You just wrapped up a major virtual event. You’re exhausted, you’re happy – and you’re curious. What did your attendees think about your event? How about your sponsors? Are they likely to support your event next year?

If virtual events are new to you, you’re in luck. There are several ways to find out if your event was successful in order to learn how to improve it. Post-event surveys can tell you exactly what attendees, sponsors, and stakeholders loved about your event and what you can do to make it even better next time.

To ensure that your online events are worthwhile for participants, here are 15 questions to gather valuable feedback.

Tips to keep in mind when crafting an event survey

Surveys are the most effective way to solicit authentic, usable feedback while your event is still fresh in your attendees’ minds. Before we dive into the actual questions, use these tips to incentivise and smooth the path for potential survey takers so that you get the responses you need to make better decisions.

Tip #1: Keep your post-event survey short

Five to 10 questions, at most. Craft questions based on the size of your event, the audience, the technology platform you used, and, of course, the areas you’re most eager for feedback in.

Tip #2: Start your event survey with a general question

Ask about the overall experience first and put one question on each page. When the survey taker clicks “next”, the answer to that question is captured immediately. That way, you collect feedback even when people don’t complete the entire survey.

Tip #3: Ask your NPS questions early

NPS, Net Promoter Score, should be first on your survey. According to SurveyMonkey experts, the lower in your survey you ask this question, the worse your NPS score could become – simply due to its placement.

Tip #4: Limit your open-ended questions

Questions that ask survey-takers to write in their own responses are more taxing than multiple choice questions and are much more difficult to analyse. Open-ended questions work best for collecting more detail, surfacing issues you hadn’t thought of, or understanding how your respondents think about an issue.

Now let’s explore the types of questions that you can ask attendees, sponsors, and stakeholders on your next event survey.

7 questions to ask your event attendees

1. Overall, how would you rate the event?

Kick off your survey with an easy multiple choice question that gauges attendees’ overall experience. Have them rate your event on a scale of 1-10 or from excellent to poor.

2. How likely are you to recommend this event to a friend?

This NPS question goes beyond asking attendees whether they enjoyed themselves or not to find out if they’d bring a plus one next time (and can reveal if there will be a next time).

3. Why did you decide to attend the event?

It’s important to learn about attendees’ experience. But it’s equally important to discover what encouraged them to register for tickets in the first place. Was it to learn a new skill, meet like-minded people, or simply try something new?

4. Which elements of the event did you like the most?

This is an open-ended question that helps you understand what aspects of your event contributed to satisfied attendees’ experiences – and are worth repeating at future events. If you’re new to virtual events, this is a great opportunity to ask your attendees if they enjoyed the new format.

5. How did you first learn about the event?

This multiple choice question will give you a better sense of how effective your marketing efforts were and tell you where to target event promotions in the future.

6. What, if anything, did you dislike about this event?

Asking for and accepting constructive feedback is tough. But you can’t grow your event and build upon your success without discovering the not-so-great moments in the attendee experience.

7. Is there anything else you’d like to share about your experience?

Nothing is more aggravating to a survey-taker than taking the time to fill out your survey, then getting denied the opportunity to speak their mind. So make sure to leave one open-ended question towards the end of your survey that allows them to be heard.

8 questions to ask your sponsors and other stakeholders

1. Please rate your thoughts on the event as a whole.

Similar to your opening question on an attendee survey, this shows your sponsors that you value their opinion as collaborators. Have them rate your event on a scale of 1-10 or from excellent to poor.

2. Did the event meet your expectations? 

Even if you already know the goals of sponsors/vendors/partners, it can be difficult to know what they were expecting from your event. This question can be a simple yes or no. But if you want them to further explain their response, include an optional open-ended response box after the question.

3. Do you see this event having a positive impact on your business goals?

Ask sponsors to put the benefits of partnering with you and your event into their own words. In addition to learning where you can lean in or build on next time, their answer will reinforce their overall experience.

4. What did you most enjoy about today or this session?

Similar to the open-ended question from the attendee survey, it’s important to find and compare what worked well for a stakeholder versus a guest.

5. What, if anything, did you dislike about this event?  

This can be an uncomfortable ask, but this question shows sponsors that you truly value their opinion and are open to changes for upcoming events.

6. How organised was the event?

This is a multiple choice question, graded on a scale of “extremely organised” to “not so organised.” The responses can be helpful in identifying weak spots you might not have seen while the event was happening.

7. Was the event too long, too short, or about right?

Since stakeholders are experiencing more of the event, they can be better judges of how the event flow felt. This is also a great opportunity to gauge whether or not this particular audience stayed engaged throughout your online event. If more of your respondents say the event was too long, that’s a sign to re-evaluate your programming.

8. Will we see you again?

This simple yes/no question at the end of your event survey will serve as a temperature check to know whose support you can count on for future events. If you’re hosting frequent online events, ask your sponsors and partners how many events they’re prepared to be involved in.

Put your survey questions into action

Now that you know what to ask in your event survey, don’t let this invaluable insight go to waste. Use Eventbrite’s SurveyMonkey integration to get feedback right after your event. See for yourself when you set up your next event on Eventbrite.