Easily Poll Your Readers & Fans
Using Google Docs Forms
Skip dedicated plugins and paid accounts, Google Docs is the fastest easiest way to poll your community!
Whether you need an embedded form for your blog or a hosted form to share on Twitter or Facebook, Google Docs Forms have you covered!
How to Set Up and Use Google Docs Forms
As you can see, Google Docs Forms offer a range of flexibility including emailed forms, embedded forms and even hosted forms all available for free!
Simply visit Google Docs and click create and select form. Now give your form a name and description. Enter your questions one at a time and delete the sample question. Be sure to click save. Once you have entered your questions, click on “Theme: plain” to change the theme. Select a new theme and click apply. Save. Now you can (select) email, embed or copy the link location (from the bottom of the page) for use as needed. Easy-Peasy!
This solves 98% of the poll/survey form needs most marketers will encounter. However, for advanced form needs (such as custom forms or forms with deep level WordPress integration) be sure to check out Gravity Forms (aff) & Formidable Pro (aff).
Questions? Thoughts? Comments? Let me know in the box below!
~ Kim ~
Simple Tech Tips For Marketing
PS: Not already a subscriber? Be sure to drop your name and email in the box and sign up so I can send you cool news, tips, reminders and tutorials including stuff not available on the blog!
Keep up with all the latest social marketing changes and news to accelerate your business!
- WordPress, Facebook, Twitter, & Google+
- Social Marketing
- List Building & Affiliate Marketing
Article by Kim Castleberry
Subscribe to feed via RSS or EMAIL to receive our Newsletter full of articles, tips, reviews and helpful products for your business!
Subscribe to our You tube channel
{ 33 comments… read them below or add one }
[..YouTube..] Great tutorial. You can also send the poll with Aweber if you want to send a question out to your subscribers. I plan on doing that this week so this tutorial is right on time! Thanks so much Kim.
I flipped your email address into this comment because I wanted you to see what I’d done and see if you’d met this plugin. If you haven’t might be useful to you with as much as you do with youtube.
Kim
Hi Kim, I knew about the plugin and I’m still confused about why I would want to use it. For one, since I’m confused I know it will be confusing for my readers
and I’m also wondering why I would want to use it on the blog if there’s no benefit to the YouTube commenter from CommentLuv Premium.
But, it’s always good to test so I’ll follow along here and see how it works for you.
Meanwhile, what do you think about using the poll with Aweber, have you tried that yet?
Ileane invites you to read…Record A YouTube Video with Screencast-o-matic
I’ve worked with Aweber’s survey stuff and it’s fine. I prefer the additional flexibility I have with GDocs is all. You’ll like their forms if your main goal with it is internal list querying. I cant recall what the export options where or if they were included in the backups. No, actually I know they were not in my backup so you have to make sure you export the data to have a backup.
Mostly, the Genkai plugin is for my own personal benefit for building social proof. Generally it would not be affected by ReplyMe (or have the right avatar) as I would not substitute in the correct email address to force it to do so.
It does however link to the commentors youtube account which helps build PR by virtue of backlinks onto those accounts.
Its basically asking the same question as what is the benefit of me harvesting RTs of my posts and pulling them in… its making a permanent record of a “temporary” (not that youtube is very temporary) social commentary in a database I own.
It’s not particularly relevant to me but I would wager many video bloggers have as many if not more comments on youtube than on their blog and this can help their blogs look stronger and help them get some social proof as well as to create a permanent record.
Kim, I’d love to chat on Skype if you have about 10 minutes. I just sent you a contact request. Let me know!
Ileane invites you to read…How To Get Your First 2,000 Twitter Followers
btw – I should be getting Pretty Link Pro later today. Thanks for the tutorials! Did you ever do a video exclusive to the features in the Pro version? I’m watching the Lite version video now…(again).
Ileane invites you to read…The Three C’s Needed for Your Blogging Success
I did, it’s out on youtube if you want it now. It will run on my blog probably next week. Its what I depend on. I ditched two different premium plugins for it (even left it once and returned). I’ll be doing a side-by-side of three plugins soon but it still wins.
Do you have a coupon code?
Ileane invites you to read…Increase Engagement and Build Relationships with Blog Interviews
Hello Kim! I really enjoy using Google docs. It has great features where I can same mt files safely. Automatic saving is the best feature that I love most.
I thought “Ask Question” from Facebook is the easiest way to create a poll. Since everybody says “Facebok did this and Facebok did that,” Facebook marketing campaigns, why not create polls on Facebook? There’s an option that lets members add their own answer too (if you’d like that)
I’ll do a test tomorrow to compare Facebook with Google Docs
Parekh invites you to read…Hurom HU-100 Juicer Review
Hi Kim,
Interesting, i have written a blog that will come up in February with a poll and I ‘m so glad google offers such an easy alternative.
Thanks of this blog , if you write a blog on how to embed the surveys which are linked to our sites in linked in and facebook, I’ll be happy to learn more.. Thanks Kim
[..YouTube..] The more we get into technology, the more we realize how important it is to be personal. This really helps create some branding for yourself.
Wow, Kimberly: you are definitely the Queen of Tech Made Easy! Thanks for this and the many other value packed posts your are putting together for your community. I’ve long wanted to use polls, but have procrastinated on doing so: until now: I’m going to put this on my Simpleology task list so that I will not be able to avoid using these free techniques to better understand my own reading community.
Well, Kim, I still can’t stop being amazed by all your posts! You explained such difficult things in such a simple manner that I also have a feeling that there is nothing to do) Many thanks for it!
Easy Peasy I LIKE that… smashing overview Kim. Google has so many splendid tools that people can put to get use for free… brilliant … especially for startups … nice share
)
Hi Kim. Thanks for this tutorial. I can think of a lot of ways I can use the Google Docs Forms.
[..YouTube..] Very useful and timely. I need to poll my members on what they want to learn about Skype and what Skype training they need next. I Googled Aweber polls and your video came up middle of page one. Last time I tried to find a poll or survey plugin for Wordpress I got so confused by the choices, I just never did it. I’ll give this a try. Thanks Kimberly.
PS – What WP plugins for Surveys/Polls have you tried that you like best?
I see how a comment can make your video get on Pg 1 (Aweber) – cool!
Google Docs rocks – I have to be honest that I’ve only been using it to write simple documents or spreadsheets so far. Wasn’t even aware of Google Docs Forms existence til I read your post oops
Hey Kim, I’ve thought of doing this in the past after seeing some other marketers use it successfully on their blogs. Like you say, simple and effective and free…
Hans Schoff invites you to read…Tornado Safe Room Vs Underground Storm Shelters
This is exactly what I was looking for just yesterday!!