The word “beta” evokes an emotion somewhere between excitement and nervousness- for both the user and creator. From a user standpoint- it’s not the real thing yet; it’s being tested, so you can never be sure what you’re dealing with. From a creator standpoint- we’re finally here! What will the reaction be? You’ve worked so hard up to this point, and of course you want a positive outcome. The actual launch product depends on the quality of this stage…

We recently launched our brand new app into beta testing. Paprika is our third full app, and we’ve managed to learn a few things along the way.

Tweet, Tweet, Paprika.

We used Twitter to get the word out about our beta invites, and sign-up. Twitter has become an even better catalyst for spreading news than it was when we launched Jumpchart, and we’ve managed to make friends with people who do what we do, and are a lot like us. (That’s the point, right?!) It’s a great way to start a conversation, and has become a legitimate recommendation tool for our industry.

Reaching Out.

We tried something new this time around- we reached out within the industry using good old fashioned e-mail. We tried to target designers and developers who we thought would appreciate Paprika the most, and give us really valuable feedback on it. Of course, the difficult part was getting through to those we didn’t already know personally. With the touchy BS detectors out there, we really didn’t want our e-mail to sound like spam. It took some careful word-smithing, and lots of revisions, but we reached a version of “Hey, would you pretty please try our new app? It would mean a lot to us, and we really value your opinion.” we were happy with, and out the e-mails went.

Beta Sign Up.

The tried and true method of having people sign up for an invite was a method we used again this time. We set up a simple, slick sign-up page that asks for e-mail address only and included the option to receive our newsletter. By noting very clearly that all e-mail addresses we received would be deleted after the beta (unless the user signed up for the newsletter) we relieved any pressure that we might be contacting them again in the future, or that the user would be held to any future obligations.

Newsletter.

We already know lots of people from Jumpchart and Staction- and thought they might like to hear about Paprika, too. So we used our newsletter to tell them. Although the primary purpose of the newsletter was to spread the word about our beta test, we also included information about other happenings around the Paste office. This effort really spiked the number of beta signups!

Getting the word out about your beta test is nearly as important as getting the word out about the launch, but in a different way. You’re soliciting the feedback of your peers, your competitors, and your potential users. The information that comes from these tests is crucial to the overall success of your app when launch day arrives.

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Oh yeah, and, Sign up for the Paprika beta!
(see it works!)