Manage sample

Survey Shaper has a built-in mailer that can distribute survey invitations via email and/or SMS. Here’s how the process works:

1. Prepare the sample file. This is the mailing list containing the details of everyone you want to send a survey invitation to.
2. Import the sample file into the mailer
3. Build the eDM and/or SMS survey invitation templates
4. Send the survey invitations and reminders
5. Monitor mailout statistics
6. Manage unsubscribes

Samples are deleted after 120 days

Imported samples are kept for 120 days, then permanently deleted. See Sample retention.

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Open the sample page

Everything to do with sample and invitations happens on the survey’s sample page. You can open it from Survey Shaper, from the Survey Statistics page, or while you’re editing the survey.

From Survey Shaper: click the more icon (⋮) on the survey, then select Collect Responses > Sample & Invitations.

From the Survey Statistics page: click the Sample Management tab.

While editing the survey:

Survey Editor (Legacy)

Click Sample Management in the main menu.

Survey Editor (Beta)

Click the Sampling icon in the header.

The sample page opens on the Manage Sample tile, which shows the Manage Samples table. The other tiles are Build eDM, Build SMS, Report Summary, Manage Unsubscribes and Open Link.

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Prepare sample file

Sample files should contain the relevant details of all the people you want to send a survey invitation to. Acceptable file formats are .txt, .csv, .xls, or .xlsx. Every row in the sample should represent an individual person.

Sample files must contain:

• Variable names in the first row (column headings)
• A valid email address field (if distributing via email) and/or mobile phone number field including country code (if distributing via SMS). Mobile numbers must be in the format 614XXXXXXXX.
• Any information that is to be used within the survey invitation email (e.g. first name) or within the survey itself (i.e. sample objects within the survey script)

Keep variable names clean

The variable names in your column headers must not contain any special characters. This includes underscores and spaces.

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Import sample

Once you’ve prepared the sample file, import it into the mailer:

1. Open the sample page. It opens on the Manage Sample tile.
2. Click the Import Sample icon
3. Enter a Description of the sample file. Choose something meaningful that will help you identify the sample import in the Manage Samples table.
4. Select the Sample Type from the dropdown box
5. Enter the key field names used in the sample file for each sample type selected in Email address field name and/or Mobile number field name. The names must exactly match what is in the sample, and must be prefaced with @ (the defaults are @EmailAddress and @MobileNumber).
6. Under Select Import File, select the file to import, or drag and drop the file into the box
7. Click Upload
8. The imported sample will appear in the Manage Samples table. Once it’s successfully imported (indicated by Success in the Status column), you can click on the sample to view the imported records. If the Status shows Failed, hover over the word to view the reason for the import failure. You’ll need to fix the issue and re-import.

Status not updating?

You may need to click the Refresh icon to update the table.

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Sample types

When you import a sample, you’ll need to select a Sample Type. The sample type you choose depends on the method you want to use to distribute the survey.

The available sample types are:

• Email: the sample file must contain an Email Address field, and each record must have a valid email address in this field
• SMS: the sample file must contain a Mobile (Cell) Phone field, and each record must have a valid phone number in this field
• Email and SMS: the sample file must contain both Email Address and Mobile (Cell) Phone fields, and each record must have a valid email address and phone number in these fields
• External: use this for surveys where the built-in mailer will not be used to distribute the survey. Email Address and Mobile Phone fields are not required.

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Export sample records

1. Open the sample page. It opens on the Manage Sample tile.
2. In the Manage Samples table, click the Actions icon (⋮) next to the sample you want to export
3. Select Export List

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Sample retention

Imported samples are kept for 120 days from the date they were imported. After that, they’re permanently deleted.

In the last 30 days before deletion, the Retention column in the Manage Samples table counts down (for example, 12 days remaining). Hover over it to see the exact deletion date. Once a sample passes 120 days, the column shows Marked for deletion.

If you’ll need the sample records later, export them before they’re deleted.

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Delete sample

You can delete a sample yourself before its retention period ends. Deleting is permanent and can’t be undone.

1. Open the sample page. It opens on the Manage Sample tile.
2. In the Manage Samples table, click the Actions icon (⋮) next to the sample you want to delete
3. Select Delete
4. Click DELETE to confirm

Archived samples

Samples can no longer be archived. If your survey has samples that were archived in the past, they’re hidden from the Manage Samples table. Click the Show/Hide Archived icon to show them.