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Tutorial: How to Build a One-Question Survey Email

Beefree team
Beefree team
Aug 3, 2018
Tutorial: How to Build a One-Question Survey Email
Tutorial: How to Build a One-Question Survey Email

A one-question survey emailallows readers to take immediate action intheir inboxes. When just one question in the body of an email, it's easy for subscribers to respond and easy for you to collect valuable data!

A few examples

Let's take a look at some examples of fun and simple one-question surveys that use a mix of images and text.Check out this no-fuss feedback survey from Expedia. It asks one question. And just by tapping on the happy or sad face, readers can let Expedia know about their travel experience.

Expedia one-question survey email

Similarly, the survey creation siteTypeform uses the one-question survey email as an engaging promotion tool that asks a light-hearted question about summer fruit:

Typeform one-question survey email

And Instapage, a landing page platform, employs a "One Second Survey" with linked text, inviting readers to provide feedback quickly and easily:

Instapage one-question survey email

Benefits of a one-question survey email

  • Subscriber convenience. Readers can simply tap to respond right in their inboxes. Plus, with only one question, it's incredibly easy for readers to participate.
  • Better engagement. Since there's just one question and it's easy to enter an answer, it's likely the response rate will be higher than if readers responded to a survey on a separate landing page.
  • Easy to assemble. Creating a single-question survey email is fast and easy. You can quickly design one and start collecting valuable data immediately.

How it works

Here's the truth behind the one-question survey email: You don't need a special tool to create and embed a survey. All you need to do is link the text or images to your survey.Take the Expedia email, for example. The happy and sad smiley faces are simply linked images placed side by side. Clicking on either image takes subscribers to a landing page where their answer is pre-recorded. They are also invited to share more feedback and answer two more questions.

Expedia follow-up one-question survey email

Even if a reader does not continue with the survey, the initial response is still tracked. In a true single-question survey, the link readers tap might take them to a page that simply says, "Thank you for your feedback!". Or, for users who chose the sad face, they may see another page that says, "We're sorry to hear that. Let us know what went wrong," with an option to submit feedback.In summary: the one-question survey email is designed by asking readers a question and inviting them to directly tap the linked text or images within the email.You can also get more tips about sending successful survey invitation emails and check out our list of 21 email design tools to transform your emails.

Today's Workshop: How to build a one-question survey email

As many of you know, it's not possible to embed a survey in the form of an iframe because email clients don't support JavaScript. This means that we have to be creative with how to build a survey email. As we've seen from the examples above, a one-question survey email is very clever and really easy to build.Today we're going to show two ways of creating a one-question survey: (1)link survey URLs to images, text, and buttons in an email, or (2) embed a question via a survey tool (Typeform) into an email.We're going to use the BEE editor to demonstrate how easy it is to build a one-question survey email. BEE is free, online, and requires no registration. For a wider variety of beautiful templates and additional features, upgrade to the BEE Pro account (start with a 15-day free trial; afterward, the tool is available for $15/month). All emails designed on the platform are mobile responsive.

Option 1: Link your own survey URL to images, text, or buttons in our email

Link images

Let's start by building the Expedia email. Because it has asimple, single-column format, we'll start building from scratch in a one-column template to begin.The content structure of the email is an image for the header, followed by a line of question text, followed by two linked images for the response. This is what the structure looks like:

Next, pull in the appropriate content blocks:

BEE tool one-question survey email

Now, update the text and drag-and-drop the chosen images.

BEE tool Expedia one-question survey email

Yes, it's that easy! Once the images are in place, simply click one and add your URL link from your survey tool in the image link field under Content properties > Action in BEE:

If you're using images, be sure to include ALT text, too, so users with image-viewing turned off can still respond. ALT text can be edited in the same menu as the URL.

Link text

Instead of linking the happy and sad images, Expedia could also have linked text. To create a survey email with linked text, like the Instapage example, replace the image files with text. So the new email looks like this:

BEE tool Expedia one-question survey email

Onebenefit of using text instead of images is that the email has a better text-to-image ratio. This means it's less likely to fall into a spam folder or lose responses from users who have image-viewing turned off.

Use bulletproof buttons

All buttons in the BEE editor are bulletproof and responsive, so they'll appear more reliably in inboxes than images. And,buttons are more attention-grabbing than text!Instead of choosing and draggingimages, we can drag two buttons:

BEE tool Expedia one-question survey email

Then,the buttons can be formatted as desired:

BEE tool Expedia one-question survey email

As with images, don't forget tolink the buttons by adding the link URLs from your survey tool in the right-hand menu in BEE.

