Email Share lets you share a survey via email with the people already in your contacts, so each response can be tied to the person who gave it. You write the invite, choose whether recipients start with a button or answer a question right inside the email, and pick who gets it. You can also schedule the send and remind anyone who hasn't replied. It works for Classic and CX surveys, and you set it up from the survey's Distribute tab.
Open your survey and click Distribute in the top bar.
Under Direct Channels, click Email.A new email share opens, with the invite settings on the left and a live preview of the email on the right. Note:Email Embed is a separate channel. It gives you code to paste the survey into an email you send from another tool. Use Email when you want SurveySparrow to send the invites for you.
In Customize, enter a Subject and Pre-Header Text. Note: The From line shows who the email comes from. To send from your own address or domain, see Custom Email Address to Share Surveys. Use Language to send the invite in the survey's default language or in each recipient's own language; see Configure multilingual email surveys. Tip: To greet each person by name in the subject, see Personalising your Email subject with variables. To change the email's design, click Edit Template above the preview.
Under Open survey with, choose how recipients start the survey:
"Get Started" button: the email shows a button that opens the survey in a new tab.
Embed question: recipients answer the first question right in the email. The survey then opens in a new tab, starting from the second question.
Note:Make Response Anonymous stops responses being linked to the contact who answered. Pass custom data adds variables to the survey link; see Personalize Your Surveys With Contact Params.
In Recipients, click the Send to field and choose Active Contacts, one or more contact lists, or individual contacts. If you type an email address that isn't in your contacts, the field offers to create the contact first. The list you choose appears as a chip in the field. Have a CSV file? You can't upload a file in the Send to field. Import the file into Contacts with Add Contacts > Upload CSV and give the imported contacts a label (select them on the Contacts page and use Apply Label). Labels show up under CONTACT LISTS in the Send to field, so you can pick yours there. See How to import contacts from a .csv file? and Contacts Management. Note: Invites go to each contact's main email address. To use a different email field, click the small icon at the right of the Send to field.
In Schedule, choose when the email goes out:
Send immediately: the invites go out as soon as you click Send.
Send later: pick a date, a time and a time zone.
Send based on conditions: send a set number of hours, days, weeks or months before or after the date each contact was created. You also pick the time and time zone.
Note: To send the same survey again on a schedule, change Don't repeat to Repeat and pick how often: daily, weekly, monthly, quarterly or yearly. You also choose when it stops: never, on a set date, or after a number of sends. See Recurring Surveys with Email automation.
In Reminders, click Set up reminder Email. It's good practice to remind non-respondents, and the reminder has its own subject and content. Under Schedule Reminder, choose who gets it and how many days after the first email it goes out, then click Save in the panel. You can remind people Who did not respond or people Who partially responded. You can only choose the partial option when Partial Submission is turned on in the survey's settings. For more on timing and multiple reminders, see How to send reminders to your audience?.
Click Send Test Email to check the invite in your own inbox first.
Click Send. If you chose a later date or conditions, the button reads Schedule instead. Save keeps your changes without sending anything. Your email share then appears under Distributions on the Distribute tab, where you can follow its responses.
Troubleshooting
Recipients say the email never arrived, or it went to spam. Send a test to yourself first and check your own spam folder. Choosing a recognisable sender helps, and so does sending from your own domain. See Prevent your emails from landing in spam.
A scheduled email didn't go out at the expected time. Open the share and check the Schedule section: the date, time and time zone all apply, and the time zone may differ from yours. If the settings are right and nothing was sent, contact support with the survey name.
My email share is still a draft.Save only stores your changes. Open the share again and click Send or Schedule to start sending.
The Who partially responded option is greyed out. Turn on Partial Submission in the survey's settings, then set up the reminder again.
I can't see the Schedule or Reminders section. Scroll down the left-hand panel of the editor. Both sections sit below Recipients.
Changes to the template or reminder don't show on a share that has already been sent. Create a new email share with the updated content and send that instead.
The email I received looks slightly different from the preview. Email apps display formatting in different ways. Send a test to the inbox your recipients are most likely to use and check it there.
The browser Back button takes me to the wrong page. Use the back arrow at the top left of the editor instead.
FAQ
Can I upload a CSV file of email addresses? Not inside the email share itself. Import the file in Contacts, give the imported contacts a label, then choose that label in the Send to field. See How to import contacts from a .csv file?.
What's the difference between Email and Email Embed?Email sends the invites from SurveySparrow, with scheduling and reminders. Email Embed gives you code to place the survey in an email you send from another tool. See Email Embed.
Can I keep email responses anonymous? Yes. Select Make Response Anonymous in the Customize section, and responses won't be linked to the contact who answered.
Can I change who the email comes from? Yes. To send from your own address or domain, set up a custom email address first. See Custom Email Address to Share Surveys.
Can I send the same survey every week or month? Yes. In the Schedule section, change Don't repeat to Repeat and choose how often it goes out and when it should stop.
