Without participants, there's no research.
Your first contact with participants—recruitment—is crucial to the success of your outreach and your research. Optimizing your recruitment funnel is the key to unlocking accurate, high-quality UX research insights.
Tracking engagement throughout every stage of your funnel—from initial pageviews to completed responses—is essential. Because bottlenecks in the process can decrease the quality of your research, you may not reach the right users, and may not even get users to respond.
Using a research panel that allows UXers to filter for specific criteria is the first step I take. We use a variety of screener tactics to help ensure the people signing up or taking our unmoderated tests are the right people.
Kelly MeredithSenior Design Researcher at Buildium
Here at Ethnio, our mission is to help manage this process. Our panel management software helps you identify where participants may drop off and make data-driven adjustments to optimize your strategy.
Continue reading to discover how you can recruit high-quality research participants and drive better business outcomes (aka happy stakeholders).
Participant recruiting funnel vs research funnel
You might be familiar with Emma Boulton's fantastic Research Funnel, but that’s a broader framework that helps teams visualize and optimize the entire research process. It helps teams categorize research projects by their stage in the product lifecycle.
This article has nothing to do with a research funnel. 🕶️
How you recruit your participants determines your funnel
Since this article focuses solely on recruitment and conversions, let’s start with the common methods of participant recruiting:
You pull an internal list of participants and email them.
Intercept on a web site or app (iOS/Android).
Panel that you have ongoing communication with and you email them.
External panel where you don’t do much.
Ads or social media posts that link to a screener.
Something else we’re probably forgetting - doesn’t matter.
Understanding conversion funnels
If you’re in the research ops game, you probably know that a conversion funnel is simply the starting number of potential participants at the top, and the total final succesfully completed participants at the bottom. The funnel represents the journey potential participants take from first learning about your study to completing it.
Along the way, a lot of things can happen. Let’s get into it.
The concept
Whether you’re sending an email blast to a warmed up cohort of existing panel members, or launching a web intercept to strangers, the funnel has the same principles. The goal is to guide qualified participants from awareness to completing interviews. Conversion rates vary based on traffic, brand, incentives, and screener design.
Below is a breakdown of the funnel’s main stages and the focus at each point.
Awareness
This is the top of the funnel, where potential participants first learn about the opportunity to take part in a study. It can happen through email outreach, social media, or other recruitment platforms.
Consideration
After becoming aware of the study, participants enter the consideration phase. Here, they evaluate whether the study is relevant to them and if they want to participate. This is where they learn about the study’s purpose, duration, and any incentives offered.
Sign-Up/Opt-In
At this stage, participants decide to join the study by opting in, filling out a screener, or providing their contact information. They provide their contact details, complete a screener, or opt-in to participate. This is a critical step in moving participants from interested prospects to active participants in the study.
Participation
The final stage is when the participant completes the research activity, whether it's a survey, usability test, or interview. Successful participation means that participants have engaged fully and provided the necessary data or feedback.
Unique technical terms to know and tracking tips
You’ll want to track key metrics at each stage of the process. The difference between pageviews, screener views, and responses can also be a little confusing. Let's define some key terms:
Pageview
It’s generated any time your server pings our server. So let's say you've placed your code on a page that gets 1,000 pageviews. Every single one of those is going to say to Ethnio "hey should we show the screener?" Because we set a cookie to ensure that nobody sees a screener twice, the vast majority of those pageviews will not result in a screener being shown. That's because there are tons of reloads and return visits on any given page. You might also have the screener turned all the way off, in which case pageviews will continue to accrue, but no screener views will appear.
Tracking: How many users landed on your recruitment page? This is the starting point for understanding the overall interest in your study.
Screener Views
This refers to the amount of times a screener was seen by one of your site visitors.
Tracking: Of those who visited your recruitment page, how many actually opened and viewed the screener?
Responses
The amount of responses that occurred after a visitor saw your screener. Does not mean completed responses, but they had some type of interaction with your screener.