Option 2: Embed a question from a survey tool like Typeform

Perhaps the easiest way to add a built-in question to your email is to design it in a free survey tool likeTypeform, then embed the question in anemail. This way, Typeform will record and collect data so you won't have to build that yourself on the backend. Here's how!

Build your survey in Typeform

You can sign up for a free Typeform account and begin right away!From the home page, click the upper right button to create a new Typeform. Then, choose the Opinion Scale block. (Note: this question type is the only option for embedding in anemail via Typeform right now).

Once you are satisfied with your customized question, clickShare from the menu at the top, then navigate to the Email tab.

Click the Get the code button and copy to your clipboard.

Tip: Typeform also provides a great how-to for embedding questions in email.

Embed your question into BEE

Open the BEE editor and build your email as usual. When you're ready to embed your survey question, drag in an HTML content block.

Paste your code from Typeform into the window on the right, and voilá! Your question will then appear in the editor.

Now, you can finish designing and send the email as usual. Yes, it's this easy!

Free survey tools

Check out more free online tools you can use to embed questions in email or set up a survey for follow-up questions.

Typeform

Typeform allows users to build online forms, surveys, quizzes, landing pages, and much more.

Typeform one-question survey email

GetFeedback

GetFeedback allows anyone to create surveys that display on smartphones, tablets, and browsers.

Get Feedback one-question survey email

Google Forms

Google Formsallows peopleto collect votes from friends, survey co-workers, or gather poll data into a sheet.

Google Forms one-question survey email

Whichever tool you use,you'll likely need to create acorresponding survey email for each response to your initial question. For example, if a reader chose "happy" in the Expedia email, their corresponding survey might ask different questions than someone who respondedwith "unhappy."Have you ever created a one-question survey email? Let us know the design approach you took and the response you received from subscribers.

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Email is king when it comes to talking directly to your customers. Sure, we might send texts or share voice notes, but we all still check our emails. It’s how we keep in touch with work and the businesses we connect with. 

As an email marketer, this puts you in prime position to get your business’s brand right into the hands of your customers. The problem, however, is that you must first get past the metaphorical guard dog known as the secure email gateway (SEG). 

SEGs use sophisticated methods to identify and block spam and phishing emails from ever entering a person’s inbox. While your email newsletters should go through, that doesn’t necessarily mean they will. That’s why businesses need to know what a secure email gateway is and how it works. Know this key info, and you’ll be able to improve the chances of your emails reaching their destination. 

What are email security gateways? 

Protecting yourself from cyber threats is the basis of all cybersecurity risk assessment services. One of the biggest gaps in any security armor is phishing emails. If they get through and someone clicks a link they shouldn’t have, it’s almost impossible to stop the damage. 

The victim could be anyone. The link could lead to a ransomware virus that holds your data captive or be the start of a data breach. It could even lead to a traditional scam that has you input your credit card details so a thief can steal them. 

For all these reasons and more, email providers consistently invest in security features to help protect their customers. One such feature is an email security gateway. 

A secure email gateway uses AI and machine learning to screen incoming emails, identify spam, and stop it from entering. If there’s any doubt, the system quarantines the email in your spam box for review. 

Why are secure email gateways important?

While we are getting better at filtering out spam emails, an estimated 45.6% of emails sent in 2023 were still spam. This poses a massive security risk for consumers, businesses, and governments alike. 

According to IBM, businesses are hit the hardest, with the global average cost of each successful phishing attack increasing to $4.88M USD. The attacks don’t just hit businesses, either, with attacks targeting individuals and even charities.

Just as phishing and spam emails have become more sophisticated, so have the tools designed to protect against them. All providers, including big names like Gmail, use SEGs to secure communications and other features, such as Gmail’s unsubscribe feature

What do SEGs flag as spam? 

SEGs continually update their parameters. This means that what they check for is constantly in flux. What SEGs look for today, for example, could include: 

  • Strange or suspicious subject lines
  • Highly urgent capitalization or excessive exclamation points
  • Strange URLs
  • Poor grammar and/or spelling
  • Generic greetings that don’t address the recipient 
  • Suspicious email addresses
  • The volume of emails sent at once
  • Attachment types 
  • Image-heavy content 

SEGs are far more advanced than just ticking boxes, but that doesn’t mean your emails can’t get blocked or sent to spam. After all, you might put together a great email campaign, but if your email is too image-heavy, it might get quarantined or sent to spam. 

