How to create a survey using Survey Galaxy

Writing surveys is easy; or is it? The truth is that writing surveys is easy but writing effective surveys is more difficult. The following tips will help you with your survey questionnaire design so you can write more effective surveys.

1. What is the survey’s purpose?

Surveys and questionnaires are conducted for many reasons. By phrasing the questions and structuring the answers surveys can be used in a multitude of ways and for a variety of reasons. When designing a survey do not lose sight of its purpose.

2. Give the survey a good title

The survey title is key and an opportunity to instantly summarise a survey’s objective and grab the attention of invited respondents. Respondents need to invest time in completing the survey so you need to encourage them that their investment will be worthwhile.

3. Try to keep the survey as short as possible

Every question asked should be asked for a reason. Minimize the questions providing you with ‘nice to know’ information and concentrate instead on the ‘need to know’ questions.

4. Use plain English, avoid jargon and acronyms, maintain consistency and don’t ask questions that may result in ambiguous answers

Care must be taken in wording a question. If a question can be interpreted in more ways than one then there is a risk that any analysis of the survey results will be meaningless or at the very least misleading.

5. Don’t have long questions

Try to use succinct sentences wherever possible. Long questions tend to cause respondents discomfort and can lead to a higher level of incidents where respondents abandon a survey.

6. Ask one question at a time

Avoid confusing the respondent with a question like ‘Do you like football and tennis?’

7. Do not influence the answer

Do not load the question. ‘Should irresponsible shop keepers who sell tobacco to children be prosecuted?’ is unlikely to have any value.

8. Make sure that the selected answer format allows the respondent to answer the question being asked

Ensure that the respondent can answer how they really feel or they may be inclined to abandon the survey. As a last resort consider the benefit of including a “Can’t say”, “No comment” or similar response option.

9. At the same time that you compile the survey consider, when the survey is complete, how the compiled data is going be analysed

Appreciate that questions that allow for a free text open ended response, such as when asking the respondent for their comments, is likely to be difficult to score and/or summarised. Consider grouping answers. For example “Indicate your length of service?” – ‘less than 2 year’, ‘between 2 and 4 years’ and ‘more than 4′.

10. Try and ensure that the questionnaire flows

Group questions into clear categories as this will make it easier for the participants completing the survey.

11. Target your respondents

Sometimes you will want to target a specific group, in others a cross section. If you can’t control who responds to your survey consider including questions/answers that will allow you to filter out respondents who don’t fit your target profile.

12. Allow the respondent to expand on their answer or make comments

Allowing respondents to make additional comments will increase their satisfaction level and the comments will also give valuable feedback on the specific questions and/or the survey as a whole. Remember though for a large sample collection it may be difficult to analyse free text open ended responses.

13. If the survey you are conducting is to be confidential ensure that you honour your pledge

If you have guaranteed the respondents that the survey is confidential ensure that the individual data is not to be shared with anyone and not used for any other purpose. Confidentiality must be maintained at all times and any identifying information destroyed once the survey has finished.

14. Weigh up the advantages of allowing respondents to be anonymous or identifiable

If your respondents are to be anonymous then you will be unable to follow up specific complaints or match “pre” or “post” surveys. In some cases allowing people to remain anonymous will however allow people to respond without possible peer pressure.

15. Give careful consideration to the best response format

Maintaining a consistency in the format used for responses is good practice. When designing your survey keep in mind that when analyzing the data single selection radio buttons are easier to analyze than multiple selection check boxes. If a radio response format can be used do not use a check box format.

16. Provide the respondent with an estimate as to how much time the survey will take

If the survey appears to be a stream of never ending questions then respondent drop can increase. It is good practice to give an indication as to how long the survey is likely to take so that the participants can determine the best time to complete the survey.

17. Inform the respondents of the survey end date

Encourage your invited respondents to complete the survey as soon as possible but advise the respondents of the survey’s end date so that they have the opportunity to schedule the necessary time.

18. Test the survey

Before publishing a live survey publish a small pilot survey to check for questions that are ambiguous or confusing and to ensure that the survey is aesthetically pleasing.

19. Before publishing the survey check the survey carefully

Check and check again that the survey is grammatically correct and makes sense. If practical get someone else to proof read the survey before you publish, if no one else is available then take a break before checking again.

20. Thank the respondents

Respondents invest their time when completing surveys and should therefore be thanked at the end of completing the survey or in a follow up letter. You may even want to consider incentives such as entry into a prize draw or a reward.

