Comprehensive list of sources and tips for customer interviews

• Sources
  • Linkedin
    • Use Linkedin Answers
    • Join Linkedin Groups
    • Use Search + InMail
    • Check your existing connections
    • Ask your connections for intros
    • Post to the Linkedin Social Network
    • Run Linkedin Ads
  • Facebook
    • Look up your friends
    • Ask your friends
    • Look for Fan Pages
    • Run Targeted Facebook Ads
    • Try the new Graph Search
  • Twitter
    • Ask your followers
    • Ask your followers for referrals
    • Run Twitter Ads
    • Ask Twitter Accounts to tweet on your behalf
    • Search for relevant Hashtags
    • Join a Twitter Chat
    • Search Twitter for People Talking about your Problem
  • Email
    • Email relevant friends/contacts
    • Start a personal newsletter
    • Use Rapportive to find emails & cold email
    • Make your GChat status a call for help/intros
    • Make your signature a call for help/intros
  • Meetup.com
    • Join & Attend Meetups in your category
    • Ask organizers to message the group
    • Ask the organizer to allow you to address the audience at a Meetup
    • Mention in your Meetup profile what you’re looking for
    • Message users on Meetup.com
    • Create a Meetup group
  • Your blog
    • Write a blog post about the problem you’re solving
    • Post your blog to discussion sites in appropriate categories
    • Update your About Page for what you’re looking for
    • Make a page on your blog just about your market
    • Start a blog just to talk about your industry
  • Other Blogs
    • Reach out to other bloggers for interviews
    • Ask other bloggers to run an ad for you
    • Ask other bloggers to write about you
    • Ask to write a guest blog post
    • Use Blog lists to find the right blogs
    • Reach out to commenters
  • Quora, Forums, Youtube, Kickstarter
  • Offline
    • Approach people in native environments
    • Look for people unhappy with a service
    • Go to conferences for your target audience
    • Go to trade organization events
    • Go to places you know they’ll congregate
    • Ask people on long train rides or airplanes
  • Google Ads, Facebook Ads
• Process
  • Introduction
    • Introduction by e-mail
    • Introduction tips
  • Interview
    • Tips
      • Afraid “confirmation bias”
      • Ask open ended questions
      • Listen, don’t talk
      • Take Good Notes or Record Everything
      • Always follow up
      • See if your idea survives customer interaction
      • Smile. People want to talk to you.
    • Questions
      • What are your greatest pains?
      • What are you trying to get done? (Gather context)
      • How do you currently do this? (Analyze workflow)
      • What could be better about how you do this? (Find opportunities)