The good news is that once you know what the SEGs look for, you can work to design better emails. Beefree can help you get started, with a range of templates for responsive email designs.

How to create newsletters with secure email gateways in mind 

The good news is that you can implement and send out most, if not all, of your newsletter ideas without issue. So long as the emails are well-made and are sent at a reasonable frequency, you’ll be golden. 

Start by first improving your security methods

In general, you should always look at ramping up the security measures in your business. You can use one of the top types of risk assessment matrix to understand your business's threats and how to resolve them. Then, since you already have that information, you can use it to create better newsletters and emails. 

Make sure the personalization feature works

One of the biggest red flags for an SEG is a generic greeting. Adding Dear Sir/Madam at the start isn’t going to fly in today’s world. Even if your email gets through, it’s unlikely the recipient will open it. 

That’s why you need personalization. Linking your email marketing tools to your customer relationship management system means you can offer easy personalization, like addressing your customers by name, or even offering personalized recommendations based on their order history. 

Avoid image-only emails 

Image-only emails are tempting for an email marketer. They’re striking, they look good, and you can fine-tune what they look like in Photoshop or another image editor. 

They can also be a red flag for SEGs.

Thankfully, the solution is simple: enrich your emails. The best part about this approach is that it also improves the accessibility. Improving email accessibility will help ensure that all your customers can engage with your emails on their terms. Those emails will also load faster, look great on all devices, and be more engaging. 

Align your emails with the landing pages 

SEGs look out for suspicious links. A link might be suspicious if there’s a misspelling or if the link doesn’t sound like the content in the email. So, how do you ensure that SEGs don’t see any of your links as suspicious? 

You make them predictable. 

An easy way to do this is to create a landing page from an email. On top of aligning the landing page with the content of the newsletter, you’ll want to: 

  • Make a custom URL for every link that matches the content of the page 
  • Ensure there’s no misspelling
  • Don’t use urgent language around your link

Use 2FA to boost security

Do you need 2FA to get past SEGs? No, but it’s a great way to help protect you and your customers. 

You can protect sensitive data by adding user identity verification. For example, a customer may get an order confirmation email but wants to cancel or change the delivery details. Including a two-factor authentication step ensures only the customer can request changes. 

Building in extra security features puts your customers at ease. It also protects your endpoints and, in turn, your business. So, no, you don’t need 2FA to get past SEGs, but it’s worth looking into for you and your customers’ protection. 

Avoid urgency 

Urgency can be a flag for SEGs. So: 

  • DON’T WRITE IN ALL CAPS
  • Minimize the use of exclamation points

Think of the copy in your newsletter as a chance to win over your audience, not scare them into clicking the link. Doing this will improve your relationship with your customers since they’ve come to you on their terms. It’s also essential to get emails past the SEG.

Key takeaways 

Secure email gateways are a primary defense against spam and phishing attacks, but they can pose a problem for email marketers. By working to understand the security risks associated with email scams, you can then understand what your email needs to make it into inboxes. 

From there, you’ll want to make your emails more personable, accessible, and secure. Once you’ve found that sweet spot, your newsletters will be more likely to get past the secure email gateway and into your audience’s inboxes. 

Getting Started with Beefree: A Guide to Streamlined Email and Landing Page Creation

Whether you're designing a newsletter, promoting an event, or driving a marketing campaign, ensuring that your emails and landing pages are visually appealing, engaging, and efficient to produce is no small task. That’s where Beefree comes in.
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Creating professional emails and landing pages can be challenging for businesses of all sizes. Whether you're designing a newsletter, promoting an event, or driving a marketing campaign, ensuring that your emails and landing pages are visually appealing, engaging, and efficient to produce is no small task. That’s where Beefree comes in.

Beefree is a robust tool for designing emails and landing pages with ease, offering templates, automation features, and seamless integrations. Regardless of your industry or goal, Beefree empowers you to craft high-quality communication and marketing materials quickly and effectively. By providing an intuitive and user-friendly experience, it helps businesses transform their creative ideas into polished campaigns without requiring extensive technical expertise.

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Why use Beefree for professional email campaigns?

Before we jump into the nitty-gritty of using Beefree, let's quickly go over why this tool is worth your time. There are a lot of email marketing tools out there, but Beefree stands out from the crowd for a reason. Let’s break down the unique benefits that make it an invaluable asset for anyone serious about email marketing:

Design made easy:

According to HubSpot, well-designed emails can drive open rates as high as 30%. Maybe you’re following up with leads from a recent webinar or you want to reach potential clients after a product launch. But you're finding yourself stuck because crafting professional emails and landing pages that capture attention is no easy feat.

