Enquiring Minds Want to Know

Surveying your list can be an easy and inexpensive way to learn about your subscriber list. While surveying loses its effectiveness if it is done too frequently, if you are not already conducting surveys, plan on surveying your list two – four times a year.

You can gain a great deal of insight and target your messages accordingly when you survey. Here are some thoughts to keep in mind when you prepare your survey.

Ask specific questions. The more targeted your question is, the more targeted the answer will be. This allows you to better plan your campaign or event.

Use your survey to learn more about your subscribers. By asking questions about geographic location, company size and concerns related to their industry, you will be better equipped to target your subscribers with the relevant information they are looking for.

Use your survey to find out who is still interested. If you have subscribers that have stopped responding to your messages, send a short survey with an incentive for completion. If there is still no response, there is a good possibility they are truly no longer interested and it may be time to say goodbye.

There are some overall survey best practices to consider, these include the following:

Let your survey-takers know to expect. Tell them how many questions there are or how long it should take to complete. Also, let them know there is a specific incentive waiting for them at the end.

Make the incentive you offer specific and relevant for your business. Offering an incentive that would be appreciated by your audience will provide better survey results than offering an incentive that will have serial survey takers crawling out of the woodwork.

Keep your survey to the point. While you have your subscribers’ attention it can be tempting to ask the world, but by maintaining your focus you will get better results and minimize the risk of people dropping off half way through the survey process.

Make sure your questions make sense. Consider having someone else read the question to verify clarity.

Instead of asking your subscribers open-ended questions about the type of information they would like to receive consider instead a way for the survey participants to rank industry issues that are important to them. This will allow you to see the most important areas to focus your upcoming email communication.

If your email service provider does not include an integrated survey tool consider using a link to an external survey site. The robust reporting tools provided are extraordinary and will give you the details you are looking for.