How to Send Email Reminders for Google Forms Automatically

Managing responses and ensuring timely participation in surveys, feedback forms, or questionnaires is crucial for collecting valuable data. Google Forms is an excellent tool for this, but it lacks a built-in feature to send email reminders to people who haven’t responded. However, you can automate email reminders using Google Sheets and Google Apps Script. This guide will take you through the steps to set this up.

Prerequisites:

A Google account.
A Google Form.
Basic understanding of Google Sheets and Google Apps Script.

Step 1: Set Up Your Google Form

Create a Google Form: If you haven’t already, create a Google Form by going to Google Forms. Design your form and ensure it collects email addresses (you can make this a required question).
Connect the Form to a Google Sheet: After creating the form, link it to a Google Sheet where the responses will be recorded. This can be done by clicking on the “Responses” tab in your Google Form, then clicking on the green Sheets icon.

Step 2: Prepare the Google Sheet

Open the Google Sheet: Open the Google Sheet linked to your form responses.
Add a Column for Reminders: In the Google Sheet, add a column to track whether reminders have been sent. For example, name it “Reminder Sent”.

Step 3: Write the Google Apps Script

Open the Script Editor: In the Google Sheet, go to Extensions > Apps Script. This will open the Google Apps Script editor.
Write the Script: Below is a sample script to send email reminders to people who haven’t filled out the form.

javascript

function sendReminderEmails() {

var sheet = SpreadsheetApp.getActiveSpreadsheet().getSheetByName('Form Responses 1');

var data = sheet.getDataRange().getValues();

var emailColumnIndex = 1; // Adjust this index based on your sheet
var reminderColumnIndex = 4; // Adjust this index based on your sheet

for (var i = 1; i < data.length; i++) {
var emailAddress = data[i][emailColumnIndex];
var reminderSent = data[i][reminderColumnIndex];

if (emailAddress && reminderSent !== ‘Yes’) {
var subject = ‘Reminder: Please complete the survey’;
var message = ‘Dear participant,\n\nThis is a friendly reminder to complete the survey. Your feedback is valuable to us.\n\nThank you!’;

MailApp.sendEmail(emailAddress, subject, message);
sheet.getRange(i + 1, reminderColumnIndex + 1).setValue(‘Yes’);
}
}
}

Step 4: Set Up a Trigger to Automate the Script

Open Triggers: In the Apps Script editor, click on the clock icon (Triggers) in the left panel.
Create a Trigger: Click on “Add Trigger” and set up the trigger as follows:
- Choose which function to run: sendReminderEmails
- Choose which deployment should run: Head
- Select event source: Time-driven
- Select type of time-based trigger: Day timer
- Select time of day: Choose a suitable time for the reminder emails to be sent daily.

Step 5: Customize and Test

Customize the Email: Modify the subject and message variables in the script to suit your needs.
Test the Script: Manually run the script by clicking the play button in the Apps Script editor to ensure it works as expected. Check the “Reminder Sent” column to see if it updates correctly.
Check Email Filters: Make sure that the emails are not being marked as spam. Encourage participants to check their spam/junk folders.

Conclusion

By following these steps, you can set up a system to automatically send email reminders for Google Forms. This automation can save you time and increase response rates for your surveys. Customize the script and triggers according to your needs, and you’ll have a reliable reminder system in place.