With the questionnaire written, the online survey created, screening and quotas activated and sample-frame sourced we need to turn our attention to getting the study underway and that means getting the word out to our sample-frame.

By far the most effective way to recruit people to an online survey is by email. The response level is much higher than if they receive written notice. With email, people are in the right place to do the study as soon as they find out about it. With written notice they have to be relied upon to remember to do it at some later time which, with the best will in the world, many fail to do.

The importance of the survey invitation varies according to the study type. If external sample from a panel company is being used then the design is less important than it would be for say a customer survey where as many responses as possible need to be squeezed from a limited sample-frame.

Something we try to discourage at ORS is clients writing too grand a piece for the survey invitation email. Often we see a side of A4 full of great words of wisdom from the Chief Executive, this is totally counter-productive.

The golden rule is that the job of the survey email is merely to get the respondent to click the survey link, nothing else. Yours will be one of many emails the recipient gets that day and you have literally seconds to convince them to take it seriously and click the link. It needs to be thought of as an advert, succinct and to the point and letting the reader know why they need to take part in the study.

If emails are sent in HTML format it is advisable to place the style sheet information within the email so that it displays correctly even where respondent’s email software is set to block server calls. Don’t rely solely on large images as they will not be displayed for many people due to these security settings.

Always ensure that you have the correct legal permissions to use the email addresses in your sample-frame. If emails are being sent to consumers then they must have previously granted permission for you to contact them. If you have bought or rented a list then the people on it will have agreed to receive such messages from third parties, although in many cases that might just be news to them. Futher details can be found on the Information Commissioner’s Office website.

In the survey invitation email you must tell the recipient who you are and why you are contacting them and provide a valid contact address with details of how to be removed from the mailing list.

Clients of ORS can have their survey emails sent in Multipart format which includes both HTML and plain text variants. Automated unsubscribe links are included to help ensure people can remove themselves from the mailing list instantly and with minimum fuss.