How To Invite Users to Google Play Store Beta

Question

I am currently getting ready to launch a beta test of my new app and am quite stuck!

I have a mailing list of several hundred users. I will then invite them to join my google+ community. Then a percentage of the invited users will actually join. I then start the beta phase in the developer console and select the Google+ community as the users permitted to join the beta test. Google then gives me the link that I am supposed to give the beta testers.

This then raises the following questions for me:

1. How can I mail it to the beta testers that have joined the Google+ Community, without mailing it to all the users on my list (which includes the ones that did not join the community)?

2. Can users who are not in my Google+ Community who get hold of the beta test link still download the app?

3. Do I even have to mail them the link, or does Google mail them the link to download the beta test edition of the app?

Answer 1

1. Create a Google Group of your testers, and put the link there, see

https://developer.android.com/distribute/googleplay/developer-console.html#alpha-beta

2. No, testers have to be in the group
3. Simply put the link in the group