If you send B2B emails for sales, partnerships, or just trying to get a straight answer, you know how easy it is for your outreach to get ignored. People are buried in email. They’ll open, maybe skim, and then vanish. But there’s a simple trick to nudge up your reply rates: make your emails interactive. That’s where Mixmax’s polls and surveys come in.
This guide is for anyone sending cold emails, follow-ups, or even internal outreach and wants to get more than just crickets in their inbox. Let’s talk about how Mixmax polls actually work, when they’re worth using, and how to avoid the rookie mistakes that make them flop.
Why bother with polls and surveys in B2B emails?
Before you start adding polls to everything, let’s be honest: Most polls in emails get ignored. People don’t want to do “extra” work unless they see a clear benefit or it’s dead simple.
But used in the right way, embedded polls and surveys can:
- Make it brain-dead easy for someone to answer (“Which time works for a call? 1pm or 4pm?”)
- Show you respect their time (no rambling, just a click)
- Give you any response, which is better than getting ghosted
You’re not going to change someone’s mind with a poll. But you can make it as painless as possible for them to reply, which boosts your odds—especially in B2B where decisions often stall.
Step 1: Understand what Mixmax polls and surveys actually do
Mixmax lets you insert simple polls or surveys directly into your email body. Your recipient doesn’t have to click out to a website—they just click an option right in the email. That’s crucial. Fewer clicks = less friction.
Key features:
- Polls: Single-question, multiple-choice. Good for quick decisions (“Which topic interests you most?”).
- Surveys: Multiple questions, can be a mix of different types (yes/no, multiple choice, free text).
- Real-time tracking: You see who voted and what they picked.
- Works in Gmail (and some other clients): But not every email client displays these perfectly. Outlook, for example, can be hit-or-miss.
What it’s not:
This isn’t Qualtrics or SurveyMonkey. If you need advanced branching logic, skip logic, or long-form surveys, look elsewhere. Mixmax is for quick, low-commitment responses.
Step 2: Pick the right moments to use polls and surveys
Don’t overdo it. Polls are best when you need:
- A quick decision (“Can you meet this week or next?”)
- To qualify leads (“How soon are you looking to solve this problem?”)
- To personalize follow-ups (“Which product feature matters most to you?”)
- Feedback after a call or demo (“How useful was this session?”)
When to skip it:
- If you’re emailing execs who barely read their email, a poll won’t save you
- For sensitive or complex topics—nobody wants to explain their pain in a tiny poll
- When your only goal is to “increase engagement” (it’s not magic; use it when you need an answer)
Pro tip:
Don’t make a poll the main event in your first cold email. Use it as a follow-up, or to grease the wheels after you’ve established some rapport.
Step 3: Build your poll or survey (without annoying your prospects)
Keep it short. One question, two or three options. That’s it. Don’t ask people to rank things 1-10 or answer essay questions.
How to add a poll in Mixmax:
- Open Gmail (with the Mixmax extension enabled).
- Start a new email.
- Click the Mixmax “+” button at the bottom of the compose window.
- Select “Poll” or “Survey”.
- Fill in your question and choices. Keep them short—think “yes/no” or “this/that.”
- Insert it into the email.
Best practices:
- Put the poll near the top. Don’t bury it under three paragraphs.
- Make the choices clear. No jargon, no ambiguity.
- Preview your email. Some email clients (especially Outlook) mangle embedded polls. Send a test to yourself and open it in different clients if you can.
- Add context, but don’t ramble. One or two sentences explaining why you’re asking is fine.
What to avoid:
- Don’t ask questions you don’t care about. People can tell.
- Don’t try to collect marketing data disguised as a poll—it feels sleazy.
- Don’t overcomplicate. If you need more than three options, think twice.
Step 4: Send at the right time (and to the right people)
Timing matters. Polls work best when:
- You’ve already had some interaction (so they know you’re not a bot)
- You’re trying to unblock a stalled conversation (“Are you still interested, or should I close the loop?”)
- You’re scheduling meetings with busy people (give two time slots, not a Doodle link)
Who to send to:
- Individual decision makers, not huge group threads (group polls can spiral into confusion)
- Prospects in the middle or bottom of your funnel, where you need a nudge
Pro tip:
If you’re worried about deliverability, don’t go nuts with polls in large cold campaigns. Too many dynamic elements can trigger spam filters, especially if you’re sending at scale.
Step 5: Follow up (without being a pest)
If someone clicks an option in your poll, Mixmax will track it. You’ll get notified, and you can see the results in your dashboard.
How to follow up:
- If they answered, reply quickly—don’t let that engagement go cold.
- Reference their answer directly (“Saw you picked 1pm—let’s lock that in.”).
- If nobody responds, don’t resend the same poll. Try a plain text reply, or change your approach.
What not to do:
- Don’t harass people who ignore your poll. Silence is an answer.
- Don’t send a “reminder” poll. It’s just as easy to delete as the first.
Step 6: Measure—without obsessing
Mixmax gives you open rates, click rates, and poll responses. This is helpful, but don’t get sucked into chasing vanity metrics.
What matters:
- Are you getting more actual replies (not just poll clicks)?
- Are meetings being booked faster?
- Are you learning something useful from the answers?
If the answer is “yes,” keep going. If not, polls might not be your bottleneck.
Real talk: What works, what doesn’t, and what to ignore
What works:
- Simple, binary choices (“Is this a priority for you this quarter?”)
- Using polls as a frictionless scheduling tool
- Quick “yes/no” or “this/that” questions to move deals forward
What doesn’t:
- Long, multi-question surveys in cold outreach
- Asking for sensitive info (“What’s your budget?”) up front
- Making polls the centerpiece of your value proposition
Ignore:
- The idea that polls will make uninterested prospects magically care
- Fancy formatting or too many colors (just looks desperate)
- Over-promising what a poll can do—it’s a tool, not a silver bullet
Keep it simple and iterate
Interactive emails are a nice way to boost engagement, but don’t overthink it. Use Mixmax polls and surveys when you need a quick answer, keep your questions short, and don’t be afraid to experiment. If it gets you one more real reply out of every 20 emails, that’s a win.
The best advice? Start small, see what actually gets clicks, and adjust. Simple beats clever every time.