Adding Forms To Your Blog Post

How do you create a lead sheet, a contact form, a questionnaire, a call to action in your post?  Google Docs allows you to not only create private forms, spreadsheets, and presentations, now you can embed them into your Website or Blog.  You also have the choice to share those forms and docs with others.  You can even invite others to view or collaborate on your work.  This could be a great tool, it has the potential to take your readers from being a viewer to being a potential lead.  Here’s a sample of one I did creating a suggestion box.

First, you will need a Gmail Account.  It’s FREE, and this doesn’t mean you have to change or even use this email address, it’s just your log-in for everything Google.  (Highly Recommended even if you don’t use Google Docs) Go to Google and log-in or Sign up for Gmail.

Once you have your account setup, go to Google Docs to create your forms, documents, spreadsheets and presentations on-line. You can also upload your existing creations from your computer.  If you’d like, Take a tour of Google Docs before you begin. There are 100’s of Templates already created for you to choose from, or you can create your own. There’s even a Help Center for those needing a little assistance and support.

To create your own lead sheet or contact form, go to Google Docs

1. SELECT NEW, THEN SELECT FORM:

2. Give your Form a title, include some supporting text (optional), Label your field or question, add field supporting text (optional), select question type and format for responses, put a check in the box to make field required or not, then click DONE.  Add additional questions by clicking on the “Add Question” button at the top.  Don’t worry about the order of your questions and fields, you can “drag and drop” them and sort them later.  Repeat this process for each field or question.

3. Once your form is complete and you are satisfied, click “SAVE” in the upper right hand corner.

Now you have some options available that can make your form a valuable tool that you can share.

You can send your form to clients and prospects via email, you can also view your responses here. Next, use the “More Actions” button to A) Create and Edit an automatic response form, and B) to “EMBED YOUR FORM INTO YOUR WEBSITE OR BLOG POST.”  This is one of Google Docs best features in my opinion.

4. Click on “MORE ACTIONS” to get your code.

5. Once you place the embed code into the proper location on your Website or Blog, you’re set to go:

6. To view your responses and new leads, just go to your Google Docs, and open the form.  All your results will be right there for you to follow up with.  How cool is this?

 


Note:
Any updates or edits made to your original forms, documents and presentations on Google Docs are automatically updated in all the locations you have placed them on the Web. There’s no need to go back and replace the HTML code on your Websites or Blogs, so place it in as many locations as you’d like.

Now you just have to be creative and decide how you want to use a tool like this.  Decide what questions or fields of information you need to make this a powerful tool for your on-line business and customers.

TIP:  Don’t go overboard with questions, people get overwhelmed easily in many cases, and won’t take the time to fill it out if there are too many.  I hope this is easy enough for you to use and to understand.  As always, thanks for reading and taking time to visit.  It’s always nice to have you swing by and say hi.

Google Docs in “Plain English” Video

RELATED ARTICLES & LINKS:
Take A Google Docs Tour
New Features in Google Docs
Google Docs Hottest Templates

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