Getting started is easy and there are many survey software websites to choose from.

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Several online mentoring programs are launching this spring.  One of them is Delta Squadron by Michael Cheney.  Another comes from the Affiliate Funnel System by Saj.I think Delta Squadron is the best, but they are both helpfull. 

Looking at these programs made me think about how should we evaluate an online coaching or online training program. 

Here are some things for you to consider when choosing an online coaching program. 

Characteristic #1: Proven Track Record

Having an online mentor is like have your personal how to guide. With their experienced eye, they can expertly guide you towards online success and help you to avoid unnecessary pitfalls along the way to building your internet business.

So ask yourself: How many years has this online mentor been successfully operating a business online? Does this mentor have a proven track record helping people like me to build their own successful online business?

Characteristic #2: Mentoring Skills

In addition to a solid track record and real expertise about the subject area, your mentor should also be sufficiently skilled at mentoring people just like you. It's one thing for your mentor to understand the material. The question is can they teach you. It's helpfull if they have a track record of helping people just like you.

Ask youself on whether this person has helped people get the results you desire?

Characteristic #3: True Expertise

Make sure your coach is a real expert and not a self-proclaimed expert. Real expertise doesn't happen overnight. And it is mainly the depth of expertise of the mentor that will help you get the results you want as efficiently and effectively as possible.

But how can you tell a real expert from a pseudo-expert?

Ask yourself: Is the online business mentor regularly consulted by other well respected experts in the field? Have they demonstrated their expertise by being a published author on the subject? Do peers regard them as an expert?

Characteristic #4: Credible Testimonials

You should see if they offer proof they are as good as they say they are. How? Simple…

Try to check out whether the testimonials look real.

The testimonials should speak for themselves!

Are their testimonials first rate?

What happens after the initial purchase?

There is so much to learn when starting an online business.  The challenge is by the time you learn it things can change on you.Things change so fast on the internet you need a training program that coaches you after your purchase.It's important you have the current information. 

If you are interested in an online coaching program, here is a great place to order from;  http://www.deltasquadronprofits.com/

With the morning sun shining bright you are sitting in your office. With a cup of hot coffee by your side and memories of your last holiday still fresh in your mind, even if you say so yourself, today at least, life is sweet.

You take a sip of new blend coffee and then feel a rush of cool air and a movement catches the corner of your eye. As if from nowhere there is now an impeccably dressed stranger sitting in the chair opposite. Sure you’re surprised; you didn’t hear anyone knock and just as you are about to say something he begins in a calm and measured voice.

‘The deal is this’

‘I am going to advertise your product on a billboard at the busiest junctions in every city of the world.’

‘I will be able to tell you how many people see the advertisement, their nationality, age and gender.’

‘I will tell you what they think of your product and in many cases I will give you their contact details. While they are reading the billboard I will make it possible for them to view your website and, if they feel the urge, make a purchase.’

‘I will have all this all set up in just a couple of days and it will cost you less than what you would normally pay for a small advertisement in your typical trade journal.’

He pauses momentarily. ‘Interested?’

Now you might think that such an offer was too good to be true, you might think that you are going to wake up soon or maybe that it really is time to get a lock on that office door.

But let’s just take time to reflect. If you are still reading this I am that man who has come from nowhere and offered you a deal.

The advertising site is on the Internet and the billboard I’m offering is the much underrated online survey.

Stop for a second and start to associate an online survey not with ‘market research’ but with ‘marketing’. Not any type of marketing but ‘Marketing’ with a capital ‘M’ and in flashing neon lights. Marketing that is direct, effective, low cost and quick.

You can advertise a published online survey on a website, or via email and like a billboard by the side of a major road junction, your message will appear in front of people. Unlike billboards where it has to be estimated as to the number of people actually see an advert, the online survey records the number of times a survey is started.

Surveys can ask demographic questions such as gender, age and nationality and in doing so you are obtaining metrics about the effectiveness of your promotion and are interacting with the respondent on a one-on-one level.

Unlike a billboard where the message is often subliminal, or maybe just trying to achieve brand awareness, with an online survey you have the opportunity to connect with the public to find out what they really think about your product, how it relates to them, how it is perceived.

Using an online survey website it takes only minutes and hours to create a survey and using the power of the Internet an online survey can reach hundreds of thousands of people on a daily basis.

Throw in a prize as an incentive for people to complete the survey, maybe some Pay Per Click advertising to capture an even wider, or more focused audience and you are still talking low cost effective marketing.

