PickFu polls are popular among mobile app companies, self-publishing authors, and e-commerce businesses. But these pollsters may be missing out on a helpful strategy: testing creative in context.

What does it mean to test something in context?

In a previous life, I worked in an ad agency. Whenever we pitched an idea for a billboard, we would Photoshop the creative onto a billboard. If we were creating a website layout, we would show the layout in a web browser. Sometimes when we pitched a TV commercial, we would even take a frame from the storyboard and Photoshop it onto a screen.

The same principle applies when you take a creative option, such an app icon, a book cover, or a featured photo, and test it using PickFu. You show that option in the context it will appear to the user, such as on a mobile device, on Amazon, or in a browser. … Continue reading

Creating unbiased poll questions is necessary to achieve unbiased results. This guide will help you recognize whether biases may be influencing your results.

One of the biggest benefits of polling is accessing an audience of people who have no familiarity with your product, logo, book, business name, or whatever it is you’re testing. They approach the question without bias… but as the poll creator, do you?

Avoid these common mistakes and poll respondents will answer more openly and honestly.

PickFu relies on a number of quality controls to ensure that the people who participate in your polls answer them honestly and seriously. And guess what? YOU are one of those quality controls.

When your poll is complete, you should take the time to read through each comment. If an answer is particularly insightful, use the up arrow to the right of that response to “upvote” it. You can tell us what you liked about the answer, and your comment will be shared with the PickFu team (not with the person who wrote it). … Continue reading

As Americans, we often scratch our heads at the legions of international soccer fans who can live with a tie. A score like 2-2 (or even worse, a 0-0 draw) is so inconclusive – we like the clarity of winners and losers. When a game ends tied, how are we supposed to feel?!

But a tied game is still hard-fought. The players still put it all out on the field, exert huge amounts of effort, and in the end, are shown to be evenly matched. Alan Jacobs wrote an impassioned defense of ties a few years ago in the Wall Street Journal. In it, he writes,

Since scoring is so rare, many matches end 0-0 or 1-1. And this is something that we soccer fans don’t just accept about the game: we love it. We love that scoring is so darn hard, that, most of the time, many interlocking pieces of game action have to fall into place just so in order for the ball to make its way into the back of the net. We want it that way.

This is a good lesson when your PickFu poll ends in a tie. It’s difficult to score big with an audience. You probably know (or are) someone who will only drink Coke or only drink Pepsi. These are passionate, insistent customers. But you also probably know someone who doesn’t have a cola preference, or even can’t tell the difference. (These people are crazy, by the way, because obviously Coke is superior). … Continue reading