Surveys are a great way to gather information from your subscribers. To create one, navigate to Surveys > Create > Survey.

Step 1 - Define survey format

First, you need to define the survey's high-level details and format.

1. Give the survey a name. Note that this name is for internal purposes only, so only Higher Logic Thrive Marketing Professional (Thrive Marketing Professional) users will see this name.
2. Enter a Display Name. This is the actual title participants will see when taking the survey.
3. Select a folder for this survey. By default, surveys are stored in the Main Folder.
4. Check the Show Progress Bar? box if you’d like a progress bar to appear on each page of the survey, which updates as the survey-taker progresses through the survey.
5. Select the fonts to be used for your questions, answers, and instructions.

6. In the Survey Look area, establish the branding and look of the survey by adding logos, images, content, etc.

NOTE: Be sure to keep the QUESTIONS HERE code in the editor, and place it where the survey questions should appear within the design.

Step 2 - Add the first page

1. Create a name for the first page of the survey.
2. Once completed, click the Update button.

Step 3 - Add your questions

There are many question types to choose from as you design your survey. Once a question is created on the page, they can be reordered and edited as needed.

NOTE: During the planning process, a best practice to bolster efficiency is to determine (1) how many questions to display on each page and (2) how many pages should comprise the entire survey.

Question Types

• Range - You can set a range however long you want as well as what the right and left labels should say.
• Select Country - This is a drop down list of all countries to choose from.
• Multiple Choice - You can have as many choices as you want and choose what the choices should say.
• Long Answer - This is an empty text box that survey takers can write in freely (8,000 characters maximum).
• Yes or No - Survey takers can choose yes or no.
• Not Satisfied or Satisfied - Survey takers can choose not satisfied or satisfied.
• Statement - Completely customizable area that can be included in the survey. This allows survey takers to use the editor to customize the "look". Commonly this is used to include a picture and bio or text that is hyperlinked.
• Short Answer - This is a one line empty text box for survey takers to write in a short answer (200 characters maximum).
• Select State - This is a drop down list of all states to choose from.
• Short Answer - Phone: This is a one line text box to enter a phone number.
• True or False - Survey takers can choose true or false.
• Opt-In - The survey takers can opt-in to be apart of a target group.
• Short Answer - Email: This is a one line text box to enter an email address.
• Poor to Excellent - This is a range from 1 (Poor) to 5 (Excellent).
• Depending on the question type selected, a subsequent page will display to configure further details. The image below shows the additional options that can be made for multiple choice questions:

Add New Question

Click the Create New Question button to display the Modify Question page. Here, you can add your desired questions.

• Question - In this field, type the question exactly how it should appear on the survey page.
• Personalization Code - This link allows for personalization codes to be inserted into a question, merging stored information with the question content.
• Question Name - If you choose to add this question to the question bank, this field provides for the display title.
• Instructions - If the question requires instructions, enter them here.
• Type - Choose the type of question from the menu.
• Style - Select how the question, answers, and instructions should display on the survey.
• Answer Required? - Check this box if you want to make an answer required for this question to continue the survey.
• Horizontal Question Widths - If using a horizontal question style, this dictates the width of the question, instructions, and answers.
• Add to Question Bank? - Check this box if you want to add this question to the question bank.
• Folder - Select a folder to store questions in the question bank.

Once configured, click the Add Question button to add the new question to the survey page.

Step 4 (optional) - Add additional pages

If you're creating a survey comprising numerous questions, adding additional pages is simple, and is often a great way to help organize questions by theme or type.

1. Click Add New Page at the bottom of the survey page.

2. Give your new page a name, being sure to use a name appropriate for the questions on that page.
3. Check the This page follows… box for any page(s) that this new page will follow in the flow of the survey.
4. Click Update to add the new page to your survey.
5. Follow Step 3 above to add questions to your new page(s).

Step 5 - Add the thank you page

A Thank You page is a survey's final page. It's an important one because it not only gives the survey taker a clear message as to the next steps, or follow-up, that will occur.

1. Click Thank You Page at the bottom of the survey page.

2. Select the last page on the list for the Thank You Page to follow.
3. Click the Update button > select Next at the bottom of the main survey page.

Additional survey configuration

Formatting a page

Each survey page can have its design and format, if desired. While there are benefits to having a consistent look on all pages in your survey, this is especially helpful when you want to draw special attention to a particular page.

Page formatting is accomplished via the Style menu and Body Tag Parameters.

Style menu

The style drop down gives you many option for the background and theme you want for your survey. It gives it a more appealing look rather than just a plain white background.

Body Tag Parameters

The survey itself is activated by a web link. This will "launch the survey" into a web browser. You can customize the HTML body tags to adjust the "look" of things. There are some useful examples in the Need Help? link to see the types of HTML code that can be added in the body tag area. These tags customize background color, text, link colors, hyperlinked colors and set page margins. Here are some examples:

Survey personalization

Personalizing a survey is a great way to capture your subscribers' attention and show them that you're interested in their unique replies. Let's look at how to insert personalizations into a survey question.

Steps

1. Open an In Progress survey and click Edit to modify a question.
2. On the Modify Question Page, add the personalization to a question using the following format: %%[Personalization]%%. You can also click Personalization Codes to the right to see a list of personalizations.

3. Click Make Changes to save.

NOTE: Make sure that the personalization tag is correctly formatted. If it is not, the personalization will not work.

Now, when subscribers take your survey, they'll see the appropriate personalization applied to the questions.

NOTE: Don't worry if you choose a personalization that hasn't been populated with information from every subscriber; your default values work identically in surveys as they do in mailings.