No replies to your research invitation? What to check next

Before sending more invitations or increasing the offer, check what happened to the first request. It may still be a draft, the message may be unclear, or you may have contacted someone who does not do the work you want to understand. Silence alone cannot tell you which.

Read the invitation as a stranger

Could the recipient quickly tell who you are, why you contacted them, what you want to discuss, and how much time it takes? “Feedback on our new platform” gives them less to consider than “a 15-minute conversation about how you arrange repairs to returned rental equipment.”

Check that the invitation describes the experience you actually need. A job title can be a useful clue, but the person who approves repair bills may not arrange the repairs. GOV.UK's recruitment guidance recommends checking recruitment questions against the people you intended to reach.

If the topic, payment or next step is missing, improve the next invitation. If it is a product demonstration, say so. Calling it research will not resolve a mismatch in expectations. AAPOR's guidance makes that distinction explicit.

If you used Instant Expert, check Your Requests

Open Your Requests before treating the silence as a response to your message.

• Draft: the invitation has not been sent. Review it before deciding whether to send.
• Invitation delivery: read any failure or skipped count as well as the heading. “Sending complete” can include invitations that could not be confirmed sent.
• Invitation sent: an email send was recorded. This does not confirm inbox delivery or reading.
• Opened: a visit to the request page was recorded. This is not an email read receipt or an acceptance. No open recorded does not mean the email is unread.

Sending invitation and Send unconfirmed mean an email send has not been confirmed. Outreach recorded and Available in app describe other contact routes; neither confirms an email send.

Delivery progress is shown for recent or unfinished batches, so its absence on an older request does not establish success. If delivery is unclear, ask support about that request before inviting the person again.

Check the deadline and any spending cap too. An expired request can mean its response window ended, but it can also mean the remaining batch budget no longer covers it. Expiry alone is not evidence that someone ignored the invitation.

Let an actual reply guide the change

Consider an illustrative equipment-rental study. You want to understand what happens between a damaged return and the equipment being ready to rent again.

If someone says, “I approve the bill, but the workshop arranges the repair,” look for people who handle that work. Raising the offer to the same person does not change their responsibility.

If they say, “I do that work, but I cannot take calls during the shift,” the problem is different. Consider a time outside the shift, or a reply request if one focused answer would be enough. In Instant Expert, the recipient chooses written or voice for a reply.

Choose the next action

Instant Expert already sends automatic reminders for eligible unanswered requests. A duplicate paid request is not a reminder, and the buyer cannot edit the sent message or customize those reminders.

For a request still awaiting a reply and before its deadline, Manage → Adjust deadline can give the person more time. It does not restart completed reminders. Cancel request closes the invitation if you no longer want it accepted.

Use the information you have to change the next invitation: choose a more relevant person, make the request clearer, or offer a workable format. If someone declines, stop recruiting them for that request. If nobody replies, keep the reason unknown rather than claiming the topic or offer has been rejected.