rewards through real-time analytics, experiment results and team feedback. Users experience excitement from discovering successful experiments, uncovering insights or receiving positive feedback.

• Investment: Users invest in Growth Method by submitting ideas, categorising experiments and customising reports. This investment creates a personalised experience, making the platform increasingly valuable and encouraging regular use.

Key Takeaways for Growth Marketers

The Hooked Model offers valuable insights for growth marketers aiming to build products that drive sustainable user engagement. Here are practical takeaways:

• Identify clear triggers (external and internal) that prompt user action.

• Ensure user actions are simple, intuitive and frictionless.

• Incorporate variable rewards to maintain user interest and encourage repeated interactions.

• Encourage user investment through personalisation, customisation and data input to increase product value over time.

By applying these principles, growth marketers can create habit-forming products that drive long-term user retention and sustainable growth.

“We are on-track to deliver a 43% increase in inbound leads this year. There is no doubt the adoption of Growth Method is the primary driver behind these results.” Laura Perrott, Colt Technology Services

How Growth Method Can Help

Growth Method is the only work management platform built specifically for growth marketers. Traditional task management software like Asana, ClickUp and Monday.com can help manage tasks, but you’ll still need additional tools for ideation, experimentation and analytics. Growth Method combines all these elements into one powerful platform, simplifying your growth marketing workflow.

Here’s how Growth Method helps:

• Ideation: Our intuitive ideation system ensures growth ideas align with team goals, follow hypothesis best practices and are automatically categorised. Ideas are shared with your team instantly, keeping everyone informed.

• Experimentation: Growth Method incorporates best practices from leading growth teams. Experiments move through four clear stages—building, live, analysing and complete—with enforced time periods to increase velocity and learning.

• Reporting: Impress stakeholders and keep your team on track with professional reports. Easily demonstrate your team’s value with detailed insights into strategy, goals, experiment execution and results.

Growth Method is the only platform built specifically for growth marketing teams, offering unique features such as AI-powered categorisation, integrations with major analytics platforms (Google Analytics, Amplitude, MixPanel), fast human support, industry-leading reporting and a free white glove migration service.

Ready to build habit-forming growth loops and drive sustainable results? Book a call today and discover how Growth Method can help your team grow leads and revenue systematically.