How do you feel about offering money to test a product?
Product Hunt was created specifically to showcase what you do. But let’s face it, with the progress of AI, there are more and more products and you don’t have time to test them all (respect to @gabe , who does this job brilliantly).
I noticed that as my following grew throughout social media, more people contacted me wanting to test products. Of course, I don’t have room for everyone, and what’s even more shocking is that to get to me, they want to compensate me for testing.
I have a question for people who create products:
• Why is offering money to people with a large following so valuable to you? Wouldn’t it be more rational to offer that money to companies that have a professional team of testers?
I would like to hear the thoughts of the PH community.
Replies
Lancepilot
I think it’s because you’re giving them both feedback and exposure at once, QA teams can’t do that.
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@priyankamandal yeah, but is it legit for that influencer to ask/take money for that? If so, what amount is bearable, considering he provides feedback and exposure?
Lancepilot
@busmark_w_nika The important part is both sides feel it’s fair, useful feedback and exposure for the founder, and some compensation for the influencer’s time.
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@priyankamandal Yeah, the more an influencer is famous, the more likely they are to ask for money (attention is limited).
Lancepilot
@busmark_w_nika agree
Triforce Todos
I guess it comes down to priorities. A team of testers can find bugs, but a creator with an audience can spark adoption. Sometimes early visibility feels more urgent than polish.
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@abod_rehman The best scenario is to have both. :)
IXORD
Testers can indeed help identify issues. However, they won’t provide the same insights as actual users, because the person who truly needs the product will use it naturally, and that experience can’t be bought for any amount of money. Everyone has their own needs, and the product may or may not meet them. I don’t think that if someone tests something specifically and then asks for a reward, it constitutes a bad experience for gathering feedback.
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@ixord yep, regular users can reveal those setbacks tho very unconscious. Sometimes users cannot explain that, but they feel that the process is wrong/not smooth. :)
IXORD
@busmark_w_nika True, and this information is much more valuable, I love to listen to opinions about the product if they say that it has problems. I, on the contrary, listen to them and implement them into the product
Cal ID
Offering money to test a product often feels more like marketing than genuine QA. (It's both good and bad from different perspectives)
Big creators bring exposure, but that’s different from professional and structured feedback.
For real product improvement, both are valuable- broad early testers plus expert pros, but mixing these goals can feel tricky (I was super-confused when I did it for the first time)
But I still have this doubt, though - How do you balance authenticity and compensation?
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@sanskarix That's the thing. Because I was first, yeah, I will try it – I really like testing things, but when I am bombarded by 8+ messages per day to try someone's product in my free time... it is becoming too overwhelming and I need to "filter". So, I had to make that move to turn it into a paid service.
You don't have to pay a company to approach them with a "free pilot" and get lots of great feedback, and that may also convert into a paying customer. Stakeholder within large companies (particularly marketing, insights, and sales) are typically open to getting their hands on a tool for free if the onboarding is smooth and their internal protocols allow for it.
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@mcval_osborne Do you mean offering a company (or their employees) to use the tool long-term for free if they offer feedback?
This is one of the more common types of influencer marketing.
A paid product review is essentially an advertisement.
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@tetianavoronina From the perspective of the creator (e.g. me), it feels so dishonest and not true. I would rather test products that have some use case for me.
@busmark_w_nika Do actresses and models who advertise cosmetics actually use them?
Maybe yes, maybe no, but their job is to promote the product.
In many ways, influencer marketing operates on this same principle.
For this reason, the most important thing is transparency - specifically, knowing that the influencer is an affiliate.
This is correct from both a legal and ethical point of view.
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@tetianavoronina Maybe we are too "deformed" by our marketing roles and overthink it. Regular people just trust their favourite influencers, see them to use the product, so they will too :D
@busmark_w_nika Nika, let's be real about influencers.
The audience isn't dumb.
With 20+ years in the ad and marketing world, I can tell you no one can sell a bad product, no matter who's endorsing it.
An influencer's job is just to get eyeballs on a product.
They need to be careful, though.
Pushing bad products destroys their credibility, and I've seen examples of celebrities who became the faces of outright scams and are now in trouble with the law.
Hi Nika,
Professional testers improve the product, influencers amplify it — both are valuable, just in different ways. 🚀
Want me to also give you a couple more variations so you have options depending on the tone?
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@minesh_mistry "Want me to also give you a couple more variations so you have options depending on the tone?" – is this line forgotten from ChatGPT chat? :D
As a UX researcher, most of our studies are based on user interactions. However, I’ve spoken with marketing teams who want to hear from KOLs about how our product performs. I think this is because, from their perspective, they want to understand both the preferences of KOLs and the influence they hold over certain groups.
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@christyfea Cool! For which company do you do UX research? I have always wanted to try something like that :D :)
If people are offering you money to test their product then its not to get the actual results from the testing, its to get the eyeballs of your audience onto their product. Audience is no longer drive by looking at the metrics (in recent years) as much as they are driven towards the product with good personal branding attached. Thats why creators and founders are trying to teamup with people who have good and authentic audience.
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@sheraz_abdul_hayee Probably I got to the state when they want more exposure than real advice :D
@busmark_w_nika 100%. Curious, what’s your ‘yes/no’ filter when brands reach out?
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@sheraz_abdul_hayee I need to be aligned interested in the product when it comes to that character of it. + Reliable team and vision of the company.
TinyCommand
I think it comes down to what kind of signal you’re buying.
Paying a professional testing team gives you structured bug reports, usability notes, edge cases very reliable but often limited to product mechanics.
Paying someone with reach gives you a different value: distribution and “social proof.” Even if their feedback isn’t as deep, their audience notices them trying your product, and that visibility can matter at early stages.
As a founder, I’d never rely on one or the other. Structured QA helps me improve the product. Real users paid or not help me see if there’s traction in the market.
That’s why I’d treat influencer-style testing more as early marketing spend, not product validation.
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@priyanka_gosai1 From the perspective of that influencer, is it then valid to ask for money for testing?