Curiosity Gap
People are pulled to close the gap between what they know and what they want to know.
What it is
Awareness of a specific missing piece of information creates an itch that attention will scratch. A headline that names the question without answering it, a preview that stops short, a locked result behind one more step. The gap has to be small enough to seem closable and the answer has to be worth it, or the itch turns to irritation.
The research
Curiosity arises when attention becomes focused on a gap in one's knowledge, and the motivation to close it grows with how close the answer feels.
Loewenstein, 1994
How to use it
Ask the question in the subject line
"Why your ads stopped converting in June" gets opened. "June performance update" does not.
Preview the result
Show a blurred or partial score before the signup that reveals it.
Never leave the gap open
Every curiosity hook must pay off in the next step. Clickbait is a curiosity gap with no answer.
Related
Sources that shaped this entry: growth.design, Kolenda.io.