Hooked Workshop

Designing for habits
8.October.12
NIR EYAL NirAndFar.com @nireyal
When an investor suggests ways to increase engagement, Im like...
Source: runningastartup.tumblr.com
The science of engagement
Some prerequisites
1. A vision
2. A moral compass
3. A business model
Source: Alex Osterwalder, Business Model Generation
4. A process
Source: Eric Ries, The Lean Startup
What do we build?
My goal
If your model requires regular,
better product hypotheses ... unprompted user engagement ...
... design patterns to help you form ... to increase odds of success.
Todays deliverable
3 testable hypotheses intended to
increase engagement.
Anything else?
Me
Patterns
NirAndFar.com
OMG businesses
Vitamins or painkillers?
Selling painkillers
- Obvious need - stop pain - Quanti!able market - Monetizable
Selling vitamins
- Emotional need, not e"cacy - Makes me feel good knowing... - Unknown market
Vitamins or painkillers?
Habit is when not doing causes pain.

Habit-forming technology
Pleasure seeking Pain alleviation
Vitamin
Painkiller
Creating pain? (more of an itch)

hab it
/habit/ Noun, Def: An behavior that has become nearly or completely involuntary, without cognition.
pref er ence
/pref()rns/ Noun, Def: A greater liking for one alternative over another or others.
ad dic tion
/dikSHn/ Noun, Def: A persistent, compulsive dependence on a behavior or substance.
Habits are good business

Higher life-time value Greater price inelasticity, can charge
more
Word-of-mouth brings down cost of

acquisition = Higher ROI
Helping people do what they want to do.
Why is this graph smiling?
Source: Inc. magazine, Dec. 2011
Holding on to customers
Source: Amy Jo Kim, Community Building on the Web
StackOver#ow
Largest technical
QA site
Alexa rank 93 5,500 questions

answered daily
FT Sta$: 66
To build habits need...

Frequency and utility
Hooks
Low engagement High engagement
The Hook
Remember: ATARI
A - A hook has 4 parts: T - Trigger A - Action R - Reward I - Investment
In summary
Habits generate unprompted
and frequency. engagement (the itch) and user preference.
Creating habits is a function of utility Repeatedly connecting your solution

with the users problem is called, The hook.
Your turn
Does your business model require
habits? Why? engage? solve?
How frequently do you expect users to What problem are they coming to
5 min activity
Triggers
Habits arent created, they are built upon
Triggers
External Alarms Calls-to-action Emails Stores Authority
What to do next is in the trigger
Internal Emotions Routines Situations Places People

What to do next is in the users head NIR EYAL
NirAndFar.com @nireyal
External triggers in tech

Owned - Emails, SMS, noti!cations.. Paid - SEM, ads.. Earned - PR, free media.. Relationship - Word of mouth, a"nity
groups..
Example: Pharma
External Internal
What to do next is in the trigger
What to do next is in the users head NIR EYAL

Negative emotions are internal triggers

Dissatis!ed Indecisive Lost Tense Fatigued Inferior Fear of loss Bored Lonesome Confused Powerless Discouraged
Emotional triggers Shiv x-framework

Content Excited
Bored
Stressed
People with depression check email more.

Source: Kotikalapudi et al 2012, Associating Depressive Symptoms in College Students with Internet Usage Using Real Internet Data
Internally triggered technologies

When I feel... Lonely Hungry Unsure Anxious Lost Mentally fatigued ... I use Facebook Yelp Google Email GPS ESPN, Glam
Habits form from frequent problem/solution !t.

How !nd the problem?

