
Ask HN: Finding Users to Talk - SStanley
I wanted to try an experiment for an app, do you have any difficulties finding user to talk and telling you sincerely what they think of your product&#x2F;idea ?
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enhdless
If you're showing them designs, sometimes it helps to lie and say that you
weren't the one who made it, so other people don't feel bad about criticizing
it.

You can post an anonymous survey on Reddit or specific Facebook groups, and
have people leave their email if they are open to a follow-up interview.

If you already have a prototype, there are paid online services like
UserTesting ([https://www.usertesting.com/](https://www.usertesting.com/))
where you can specify tasks for users to complete and get verbal feedback.

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SStanley
Good idea to act like it's not for you, I will try this ^^

Thinks for the link, I looked at usertesting but it seem for bigger company
base on the price

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glaucon
I don't know if you meant this literally but I couldn't find any mention of
price ( just the "contact for trial" language which usually translates as "a
lot").

Did you find any explicit mention of pricing ?

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SStanley
In the section "get pay to test", you can read users are being paid 10$ for
each answer of an average of 20 min

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glaucon
Well spotted, thank you.

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brittpart_
Go in with an open mind and say "please tell me everything you hate about this
product" and if they're shy keep poking. Could this be better? Is this easy to
do? Would you naturally think this sequence would happen?

Don't preface it as "feedback" preface it as, what don't you like about this?

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SStanley
This is one of the most underrated and promiscuous thing I've heard ! Thinks!
I'm gonna try it

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davidajackson
No just make sure you don't ask only friends or family. Sometimes they'll tell
you want they want you to hear. Post on reddit, startup school etc. and people
will give good feedback on the idea. If you can Google the problem and people
come up asking for solutions to it that's usually a good sign.

~~~
SStanley
Thinks for your answer.

Basicaly I'm currently want to ask to more that friends or family for that
reason.

They will probably respond on forum but how do I know they are potentiel users
? And how can I continue the conversation, having feedback for each release ?

~~~
davidajackson
Ask them for feedback or their email, or just float the idea past people in a
post. If they readily want to join a waitlist or check it out usually people
will comment. Then it's up to you to create enough of a good UI and product
etc. that when you send them a link they actually want to use it. Otherwise
rely solely on comments/feedback. Here's an example thread where I did this:

[https://www.reddit.com/r/SideProject/comments/d0xp35/i_made_...](https://www.reddit.com/r/SideProject/comments/d0xp35/i_made_callstop_adblock_for_phone_calls_the_app/)

>> continuing conversation/building relationships

When they ask for a feature, build it immediately if it seems like something
smart to build. They will think you are a god because people are used to
crappy customer service where they don't even get a response for days. So
instead of waiting days to respond, build the features in a few days and
respond that you built the feature. Then ask them nicely for a review and you
will get 5 stars.

> feedback for each release

Ping the people who you know are power users. Also email every single new
signup and ask how they like it.

Happy to provide personal feedback on your idea here too.

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SStanley
Think I'm gonna look at the reddit post. I tried to send personal email for
each users in precedent idea but I didn't gt any response (approximatively
100-150 people). But I did get this users by facebook ads, probably the
reason.

I think i'm gonna ask feedback for my idea on the week, I need to understand
the problem better to match the right solution

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the_resistence
Read the book Mom Test. It is the standard reference for user or prospective
surveys.

~~~
SStanley
Yes I heard about it, it will soon give it a try, are they talking about where
to find user ?

