How to ask someone for a user interview?

1. Message
   No matter what the product, the underlying message should be "Please help me make to product more useful to you".

If you can ask a specific question like "I have seen you created a post but didn't publish it, is there something I can help you with?" that will result in better response rate. You can always ask other questions once people agree to the interview.

2. Channel
   Ideally right in the product if you have a place/tool for it. Otherwise ask users via email. If you have a signup email chain, put it in there.

3. Audience
   Prob depends on your question but generally a good idea to ask any user, you'll learn a lot.

PLUS:
Don't overthink it, people are more likely to agree than you think.

With an incentive, like an LTD for indiehackers or cash from large companies. I’ve seen companies offer to pay $150–$250/hr for user interviews. Make it worth their time.

If you're just starting out and have some people in your network who could be your first users, you could simply ask them directly if they're free to have a chat because you want to learn more about XYZ.

When reaching out to people outside your network, I first try to portray my outreach as me conducting research and seeking information about how they work or some topic in the field I am researching.

In your first interaction with potential users, try not to mention at the outset that you have a product. Instead focus on validating the problem. During the call, if time allows, you could unveil your product, or schedule a follow up call for instance.

I also suggest all founders to learn a bit about UX Research methods to make sure your user interviews can be as productive and objective as possible.

You should write a discussion guide to help you conduct better user interviews.

For me it is:

• Make their opinion feel valuable
• Don't call it an interview (too many people have bad experience with this word!). I tend to say 'discuss' or 'chat'
• Make it as easy for them as possible. Such as Calendly to book at a time that works for them without the back and forth and thinking about your user, do they have an hour or 15minutes?

This is the sort of approach I am taking for Oxogen.io and my clients.

I'm guessing that asking online and in person may be different, but something along the lines of "I've created this app and I'm looking for your feedback if you don't mind. It will just take a few moments and really appreciate it." should be good.

I've had luck with the approach of making the participant feel special(because they are!). Depending on the product and or feature it can be tough to get participants for "user interviews", don't give up, be consistent, and try experimental approaches when trying to recruit.

Here is an email template that's brought me success in the past.

Hi {{first_name}},
My name is {{name}}, a {{User Experience Designer}}at
{{ UX Forward }}. We're currently researching {{our employer's
feedback feature}} and would love to show you a sneak peek.
We are looking to {{make the feedback feature employer focused}} and would love to hear your thoughts on our possible designs.
If you're interested, please schedule 30 with me using this link:
Thank you,

There are other user interview recruiting templates at UXForward.com