Use previous participants from past tests

This article applies to: UserTesting 

On this page:

• About Previous Participants
• Add previous participants to a test
• Launch and monitor your test
• Participant experience
• FAQ

About Previous Participants

Use this feature to:

• Invite previous participants directly to your study.
• Ideal for follow-up or longitudinal research.
• No screener questions are required; skip them entirely.
• Usernames are validated before launch to ensure participants can join.

Add previous participants to a test

• Add participants from the Audience tab during test setup.
• Use usernames, not email addresses.
• Separate multiple usernames with commas, then press Enter to submit. 

To add previous participants, follow these steps:

1. Create a test.
2. Go to the Audience tab.
3. Click + Add audience (if needed).
4. Select Previous participants as the recruitment source.
5. Enter or paste participant usernames.
   • Use usernames, not email addresses
   • Separate with commas, then press 
   • Enter Invalid usernames will trigger an error message
     
     
     
     
     
      
6. Fix any validation errors.
   • Remove invalid usernames
   • Remove duplicates
   • The test quota equals the number of participants added
   • At least one valid participant is required to launch your test
7. Click Add participants to confirm.
   
   
    

Launch and monitor your test

Launch your test from the Review tab after adding participants.

1. Go to the Review tab.
   
   
    
2. Review your test setup and participant count.
3. Click Launch test.
4. Open the Monitor tab.
5. Track progress using the following status indicators:
   • Accepted Terms
   • Completed

Add participants to your test

You can add more participants after your test has launched:

1. Pause the test.
2. Add participants to the existing audience, or create a new audience within the same test.
3. Relaunch the test.

Participant experience

After you launch your test:

• Invited participants receive a personalized email invitation indicating they were specifically selected for your test.
• Participants can accept and complete the test directly from that email.
• Participants must still pass pre-study checks before joining.
• If a participant does not respond, a reminder email is sent within 24 hours.

FAQ

Can I use both previous participants and the UserTesting network in the same test?
Yes. You can add multiple audience types to a single test for example, a Previous Participants audience, a UserTesting Network audience, and an Invite Your Own audience.

What happens if I enter an invalid username?
Invalid usernames are flagged during setup. You must remove or correct them before launching the test. 

Can I add more participants after launching the test?
Yes. Pause the test first, then either add participants to the existing audience or create a new audience within the same test.

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