Introduction
AskNicely’s Email to Survey feature allows you to bring a Contact into AskNicely—and immediately send them a survey—simply by sending a formatted email from your CRM or POS system.
If your platform can dynamically generate emails, you can use this lightweight integration for event-based surveys without needing a formal API connection.
This is perfect for actions like:
-
Closing a support ticket
-
Completing a transaction
-
Finishing a customer onboarding flow
Step-by-Step Instructions
✅ Configuring the Email
Formatting matters. Your email must follow this strict structure to be processed correctly by AskNicely.
🧾 Subject Line
-
The email subject is ignored by AskNicely.
-
You can leave it blank or use something generic like:
AskNicely Export
🧾 Email Body
The body must list fieldname: value pairs line by line.
Required fields are:
-
No signatures or extraneous text allowed
-
Fieldnames must be lowercase (e.g.,
email
, notEmail
) -
Spacing must match exactly — no extra spaces around the colon
:
🧾 Sending the Email (To Address)
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Go to App Store > Integrate > Email to Survey in AskNicely
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Click Activate Email to Survey to generate your unique receiving address
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Copy your Email to Survey address and paste it into your CRM email settings
✅ Any email sent to this address following the correct format will create a Contact in AskNicely and trigger the corresponding survey action.
🔧 Available Commands & Arguments
Enhance your email by adding optional commands (all must be lowercase).
Argument | Purpose |
---|---|
addcontact: true |
Only adds the Contact without sending a survey |
triggeremail: true |
Immediately sends the survey, bypassing Contact Rules (testing only) |
delayminutes: x |
Delay the survey send by x minutes |
thendeactivate: true |
Deactivates the Contact after sending the survey |
Example with commands and custom fields:
📚 Important Notes:
-
delayminutes:
only affects email surveys (not SMS). -
Using
triggeremail: true
is fine for testing—remove it before going live. -
Deactivated contacts stay in your database but won’t be surveyed again unless reactivated.
🧩 Including Custom Data Fields
You can pass any additional data points by simply adding them to the body:
🧠 Use underscores
_
for spaces in custom field labels.
Note: If you have Multiple Survey Templates, you can use the default survey template associated with the contact to send the correct survey.
This data will appear on the Contact record in AskNicely and can be used for:
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Reporting
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Filters
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Workflows
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Custom Surveys
📱 SMS Number Formatting
If you're triggering SMS Surveys via Email to Survey:
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Format numbers with country code (e.g., +1 for the US)
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Example for the number (800) 588-2300
🔔 Do not include spaces, parentheses, or dashes.
FAQs & Common Issues
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Q: What happens if the email format is incorrect?
A: The email will be ignored or produce errors. Double-check formatting. -
Q: Can I send multiple contacts in one email?
A: No. One Contact per email submission. -
Q: Will this bypass Global Contact Rules?
A: Only if you explicitly includetriggeremail: true
. Otherwise, normal Contact Rules apply. -
Q: Can I use Email to Survey for different survey templates?
A: Yes—by associating Contacts with specific templates based on your Contact data fields.
Next Steps & Related Articles
Need Help?
If you have questions about formatting, CRM setup, or troubleshooting, reach out via the chat icon or email us at support@asknice.ly.