A poll is only as good as the question. You may have the right audience and platform. But if the question is poorly structured, you will likely get few responses. And the ones you get will not be of high quality.

This is how to design an online poll that provokes a true reaction.

Keep it short

The ideal poll is one sentence long. That reflects how people consume online content.

Some people create lengthy multi-paragraph questions that demand a re-read to comprehend. That is too much for a reader deciding on the fly whether to read it.

Have one clear sentence that gets to the point right away. This will eliminate that hesitation. Need more than one sentence to ask your question? You need to simplify it. Not explain it.

Stay relevant to your audience

Online polls should directly relate to a particular concern of your audience. If it is out of their interests, they won’t participate. And that’s because they don’t feel invested in the answer.

Ask yourself: will the response be interesting? If not, rethink the query. You have to make people feel that they are part of the discussion. And that feeling is the key to participation.

Offer simple answer options

The answer to a question is as significant as the question itself. Multiple-choice questions and “yes/no” online polls always drive up participation rates. This is because they require less work to respond to than open-ended questions.

If they can answer with one tap or click, the barrier to participation goes way down. The answers should be:

Unambiguous
Mutually exclusive
Truly different from one another.

Dubious alternatives that seem synonymous or identical confuse the respondents and generate invalid information. Aim for 2-4 options. This helps create a sense of variation without causing confusion.

Do not use jargon or industry language

Write in plain, natural language that anyone reading your poll for the first time will understand right away. Avoid:

Industry jargon
Acronyms
Technical jargon.

It creates conflict. It often causes participants to drop out of the poll.

Use simple language. The one your audience uses when discussing the topic in normal conversation. Even someone who knows nothing about your field should understand the query.

Make the question seem like an organic discussion

A question’s tone is just as important.

Avoid queries that feel stiff or too formal. They put a barrier between the respondent and the brand. Opt for warm, straightforward, and conversational questions. They provide the impression that a real person is making the inquiry rather than a marketing organization doing a data-gathering exercise.

Before posting your question, read it aloud. It will be more effective if it seems like something you would naturally say to a customer or coworker in conversation than if it seems like it was produced for a formal report.