At a GlanceTap into insights from your customers or other audiences through the UserTesting Platform using Invite Network. Follow these best practices to get the most out of this feature and your own contributors. |
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Click on the following header titles to skip to that section of the article:
- How to Set Up a Test
- How to Write Engaging Test Invitations for Invite Network
- How to Send Test Invitations
How to Set Up a Test
When creating your test plan, remember that your network may not be familiar with UserTesting or even the idea of giving feedback. Keeping this in mind will help you set your contributors up for success!
Start with open-ended questions
Start your test plan with a few simple questions to get your contributors comfortable providing feedback. An easy way to get contributors talking is to ask a question or two about themselves. You can ask them about their job, family, or hobby—anything somewhat related to the test. The goal isn’t to get a specific type of feedback but to get the contributor warmed up and talking. If you’re concerned this will take too much time, put a time frame on these tasks.
Example of an open-ended question: "Please take 2 minutes to tell us what dinner time is like at your house."
Keep it simple
When writing your test plan, ensure that your tasks and questions are easy to understand. Avoid complex instructions or complicated tasks—the simpler, the better.
- Keep task descriptions short. Avoid wordiness and try to include concisely-written tasks. Also, push the most important details toward the front of the task. This will help contributors easily understand the task at hand.
- Only include one instruction per task. This will help with the length of each task as well. It’s better to have multiple short tasks than one long task.
Example of a simple task: "You are planning a trip from Atlanta to Las Vegas. Use this site to find a flight and hotel room for three nights. Stop when you have added the flight and hotel room in your cart."
Example of a complicated task: "Create a profile and search for a healthcare provider. Select at least one and save them to your profile. Make sure that they specialize in pediatrics and not internal medicine or other specialties. Then explain why you chose the provider you did."
Provide a scenario
A scenario is 1-3 sentences to help set the scene for your contributor. Adding a scenario to your test plan helps contributors get into the right mindset to give you relevant feedback. Here are a few scenario best practices when engaging with your contributors:
- Reiterate that this is not a test of their ability. You are interested in hearing their perspective.
- Encourage them to share where they get confused or frustrated.
- Remind them to speak their thoughts out loud.
Example of a scenario: "Imagine that you want to buy a gift for a friend. Please complete the following tasks and questions with this in mind. Remember, this is not a test of your ability. We want to hear your perspective even if you are confused or don't like something. And please don't forget to speak your thoughts out loud."
Pilot your test
Before sending the test to contributors, preview the test yourself and run a pilot test. Send your test link to yourself or a colleague to complete your tasks. Pilot tests sent to one contributor ensure that all assets included in the study work properly and tasks are clear before you send the test out to more contributors. Pilot tests also increase the chance that you get relevant feedback.
How to Write Engaging Test Invitations for Invite Network
After creating an Invite Network test, a link will be generated for your test. Now you’re ready to email your audience and invite them to take your test.
Pay close attention to the email subject line
Subject lines are the most important component of your emails. After all, the subject line is what recipients see in their inbox, which determines if they even open your email. Consider the following:
- Try to keep the subject line to 50-60 characters in length. Shorter subjects are more effective.
- Phrasing your subject as a question can further entice audiences to open the email.
Using emojis increases open rates by around 25%. They aren’t a quick fix, but they can make a good email subject stand out. But don’t overdo it. One emoji tends to work well. Here is a Mailpoet article with some additional tips for crafting a subject line that stands out.
Optimize the email body copy
When composing the body of your invitation email, consider the following:
- Add some context about the product, service, website, etc., and what kinds of contributors can expect. Contributors who are frequent users of your service or product will be more inclined to respond and participate.
- Consider adding the amount the test contributor will be paid or compensated.
- Add some detail about how their feedback will be used. Engage people by letting them know that their feedback is important and helps your team make informed decisions. Show them that their opinions are heard.
- Consider writing the email content in a conversational way rather than using a formal or overly professional tone.
- Add some style, emphasis, or direction to your email using bold text, italics, and bulleted lists.
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Set expectations by providing these step-by-step instructions and a short video so contributors can learn more.
Create a call-to-action
- Create a single clear call-to-action and add your test link. Keep the text within 40 characters or, ideally, four words for maximum effect.
- Lead with an action. Give users a clear, short instruction that they can carry out by clicking the hyperlinked text. For example: “take the test,” “start now,” or “give feedback.”
- Try to avoid wordplay or anything which might be confusing. It’s always best to err on the side of being overly explicit when writing good call-to-action copy.
Example of a test invitation email
How to Send Test Invitations
Determine how many contributors you need—then increase by 10x
One significant difference between conducting a study with the UserTesting Contributor Network versus your own networks is that the conversion rate is lower when using a smaller set of contributors. Your networks are busy, and it can be challenging to catch them at a time when they’re able and willing to provide feedback.
To help, we recommend increasing your pool of potential contributors by ten times. For example, if you need at least five contributor responses, send your study out to 50 potential contributors. Your study will close once five people have completed it, so it’s always better to cast a wide net early on.
And consider experimenting by sending out these tests in batches on different days of the week for the best results.
Create compelling incentives
Having a compelling incentive is important to help your study get to the top of the to-do list of your network. Experiment with different incentives beyond monetary compensation, such as:
- Advance access to a product
- Free or discounted products
- Access to special events
Determine what channels of communication your contributors prefer
Using the preferred communication channel for your target audience will help increase your response rate by making it more likely for people to join your study. Communicating to the contributor how their feedback will be used helps increase your customers' participation chances.
Look at your networks’ past patterns and preferences. Do they tend to respond better to email or instant messaging platforms like Slack? Find out what works best for each audience, then be sure you’re communicating with them on those channels when it’s time to launch your study.
Time the launch of your test appropriately
As you’re gathering contact information for your audiences, note their time zone. If a contributor is on the east coast, they might miss your invitation if it’s sent out in the afternoon on the west coast.
Follow-up with contributors
This is the last—and important—step in launching a successful test with Invite Network. People are generally willing to help and want to feel heard in providing feedback. Sometimes they just need an extra nudge to bring your email to the top of their inbox. Keep track of who you’ve contacted and when. Follow up with individuals who haven’t responded, but don’t overdo it. We recommend no more than two to three follow-ups per contributor.
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