With Beefree’s intuitive design tools and a library of over 1,700 templates tailored for various industries and purposes, you can achieve professional results without the guesswork. The wide variety of pre-designed options ensures that you can find a solution that aligns perfectly consistent with your brand.

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Time-saving features:

Speed is key, especially if you’re running time-sensitive campaigns. Beefree simplifies the design process with reusable content blocks, real-time collaboration tools, and the ability to transform emails into landing pages with a single click. These features enable you to produce high-quality materials in less time, allowing you to focus on strategy and content rather than struggling with technicalities.

According to a Beefree report, 82% of users report faster email creation. The ability to save and sync reusable content blocks means you can replicate what’s working without reinventing the wheel each time. Once you find a winning format, you can use it again and again with minor tweaks to fit the audience or campaign.

Maybe you’re following up with leads from a recent webinar or you want to reach potential clients after a product launch. With Beefree’s templates, you can get those messages out quickly and make sure your brand stays top-of-mind for your audience.
Using email cadence software like QuickMail ensures that outreach campaigns maintain a structured and effective flow, preventing overwhelming inboxes while keeping engagement high.

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Increased engagement:

A significant 64% of Beefree users report an 11% or more increase in click-through rates after using the platform. By enhancing the visual appeal and personalization of your emails, Beefree helps you achieve better engagement with your audience. The ability to test and iterate your designs ensures continuous improvement in performance.

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Getting started with Beefree templates

Alright, now that you know why Beefree is so powerful, let’s talk about how you can get started with their massive library of templates. This section will walk you through choosing and customizing a template that works for you.

1. Choose your template

The first thing you want to do is pick a template. Beefree’s catalog has templates for just about every sector—whether you're in retail, healthcare, SaaS, you name it. With a variety of options, you can find something that suits your goals perfectly, whether for a simple newsletter or detailed marketing report templates. Say you're promoting a webinar—just pick a template that’s built to highlight your CTAs, and you're off to the races.

The best part? You’re not starting from scratch. You save hours by picking a pre-designed template, and then it’s just a matter of customizing it to fit your brand. Beefree's templates are super flexible—add or remove elements, change colors, switch up the fonts, rearrange layouts—make each email uniquely yours without the hassle. This flexibility is especially beneficial for maintaining a low code architecture in website design.

2. Personalize

Consistency is key to building trust, and when your emails have a cohesive look, it helps recipients recognize your brand. It is also important to follow a brand style guide for your email campaigns so that the audiences can associate elements like your logo, colors, and fonts easily with your brand.

When using a template, customization is key to making your emails and landing pages feel unique and relevant. With Beefree’s drag-and-drop editor, you can easily tweak templates to align with your branding. Adjust colors, fonts, and layouts, or add personalized content such as recipient names and company details. The flexibility ensures that your final output is as distinctive as your brand’s voice.

Plus, with so many people opening emails or landing pages on mobile devices, Beefree’s mobile design builder guarantees that they look great no matter what device they’re on. When your emails look good, people trust your brand more, and that makes them more likely to click through and take action.

Personalization isn’t just a nice touch; it’s essential for engagement. According to Campaign Monitor, personalized subject lines can increase open rates by 26%. By tailoring your designs to speak directly to your audience, you can create a more impactful experience. Furthermore, the platform’s collaborative features allow team members to provide input and make edits in real-time, enhancing efficiency and creativity.

1. Export

So, you’ve picked and customized your template—now it’s time to send those emails.

One of the coolest things about Beefree is that it plays nice with just about every major email platform out there—Mailchimp, HubSpot, Outlook, Quickmail—you name it. This means you can create a killer email in Beefree, connect it to your favorite email platform, and schedule it all from one place. For more advanced needs, many businesses choose a CRM with email integration, to seamlessly combine customer management and automated outreach.

Start designing for free

Beefree simplifies the process of creating visually appealing, professional emails and landing pages, saving you time and boosting engagement. Whether you’re looking to streamline your workflow or enhance your marketing efforts, Beefree offers the tools and flexibility to meet your needs.

The best part? You’ll save time and see increased engagement, connecting with your audience in a meaningful way. In a world where everyone’s fighting for inbox space, Beefree helps you stay ahead of the game by simplifying the process while delivering professional results. So, why wait? Dive into Beefree today and see how it can transform your email campaigns.

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