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Newsletter feedback survey template

Write the newsletter your readers open, at the length and pace they want

Five short questions on issue length, how often to send, how much of each issue gets read and what would make subscribers leave. Use it as it is or change any question, and Usertick reads every written answer for you.

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What this newsletter feedback survey tells you

A newsletter feedback survey asks subscribers how your newsletter fits into their week. This template takes about a minute and a quarter: two quick choices between formats, the sending pace they want, how much of a typical issue they really read, the reasons that would make them unsubscribe and the topics they want next.

It is written for a link in your newsletter's footer, where a reader who has just finished an issue can answer in a minute and get back to their inbox. Usertick can also send it to your subscriber list as an email survey, and the same template runs as a popup for readers who arrive on your site from the newsletter, targeted by campaign tag (from Starter, or on 1 survey on Free), or as a conversation, one question at a time.

Every topic a reader types is read as it arrives and filed under a category from your list, such as topics and coverage or newsletters and alerts, with a type and a sentiment. Results shows the split for each format pair, the share for each sending pace and how much of an issue most readers get through, each compared with the period before.

As a linkIn an emailOn your websiteAs a conversation
Questions
5
Time to answer
About a minute
Written for
A link in the newsletter footer, after a reader finishes an issue
Plans
Every plan, the free plan included

See it on every channel

The same template on your website, behind a link, in an email and as a conversation.

The 5 questions, one by one

What each question asks, why it is there, what it shows you and what to change.

Question 1 of 5 · This or that

Which would you rather read?

Why ask it
Two forced choices tell you what to make more of: shorter issues or longer deep dives, news or how-to guides. A pick between two shows the lean that a rating of each format would blur.
What you learn
Results draws a split bar for each pair, so you see at a glance whether your list leans toward short issues or long ones. Select one side to read what those readers said about pace and topics.
Make it yours
Replace the pairs with the real choices on your editorial table, such as a weekly roundup against a single essay, and keep it to two pairs so the first screen stays quick.
Question 2 of 5 · Multiple choice

How often would you like to receive it?

Why ask it
Sending pace decides whether a newsletter feels welcome or crowded. Asking for the pace readers prefer gives you a schedule to plan around instead of a guess.
What you learn
A donut with the share and count for each pace, from daily to monthly, and stacked shares over time once you change your schedule.
Make it yours
Remove the paces you would never offer, such as Daily for a monthly digest, so every answer is one you can act on.
Question 3 of 5 · Slider · Optional

How much of a typical issue do you read?

Why ask it
Open counts tell you who opened the email. This slider tells you how far they got, and a reader who stops after the first item needs a different issue from one who reads to the end.
What you learn
Results shows the median and the middle half of the slider, from just the subject line to all of it, so you see how much of a typical issue most readers get through.
Make it yours
Read it beside the first question: if most readers stop halfway and still ask for deep dives, put the long piece first.
Question 4 of 5 · Multiple choice · Optional

What would make you unsubscribe?

Why ask it
It asks about leaving before anyone leaves. Readers can pick more than one reason, and Nothing, keep it coming gives happy readers an honest way through.
What you learn
Bars with the share and count of each reason, with every typed Other answer listed beside the chart. Select Too promotional to see what those readers want to read instead.
Make it yours
Add the reason your unsubscribe page hears most, such as the sponsor section, as an option of its own.
Question 5 of 5 · Text · Optional

What topics would you like us to cover?

Why ask it
One open question at the end turns the survey into a list of story ideas in your readers' own words.
What you learn
Usertick reads each answer as it arrives, gives it a theme and a sentiment and marks requests as ideas. Results lists every answer, filterable by theme, with up to 8 themes and their trends.
Make it yours
Keep it optional, so a reader in a hurry still sends the first four answers.

What the answers show

Results turns each question into numbers you can follow week by week.

How often would you like to receive it?

