It’s tempting to ask your subscribers a laundry list of questions when they sign up to your list, isn’t it?

You want to know things like how they heard about you, what competitors they were looking at, what questions they have for you, do they want you to contact them by phone (and what’s their phone number?).

The trouble, as we’ve discussed before ^[1] in several ^[2] posts ^[3] and in our web form webinar ^[4], is that the more information you ask for in a signup form, the fewer people fill it out.

So how do you learn more about your potential subscribers without driving them away?

Read on for ideas and a video ^[5].

Survey Customers and Prospects

The key to getting subscribers to tell you all about themselves is to be patient.

Start by building a relationship with them, and then, once they’re comfortable enough with you to do so, prompt them to tell you more.

One of the most popular ways to do this is by emailing a survey to your subscribers.

But Don’t Surveys Cost Money to Create and Send?

Up until just recently, I would have said “It depends.”

Some survey providers like SurveyMonkey ^[6] offer limited free accounts, but typically survey providers do charge for their services.

However, that all changed the other day, making it easy for you to survey your customers and prospects.

So what changed?

Email Your Customers Surveys Using Google Docs and AWeber

If you’re not familiar with Google Docs ^[7], it’s a free online suite of word processing and spreadsheet software.

It’s a useful tool just for having spreadsheets handy from anywhere. But here’s where it gets interesting for email marketers.

Less than a week ago, they announced that you can create forms in your Google spreadsheets. ^[8]

All you have to do is create a spreadsheet, set up a form, and email the link to your subscribers through AWeber — they’ll go to the survey, fill it out and you’ll automatically compile their responses!

How to Send a Survey Through AWeber: Watch a Short Video

To show you just how easy this is to do, I’ve recorded a quick video where I create a survey in Google Docs and email it through AWeber:

Update: Google has changed their interface slightly, making parts of this video out of date. You can now choose “Form” under the Create New drop down menu in Google Docs, instead of creating a spreadsheet first.

What Can You Email Surveys About?

Anything you want to know that can help you serve your customers and prospects (and market to them) better!

A couple ideas to get you started:

Satisfaction Surveys — how do they perceive you? Are they happy with what you provide?

What Other Products Would They Like You To Offer?

What Competing Solutions/Businesses Are They Considering (a good way to sniff out competitors who might otherwise go “under the radar”)

What Will YOU Survey Your Customers and Prospects About?

Share your ideas below!