5 Tips for Building Great Personality Quizzes

Write questions that are fun to answer

When I’m writing questions for my quizzes, I use my 16 year old daughter as my litmus test. I watch her read the questions, and if she doesn’t smile, I throw the question out. I want people to have fun with them, and since teenagers see so much baloney online all day long, it takes a lot for her to actually be engaged. If I get a smile, I know I hit a home run.

The holiday movie quiz above you took is version 9. Not version 1. My daughter thought the first 8 versions were BORING, and I listened.

Here are a few other tips:

The ideal number of questions is 7

With fewer than 7, the quiz doesn’t seem like much of an experience. It goes too quickly. More than 7 questions often feels like a drag to me. I try to come up with at least 14 questions, so the 7 I end up using are my best 7 rather than my only 7.

The most important questions are #1, #2, #3, and #7

The first 3 questions will grab the user’s attention, and if they love those then they are hooked and will finish the quiz. The last question is the crescendo, and you want to go out with a bang. Check out how this would play out in a holiday quiz:

Remember people are looking for themselves in the answer options

People who take your quiz are quickly looking for the answer that best represents them, so put a lot of thought into getting these right.

The ideal number of answer options is 4

If you have 4 answers, on a computer they line up nicely in one row and on a phone they line up nicely stacked 2 over 2. It looks clean like this, and the consistency works well for the user and helps them get into a rhythm. However, if you are using images in your answers then you can get away with a lot more options.

Provide a distinct spectrum of answer options

It’s frustrating choosing an answer option two when two are incredibly close to each other. It’s best to offer uniquely different answers and cover the full spectrum so everyone has one that works for them. Use a strategy of high, medium, low, and no interest. One answer will be extremely extroverted, one average, one mild, and one for someone with no interest in the topic at all. Here is a set of answers that cover the spectrum – a main dish, sides, dessert, and something else:

Keep it short

One word answers are the best. The next best option is a 2-4 word phrase. If you do have to write a longer answer, add it as the last answer option so it doesn’t slow the user down.

Vary the punch line

Randomize where the funny answer lands – sometimes at the end or s ometimes lead with it, like with this question:

The best answers include photos

Pictures say a thousand words! High-quality images (that are legally approved) are the Holy Grail of a good answer set.

Make sure the outcomes are share-worthy

If users are taking a “What Baseball Player Are You?” quiz, they’ll want to get a player they know. You don’t want to get placed with a late inning substitute outfielder. You want the quiz to tell you you’re a superstar.

Plus, as with answers, the best outcomes will include high-quality images.

The ideal number of outcomes is 6 to 9

The more outcomes you have, the harder it is to spread the weights amongst the answers to ensure all of the outcomes have a chance. But don’t worry, our system will help you distribute the weights evenly!

Make them distinct

You want to make sure you have a full spectrum in your possible outcomes. In the holiday movie quiz, Elf and Scrooged are on opposite ends of the outcome spectrum. They are both comedies, but the lead in Elf is pro-Christmas while the lead in Scrooged is anti-Christmas. That makes differentiating between them a lot easier.

Add a positive description

Don’t just leave the user with the name of the outcome and nothing else. Take the time to provide a “fortune” that goes with it that quickly explains why they got that outcome. For example: “Elf. You love, love, love like the holidays.”

Remember the better your descriptions, the happier your users will be; and that be the difference between them sharing their outcome or not.

Make sure all outcomes are possible

If you are having trouble assigning points to outcomes it is probably because the tips above were not fully considered.

If you want want to make assigning points to outcomes easier, make sure you have good outcomes that are distinctly different from each other and you don’t have too many of them. Also, make sure your answers cover the spectrum of high, medium, low, and no interest.

Basically if you follow the best practices of questions to ask, available answers, and distinctly different outcomes, then assigning weights is a piece of cake.

Here’s a couple more tips on assigning answer points for outcomes:

Make one answer the clear winner for each outcome

The easiest formula is to make sure one answer option for each question is the clear winner for each outcome. This will make assigning points much more straightforward.

Make all the outcomes possible

It’s OK if they are not all equally weighted, but they should all be possible. If you were doing “What Star Wars Character Are You?”, would you expect an equal number of people to be Han Solo and Darth Vader? It’s OK if Darth Vader is harder to get, but you don’t want to make it impossible to end up as him.

The best way to make sure it is balanced, though, is to eventually get a bunch of friends, family, and coworkers to take your quiz. Then look at the actual results in the dashboard and tweak it from there.