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Survey Gizmo: The best tool/thing I have used/done

by Tom Johnson on Jan 31, 2007
categories: technical-writing web-design

surveygizmoI have been using SurveyGizmo to issue some short surveys to our chapter and found that the tool is not only the best survey tool I've used, but issuing short surveys is also the best thing I have done. The type of feedback that comes back is amazing, particularly when you leave a free answer essay in there. People usually have feedback, and this gives them an opportunity to provide it.

Here are a few tips for surveys.

  • Keep them short. Ask no more than 5 questions.
  • Provide at least one free answer essay (not just radio buttons).
  • If you can lighten the survey up, it may be more appreciated.
  • Share your responses with the same people you surveyed 

As soon as I close this last survey, I am planning to respond to some of the interesting comments on the Suncoast blog. This may generate some more discussion on our chapter blog.

On a tool note, I also tried SurveyFly, which embeds the survey more easily into your posts. However, I prefer the way SurveyGizmo collects and sorts the information gathered from the survey. It is much easier to read and even graphs it into rich, colorful reports.

If you haven't extended a survey to your chapter, check out SurveyGizmo. The first 250 responses of any survey are free, and since I never plan to get more than 100 responses from any survey, this tool is perfect for me.

About Tom Johnson

Tom Johnson

I'm an API technical writer based in the Seattle area. On this blog, I write about topics related to technical writing and communication — such as software documentation, API documentation, AI, information architecture, content strategy, writing processes, plain language, tech comm careers, and more. Check out my API documentation course if you're looking for more info about documenting APIs. Or see my posts on AI and AI course section for more on the latest in AI and tech comm.

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