Tracking: How many completed the screener? This shows the effectiveness of your screener design. The second step is to see how many participants meet your criteria? This tells you how well you’re targeting the right audience.
Drop-Off Rate
This helps you identify pain points in the funnel.
Tracking: Where are participants abandoning the process?
Funnels in different methods for user research recruitment
Now that you’re familiar with key terms and metrics, let’s explore effective recruitment methods. Driving traffic to your screener is the first crucial step in any recruitment funnel. You’ll want to get creative with your outreach, whether through social media, in-product intercepts, or email campaigns. Insights from Magera Moon, Co-founder at Related Works—a research and product strategy firm in New York City—shows how diverse research goals can shape recruitment strategies.
Email recruitment funnel
Email recruitment is a powerful tool for engaging potential participants, especially when you have access to user lists. To improve conversion rates, focus on three essentials: personalization, early screening filters, and timing.
Driving traffic to your screener
Consider Related Works’ experience: they emailed a list of potential participants but saw only a 2% response rate due to a lack of brand recognition; many users were unfamiliar with the Mobilize platform. The key takeaway? Conversion rates depend heavily on trust and brand affinity. Optimizing your email copy and establishing familiarity with potential participants is crucial.
Screener views
Once users click through your email, it’s all about maximizing engagement. Clear, concise screeners tend to convert better.
For Ethnio users, screener customization and automated follow-ups can make a huge difference. So when thinking about this part of your funnel, consider how and where you ask potential participants to engage.
Responses
The final hurdle in any recruitment funnel is getting qualified candidates to respond. For Ethnio users, automating this process—whether through smart tagging, exclusive filters, or automated follow-up emails—can help maintain engagement through the final stage of the recruitment funnel.
Web or app intercepts funnel
Web or app intercepts provide immediate and contextual engagement opportunities, allowing researchers to connect with users at the moment they’re most engaged.
Pageviews or traffic of your site/app
The size or your site or app is obviously the biggest determining factor in how specific your targeting can get in order to show an intercept to a specific cohort or population.
If you have 1 billion daily active users (DAUs) in your app, and your company somehow magically approves a research team to run an intercept, you can target on nearly unlimited criteria and keep a great funnel.
Generating interest
Now we’ve shown the intercept to potentially millions or dozens of people, so you need the 1st page of your screener to generate interest in participants. The wording, the visual branding, the incentive, and the study details are huge here.
Money talks
If we’re talking about people looking at your screener, in most cases outside of government and certain cases, you can pay an incentive. Pay the right incentive for your audience. Figure it out here using our free incentive calculator.
It’s a good idea to compensate research participants for their time. How much and in what form can vary depending on the level of time and effort you’re asking of them. 
Magera MoonSr. Product Design Manager at Etsy and Co-Founder at Related Works
Length of text
How many paragraphs do you have?
Clear & concise study details
Is it a survey that will take 2min? Is it a 60min 1:1 interview right now in real-time? Is it next week? Will there be return sessions? Try to get that in one sentence. It’s not easy.
Optimizing responses
You probably need to ask them some questions to determine their eligibility. But how many questions can you ask before conversion drops off at this stage? 1 question certainly won’t impact the rest of the funnel, but 100 questions will destroy it.
Effective intercepts ensure the right participants respond at the right time. Related Works successfully engaged users right after relevant experiences, resulting in timely, insightful feedback. Ethnio’s customizable triggers and real-time follow-ups help research teams maintain high participation rates with minimal effort.
Summary of common conversion challenges
Optimizing your research recruitment funnel requires a strategic focus on several common conversion challenges. Let’s unpack the key obstacles that may be hindering your conversion rates.
Low Participant Engagement arises when not enough participants interact with your screener or complete the study, leading to a limited data pool.
Inadequate Incentives can lower participation rates, as participants may feel unmotivated to complete the study if the benefits of participating are unclear or perceived as inadequate.
