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How do you reach out to strangers for product interviews?

So yes, that's pretty much it!
We tried various ways like Reddit, Quora, Emails, etc.
But still couldn't find our target numbers.
We hesitated on the direct reach for LinkedIn, since we don't want to look spammy.
How do you do find interviews to get feedback from strangers who are interested?

Here's our website too: https://shopgram.io/

And if you're interested and work in the Shopify section (Merchant, Agency, Dropshipper, etc.) let me know so we can chat!

  1. 4

    Had written how we're doing this.

    https://www.indiehackers.com/post/how-were-getting-over-50-response-rate-with-linkedin-cold-outreach-idea-validation-83353c13b8

    If the solution is a need they immediately recognize then you could get away with personalization and be a little more contextual. But in most other cases it's better to make the initial conversation about them.

    This could work:

    <personlised compliment>
    <the problem you're solving for them>
    <solution you have in mind for them>
    <ask for feedback and also mention why it's important for them to do so>

  2. 2

    Make sure you connect with them on a personal level before you pitch your product / ask for an interview.

    Be helpful and supportive first. Ask about their passions. Don’t mention your product.

    Only after a while talk about your own stuff. There’ll be trust already and a lot more willingness to help.

    1. 2

      Thanks for the tip!
      However, the issue with this for me has been like this:
      My message to person #1:
      " Hi, Nima here, I'm blah blah.
      Just wanted to reach out to see whether you're interested in doing a quick interview with us about Shopify?"

      You mean to connect them on a personal level and try to be more of a friend?
      Be like "Hi, It's me. Just wanted to connect if that's ok?"

      1. 2

        "Just wanted to connect" / "Just wanted to reach out" does nothing. It doesn't make you stand out. You're just another person spamming them.

        What worked for me is actually engaging with people's work first. In your case, that could mean sending thoughtful replies to their blog posts, asking meaningful questions about their business. Just something that helps you connect on a personal level.

        Yes, that's a lot of effort but it pays off. If you don't put effort in, people won't put effort into answering your questions.

        The Mom Test has an alternative approach that might also work for you.

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          That doesn't seem to scale...

          1. 1

            True. And it doesn’t have to. Early-stage startups are about doing a lot of things that don’t scale.

            1. 1

              That is true. But this is a lot of effort 😅 I like more the approach on the first comment. But if this works for you, great.

  3. 1

    Never tried this for product interviews but the app shapr (tinder for networking) is a good place for striking up conversations with people having specific interests. The user base seems to value entrepreneurship more than the average person, so they might be more willing to help.

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