Skip to main content

FAQ

Davis Van Luven
Updated

Welcome to the AskNicely FAQ! This resource answers the most common questions our users have about sending surveys, customizing templates, managing responses, and more. Each entry offers concise guidance, best practices, and links to additional resources.

Use this as your go-to reference for getting the most out of AskNicely.

🔍 Topics Covered

  1. How do I preview a survey in AskNicely?

  2. How do I send a survey?

  3. How do I send a test survey to myself?

  4. How do I pause the active survey?

  5. How do I set up dynamic surveys?

  6. How do I make a link to a survey that I can add to an email?

  7. How can I find who is scheduled to receive a survey?

  8. Do reminders impact “Surveys Sent” and response rates?

  9. How do I publish survey templates?

  10. How can I see who received a survey?

  11. Can I send surveys in multiple languages?

  12. How do I edit an existing survey template?

  13. How do I delete a test response?

  14. How do I send a survey to the same person again?

  15. How do I add a new Workflow?

 

❓ How do I preview a survey in AskNicely?

To preview your survey before it goes live:

  1. Go to the Survey page (📌 Hammer & Pencil icon).

  2. Select your Survey Template and click the Survey tab.

  3. On the right-hand side, open the Preview panel to simulate the full survey experience, including logic and dynamic content.

  4. Toggle Record Real Test Response ON to:

    • Trigger workflows and email alerts

    • View test responses in your dashboards

  5. When finished, toggle it OFF to erase test data.

  6. Always save changes before previewing to see updated content or logic.

Want to test integrations or send a survey to internal teammates? Use Test Mode or send to Contacts with your company’s email domain.
Further reading
Testing The Look & Feel Of Your Surveys

❓ How do I send a survey?

AskNicely gives you multiple ways to send surveys, depending on your workflow:

  1. Manual Send
    Go to Contacts → Filter for a Contact → Click Actions > Email → Choose the Survey Template you want to send.

  2. Import & Survey
    Use a CSV importer with the Import & Survey setting to trigger surveys automatically after upload.
    🔗 CSV Importer

  3. Send Schedulers
    Schedule survey sends after importing contacts—ideal for spaced-out survey campaigns.
    🔗 Send Schedulers

  4. Triggered Integrations
    Automatically send surveys when an action occurs in your CRM or integration (e.g., Salesforce, HubSpot).

  5. API
    Programmatically trigger survey sends using AskNicely’s API.
    🔗 Using AskNicely's API to Import Contacts & Send Surveys

❓ How do I send a test survey to myself?

The best way to test a survey is through the Preview panel (see above), but if you'd like to send a test survey to yourself or a teammate:

  1. Go to the Contacts page.

  2. Click + Add Contact and fill out the form using your test email address.

  3. Find the new Contact and select Actions > Email.

  4. Select the Survey Template you would like to send

⚠️ Note: Sending this way will affect your Send and Response Rate data. For clean testing, we recommend using the Preview option instead.

🔍 Further Reading

❓ How do I pause the active survey?

In most cases, you shouldn’t need to pause surveys. If you're seeing unexpected behavior, we recommend contacting our Support Team before taking action. Contact the AskNicely Support Team via the in-app widget or email support@asknice.ly

If you still need to pause survey sending, follow these steps:

  1. Turn off Schedulers
    Go to the Scheduler page and toggle off all active survey schedulers.

  2. Disable Integrations
    Navigate to the Integrations page and turn off any triggered integrations.

  3. Stop API/Email to Survey Traffic
    If you're using API or Email to Survey, you'll need to pause payloads or email sends from your end of the integration.

🔍 Further Reading

❓ How do I set up dynamic surveys?

To enable Dynamic Surveys in AskNicely:

  1. Go to the Survey Editor and add an Open Question type.

  2. Toggle ON the "Enable Dynamic Surveys" option on that question.

  3. Choose the maximum number of follow-up questions you'd like respondents to receive.

  4. Click Save to apply your changes.

You can preview and test the full dynamic question flow in the Preview panel before launching.

🧠 Can I control the first question?
Yes! You can place a static Open Question before the dynamic question with a key of "comment". This allows you to always ask the same opening question, while still using dynamic follow-ups based on the response.

 

🔍 Further Reading

❓ How do I make a link to a survey that I can add to an email?

Use AskNicely’s Survey Links feature to generate a direct link or QR code you can embed in emails, receipts, signage, and more—no Contact record or automated workflow required.

To create a survey link:

  1. Create or choose a Survey Template
    Navigate to Survey > Manage Templates and prepare the survey you'd like to share.
    (Tip: Remove email-specific language for broader use.)

  2. Configure the Survey Link

    • Go to App Store > Survey Links > Configure

    • Click New Survey Link

    • Select your template and (optionally) add Custom Fields to tag responses by location, staff, or context

    • Click Generate, then Copy Link or Download QR Code

  3. (Optional) Add a Contact Lookup Question
    To collect identifiers like email or phone numbers, add a Contact Lookup card to the template. This allows AskNicely to match the response to a Contact.