Know the narrative

Find the trigger to attach to. Every time you (internal trigger) use (product).
Jack Dorsey on narratives
Betty Crocker

1952 invented instant cake mix. Assumed the trigger was hunger and narrative included making a complete meal quickly. Complete marketing disaster. What customer really wanted was to feel and show love. Instant didnt cut it.
Source: Finding Betty Crocker, Susan Marks
Instagram triggers
Instagram triggers
External - FB and Twitter - App noti!cations Internal - Fear of loosing the moment . . . - Bored, lonesome, curious...
In summary
Triggers are the !rst step of the hook. The designer informs what to do next
through external triggers. through internal triggers. triggers.
The user informs what to do next Emotions provide frequent internal

Your turn
Refer to the problem (you think) users
are solving with your product.
Come up with 3 internal trigger

to a feeling.
hypotheses (emotions, routines, situations...)
If youre stuck, ask why? until you get

10 min activity
Build a narrative
Pick the most frequent internal trigger. Who is the user? What are they doing right before
they use your product?
What brings them back? Every time

user (internal trigger) ... they ...
10 min activity
Hypotheses check
Is your internal trigger hypothesis correct?
Is your narrative really happening? If not, why? Get out of the building. - Stephen Blank
Do your external triggers communicate and connect with the internal trigger? Do they answer what its for?
Actions
Simple actions before reward

Log-In (Facebook, Wordpress) Search (Google, Kayak, Yelp) Open (Twitter, SMS, email) Scroll (Pinterest, Instagram) Play (YouTube, online games)
when doing < thinking = action

Fogg Behavior Model B = m.a.t.

motivation triggers
Source: Dr. BJ Fogg, Stanford University
ability
Fogg Behavior Model B = m.a.t.

motivation trigger (SUCCESS!) trigger (FAIL!) ability
mo ti va tion
/mt vSHn/ Noun, Def: The psychological feature that arouses an organism to action.
Motivators of Behavior
Sensation Anticipation Social Cohesion Seek: Pleasure Hope Acceptance Avoid: Pain Fear Rejection
motivation
a bil i ty
/bilit/ Noun, Def: The capacity to do.
How increase capacity to do something?
ability
Factors of ability
Time Money Physical effort Brain cycles Social deviance Non-routine
ability
Cross-functional teams
motivation = marketing
triggers = interface design
ability = product
Which increase !rst, motivation or ability?

Move ability before motivation

motivation
triggers
ability
You can try and increase motivation...
But often get same result
Focus on simplicity to increase behavior

Simplicity is a function of your scarcest resource at that moment. - BJ Fogg
Factors of ability
Time Money Physical effort Brain cycles Social deviance Non-routine
Differ by person and context
Twitter homepage
2009
Twitter homepage
2010
Twitter homepage
2012
Evolution of Twitter
2009 2010
2012
In summary

Action is the second step of the hook. The action is the simplest behavior the user can do before getting rewarded. To increase behavior:
Ensure a clear trigger is present. Increase ability by making it easier. Align with the right motivator.
Your turn
Map the steps users take to solve their
problem with your product.
Start with o$-line internal trigger... ... through your interface ... ... to the reward, the point where the
problem is alleviated a bit.
10 min activity
Quora mobile app

Internal trigger = Bored + curious Action = 1 - click app icon 2 - sign-in if not already 3 - scroll
Am I bored anymore? If not, thats the reward. Reward = see interesting questions
The scarcest resource

Review the #ow and ask where is the action the most di"cult? Which resource is lacking?
Time, money, physical e$ort, brain cycles (too confusing), social deviance (too outside the norm) or non-routine (too new)
Brainstorm three testable ways to make the action easier.
10 min activity
For homework
Does your what its for? messaging align with your users motivator? Seek: Pleasure Hope Acceptance Avoid: Pain Fear Rejection
Explore latent motivators you might hear from users. NIR EYAL
Variable rewards
The brain and rewards
Source: Olds and Milner, 1945
Reward system stimulators
Were Olds and Milner stimulating pleasure? (not exactly)
The stress of desire

Dopamine system activated by anticipation of reward And dampened when reward achieved
Source: Knutson et al 2001
To supercharge the stress of desire add variability
Anns story
Su$erers from
Parkinsons
Treatment includes Becomes a Why?
dopamine boosters compulsive gambler

