Five questions for your first member survey

Numbers tell you what members do. They don't tell you why. Once a quarter I send a short survey to members of this network, and it's consistently the most useful hour of my month. Here's the version I'd recommend if you've never run one.

The five questions

• How did you first hear about this community? Tells you which channels actually bring people in.
• What did you hope to get when you joined? Compare the answers with what you think the community is for. The gaps are interesting.
• What's one thing that has been useful to you here? Your "what should we do more of" list is hiding in these answers.
• What almost made you stop coming? The most uncomfortable question and the most valuable one.
• From 0 to 10, how likely are you to recommend this community to someone like you? Treat it as a trend, not a grade.

Keep it short and honest

Five questions takes most people under three minutes, and the response rate is noticeably higher than with long surveys. Make the free-text questions optional, say how long it takes in the first line of the invitation, and tell people what you'll do with the answers.

Close the loop

This is the part most communities skip: within a month, post a summary of what you heard and what you're changing because of it. Members who see their answers turn into decisions are far more likely to answer next time. Members who never hear back stop answering.

Try it: draft your invitation message and your five questions, adjusted for your community, and share them in the comments before you send them.