To get ten active beta users, write down 30 specific people who have the problem, invite each one personally, and ask every person who says yes for one introduction. Listing the product on a beta directory brings casual testers who sign up and disappear. A named list, a clear ask and a weekly check-in bring the ones who use it.
Here is the whole method with the message and the check-in, a run of numbers that adds up, and what to do in week four when the beta ends. It assumes you have no audience, no mailing list and a product that mostly works.
What a beta is for
A beta answers two questions: does the product break for real people, and will anyone keep using it when you stop watching? A hundred sign-ups don't answer either. Ten people who use it every week for a month answer both. That is why the target is ten and not a hundred: ten you can talk to, fix things for, and learn from in one afternoon each week.
Decide what "active" means before you start. For a scheduling tool it might be "booked at least two appointments in a week." For a reporting tool, "opened a report twice." Write it down. Without it, you count sign-ups and fool yourself.
Who to invite
Invite people who already feel the problem and work around it, because they forgive rough edges. Friends, relatives and fans of your newsletter will be kind but don't have the problem. How to find early adopters gives the three screening questions, and design partners before product covers a closer arrangement when you want a few people shaping the product.
Aim for people who would be reasonable customers later: the right job, the right size of business, a budget. A beta group of the wrong people gives you advice you'll have to unlearn.
Where to find them by name
Build a list of 30 in a sheet with name, where you found them, and why they fit. Good places:
- People who posted the problem in a community, forum or group in the last few months. Read the thread, and note what they said.
- Reviewers of the tools they use today who mention what is missing.
- People in the right job at the right kind of company, found on professional networks or in a directory.
- Past colleagues and clients who know someone in the target group. Ask them for names, not for a favor.
If you have no network at all, how to find your first customer when you have no network shows how to start from zero, and who to talk to first helps you choose. Beta directories and launch sites can add a few testers, but treat them as a bonus, not the plan.
The invitation message
Write it to one person at a time. Keep it short, say what you want, and make it easy to decline.
Subject: Want to try something I'm building for freelance designers?
Hi Lena, I'm Amir. I'm building a small tool that chases late invoices politely so designers don't have to. It works, but it's early. I'm looking for ten designers to use it for four weeks and tell me what's wrong with it. It's at no cost during the beta, and I'll lock in a lower price afterward. It would take about 30 minutes in week one and a 10-minute check-in each week. Would you be up for that? If not, no problem. Amir Haddad, 4 Foundry Lane, Leeds. Reply STOP and I won't write again.
It says who he is, what it does, what he needs, how much time it takes, and what they get. It doesn't pretend the product is finished. The postal address and opt-out line are required for commercial email under CAN-SPAM in the United States. How to get your first 10 customers covers the same loop for paying customers.
What you offer in return
Offer things that cost you time, not features: setup done together, a direct line to you, a quick answer on bugs, a locked price afterward, and a real say in what you build first. Say when the beta ends and what happens then: "On [date] I'll ask whether you'd like to keep using it at [price]." Don't promise free for life, and don't promise features you haven't built.
The weekly check-in
Every week, at the same time, send each beta user three questions by email or text:
- What did you use it for this week?
- What got in your way?
- What is the first thing you'd change?
Check your own data before the check-in. If someone has not logged in, mention it: "I noticed you haven't had a chance to try the reminders yet. Anything blocking you?" Quiet users are your best source of what's wrong. How to get feedback from customers has more on the questions that produce changes, not praise.
A run of numbers
Amir sends 30 invitations. Eleven say yes, nine of those start, and nineteen never reply or say no. He asks each of the nine for one introduction. They give him six names, and five of those start. That is 14 people who have started.
By the end of week three, ten of the 14 meet his definition of active (two paid reminders sent in a week), and four have gone quiet. He calls the four quiet ones, and two tell him the setup step confused them. He fixes it. So he has ten active users, 30 invitations and about six hours of work for the list and messages, plus an hour a week for check-ins. Those numbers are an illustration, and your rates will differ. If only two of 30 say yes, the list or the pitch needs work before you send more.
Turning beta users into customers
In week four, ask each active user two things: "If this cost $19 a month, would you keep using it?" and "Can I send you an invoice this week?" People say yes to the first more often than they pay on the second, so treat the second as the real answer. If four of Amir's ten pay, he has $76 a month and four people who can explain what they bought. If none pay, he learns that for the cost of a month, and he asks them why.
Ask the ones who stay for a short quote or an introduction to a peer, but only after they have paid. Then do the next round with a new list. Rocketship for startups shows how outreach and follow-up are handled once you have an offer.
Finding 30 named people and writing to each is the part that gets postponed. Rocketship finds the buyers by name, emails them from your own Gmail, follows up, and books the call on its own. Plans that get you customers start at $24.99 a month (Launch), and every monthly plan starts with a 7-day free trial, card required.