‘Tell me then. Is it a deal?’

Seeing how the economy has taken a nose dive, you would be hard pressed to find a person that has not felt the effects. Regardless if it is a person who’s had their job terminated or a family who has company has shut the doors, nearly every person has some story to tell about the poor economy.

The economy has cuase an increase of people heading to the Internet in search of tactics to earn money to make ends meet. Before, families have never thought about making extra cash because they didn’t have to. That was then. Currently a lot of people are discovering ways of making extra money. If you’re in this circumstance, don’t panic. It’s easier than you might be thinking.

Below are a few ways a person can get out and make money easy on the the Online marketplace. Don’t expect to hit it rich but it may be you can buy decent meals for your family or make that house payment before before they come and repo your house.

Internet auction sites. Ebay allowed many stay at home moms and other people to get money by auctioning off on the Internet. Some great sources of stuff to sell are Craigslist, garage sales and estate auctions. Make sure you know what the stuff is worth before buying it though!

Craigslist. Craigslist is a free Web classified site that allows users to post services for sale or free stuff they want to get rid of. A lot of people are making full time incomes by going around and picking up stuff other people want to get rid off. You can then go home and put it back on the Internet for sale or post it on ebay.

Almost every person knows how to build crafts. Etsy is an online auction site for consumers to sell their crafts. Some families are making some serious income selling crafts and craft supplies on Internet craft sites.

Become an Expert at what you know. Do you have a special skill that others want? There are places on the the Online marketplace that are always searching for independent writers. A person with computer skill sets or special knowledge of a program like Excel or Quickbooks can find lucrative job offers. Freelance writers are also wanted. If you want to find these jobs, just look in the Services section of Craigslist or visit the Marketplace section of DigitalPoint forums or Sitepoint forums. Some freelancers are making good income providing services others can not, or do not want, to do.

Even if you think no one will pay you for what you know, there is a way for you to earn extra cash in this economic slump. Just get out there and apply yourself and search for the opportunites. You might be surprised, you just might find something that you love doing and start a new career.

Looking for a web host should be done only after you know what you require from them.You therefore will not end up paying more for web hosting services and for features you will never use.

While looking for the right web host, you have to consider the type of website you will be building.Decide if your website will be for a blog, an online forum, for an e-commerce business or as a hobby site and then decide if the site will be a static or interactive one.

If you need an e-commerce site, you require online payment systems, your site will have to support secure socket layers encryption and shopping carts.If you plan on starting a blog or online forum, the web host should provide access to database systems like MySQL and use PHP or Perl scripting.

Look for web hosting based on the amount of storage space you require.If you are creating a small and static website, it will not require too much storage space.You will need more storage space if you build a large website or if your website is an interactive, online forum.

You have to consider your bandwidth requirements once you have determined your storage space needs.If your webpage is 6 KB and you expect to receive quite a few hits a day, you will need more bandwidth than a static website with a larger sized web page.

If you are planning to create a forum, you need more bandwidth as visitors normally stay there longer while reading posts and making contributions.Forums tend to invite repeat visitors, and therefore require more bandwidth.

If your website is one that will be more than a simple HTML website and requires more custom programming type of work, make sure that the web host will be able to offer all this to you before signing the contract.

If you want special access to your website through FTP or a secure access protocol, ensure that your web host will be able to provide you with this requirement.Before signing your contract, discuss all your common and special requirements with your web host.

For all your SEO and hosting services

With all referral programs, it’s important to remember that you want this to do one thing, and do it well. A referral letter is the “next best thing” to having a personal referral, without that person knowing who will be reading their letter. This can be as simple or complex as you require – as long as the basic message that you want to give is included, then having several is not a bad place to be in.

All great websites out there have referral letters on client pages, more well know as testimonial pages. We have people who have written in to rave about a product – doesn’t sound like a big deal, does it? Way over 60% of purchasers have said that they 1) read user generated comments or testimonials and 2) that their decisions have being based on these writings or comments. This is the main reason that many businesses spend large amounts on customer satisfaction and client follow-up.

With the current economic downturn, it’s no wonder that there is a high demand for these programs. Using this strategy has become so necessary that it’s worth mentioning again, briefly.

Make sure you follow up with your clients and prospects; ensure the sales and delivery process goes smoothly and to their satisfaction; follow up, every step of the way. When you’re assured of their satisfaction, then ask for a referral – or ask for a referral letter, depending on the product or service you are offering.