  4. Share Your Link
    Add it to:

    • Email signatures

    • Chat widgets

    • Store signage or printed materials

    • SMS messages

  5. Deactivate if Needed
    In Survey Links > Configure, click the 3-dot menu to Deactivate any existing link.

⚠️ All responses submitted via Survey Links count toward your survey stats. Avoid posting links publicly to reduce spam.

 

🔍 Further Reading

❓ How can I find who is scheduled to receive a survey?

To check if a Contact is scheduled to receive a survey:

  1. Check the Queue tab

    • Go to the Scheduler page (📨 Paper Airplane icon)

    • Click the Queue tab

    • This shows Contacts who have been queued shortly before their surveys are sent
      ⚠️ You may not see future recipients far in advance, as queuing happens close to send time.

  2. Use the Scheduler Debugger

    • On the Scheduler page, click “Check Scheduler Setup” next to the relevant scheduler

    • The Debugger doesn’t list specific Contacts, but it shows the daily count of how many Contacts are scheduled to be queued

    • These numbers can change dynamically based on data updates and logic in your workflows.

🔍 Further Reading

❓ Do reminders impact “Surveys Sent” and response rates?

No—Survey Reminders are linked to the original survey send. They do not count as additional Sends and will not inflate your Send or Response Rate statistics.

Reminders simply follow up on an existing, unanswered survey and are tracked as part of the original interaction.

🔍 Further Reading

❓ How do I publish survey templates?

To create and publish a new survey template:

  1. Go to the Survey page (🛠️ Pencil & Hammer icon).

  2. Click Manage Templates.

  3. Select Create a Custom Survey Template.

  4. Use the “Template or language” dropdown to:

    • Clone an existing template, or

    • Start from a default language version.

  5. Give your new template a name and click Add.

✅ Once created, the template is automatically published and ready to be used in any survey send method (manual, scheduler, integration, or API).

🔍 Further Reading

❓ How can I see who received a survey?

To view who received a survey and whether they responded:

  1. Go to the Responses page (💬 Speech Bubble icon).

  2. Use the filters at the top to narrow by:

    • Date range

    • Contact segment

    • Survey status (sent, responded, etc.)

  3. To export data, click the blue Download link.

  4. Select your fields, and select Filtered Surveys Sent to download a list of all sends and responses matching your filters.

✅ The Responses page gives you a full, filterable view of Responses, but the Survey Sent report includes surveys sent but not necessarily responded to. 

🔍 Further Reading

❓ Can I send surveys in multiple languages?

Yes! AskNicely supports multi-language surveys, but you’ll need to create a separate Survey Template for each language.

To do this:

  1. Go to the Survey page > Manage Templates.

  2. Click Create a Custom Survey Template.

  3. Use the “Template or language” dropdown to select a language version.

  4. Translate and customize the content as needed.

Each language version can be assigned based on Contact preferences or segment rules during survey sends.

🔍 Further Reading

❓ How do I edit an existing survey template?

To edit an existing survey template:

  1. Go to the Survey page (🛠️ Pencil & Hammer icon).

  2. Click Manage Templates and select the template you want to modify.

  3. Use the editor to update the Survey Start and conversational sections of the template.

⚠️ Note: You cannot rename a template after it has been created.

🔍 Further Reading

❓ How do I delete a test response?

There are two ways test responses may appear in AskNicely, and each is handled differently:

  1. Preview Mode with "Record Real Test Responses" ON

    • These responses are automatically deleted when you toggle Record Real Test Response OFF in the Preview panel.

  2. Sent Surveys (e.g., tests sent to yourself or teammates)

    • Go to the Responses page

    • Locate your test response (use filters if needed)

    • Click the three-dot menu next to the response

    • Select Delete

🔍 Further Reading

❓ How do I send a survey to the same person again?

By default, AskNicely's Global Contact Rule prevents you from sending multiple surveys to the same Contact within a defined timeframe (e.g., 30 days).

If you need to resend a survey to a specific Contact before that period ends:

  1. Go to the Contacts page.

  2. Search for the Contact.

  3. Click Actions > Email.

  4. Choose the Survey Template and click Send.

✅ This manual send method bypasses the Contact Rule, allowing one-off follow-ups or retests.

🔍 Further Reading

❓ How do I add a new Workflow?

To create a new Workflow in AskNicely:

  1. Go to the Workflow page (⚡ Lightning Bolt icon).

  2. Click the Actions tab.

  3. Choose a starting point—Email and Custom Alerts are excellent templates to begin with.

  4. Customize the logic, trigger, and message to suit your workflow needs.

Workflows help automate follow-ups, alerts, and integrations based on survey responses or other triggers.

🔍 Further Reading