Three factors determine the best way to send a survey: who your audience is, how you need to identify respondents, and what follow-up you plan to send. Each factor shapes which SurveyMonkey collector will help you reach people reliably.
Use this guide as your decision-making tool and mini-playbook. Pick the right channel from the options below, then follow the quick steps to send your survey with clarity and confidence.
Use cases: Choose the best way to send a survey for your specific needs
1. I’m surveying my employees
For employees, the best way to send out a survey is the Email Invitation collector type. You already have everyone’s work addresses, which makes delivery reliable and lets you manage follow-ups without adding friction.
Just decide how you’ll handle identity: if you want candid, open feedback, make responses anonymous; if you need to nudge specific people or track completion by team, you can still see who has taken the survey while keeping answers confidential.
Keep your invite short, two or three sentences with the purpose up front, and tell people how long it takes and when you’ll close the survey. A clear subject line (“Quick 3-minute check-in”) and a sincere thank-you go a long way.
Simple 3-step workflow
- Remind once after 3–5 days to boost completions without inbox fatigue.
- Send during work hours with a one-sentence purpose and the estimated time to complete.
- Import your list and personalize the greeting (name, team).
2. I’m surveying my customers
For customers, the best way to send a survey depends on how easily you can reach them in the moment. If you have a customer list, Email Invitation remains the most effective because you can personalize messages and send a single polite reminder to nonresponders.
When you don’t have every customer’s email, pair a Web Link with QR codes and on-site kiosks so people can respond where they already are: on your site, in your app, on receipts or packaging, or right at the counter.
Here’s a simple mix that works well:
- Email Invitation (if you have contacts): short, helpful subject lines and a single follow-up nudge usually increase completion rates without fatiguing your list.
- Web Link: a flexible URL you can drop into your website, help center, app messages, or support emails—great for ongoing feedback.
- QR Code: print on receipts, packaging, signage, or table tents so customers can scan and answer in seconds.
- Kiosk/In-person: set up a dedicated device at events, clinics, or lobbies for quick, walk-up feedback between interactions.
- Social: post to communities where your customers spend time to widen reach; it’s useful for promotion and top-of-funnel feedback.
Quick start for customer surveys
- Place your link(s) where customers will see them: website/app surfaces, receipts, or countertop signage.
- Keep the ask short: one sentence on why it matters and how long it takes.
- Send one reminder (email only) after 3–5 days to people who haven’t responded.
If confidentiality is important, you can collect feedback anonymously with links, QR codes, or kiosks. If you need to follow up on specific issues, email known customers to see who’s responded, while keeping answers private.
3. I’m surveying my target market
When your goal is to hear from people beyond your own list, start simple. Use the Social Media collector to reach relevant communities, and add a panel when you need more targeted coverage. This helps you move fast, learn quickly, and avoid bias from surveying only your followers.
On social, share a short, plain-language post with your survey web link. Post where your audience actually gathers (industry groups, forums, or creator communities), and keep the ask clear: what the survey is about and how long it takes. Rotate posts across a few days so you reach different time zones and avoid oversampling your most engaged followers.
If you’re missing key segments or you need statistically reliable coverage, pair social with a panel. With SurveyMonkey Audience, you can buy targeted respondents by demographics, role, geography, or behaviors, and set quotas so your results reflect the market you care about. Use it to fill gaps that organic reach can’t cover.
Quick start surveying your target market
- Publish your survey link in the communities your audience already uses; keep the caption short and specific.
- Watch who responds and note any gaps (e.g., not enough SMBs, too few responses from a region).
- Top up with a panel to hit your quotas and timelines—then close the survey and analyze with confidence.
If identity is sensitive, collect responses anonymously via your link. If you follow up with certain respondents, recruit them via email so you can see who has completed, while keeping answers private.
How each survey send method works
Email works well when you're reaching people you already know and want reliable tracking. Keep the message short, use a clear ask, and keep the subject line simple. Send one reminder after a few days. Mentioning how long the survey takes can boost engagement, and avoiding long or salesy copy helps keep open rates high.
Web link
A web link lets you share your survey anywhere people already interact with you—your website, help center, app, or support emails. Place it where feedback is most relevant, add tracking tags if you want to compare performance, and remember that links don't identify respondents unless you collect that information, so avoid promising personal follow-up.
QR code
QR codes make it easy for people to open your survey on their phones during in-person moments. Add the code to signage, receipts, packaging, or event materials with a short prompt, and choose well-lit, flat surfaces for smooth scanning; include a short URL as a backup.
Social
Social channels help you reach communities beyond your contact list. Share your link with a short caption and time estimate, post where your audience is active, and repost on different days to broaden reach, since a single post rarely reaches enough people.
Kiosk / in-person
A kiosk setup works well in clinics, lobbies, events, and other walk-up environments. Open the survey in full-screen mode on a tablet, add a small prompt, ensure responses are clear between participants, and keep it short so people can finish quickly. Unattended devices can time out or stall, so monitor periodically.
Panel (SurveyMonkey Audience)
Panels help you reach specific groups quickly when your own channels fall short. Define your target audience, set quotas if needed, and purchase responses through SurveyMonkey Audience. Panels also help top up underrepresented segments, though very niche audiences may take longer or require a larger budget.
When’s the best time to send a survey?
There’s no single perfect time to send a survey. The goal is simply to reach people when they’re paying attention: during work hours for employees, right after an interaction for customers, or shortly after a social post. Keep it straightforward, send it when it makes sense, and adjust based on what you learn.
- First send: Choose a time when your audience is most likely to notice it, and keep the invite short, clear, and upfront about how long it will take.
- One polite reminder: Send one reminder 3–5 days later to people who haven’t responded. A small tweak to the subject line or caption (“Quick reminder—2 minutes”) and a thank-you goes a long way.
- Light testing: If you want to try something new, test one small change, like two subject lines or two send times. Keep everything else the same and see which one leads to more starts or completes.
Need more control over the collectors your team uses?
If you manage an organization with sensitive programs or you work in a regulated space, you can set guardrails for how your team sends surveys. On SurveyMonkey Enterprise, primary admins can apply Global Settings so every sender follows the same rules:
- Require anonymity for programs where candid feedback matters (e.g., engagement or DEI surveys) so results are private while participation is tracked.
- Restrict certain collector types (like social or kiosk) if your policies require tighter control over where links appear.
- Require respondent authentication with SSO when you must confirm who’s taking the survey. This is useful for internal workflows or when handling PII/PHI.
Use these controls when you collect personal data, operate in healthcare or finance, or simply want a consistent, compliant process across teams. For broader ways to reach people, see
Related reading: The best ways to collect data with SurveyMonkey
Ready to send your survey the right way?
The best way to send out a survey is the method that fits your audience and the moment. You now have a simple framework for choosing a channel, setting timing, and managing identity to support strong response rates.
Start with the approach that feels most natural for your situation, adjust as you learn, and rely on Enterprise guardrails when you need added privacy or control. With the essentials in place, you’re ready to send with confidence.