Technical Issues such as bugs or problems with the screener or sign-up process can frustrate participants and lead to drop-offs, making it crucial to ensure that all technical aspects function smoothly to maintain engagement.
Compliance and Privacy Concerns can have legal ramifications and damage your organization's reputation due to non-compliance with privacy regulations such as GDPR, CCPA, or HIPAA, while mishandling sensitive participant data can also lead to breaches and loss of trust.
Poor Targeting occurs when your screener is displayed to the wrong audience, resulting in unqualified responses and skewed data.
Screener Length can cause participants to abandon the process before completion if it is long or complicated. While participants may tolerate more questions if your brand has strong affinity, it is essential to keep it concise and respectful of their time for others.
Unclear Study Information leads to hesitation when participants are unsure about the study's purpose or the benefits of participating, making it vital to provide clear and compelling information to encourage participation.
Best practices for driving higher conversions
Assess your brand affinity by comparing it to larger brands like Disney and Reddit, which typically enjoy higher conversion and view rates, as understanding this dynamic can significantly impact your recruitment success.
Keep your screener short by asking fewer questions, which generally leads to higher response rates and encourages more participants to engage.
Offer competitive incentives because the biggest single factor is paying your participants the right incentive, which you can figure out here with our free incentive calculator.
Communicate incentives clearly by highlighting the benefits of participating in your study and ensuring that the incentives are compelling and prominently featured in your outreach materials.
Improve outreach tactics by utilizing personalized messaging when reaching out through email, social media, or targeted ads, as tailored communication helps capture the right audience’s interest.
Sharpen targeting with segmentation tools to ensure your screener reaches participants meeting your study’s criteria, which is key to gathering relevant insights.
Use relatable language by avoiding jargon or overly formal language, as a friendly tone can encourage engagement and improve response rates.
Optimize screener design by ensuring a user-friendly, concise, and accessible interface, as clear instructions help reduce drop-offs and improve completion rates.
Test technical functionality regularly to identify and resolve issues before participants encounter them, ensuring a smooth experience across devices and browsers.
Prioritize compliance and data security by implementing robust measures to protect participant information and ensure transparency in data handling, building trust through adherence to legal standards.
Track metrics continuously to analyze where participants drop off and adjust your strategies, enhancing overall efficiency and effectiveness.
Maintain clear communication by providing updates and answering questions promptly, as engaging communication can boost participant satisfaction and reduce drop-offs.
Automate wherever you can.
Optimizing your conversion funnel with Ethnio
Tactical and operational research work really well in agile and ‘everything all the time’ workflows and in ongoing product development. By centralizing participant data, automating workflows, and ensuring robust data security, user research CRMs, like Ethnio, helps streamline the entire research process.Here’s what that looks like with Ethnio:
Centralized Participant Data
Easily manage and access participant information, improving collaboration across teams.
Automated Workflows
Reduce administrative burdens and ensure that your research projects runs smoothly.
Advanced Analytics
Gain deeper insights into participant behavior and project progress.
Robust Data Security
Protect participant information with industry-leading security measures.
This about sums it up…
Firstly, congrats - not only did you make it to the end of this article but you are clearly intent on maximizing conversions in your recruitment funnel. That means you want to maximize the potential of your UXR efforts.
Optimizing your research recruitment funnel is crucial for ensuring high participation rates and obtaining valuable insights. By focusing on best practices such as streamlining your screener, offering competitive incentives, and improving your outreach tactics, you can significantly enhance participant engagement. Remember to prioritize clear communication and data security while continuously tracking metrics to refine your strategies.
As you implement these best practices, consider how each component of your recruitment process can be tailored to meet the unique needs of your target audience. The journey to successful participant recruitment may present challenges, but with a strategic approach and a commitment to understanding your participants, you can turn these challenges into opportunities for valuable research outcomes.