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The Evolution of Quiz Marketing: Why Fun Quizzes Are Dead and What’s Working in 2025 with Josh Hayman, Co-Founder of Interact [Ep 65]

The Death of Fun Quizzes: What Actually Works in Quiz Marketing for 2025 with Josh Hayman, Co-Founder of Interact

Remember those viral quizzes that would break the internet? Like that Red Lobster “What Shrimp Are You?” quiz that got 183,000 likes in just eight hours? Well, those days are over. In fact, many businesses who’ve been running the same basic quizzes for years suddenly saw their engagement drop to zero in 2024.

But here’s the thing – quizzes aren’t dead. They’ve evolved. And if you’re still stuck in the “five questions and two results” mindset, you’re missing out on one of the most powerful ways to connect with your audience in 2025.

I recently sat down with Josh Haynam, co-founder and CEO of Interact, to discuss how quiz marketing has transformed. After 15 years in the quiz business and thousands of conversations with quiz creators, Josh has seen firsthand how dramatically things have changed – especially in the last year.

The New Rules of Quiz Marketing

The biggest shift? People aren’t interested in fun anymore. They want solutions to specific problems. Think about it – with ChatGPT available to answer any general question, your quiz needs to offer something more valuable and personalized.

Josh shared a perfect example: an English language assessment quiz that’s crushing it right now. Instead of generic questions like “How long have you been studying?”, it features 13 thoughtfully crafted questions that demonstrate deep understanding of language learning challenges. Each question addresses a different aspect of English mastery, and the results provide detailed, personalized guidance based on the quiz-taker’s specific level.

Three Essential Elements of a Successful Quiz in 2025

According to Josh, every successful quiz sits at the intersection of:

1. A compelling topic (think personality, archetypes, diet, spirituality – things tied to human nature)

2. Personal relevance to the individual taking it (it must address them specifically)

3. Clear connection to your business offerings

Miss any of these elements, and your quiz will likely fail to engage or convert.

The Psychology of Asking Questions

One of the most fascinating insights Josh shared was about why many businesses struggle with creating quizzes: asking questions feels vulnerable. When you ask someone a question, you’re revealing what you think about them – and that can feel scary.

The solution? Stop trying to create a “quiz” and instead focus on recreating the most helpful conversations you have with your clients. If you wouldn’t ask a question in person, don’t include it in your quiz.

Why Positive Isn’t Always Better

When Josh asks quiz creators whether they want to be positive and affirming or point out what’s wrong, almost everyone chooses to point out problems. Why? Because in 2025’s uncertain world, people want acknowledgment that something isn’t working before they’ll trust your solution.

The Rise of Branching Logic

The most sophisticated quizzes now use branching logic – showing different questions based on previous answers. While these quizzes might have 128 different possible outcomes on the backend, the quiz-taker might only answer 4-5 questions to get a pinpoint accurate result. It’s more work to create, but the user experience is almost magical.

When Should You Actually Use a Quiz?

Here’s the most important piece of advice from the entire conversation: don’t rush to automate. As Josh puts it, “Nothing holds a candle to personal experience.” People will always prefer working with an expert over taking a quiz. The only reason to automate with a quiz is when you physically don’t have time to have all those conversations manually anymore.

Ready to Create Your Own Quiz?

Before you jump into quiz creation, start by:

– Having real conversations with your audience

– Documenting the questions you naturally ask

– Identifying patterns in how you guide different types of clients

– Mapping out the specific solutions you offer for each scenario

Remember: your quiz should be an extension of your expertise, not a replacement for it.

Want to dive deeper into quiz strategy? Listen to my full conversation with Josh on the Beyond the Systems podcast. We go into even more detail about quiz creation, conversion strategies, and how to know when you’re ready to automate your customer journey.

Resources from this episode:

Interact: https://get.tryinteract.com/systemswithsam if you sign up free you can get a free quiz strategy call

More about Josh Haynam:

The co-founder and CEO at Interact, a software for creating list building quizzes. Since co-founding the company in 2013, Josh has worked with the world’s leading brands on quizzes ranging across every industry and use-case imaginable.

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