This article was published on April 12, 2015

How to receive positive feedback with a simple hack


How to receive positive feedback with a simple hack

Sean Kim is the creator of The Growth List, helping you create a business around your lifestyle. This post originally appeared on his blog.


Traditional surveys have been the go-to source for gathering feedback from your users.

While it works for the sender, no one on the receiving end enjoys answering surveys.

I want to share something today that will not only give you direct, continuous positive feedback from your users, but will also delight them.

The <3 of EU tech

The latest rumblings from the EU tech scene, a story from our wise ol' founder Boris, and some questionable AI art. It's free, every week, in your inbox. Sign up now!

To top it off, it’s incredibly simple.

The email autoresponder

Yep. This is what it comes down to — an email autoresponder.

1-uAvNBSWA_LEelXpXaK9nYw

Most of you are probably saying, “What does an email autoresponder have to do with receiving positive feedback from my users?” Sending the email is just the start.

It’s the questions you ask in the email that’s key.

Here’s the email that I send out everytime someone joins my email list.

1-Nj_8pWAh2__B6hUtNSYKIw

It comes down to two simple questions:

  1. Why did you decide to join [your website]?
  2. What are you struggling with the most?

These two questions may sound incredibly simple, but that’s the point.

Your users don’t have the time to answer ten questions, not even five. By keeping the questions short and strategic, you’ll get the most number of responses, while getting direct, specific answers that matter.

In this case, the first question allows me to know where my most dedicated readers are discovering the blog, which shows me where I should focus more of my time marketing.

The second question is key. It tells me what my readers want to learn about, which outlines the type of content I’ll be writing, the products and services I’ll be creating, and the guests I should bring on my interview show.

Don’t mistaken simplicity for its effectiveness.

By spending less than five minutes upfront, I now get emails everyday from users sharing their story, struggles, what made them join the email list, and how they found us.
1-bfBvCtkpZhZBoED6dQSz4w

There’s no longer a need for surveys, when you can get constant feedback from new subscribers on your email list.

Here’s some responses from new subscribers:

1-OE-Ilt9upSYraBY7jMxg4w

1-2K2wTOXOKmYa59GkBrbXag

1-R8YrvkEYlOe3qSF6TJKMNg

Action Steps

Now it’s your turn to delight your users.

Here are the three simple steps involved:

  1. Create an email automation responder using your email marketing tool — i.e. Mailchimp, AWeber, GetResponse, etc.

1-wltN7R537DDv73OXMmxGiA

Here are the respective links to get started:

2. Write your personal email message using the two questions above.

Feel free to use the format I have for my #growth family.

1-gvGULH73VzCH2gpYSV1chQ

3. Schedule it to be sent immediately when users subscribe. 
Then click “Send.”

1-ukadq9M9n40y7iBRDjlOMg

That’s it! Now you can kick back and watch a series of continuous thoughtful, positive feedback and delighted users responding to your email everyday.

What do you think about this strategy? Could you or someone from your team use this in your blog or business? I’d love to hear your thoughts.

Read Next: 5 ways to validate your startup ideas with $100

Get the TNW newsletter

Get the most important tech news in your inbox each week.