Why are some products impossible to put down — and others forgotten overnight?

In this episode of The Tim Castle Show, I sit down with bestselling author and behavioral design expert Nir Eyal to uncover the psychology behind Silicon Valley’s stickiest products. From Meta to Slack to WhatsApp, we explore the Hooked Model — Nir’s powerful framework for creating experiences that connect your users’ problems with habit-forming engagement and retention.

You’ll learn:
✅ Why engagement is a moat you can’t buy — but must design into the product.
✅ How to leverage variable rewards to keep users coming back.
✅ The critical link between problem, product, frequency, and habit.
✅ Why the world’s most addictive products all share one thing in common - and how you can apply it to create healthy, lasting habits in your customers.

We also dive into his other groundbreaking work, Indistractable, and explore how to reclaim your focus in a world full of digital distractions. Nir shares actionable strategies to break the cycle of endless notifications and regain control over your time, attention, and priorities — so you can be both a creator of engaging experiences and a master of your own habits.

If you want to create products or services people can’t help but return to — and do it ethically — this episode will show you how to build engagement, defensibility, and true customer loyalty into the very fabric of your offering.

🔗 Tune in now and discover how to design habits that stick.

Listen on Apple, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts.

#productmarketing #psychology #timcastle #nireyal

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Tim is recognised in the Worlds Top 30 Negotiation Professionals of 2025, an award winning best selling Author of 5 books and negotiation trainer. His books are used at Universities, Fortune 100 companies and prestigious startups as a playbook to learning influence, persuasion, sales and negotiation.

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