The share of each answer with its count. Select an answer to narrow the whole page to those people and read what else they said.

What would make you unsubscribe?

The share of each answer with its count. Select an answer to narrow the whole page to those people and read what else they said.

Every written answer, read for you

Each answer arrives with its category, theme, type and urgency, so the urgent ones reach your team first.

Use this template in four steps

From the template to the first answers.

  1. 1

    Open the template

    Sign up free and pick Newsletter feedback in the template gallery. It opens in a matching style, ready to change.

  2. 2

    Make the questions yours

    Reword any question, change the options, and add logic or more questions.

  3. 3

    Choose where it runs

    Show it on your website, send it by email, share its link and QR code, or switch it to a conversation.

  4. 4

    Publish and read the answers

    Answers arrive in Results and the inbox as people send them, each written one read and filed by Usertick.

Tips for this survey

Small choices that keep people answering and the answers useful.

  1. 01

    Put the link where readers finish

    Place the link at the end of the issue or in the footer, with one line that says what it is for and that it takes about a minute.

  2. 02

    Tag the link in each issue

    Add ?utm_source= with the issue name to the link. The tag is kept with each answer in Google Sheets, webhooks and the API, so you can trace an answer to the issue that sent it.

  3. 03

    Change one thing at a time

    When the answers ask for a new pace or a new length, change one of them and leave the survey running, so Results shows the difference against the period before.

  4. 04

    Tell readers what changed

    Share what readers asked for and what you are changing in the next issue, so the survey reads as a conversation with your list.

Churn surveysReader surveysLink and QR code surveysNewsletters questions

More retention templates and questions

Templates like this one, and single questions from the library to add to it.

Templates

Browse all templates
RetentionPush alertsFind out how many alerts readers want, on which topics and when to stay quiet. Show it in the app to users with alerts turned on.
RetentionFollowing writersLearn why readers follow writers and how they want to hear about new pieces. Show it after someone follows a writer.
RetentionExit intentAsk visitors why they're leaving, and find what stops them from signing up or buying. Show it on exit intent, on your key pages only and to first-time visitors.
RetentionWeekly customer pulseA light weekly check on how customers feel about your product and how confident they are using it. Show it in the app once a week to active users.

Questions from the library

Browse the question library
  1. For our newsletter you preferThis or that · Newsletters
  2. How much of each issue do you read?Slider · Newsletters
  3. Which sections do you read?Multiple choice · Newsletters
  4. Was this article useful?Yes / No · Articles and reading
  5. How would you rate this article?Stars · Articles and reading
  6. What brought you here?Multiple choice · Articles and reading

Frequently asked questions

Ask after a reader has received a few issues, so they have a typical issue to judge. Keep the link in the footer all year, or send the survey to your whole list once or twice a year when you plan changes.

Yes. Import your subscribers as contacts from a CSV and Usertick sends the survey email, now or scheduled up to 30 days ahead; the first question is a This or that pair, so the email shows a button that opens the survey. Usertick sends 50 emails a month on Free, 500 on Starter, 2,500 on Pro and 10,000 on Business, or you can connect your own sender.

Yes. Paste the survey's link into the footer or a button in any newsletter tool, and readers open the survey page in their browser.

On every plan, a workflow can update the reader's Mailchimp merge fields and tags, such as the pace they asked for, when the answer carries their email, as it does in a survey Usertick sends. From Starter, the same workflow can also add each answer to a Google Sheet or post it to Slack.

Select that answer in Results to see which pace those readers asked for, then offer a slower option, such as a weekly digest, before you cut the schedule for everyone.

Yes. Every template comes with every plan, the free plan included, and the free plan covers 150 responses a month across your surveys.

Yes. The template becomes your own survey, so reword any question, add or remove questions, and change the options and the logic. The gallery stays as it is.

Yes, from Starter. The template is written in US English. Add languages by hand or with AI translation, and each person sees the survey in their browser's language.

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