Effective ways to find beta testers?
Hi All,
For years I’ve used Pocket and Instapaper and while they are both great for reading articles, I started getting continually frustrated by both at how they handled other media. Bookmarking a link to a Reddit post / subreddit, Tweet, Instagram pic, Google Map location, etc often didn't work well. I also wanted easier access to bookmarked videos and better organization of bookmarked photos.
So I built something to scratch my own itch. In some ways it’s an improvement on what’s out there, in other ways the incumbents are still better.
I’m a self taught developer. I’ve never done it professionally. I used node/mongo for the backend, vuejs front end, and built a native iOS app. I packed the iOS app full of more features than is reasonable (it’s borderline bloated) but it addresses the things I wanted from an app like this.
I’ve had a few friends test out the iOS app but that’s about it. The friends who did test out the app were never users of bookmarking apps in the first place, so their feedback hasn’t been helpful.
I’d love to get more people testing my iOS app. Was wondering if the community here has any suggestions for cost effective ways of getting beta testers? Are there any communities of builders who beta test each others' products?
Thanks a lot!
Interesting question, moz.
Not sure if you want to spend some money on getting those betatesters, if so, I believe that there are some services out there, like https://erlibird.com/ or https://www.usertesting.com/ or https://www.loop11.com/.
If you don't wanna pay, I see 3 options out there:
Do you have the app already published in the Apple Store? If so, please don't hesitate on publishing it here, maybe there's someone who wants to give a hand.
PS: My first attempts for getting betatesters for my latest app (https://ohmytimeline.com) have been friends from Twitter (point #1) and I expect doing something like #2 and probably test #3 soon.
Cheers!
Thanks Mikel. Appreciate all the links. I'll check them out!
https://github.com/mrcrilly/PlacesToPostYourStartup
If you have a working prototype, post it to Product Hunt, Designer News, and other similar communities. They are usually very effective if you use a descriptive submission title.
Generally I've struggled with beta testers. I released a small Android/iOS app in a small niche so I was already active and known. I put a call out for beta testers and got around 30 requests. I admitted around 20 and only 2-3 were active with feedback etc. When I released they received a free redemption code for the in-app purchase.
This reflects generally what happened a few years ago. My gut now tells me get a reasonable v1 working and get it out there. Paying customers will soon tell you... (yes, the risk of poor feedback).
Just my recent thoughts.