Finding (good) Early Beta Testers For a Buggy App
After advice from fellow indiehackers here , I am launching before I feel ready as there are still bugs and such. Now I need beta testers.
Do you need to be picky about beta testers at this stage? When an app has a paywall, maybe it naturally filters in early adopters who are patient and forgiving. But I do not monetize with a paywall and I do not have this filter. Instead, I monetize my app by making a percentage of the money that my users' make.
So is it important for me to handpick beta testers who understand that the app is in its early phases, and can be patient and forgiving? I wouldn't want people signing up, not liking the bugs, and then going off and bad mouthing the app.
My ideal early beta tester would be highly communicative, e.g. allowing me to reach out to them to make sure they got a notification they were supposed to get. Or heaven forbid there was some security attack I could reach out to them ASAP. And of course willing to give their own feedback.
I also don't want too many beta testers- especially if they are not communicative. Because then if something goes wrong, the more I have to worry about.
I'm not sure if these worries are valid. But, I have seen solofounders open up too big too fast, and then die quickly when things went wrong with upset users. I would imagine if they started with a smaller pool of quality, patient beta testers, this could have been avoided.
Do you think these concerns are valid?
If so, do you have any advice on getting high quality beta testers?
How did you go about getting your first beta tester?
Hey Dashiell, I think what matters most is that they are your target customers. Many different people can want to "try" your product, but not all of them are the people you're after in the end.
So I'd go with your instinct to go slow at first, and onboard a couple of people to see if they're a good fit. Your product needs to fit them as much as they need to fit your target market.
I am in the same situation. Be honest and clear about your situation to set the right expectations. People will self select based on their attitude towards new products and your value prop.
I reached out to the community where my userbase hangs out and made it very clear that I am looking for beta testers to make this product better for THEM. Some people have already reached out and offered to test and give me feedback.
Internet is massive and there are enough people out there who care about helping build a product that solves their problem.
I wouldn't worry too much, especially doing something like "the mom test." Tell them what you're trying to do, ask them if it's valuable, and get them to try it out.
Do you have a personal audience on Twitter (or other social media)?
I do but they aren’t my target market.