In areas where your offerings are not in a wide demand setting that referral letters will be very important, as not everyone will know someone who specifically will want your product, but if they’re happy with your service, they will be more likely to give you a testimonial letter. Since testimonials can increase your business, it’s a strategy that should be company policy – to ask for a referral after any contact with a client.

Integrating these letters into a sales presentation is not always easy or needed, but having them on hand to allow prospects to review an honest assessment by a previous client of your product or service will go a long way to showing that your company holds its responsibilities highly and backs it up. Taking into consideration the effect the referral letter has on sales is not easy and it’s incredibly hard to find metrics to back it up, but it is a known fact that our opinions do affect others, however trivial they may seem to us at the time, and that this influence has a huge impact on every sales arena.

Finding free articles to put on your website does many things to help you with search engine rankings.  First off, free articles provide direct niche content that your viewers are always looking for.  The more pages of information you have the longer viewers will stay on your site.Almost any addition of quality content will allow your site to be more well rounded and appear higher in the search engine rankings.Additional keywords can be specifically targeted with your new content, adding potential customers and viewers to your site.

One of the main keys to keep in mind is to really tailor the articles you add on your site to your specific niche.If you have a site about gardening and tools – you dont want information non related to gardening, it just does not really make sense.Often a great way to add content is to add a blog to your site – here you can post articles you write AND that you find elsewhere that are interesting.Not only is it free, it is very easy and simple to do.  If you build your site up enough, people will start bookmarking it as a great source of information AND a good place to buy stuff they need.The big thing is to add content to make your site more interesting – this expands your audience.  Often times you can also add an RSS feed from specific article sites to automatically update your content so it always appears fresh.This is a great option for those people who simply do not have the time to update content themselves every day or every few days.Blogs by others, or an article directory are often a terrific source of niche content, all of which you can pull in using an RSS feed.  Whenever that person updates a story or article,  The RSS feed can pull all or part of that content into your site so your readers can have access to it.

No matter if you use a blog addition, RSS feed, or simply post the articles yourself, this will equate to higher search engine rankings in the long haul because you are increasing the quality of your site.Sites that have little valuable conent and have used black-hat methods to get Google ranking will get knocked back down – which is your gain.

Eschewing many of the hassles and frustrations of regular offline businesses, Internet marketing can be the ideal business to start for ourselves. But if it’s so attractive, why do most people fail to earn any money on the Internet? Here are some of the most common mistakes people make when building their Internet marketing businesses:

Having a Get-Rich-Quick Mentality

No matter what anyone says, making real money online demands a consistent effort over an extended period of time. Take a look at anyone who has made a significant amount of money, and you will notice that 99% of them did it through plain old fashioned hard work. The reality is that online marketing is, in the end, a business, and behind any profitable business are years of honest effort.

Now keep in mind, having the right teachers can dramatically reduce the amount of time it takes to make decent money, but the fact remains that your success can only be attained if you work at it for a period of time. In the world of Internet marketing, “get rich quick” doesn’t exist.

Lack of Focus

This is a big mistake that affects a lot of people trying to make money online. There are just so many different ways to make money on the Internet. You sell other people’s products through affiliate programs, or sell your own product. You can earn money displaying PPC ads, or create PPC ads to sell products and make money that way. There are so many different things you can do, and often, we get caught up trying new things, constantly hopping from one method to the next. Unfortunately, a lack of focus is going to not only seriously hamstring your business, but you are also going to end up spending a fortune on different courses and products that teach you these new methods.

The best thing you can do? Find one method that makes sense and follow it through to the best of your ability. Give it a solid six months to a year of effort at a minimum and see how things are working out. If you’re observing some decent return on your efforts, keep doing what you’re doing. If nothing is really happening, then and only then should you move to a new approach.

Giving Up

Finally, I have to point out the biggest thing keeping people from Internet marketing success, and that is giving up too early. We’ve already determined that success in online marketing – and in life – requires a concentrated effort over an extended length of time. Along the way, you will reach a “turning point” in your business – when things really start coming together and you are beginning to reap the benefits. However, before that happens, it will appear that nothing is happening, and unfortunately, many people mistake this for failure and decide to throw in the towel.

The fact is that Internet marketing works if you put the effort in, and in order for it to work, you need to keep working until you get to the turning point. Throw in the towel too soon and you’ll never know if your plan works or not.

