The Zeigarnik Effect at Work
The Dark Psychology of ‘To Be Continued’
What Netflix Doesn’t Want You to Know
You know that feeling when Netflix asks “Are you still watching?” and you can’t help but click “Yes”? That’s not just your lack of self-control. It’s your brain on the Zeigarnik Effect.
Netflix screenshot.
What is The Zeigarnik Effect?
The Zeigarnik Effect is a psychological phenomenon named after Bluma Zeigarnik, which states that people tend to remember unfinished tasks more than completed ones. This effect is widely used in marketing to create a sense of anticipation and engagement by leaving tasks or information incomplete, thus encouraging customers to seek closure.
Let me share something controversial: Most marketers get this wrong. They think it’s about creating suspense. It’s not. It’s about psychological tension.
I discovered this while running CRM campaigns at pretty much any company. Our unfinished topics in newsletters outperformed complete ones by at least 3x. Not because they were better, but because they were incomplete.
How Zeigarnik works
The Zeigarnik Effect is actually quite simple: Your brain holds onto unfinished tasks. Kinda like a dog with a bone, if it’s not chewed up, it’s coming along.
Think about it:
The dirty dishes in the sink
The song that stops before the chorus
That email you started, but didn’t send
That movie ending that left you hanging
The text message you haven’t replied to yet
That half-finished report laying on your desk
They all stick in your head, right?
Here’s where it gets interesting (and perhaps slightly uncomfortable): Brands have been exploiting this for years.
The typical soap opera ending.
Remember those “To be continued…” TV shows. Don’t say no here, you’ve at east seen 1 epsidode ending of 1 soap opera in the past 40+ years. They all end on a little cliffhanger. That’s the Zeigarnik Effect.
Those “Coming Soon” movie teasers? Zeigarnik Effect.
That “Limited time offer” countdown? Yep, you guessed it.
They open a task in your brain, and did not finish it,… on purpose.
At any D2C project, we used this to boost (campaign) launch sales. How? By creating intentional information gaps. Just enough to make people curious, not enough to satisfy them. You know:
Black Friday deals starting soon
Product launch next Monday
Sign up and get a surprise
But of course there’s a bit of an ethical dilemma: When does smart marketing become manipulation?
Quick guide to using this right:
→ Create genuine anticipation, not anxiety
→ Keep the resolution timeframe short
→ Always deliver more than promised
→ Make the payoff worth the wait
I learned this lesson the hard way. We once stretched a teaser campaign too long, hoping to get more email registrations. People started to lose, but also some got angry. The line between intrigue and irritation is razor-thin.
Test it the Zeigarnik effect yourself
How about testing this yourself?
Choose something valuable to share
Split it into 3 parts
Release them 24 hours apart
Make each part valuable alone
End with your strongest content
Beware though the Zeigarnik Effect isn’t about just being clever with cliffhangers. It’s about understanding human psychology and using it responsibly. A cliffhanger doesn’t bring anything positive if the follow up sucks. Remember Matrix 2 & 3? You spent 6 hours watching movies to just end with a truce between man an AI…. great 😒.
Speaking of which…
There’s one more crucial aspect to this that most marketers miss. But I’ll share that in my next post.
(See what I did there?)
What’s your view — is using psychological triggers in marketing ethical? Share your thoughts below.
Because effective marketing isn’t about manipulation. It’s about understanding human behavior. And using that knowledge ethically.
Have you noticed the Zeigarnik Effect in action? Tell me your examples.
P.S. Wonder why I structured this post this way? Check the engagement metrics in 24 hours.
