Point in Time Surveys - Complete Guide
What is a Point in Time Survey?
A Point in Time survey is designed for surveys that launch on a specific date and run for a defined period. All participants receive the survey invitation at the same time, making it ideal for:
Annual or quarterly engagement surveys
Pulse surveys
Event-specific feedback (e.g., post-conference survey)
Project-specific surveys with fixed timelines
Key characteristic: Everyone starts at the same time on a scheduled date.
Setting Up Your Email Campaign
Step 1: Schedule Your Initial Invite
The initial invite is the first email your participants will receive with the link to your survey.
To schedule your invite:
Click the Schedule button on the Initial Invite card
Select your desired date and time
Important: Time is displayed and entered in UTC timezone
⏰ Understanding UTC Timezone
Times are shown in UTC (Coordinated Universal Time). If you're in:
Eastern Time (EST): Add 5 hours to your local time (or 4 hours during EDT)
Pacific Time (PST): Add 8 hours to your local time (or 7 hours during PDT)
Example: To send at 9:00 AM EST, schedule for 2:00 PM UTC
What you'll see:
The scheduled date and time appears on the Initial Invite card
The "Queued" count shows how many participants will receive this email
Once sent, the "Sent" count shows how many participants received it
📌 Important: The initial invite cannot be deleted. It's the foundation of your email campaign.
Step 2: Upload Your Participants
Best Practice - Upload Before Invite Sends:
If you upload participants BEFORE the scheduled invite time:
They're automatically added to the queue
They'll receive the invite at the scheduled time
No additional action needed
If You Upload After Invite Already Sent:
If you upload participants AFTER the invite has already been sent:
They will NOT automatically receive the invite
You must click Send Now on the Initial Invite card to send it to them immediately
This ensures new participants don't miss the survey
Invalid Emails:
If a participant's email is already in the invalid email list, they're automatically moved to the bounce list
You'll see them in the bounced count, not the queued or sent count
Step 3: Schedule Your Reminders
Reminders encourage participants who haven't completed the survey to do so. You can add as many reminders as you need.
Key Rules:
✅ You can only schedule reminders AFTER the initial invite is scheduled
✅ Each reminder must be scheduled AFTER the previous email
✅ You can create unlimited reminders
To add a reminder:
Click Add Reminder button
Click Schedule on the new reminder card
Select a date and time (must be after the previous email)
Scheduling Order Example:
Unscheduled Reminders:
You can create a reminder without scheduling it immediately
Unscheduled reminders show "Not Scheduled" on the card
You must schedule them before the previous email sends
Reordering Reminders
You can drag and drop reminders to change their order, but there are important rules:
What You CAN Do:
✅ Reorder unscheduled reminders freely
✅ Drag a scheduled reminder before another scheduled reminder (this removes the schedule - you'll need to reschedule it)
What You CANNOT Do:
❌ Drag a reminder before one that has already been sent
❌ Schedule a reminder before the previous reminder is scheduled
❌ Move sent reminders at all
⚠️ Why these restrictions? Once an email is sent, its position in the sequence is locked to maintain consistency for participants who already received it.
Deleting Reminders
You can delete:
✅ Unscheduled reminders (anytime)
✅ Scheduled reminders that haven't been sent yet
You CANNOT delete:
❌ Reminders that have already been sent
Step 4: (Optional) Add a Thank You Email
Thank you emails are sent automatically when a participant completes the survey.
How it works:
Not scheduled to a specific time
Sends immediately upon survey completion
Always appears as the last email in your sequence
Shows the count of completed surveys on the card
Special properties:
Cannot be dragged or reordered (always last)
Can be deleted at any time, even after it's been sent to some participants
There is no "Send Now" option (it only sends on completion)
Managing Active Campaigns
Using the Send Now Button
What Send Now Does:
Immediately sends the email for that specific card to all queued participants
Only affects that one email - doesn't change any schedules or timings for other emails
When to Use Send Now:
For Initial Invite:
You added participants after the invite already sent
You want to send immediately instead of waiting for scheduled time
For Reminders:
You want to send a reminder earlier than scheduled
You added participants and want to ensure they receive upcoming reminders
What Send Now Doesn't Affect:
Scheduled times for other reminders remain unchanged
Participants who already received the email don't get it again
Future reminder schedules stay the same
Adding Participants Mid-Campaign
Scenario 1: Before Initial Invite Sends
Add participants anytime before the scheduled invite time
They're automatically added to the queue
They'll receive the invite at the scheduled time
Scenario 2: After Initial Invite Has Sent
Add the new participants to your list
Click Send Now on the Initial Invite card
New participants receive the invite immediately
They'll then receive future reminders according to your schedule
💡 Pro Tip: If you know you'll be adding participants after launch, consider scheduling your first reminder a few days after the invite to give yourself time to add everyone.