Keep The Faith

Concentrated effort over time is the sole way to make it. Internet marketing legend Alex Goad has masterminded an entire program designed to help you make a killing online called Google Conquest. Released in December 2008 and shut off to the public shortly after, Google Conquest has been helping members make a fortune on the Internet through effective Internet marketing principles. But on June 16th, Alex will be accepting new members into this upgraded program – now relaunched as Conquest Authority. To get involved, check out this detailed Conquest Authority review from an actual member, and discover an incredible Conquest Authority bonus package you can get access to if you act today.

Google Conquest, Conquest Authority.  Have you heard about either one of them?  I’m going to give you a little hint.  The two names above are the exact same thing.  Back in November 2008, Alex Goad sold a full online training with absolute automation tools.  The name was Google Conquest, and in a matter of days, the course completely sold out.  Now 6 months later, in May 2009, it’s counterpart is being re-launched- enter Conquest Authority.  Authority is the re-launch of Google Conquest, and the excitement for the release has been outstanding.

In the original Google Conquest, included was a 60 day challenge, which challenged the members by the end of 60 days to earn $200 a day based on the training provided.  How did the challenge pan out for everyone?

Alex sold only a limited 1000 copies of Google Conquest to ensure 100% customer support and training to his members.  The 60 day challenge began after 30 days of the product opening.  This was to allow the members to mess around, get a feel for the system, and be ready for the 60 day challenge.  (In the very beginning, there was a “quick start training”, so people could start immediately.) The 60 day training began with keyword research (profitable niches), domain names, ftp hosting, and cpanel information.  The next phase of the training was site set up and search engine optimization (SEO) training.  After site set up training (which included wordpress plugins, templates and settings, main page, posts, and keyword placement) was complete, monetizing your website was the next steps.  Monetization of a site included sales conversions, adsense, placement of ads, and affiliate signups.  The final part in the 60 day challenge was getting free traffic to your sites with site promotion. The 60 day challenge training was done live, by video, and pdf.

Question time:  How did the 60 day challenge work out, and how many people are earning $200 a day?

The end results are astounding, but have been different for everyone. Some members found success with ranking #1 on Google, and others have make $25,000 with the sniper launch (covered in the quick start training).  So the result?  Everyone’s results were different, not everyone was making huge amounts of money yet, but the fact remains the training was completely successful.  For members who have never had a site seen by search engines before, for people who had never earned a penny with adsense before, and for people who had never even made an affiliate sale before, Google Conquest made that not only a reality for all who put the training to use, but a dream come true.

The re-sale of Google Conquest (Conquest Authority) is scheduled to be re-opened in May 2009.  availability will again be extremely limited.  If you have been struggling with making money online, I highly recommend you join Alex Goad’s Conquest Authority.  You can read a Conquest Authority Review, get a Conquest Authority Bonus, or sign up for the Early Bird notification list (to get more information) by visiting http://www.moneyproductreviews.com/conquest-authority.

With the evolvement of computers and internet, the interconnection between the two has enabled users to share information through various channels. Today the internet is used not only to gather information, but as a means to earn. It’s no secret that so many people out there earn an excellent income through internet marketing.

network marketing prospecting software

A proper marketing tool can decide whether a person can earn successfully or not. The same goes for internet marketing software. If software of lower quality is bought, there is a high probability that you’d end up in trouble. If you are an individual interested in internet marketing, then it should be done as a legitimate business. It is rather easy to find fake businesses that work on internet marketing.

A number of internet marketing software’s are used extensively to advertise products and services. One such internet marketing software is the video production software. A digital camera and the use of this software together helps a business in their video marketing process. When doing internet marketing, a person will be able to use this method when adding videos to any site.

Larger the business, larger the customer base. Keeping track of all these people could become a very difficult task. The Auto-responder software is one such internet marketing software that can be utilized to help you keep track of your customers and prospects, keep in touch with them, through their email program, etc. Additionally, the management of newsletters, articles and replying to emails, etc can be done efficiently by the above stated internet marketing software.

One of the biggest worries an entrepreneur would have while doing business on the internet is how they can process payments effectively and efficiently, whilst making sure that the product or service they are selling is readily available. You have to be sure of giving the customer the correct picture as it will inevitably depend on the final purchase. The BeBiz interactive internet marketing software makes all the above easier for the business man.

If you are not a computer whiz, then it is reason enough to purchase the BeBiz internet marketing software. Especially when it comes to website building, making payments and managing files, the BeBiz software makes the whole process easier.

network marketing software

If you are not a pro in creating websites; this software will be able to do wonders to your internet marketing business. Unlike in the past where a person had to create everything manually, this software helps a person create wonders within a short span of time.