The endless search

We crave
predictability make sense of cause and e$ect drives the search
Compulsion to
Dopamine system
Curious by nature
Variable rewards
the Tribe the Hunt the Self
Search for social rewards

the Tribe
- Acceptance - Sex - Power - Empathetic joy
Rewards of the tribe
experience taking
Search for resources

the Hunt
- Food - Money - Information
Rewards of the hunt: search for resources
Rewards of the hunt: search for resources
Rewards of the hunt: search for information
Dare you not to scroll
Search for sensation

- Mastery - Consistency - Competency - Purpose
the Self
Rewards of the self: competency and mastery
Rewards of the self: competency and mastery
Farmville fatigue
Source: Sterne Agee analyst report 2012
Rewards decay
As rewards become predictable, they
become less novel
Finite Variability
- Single-player games - Consumption of media - Finishing a race
In!nite Variability
- Multi-player games - Creation of content - Communities - Running for pleasure or competition
Gut check
Does the reward have an in!nitely
variable component? meaningful?
Is the reward authentic and Does it satisfy the internal trigger, the
problem the user came to solve?
In summary

Variable reward is the third step of the hook. Levers for variability include:
Reward type (Tribe, Hunt, Self) Frequency (how often) Amplitude (how high or low the valence of emotional response)
Authentic, in!nitely variable, and provides a solution to users problem. NIR EYAL
Your turn

10 m
in act
ivity
Take a look at your user #ow. Does your reward o$er something that keeps the user looking for more? Brainstorm 3 ways you could add variability to the reward. Consider the search for rewards of the:
Tribe (rewards conferred by others) Hunt (rewards of resources) Self (rewards of personal mastery, control, purpose)
Investments
Investment

Where user does a bit of work. Pays with something of value: time, money, social capital, e$ort, emotional commitment, personal data ...
Increase likelihood of next pass

Done in anticipation of future rewards Makes next pass through hook more likely by:
Loading the next trigger Storing value Increase preference Improving the service
Pinterest (consumer)
T
Facebook, Twitter, WOM
A
Scroll
Boredom, curiosity, mental fatigue
I
Join Objects of desire (Hunt)
VR
Pinterest (curator)
T
Email noti!cation
A
Log-in
Lonesome, seeking connection ...
I
Pin, Re-Pin, Like, Comment
VR
Communication (Tribe)
Loading the trigger in Any.do

Investment into the product with time, data, and social capital Loads the next external trigger by connecting to calendar.
Storing value
Data
Storing value
Followers
Storing value
Reputation
Storing value
Content
Increasing preference
Endowment e$ect

When chimps given juice bar and peanut butter, 50/50 preference split. When given PB !rst, 80% chose to keep rather than exchange. The endowed item was preferred Only worked for food
Source: Brosnan et al 2007
Labor is love
Value own work almost as much as an

experts.
Source: Ariely, Mochon and Norton, 2012
Even if others dont.
Labor increases value

People who pick
lottery numbers assign greater odds.
Source: Langer, 1975
Others labor increases value
Source: Buell and Norton, 2011
Others labor increases value

Search took same
time.
People seeing
the work perceived more value.
Source: Buell and Norton, 2011
As we invest, we endow and tend to overvalue.

Rationalization and commitment
Jesse Schell, Professor of game design, NIR EYAL Carnegie Mellon University
Preference cycle
Investment: Should I spend on this? Con!rmation: Since I spent on it before, and I am not an idiot, it must be good. Rationalization: Only an idiot would have spent on something not good.
Adaptive preference formation

Changing preferences to be more compatible with the situation. We acquire preferences to serve our need to be consistent. Relieve pain of cognitive dissonance.
Source: Jon Esler, 1983
Little investments, big results

Group 1: 17% accepted Group 2: 76% accepted
Source: Freedman & Fraser, 1966
Acquiring taste

Think of the !rst time you tried spicy food or alcohol. Acquiring taste follows similar patterns of rationalization to avoid cognitive dissonance. Change ourselves as we change our preferences. Im a ____ drinker.
Creating preference
We overvalue the results of our labor
(endowment e$ect)
But need to rationalize this irrational

value (cognitive dissonance)
One way to do this is to change our
taste (adaptive preference formation)

