Managing Invites

Invites are the gateway to your interviews. Each invite is a unique, tokenized link that grants one-time access to an interview session.

How Invites Work

Invite Anatomy

Each invite contains:

• Unique Token: Cryptographically secure, one-time use identifier
• Campaign ID: Links back to the campaign
• Expiry Date: When the invite becomes invalid
• Participant Email: Who the invite was sent to

Invite URL Structure

https://interviewrelay.com/interview/[TOKEN]

Example:

https://interviewrelay.com/interview/inv_8f7d9e2c1a0b3h4k5j6m

Invite States

Pending

Invite created and sent, but participant hasn't started the interview yet.

Actions available:

• Resend email
• Extend expiry date
• Cancel invite
• Copy invite link

Started

Participant has opened the invite and begun the interview.

Actions available:

• View live progress (if in progress)
• Send follow-up (if paused)
• Wait for completion

Completed

Interview successfully finished.

Actions available:

• View transcript
• Download PDF
• Re-invite for follow-up study

Expired

Invite validity period has passed without completion.

Actions available:

• Create new invite
• Extend and resend

Cancelled

Invite manually revoked by campaign administrator.

Actions available:

• Create new invite (generates new token)

Common Operations

Resending an Invite

If a participant didn't receive the original email:

1. Navigate to the campaign
2. Find the participant in the invite list
3. Click Resend
4. Optionally customize the message
5. Click Send

Extending Expiry

Give participants more time to complete:

1. Select one or more invites
2. Click Extend Expiry
3. Choose new expiry date
4. Optionally send notification email

Cancelling Invites

Revoke access for specific participants:

1. Select the invite(s)
2. Click Cancel
3. Confirm the action

Cancelled invites cannot be reactivated. You'll need to create a new invite.

Copying Invite Links

For direct sharing outside of email:

1. Click on the invite
2. Click Copy Link
3. Share via your preferred method (Slack, SMS, etc.)

Bulk Operations

CSV Import

Upload participant lists via CSV:

email,name,metadata
john@example.com,John Doe,segment=power_user
jane@example.com,Jane Smith,segment=trial_user

The metadata column is optional and can store custom data.

Bulk Resend

Send reminders to all pending invites:

1. Filter by status: Pending
2. Select all (or specific subset)
3. Click Send Reminder
4. Customize reminder message
5. Click Send

Bulk Extension

Extend expiry for multiple invites at once:

1. Filter invites nearing expiry
2. Select invites to extend
3. Choose new expiry date
4. Apply changes

Email Delivery

Delivery Status

Track email delivery in real-time:

• Queued: Email in send queue
• Sent: Successfully handed to email provider
• Delivered: Received by recipient's mail server
• Bounced: Delivery failed (hard or soft bounce)
• Opened: Recipient opened the email (if tracking enabled)

Handling Bounces

Hard Bounces:

• Invalid email address
• Domain doesn't exist
• Recipient blocked sender

Action: Remove from list, verify email correctness

Soft Bounces:

• Mailbox full
• Temporary server issues
• Message too large

Action: System auto-retries up to 3 times over 72 hours

Spam Prevention

Avoid your invites landing in spam:

1. Use White-Label Email: Send from your domain, not our generic domain
2. Authenticate Domain: Set up SPF, DKIM, and DMARC records
3. Quality Lists: Don't send to purchased or scraped email lists
4. Engagement: Remove addresses that consistently don't open emails
5. Clear Opt-Out: Include unsubscribe link

Advanced Features

Custom Metadata

Attach custom data to each invite:

{
  "user_id": "12345",
  "segment": "enterprise",
  "plan": "professional",
  "signup_date": "2024-01-15"
}

Access this metadata in webhooks and exports for downstream analysis.

Invite Links Without Email

Generate invite links without sending emails:

1. Create campaign
2. Add participant emails
3. Choose Generate Links Only
4. Download CSV with links
5. Distribute via your own system

Useful for:

• In-app notifications
• SMS distribution
• Custom email service
• QR codes at events

Pre-filled Data

Pass data into the interview via URL parameters:

https://interviewrelay.com/interview/[TOKEN]?name=John&company=Acme

Access in your script to personalize the interview.

Monitoring & Analytics

Invite Dashboard

Key metrics per campaign:

• Delivery Rate: % of invites successfully delivered
• Engagement Rate: % of invites that were opened
• Conversion Rate: % of invites that led to started interviews
• Completion Rate: % of started interviews that finished

Time-to-Completion

Track how long it takes participants to complete:

• Invite to Start: Time from email delivery to interview start
• Start to Completion: Interview duration
• Total Time: End-to-end participant journey

Optimize based on these metrics.

Best Practices

Timing

When to send:

• B2B: Tuesday-Thursday, 9 AM - 11 AM recipient time
• B2C: Evening and weekends often work better
• Students: Avoid exam periods and late nights

Validity periods:

• High intent: 3 days (e.g., existing customers)
• Standard: 7 days (most campaigns)
• Long-term: 14-30 days (passive recruitment)

Email Content

Subject lines that work:

• "We'd love your feedback on [Product]"
• "5-minute interview about your experience"
• "Share your thoughts and earn $25"

Body best practices:

• Lead with value (incentive, exclusive access, help improve product)
• Be specific about time commitment
• Include interviewer introduction
• Clear call-to-action button
• Privacy assurance

Follow-up Strategy

First reminder: After 3-4 days

• Gentle nudge
• Reiterate value
• Mention time remaining

Final reminder: 1 day before expiry

• Urgency-driven
• Last chance messaging
• Consider increased incentive

Don't send more than 2 reminders to avoid annoying participants.

Troubleshooting

"Invite expired" Error

Causes:

• Participant tried to access after expiry date
• System clock discrepancy

Solution:

• Generate new invite for the participant
• Extend expiry date before resending

"Invite already used" Error

Causes:

• Participant already completed the interview
• Token was used by someone else

Solution:

• Verify the session completion in your dashboard
• Create new invite if interview wasn't actually completed

High Bounce Rate

Investigation:

• Check email source quality
• Verify email format (no typos)
• Test with known-good addresses

Prevention:

• Use double opt-in for your email list
• Validate email format before import
• Remove consistently bouncing addresses