Title: Hooked: How to Build Habit-Forming Products
Author: Nir Eyal
Publication date (EN): November 4, 2014 (Portfolio/Penguin Random House)
Pages (EN): 256
Value for PMs & founders (problem it solves)
A practical system to bake retention into the product via the Hook Model—a four-step loop (trigger → action → variable reward → investment) that shifts usage from external to internal triggers, reducing dependence on paid acquisition.
Summary
The book shows how to design for internal triggers, keep users engaged with variable rewards, and use investment to store value (content, data, reputation) and load the next trigger. Later printings note a revised edition with an added case study.
3 community-reported takeaways (with sources)
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Internal > external triggers — the habit forms when the product becomes the go-to response to an internal cue. Dan Silvestre
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Variable rewards are a powerful engagement mechanism when used responsibly. WIRED
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Investment/stored value increases the likelihood of the next pass (stores data, followers, reputation; loads the next trigger). ui-patterns.com
Buy online (FR & international)
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Penguin Random House (publisher page) — EN. PenguinRandomhouse.com
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Barnes & Noble (US) — EN. Barnes & Noble
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Bookshop.org (US/UK) — EN. Bookshop UK
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Amazon (US) — EN. Amazon
Author of Impact Factories / Co-founder of Shy Robotics and Product Whys / Head of Product at Dassault Systèmes / Engineer passionate about innovation and entrepreneurship
Full bibliography here
