How to Embed a Google Form Into an Email

Creating a survey to send to hundreds or thousands of individuals sounds like a daunting task. The main questions are, “Will people be bothered to fill it out?” and “How can I make it more convenient for them to do so?” Google Forms addresses these issues.

With Google Forms, it’s easy to create an interactive survey that recipients can fill out directly in their email clients. In this tutorial, we show you how to create and embed a Google Form in an email, ready to send out to the world.

• How to Create a Google Form Survey or Poll
• How to Embed the Google Form Into Your Email
• Frequently Asked Questions

How to Create a Google Form Survey or Poll

To embed a Google Form in your email, you’ll first need to create your form with all its questions and answers.

1. Go to your Google Drive account in your browser.
2. Click the “New” button at the top left.

1. Select “Google Forms” from the menu that appears. You’ll be presented with a basic template for creating a form.

Alternatively, you can go to forms.google.com and create your form from there by pressing on the “+” button in the lower-right corner. Make sure you’re logged in with your Google account.

1. Fill out the form, noting that you can change certain options by clicking the drop-down menu next to the question, such as whether you want it to be multiple choice or let readers give longer answers. You can also add descriptions to your Google Forms questions.

1. Choose whether recipients can skip the question or be required to use the toggle near the bottom. On the right of the question, you can add images, videos, and sections (more questions) to the survey.
2. Use the “palette” icon at the top to change the color scheme and text of your form and add your own header image.

Once your form is ready, follow the steps in the next section to embed the Google Form in your email.

How to Embed the Google Form Into Your Email

1. Once your survey is ready to go, click the “Send” button at the top right to bring up sending options.

1. You can send the form via email, a link, or post it to social networks. If you choose to send or embed it through email, click the “envelope” icon and enter all the addresses to which you want to send the form in the “To” field.

1. At the bottom, check the box next to the “Include form in email” option. This feature is what embeds the form into an email rather than get recipients to click through to the survey (which they may be reluctant to do).

Tip: check the box next to “Collect emails” (at the top) if you want the recipients to provide their email addresses before filling out the form. You may want this data, but it may put many people off from filling out the form, so be wary of that.

1. When you’re ready, click the “Send” button.

You can use any email, such as Yahoo and Outlook, to embed your Google Forms. However, you must first create the Google Form using your Gmail account via Google Drive, then mail it to your own Gmail account or other services from where you can forward the embedded Google Form.

Tip: is Google Drive not uploading files? Our guide shows you how to fix the problem.

Sadly, Google Forms doesn’t show a preview of how the form will actually look in an email. To avoid any mishap, you must email the form to yourself first. Once you are happy with it, send it to the actual recipients.

The following screenshot shows how an embedded Google Form looks in an email.

The recipient can easily fill out the form right directly from the email or click on “Fill in using Google Forms” to open the form in a separate window.

Frequently Asked Questions

How can I see the responses to the Google Forms survey I sent out?

Open the Google Forms in your Google Drive account and click on the “Responses” heading to monitor the responses to your form.

What should I do if the "Include form in email" option appears grayed out?

The “Include form in email” checkbox appears grayed out if your form includes an image or the “Upload a file” button. You must remove them to fix the issue.

Do you need a Google account to use Google Forms?

Yes, you must have a Google account to create a Google Form, but you don’t need one to fill up a Google Form, provided the form doesn’t require you to sign in.

Can you create a Google Form from mobile devices?

Yes, you can, but you’ll have to use your mobile browser. Simply go to the forms.google.com page and create your form from there. When you’re done, press the paper plane-like button in the upper-right corner to send it to someone via email. Don’t forget to check the “Include form in email” option.

All screenshots by Mehvish Mushtaq

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Mehvish is a tech lover from Kashmir. With a degree in computer engineering, she's always been happy to help anyone who finds technology challenging. She's been writing about technology for over six years, and her favorite topics include how-to guides, explainers, tips and tricks for Android, iOS/iPadOS, Windows, social media, and web apps.

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