Instead of relying on expensive marketing, habit-forming companies link their services to the users' daily routines and emotions.
Nir EyalCompanies leverage two basic pulleys of human behavior to increase the likelihood of an action occuring: the ease of performing an action and the psychological motivation to do it.
Nir EyalYou'll often find that people's declared preferences - what they say they want - are far different from their revealed preferences - what they actually do.
Nir EyalWhen designers intentionally trick users into inviting friends or blasting a message to their social networks, they may see some initial growth, but it comes at the expense of users' goodwill and trust. When people discover they've been duped, they vent their frustration and stop using the product.
Nir Eyal