Technique · Hooked
Prompt at the moment of need, on the channel the user chose
Send the external trigger as close as possible to when the internal need comes up: after a meeting ends, when a supply is about to run out, at the end of a workday. Deliver it where the user asked to hear from you.
Plain label: context-timed remindersAlso known as: send time, reorder reminder, rebook reminder, context trigger, depletion reminder, channel preference
How it works
A prompt works when it lands while the person is able and motivated to act. Event signals (a calendar end, a delivery date, a usage rhythm) predict that moment better than a fixed schedule, and a channel the user picked is less likely to be ignored or switched off.
Evidence warning
Location or behavior-based timing needs explicit consent; precision without it feels intrusive.
How to build it
- E-commerce
- Time reorder reminders to the depletion interval from the customer's own history, with a one-tap reorder link.
- B2B
- When a calendar meeting ends, prompt for notes or follow-ups in the tool the user connected.
- Email and SMS
- Let users choose push, email, SMS or a chat digest at setup and honor it per message type.
- Mobile
- Use place or time only with consent, for example a reminder when the user arrives at the gym they named.
What can go wrong
- Fixed blasts at a time that suits the team.
- The same message on every channel.
Pairs well with
- Load the trigger from the user's own investment (dates, items, preferences).
- Land on a one-tap repeat action.
In practice
Where it shows up
- Early fit and Scale × Return · E-commercelead
- Early fit and Scale × Return · Habit (utility-led)in season
- Early fit and Scale × Return · Recall & Trustlead
- Early fit and Scale × Return · Service businesslead
- Early fit × Pay · E-commercelead
- Early fit × Returnin season
- Scale × Pay · E-commercelead
- Scale × Returnin season
- Mature and Stalled × Pay · E-commercelead
- Mature and Stalled × Return · Recall & Trustlead
Limits
What we don’t claim
- The Hook Model is a practical design tool, not a validated or complete theory of behavior.Hooked, Introduction
Sources
Hooked · Nir Eyal
Ch.2 · Ch.5 · Ch.7
Source IDs: HK-TRG25HK-TRG34HK-TRG26
Book content is paraphrased, never quoted at length. Last verified October 24, 2026.
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