In summary

Investment is the fourth step of the hook. Small amounts of work to increase the likelihood of the user returning by:
Loading the next trigger Storing value Increasing preference Improving the service
Your turn

Take a look at your user #ow. Is your user asked to invest after or before the reward? Brainstorm 3 ways you could add small investments into the user experience to:
Load the next trigger Store value Increase preference Improve the service with use
10 min activity
Hooks create engagement

Low engagement - External triggers - Low preference High engagement - Internal triggers - High preference
The hook canvas

Trigger
2. External trigger - What gets the user to the product? 1. Internal trigger - What does the user really want?
Action
3. What does the user have to do to receive the reward? How can it be made simpler?
Investment
5. What makes the user want to come back? Has the user put in a bit of work to increase the odds of returning?
Variable Reward
4. Whats the reward? Does it give the user what she wants? Does it maintain an element of surprise?
Email
T
Icon on phone Procrastinate, anxiety, thoughts of others.... Open unread messages
I
Write back Tribe, hunt and self
Facebook
T A
With more hook cycles
Greater loyalty, increased price inelasticity, greater satisfaction.

3 hypotheses
What will you test?

Now go test it
Thank you! Please take this survey:
OpinionToUs.com

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Designing for habits

NIR EYAL NirAndFar.com @nireyal

When an investor suggests ways to increase engagement, Im like...

NIR EYAL NirAndFar.com @nireyal

The science of engagement

NIR EYAL NirAndFar.com @nireyal

NIR EYAL NirAndFar.com @nireyal

NIR EYAL NirAndFar.com @nireyal

NIR EYAL NirAndFar.com @nireyal

Source: Alex Osterwalder, Business Model Generation

NIR EYAL NirAndFar.com @nireyal

Source: Eric Ries, The Lean Startup

NIR EYAL NirAndFar.com @nireyal

NIR EYAL NirAndFar.com @nireyal

NIR EYAL NirAndFar.com @nireyal

NIR EYAL NirAndFar.com @nireyal

NIR EYAL NirAndFar.com @nireyal

- Obvious need - stop pain - Quanti!able market - Monetizable

NIR EYAL NirAndFar.com @nireyal

NIR EYAL NirAndFar.com @nireyal

NIR EYAL NirAndFar.com @nireyal

Habit is when not doing causes pain.

Creating pain? (more of an itch)

Habits are good business

Word-of-mouth brings down cost of

Helping people do what they want to do.

Why is this graph smiling?

Source: Inc. magazine, Dec. 2011

NIR EYAL NirAndFar.com @nireyal

Source: Amy Jo Kim, Community Building on the Web

NIR EYAL NirAndFar.com @nireyal

Alexa rank 93 5,500 questions

To build habits need...

Frequency and utility

NIR EYAL NirAndFar.com @nireyal

NIR EYAL NirAndFar.com @nireyal

NIR EYAL NirAndFar.com @nireyal

Creating habits is a function of utility Repeatedly connecting your solution

NIR EYAL NirAndFar.com @nireyal

Habits arent created, they are built upon

NIR EYAL NirAndFar.com @nireyal

Internal Emotions Routines Situations Places People

NIR EYAL NirAndFar.com @nireyal

NIR EYAL NirAndFar.com @nireyal

External triggers in tech

What to do next is in the trigger

What to do next is in the users head NIR EYAL

Negative emotions are internal triggers

Emotional triggers Shiv x-framework

NIR EYAL NirAndFar.com @nireyal

People with depression check email more.

NIR EYAL NirAndFar.com @nireyal

Internally triggered technologies

NIR EYAL NirAndFar.com @nireyal

Habits form from frequent problem/solution !t.

How !nd the problem?

Know the narrative

Jack Dorsey on narratives

NIR EYAL NirAndFar.com @nireyal

Source: Finding Betty Crocker, Susan Marks

NIR EYAL NirAndFar.com @nireyal

The user informs what to do next Emotions provide frequent internal

Come up with 3 internal trigger