Finding the right participants can make or break a moderated usability test. No matter how carefully you design the tasks, if your testers don’t reflect your target users, the insights will be shallow or misleading. Recruiting participants is both an art and a science—balancing demographic criteria, screening methods, and incentives to ensure you’re talking to the right people in the right way.

In this article, we’ll walk through why recruitment matters, what qualities to look for in participants, and practical steps for building an effective recruiting process. By the end, you’ll know exactly how to find participants who will give you actionable insights for your product or service.

Why Recruitment Matters in Moderated Testing

Moderated testing allows you to sit with participants (either in person or remotely) and guide them through scenarios. Because the moderator is present, you can probe deeper, ask clarifying questions, and uncover frustrations or motivations that a survey or unmoderated test might miss.

But here’s the catch: the value of moderated testing depends on the people in the room. Recruit the wrong participants, and you’ll spend hours analyzing data that doesn’t represent your real users. Recruit the right ones, and you’ll gain insights that directly influence product decisions and improve user experience.

Poor recruitment often leads to:

• Participants who don’t match your target audience
• Feedback that doesn’t align with real-world use cases
• Sessions where participants are disengaged or unhelpful

That’s why recruiting isn’t just a logistical task, it’s a strategic step in the research process.

Defining Your Target Users

The first step in participant recruitment is clarity. Who exactly are you trying to reach? Without a clear definition, you’ll end up with a generic group that may not represent your actual users.

Start with your user personas. If you already have personas, use them as a guide for demographics, motivations, and behaviors. If you don’t, lean on existing customer data, analytics, or stakeholder knowledge to build a profile.

Consider criteria like:

• Demographics: Age, gender, location, income, education level.
• Psychographics: Goals, attitudes, values, interests.
• Behavioral factors: Technology comfort, purchase habits, product familiarity.
• Context of use: Where, when, and how they’d use your product.

For example, if you’re testing a mobile banking app, recruiting “any smartphone user” is too broad. Instead, you might target participants aged 25–40 who actively use mobile apps for banking, pay bills online, and have security concerns about digital finance.

The tighter the definition, the better the feedback.

Creating Effective Screener Surveys

Once you’ve defined your target audience, the next step is filtering people who fit that profile. That’s where screener surveys come in.

A screener is a short questionnaire that determines whether someone qualifies for your study. It helps you separate ideal participants from those who may not provide useful insights.

When creating screeners, follow these best practices:

• Ask behavior-based questions, not leading ones. Instead of asking “Do you use mobile banking apps?” (which invites a yes/no guess), ask “How do you usually manage your finances?” and give multiple options.
• Avoid giving away the ‘correct’ answer. Don’t hint at what you’re looking for. People often try to qualify by selecting what they think you want to hear.
• Include disqualifying criteria. For example, if you don’t want UX professionals in your study, add a question about their job role and exclude designers or researchers.
• Keep it short. A 5–7 question screener is enough. Long surveys discourage applicants.

A well-crafted screener ensures you don’t waste time interviewing the wrong people.

Deciding How Many Participants to Recruit

How many people do you need for moderated testing? The short answer: fewer than you might think.

Jakob Nielsen’s famous research suggests that 5 participants can uncover 80% of usability issues. While that’s a helpful rule of thumb, the actual number depends on your goals:

• Exploratory research: 5–7 participants per user group can reveal patterns.
• Comparative testing (A/B): 8–12 participants may be needed to compare experiences.
• Multiple segments: If you’re testing across different user groups (e.g., new vs. experienced users), aim for 5–6 participants per segment.

It’s always wise to recruit a few extra participants in case of no-shows or last-minute dropouts.

Choosing Recruitment Channels

Now that you know who you need and how many, the next step is finding them. There are several channels you can use to recruit participants:

• Existing customers: Reach out through your email list, social media, or in-app notifications.
• Research panels: Many platforms (like Userlytics, Respondent.io, or UserInterviews) maintain panels of participants ready to join studies.
• Market research agencies: If you need very specific demographics (e.g., surgeons, accountants, or parents of toddlers), agencies can help source them.
• Organic recruitment: Post invitations on forums, LinkedIn groups, or community pages where your audience spends time.
• Guerrilla recruiting: Approach people in public spaces (coffee shops, libraries, malls) if your product is broad enough.

Each channel has trade-offs in cost, speed, and accuracy. For specialized participants, agencies or panels are best. For general consumer products, organic or guerrilla recruiting can work well.

Incentivizing Participants

People value their time. Offering a fair incentive increases response rates and reduces no-shows.

Common incentives include:

• Cash payments (via PayPal, gift cards, or vouchers)
• Discounts or free subscriptions to your product
• Donations to charity on their behalf

The amount depends on session length and the complexity of the task. A general guideline:

• 30 minutes: $25–50
• 60 minutes: $50–100
• Specialized professionals: $150–300

Incentives should feel generous enough to show appreciation but not so large that they attract participants who are only in it for the reward.

Preparing Participants for the Session

Recruitment doesn’t end when someone agrees to join. You also need to prepare participants so they feel comfortable and show up on time.

Send a confirmation email with:

• Date, time, and time zone (especially for remote sessions)
• Technical requirements (e.g., Zoom link, microphone, stable internet)
• Instructions for joining the session
• Contact info in case they face issues

It’s also a good idea to send a reminder a day before the session. A smooth onboarding process helps participants relax and be more open during the test.

Avoiding Common Recruitment Mistakes

Even experienced teams make recruitment mistakes that waste time and money. Here are a few to avoid:

• Over-relying on friends and family. They’re convenient, but they rarely match your real audience.
• Recruiting only ‘perfect’ users. Real customers aren’t always tech-savvy or highly engaged. Aim for diversity within your criteria.
• Not screening for experience levels. A first-time user’s insights differ greatly from a seasoned user’s. Both are valuable, but you should plan accordingly.
• Skipping pilot sessions. Running a test with one participant before the real sessions can reveal gaps in your recruiting criteria.

Avoiding these pitfalls will keep your testing process efficient and insightful.

Tracking and Refining Your Recruitment Process

Recruitment is not a one-off activity—it’s a system that improves over time.

After each study, review:

• How many people applied vs. qualified
• How many no-shows you had
• Whether the participants provided valuable insights

Track these metrics and refine your screeners, outreach, and incentives. Over time, you’ll build a repeatable process that delivers high-quality participants consistently.

Bringing It All Together

Recruiting the right participants for moderated testing is a careful balance of strategy and execution. You need to clearly define your audience, screen effectively, use the right channels, and offer incentives that respect people’s time.

When done well, recruitment transforms your moderated testing from a routine exercise into a powerful tool for decision-making. The participants you bring in will mirror your real users, giving you insights that directly improve product design, usability, and ultimately, customer satisfaction.

The next time you’re planning a moderated test, remember: it’s not just about the script or the prototype—it’s about the people. Get recruitment right, and the rest will fall into place.