Removing Participants
When you remove a participant from your list:
What happens:
✅ Removed from all future email sends
✅ Removed from queued counts on all email cards
✅ Removed from sent counts and statistics
❌ NOT removed from the invalid email list
Effect:
It's as if they were never added to the campaign
They won't receive any future emails
Historical logs may still show they received previous emails
Resending the Invite
From the Participants page, you can resend the initial invite to individual participants.
What happens when you resend:
The participant receives the initial invite email immediately
Works even if they already received it before
Works even if the invite is currently queued for them
They'll appear multiple times in the detailed send log
Where you'll see this reflected:
Email card shows count of participants who received the email (unique count)
Stats/log page shows every individual time an email was sent (includes duplicates)
When to use this:
Participant says they didn't receive the original invite
Participant deleted the email and needs another copy
Participant's email was fixed after bouncing
Understanding Email Card Information
Each email card shows important information:
Status Indicators
Scheduled Time:
Displays when the email will automatically send
Shown in UTC timezone
Only visible on scheduled emails
Queued Count:
Number of participants who will receive this email
Updates as you add/remove participants
Only counts participants who haven't received it yet
Sent Count:
Number of participants who have already received this email
Updates immediately after sending
Shows in the email history/logs
People Icons:
Red icon with number = queued to send
Green icon with number = already sent
Email States
Not Scheduled:
Email exists but doesn't have a scheduled time
Shows on reminder cards before you schedule them
Must schedule before the previous email sends
Scheduled:
Email has a set date and time
Will send automatically at that time
Can be changed before it sends
Sent:
Email has been sent to participants
Shows sent count
Cannot be rescheduled or moved
Still appears in sequence for reference
Stats and Reporting
Viewing Send History
Email Card Level:
Shows high-level counts (queued vs sent)
Quick status check
Visible on the Schedule Survey page
Stats Tab:
Detailed send logs for each email
Shows every time an email was sent (including resends)
Participant-level detail
Timestamps for each send
Understanding Counts
Why might counts not match?
Resent emails:
A participant who was resent the invite appears once in the card count but multiple times in detailed logs
Removed participants:
Removed from all counts as if they never existed
May still appear in old logs if they received emails before removal
Invalid emails:
Moved to bounce list immediately
Not included in queued or sent counts
Troubleshooting Common Issues
"Why can't I schedule my reminder?"
Likely reasons:
The initial invite isn't scheduled yet → Schedule the invite first
You're trying to schedule before the previous reminder → Check the schedule of the reminder above
The previous reminder isn't scheduled yet → Schedule reminders in order
"I added participants but they didn't get the invite"
Check if:
The invite already sent before you added them → Click "Send Now" to send it immediately
Their emails are in the invalid list → Check the bounce list
"I need to change my reminder schedule but the button is grayed out"
This means:
The reminder has already been sent to at least one participant
You can no longer change the scheduled time
You can still delete the reminder if needed
"Why did the reminder lose its schedule when I moved it?"
This happens when:
You dragged a scheduled reminder before another scheduled reminder
The system removes the schedule to prevent timing conflicts
Simply reschedule the reminder in its new position
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I change the initial invite time after scheduling it?
Yes, as long as it hasn't been sent yet. Click the scheduled time and select a new date/time. Once it's sent, you cannot reschedule it.
What if I realize I made a mistake in the email after sending it?
You cannot unsend emails, but you can:
Edit the remaining unsent emails (reminders)
Use "Send Now" to send a corrected version as a new reminder
Contact participants directly if the error is critical
Can I pause my campaign mid-way?
There's no "pause" button, but you can:
Remove scheduled times from future reminders (they won't send until you reschedule)
Delete future reminders if needed
The thank you email will still send on completion
How do I know if a participant received the email?
Check the Stats tab for detailed send logs. You'll see:
Which emails were sent to which participants
Timestamps for each send
Bounce information for failed sends
What happens if someone completes the survey before receiving a reminder?
They receive the thank you email immediately upon completion
They're automatically removed from the queue for future reminders
They won't receive any more reminder emails
Can I send the same survey to different groups at different times?
For Point in Time surveys, all participants follow the same schedule. If you need different groups at different times, consider:
Creating separate survey instances for each group
Using Lifecycle surveys if participants naturally join at different times
What's the difference between "Send Now" and "Resend Invite"?
Send Now (on email cards):
Sends to everyone currently queued for that specific email
Available on invite and reminder cards
Resend Invite (on Participants page):
Only sends the initial invite email
Targets a specific participant
Used for individual resend requests
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