Once you’ve finished designing your survey and are ready to launch it, you can click the launch icon (
You’ll first be asked to choose one of the two launch methods:
These methods are not mutually exclusive – you can distribute your survey by both email and using the web URL. You can also “launch” the survey multiple times using the launch wizard. Once the survey is launched (regardless of launch method), a web URL will be created and can be used to distribute the survey on your website, via email, or on social media by copying the link and pasting it into other tools.
Survey Launch Wizard for Email Deployment
When you choose to launch your survey via email, you will be taken through a five-step wizard:
- Choose whether to allow multiple responses per respondent or limit it to one response per respondent. You can also choose whether or not to enable the Save & Resume feature.
- Enter the email addresses for deployment or choose a mailing list you previously created.
- Configure your survey email invitation.
- Configure the survey welcome greeting (or choose to skip).
- Configure the survey completion action.
We’ll cover each of these in a bit more detail below.
Allow Single/Multiple Responses and Activate Save & Resume
Please visit our separate help article for more information on allowing single or multiple responses and activating the Save & Resume feature.
Enter Email Addresses
On step 2, you can enter the email addresses for the survey or you can choose an existing mailing list.
If you choose Basic Email List Management you will enter the email addresses, one per row.
You can save your email list for future use by checking the box below and entering a name for the list.
If you choose Advanced Email List Management, you will enter the email addresses and one or more custom fields, separated by commas. Each entry will take up one line.
You can also rename the custom fields by replacing the entries in the boxes above (originally labeled “Custom Field1”, “Custom Field2”, etc). You can enter up to 5 custom fields per email address.
If you’ve already created an email list using SurveyMethods Mailing Lists feature, you can choose that list from the dropdown menu.
Lastly, there is a checkbox to choose whether your survey should be sent only to recipients who have not taken the survey already. If this box is checked, the system will compare your list with the survey responses and exclude any emails that have already submitted a response. If you do not check this box, the survey will be sent to everyone on the list, regardless of whether they have received it previously and completed the survey.
Configure Survey Email Invitation
Once you have the recipient list completed, you will need to configure your survey email invitation.
For more information on the survey email invitation, including inserting custom field values, please visit our separate help article.
Configure Survey Welcome Greeting
On step 4 you will choose whether to skip the survey welcome greeting (respondents will be taken directly to the survey) or you can configure a custom message.
For more information on the web greeting, including inserting custom fields, visit our separate help article.
Configure Survey Completion Action
The last step in the email launch wizard is to configure the survey completion action. You can choose between the following options:
- Redirect respondents to a website.
- Display a custom message.
When you’re satisfied with the configuration, click the Launch button at the bottom of the page.
Your survey will be queued for launch and will start going out within approximately 20 minutes of the launch (but often sooner). If you have a lot of email recipients, the survey emails will be sent out in batches over time to maximize delivery and minimize the risk that they are caught in spam filters.
Survey Launch Wizard for Web URL Deployment
The launch process for web URL deployment is similar to that for email launch but has fewer steps:
- Choose whether to allow multiple responses per respondent or limit it to one response per respondent. You can also choose whether or not to enable the Save & Resume feature.
- Configure the survey welcome greeting (or choose to skip).
- Configure the survey completion action.
We’ll cover each of these in a bit more detail below.
Allow Single/Multiple Responses and Activate Save & Resume
Please visit our separate help article for more information on allowing single or multiple responses and activating the Save & Resume feature.
Configure Survey Welcome Greeting
On step 2 you will choose whether to skip the survey welcome greeting (respondents will be taken directly to the survey) or you can configure a custom message.
For more information on the web greeting, including inserting custom fields, visit our separate help article.
Configure Survey Completion Action
The last step in the email launch wizard is to configure the survey completion action. You can choose between the following options:
- Redirect respondents to a website.
- Display a custom message.
When you’re satisfied with the configuration, click the Launch button at the bottom of the page.
When your survey is launched, you will be directed to a page that confirms the launch of your survey and includes the unique web link for your new survey along with details on additional distribution methods, including embedding on your website (using JavaScript or an HTML iFrame), sharing on Facebook or Twitter, or distributing using a QR code.
