Every PickFu poll or survey starts with a key decision: who should answer it? The audience you choose shapes the quality, speed, and relevance of your results. This guide walks you through your options so you can make the right call for your research goals.
Your audience options at a glance
PickFu gives you three ways to collect feedback:
Audience type | What it is | Best for |
PickFu Panel (random) | The first respondents available from our verified panel answer your poll — no demographic filters applied. | Quick gut checks, broad feedback, general-population insights. |
PickFu Panel (targeted) | Only respondents who match the demographic or behavioral traits you select can answer. | Testing with a specific customer profile — e.g., Amazon Prime members aged 25–34. |
Own audience | You share a link with your own customers, followers, or subscribers and they respond directly. | Getting feedback from people who already know your brand. Free on all plans. |
The PickFu Panel
The PickFu Panel is a group of verified respondents across 15 countries who are paid to answer polls. Every panelist signs a non-disclosure agreement (NDA) to protect your proprietary information, and we use a combination of human review and machine learning to maintain response quality.
When you poll the PickFu Panel, you choose:
Audience type — random (general population) or targeted (filtered by traits)
Sample size — how many people respond (15, 30, 50, 75, 100, 200, 300, or 500)
Country — which market you're testing in
Random audience
A random audience is the fastest and most affordable option. Any verified panelist can respond, regardless of demographics. This is a great starting point if you're not sure who your target customer is yet, or if you just want broad, unbiased feedback.
Even with a random audience, you can still add demographic questions to learn about the people who responded — without narrowing who sees your poll.
Targeted audience
If you know your target customer, audience targeting lets you filter respondents by up to four trait categories — like age range, gender, income, or shopping habits. PickFu offers 115+ targeting categories, from basic demographics to specific behaviors like mobile gaming habits or book preferences.
Targeting gives you more relevant feedback, but it also narrows the available respondent pool, which can increase completion time. Learn how to target a specific audience and how to choose the right number of traits.
Choosing your sample size
You can select from the following sample sizes: 15, 30, 50, 75, 100, 200, 300, or 500 respondents. Most users find that 50 respondents is the sweet spot — enough for reliable, actionable feedback at a reasonable price, especially for iterative testing.
Need help deciding? Learn which sample size is right for your goals.
You can always add more respondents to a completed poll by selecting "Get more respondents" on your results page — no need to rebuild the poll from scratch.
International panels
PickFu supports consumer panels in 15 countries, including the United States, United Kingdom, Japan, Germany, Brazil, and more. Your poll question is automatically translated into the respondent's native language, and their responses are translated back for your review.
Polling your own audience
If you'd rather hear from people who already know your brand, own audience polls let you generate a shareable link and collect responses from your customers, followers, or email list — for free.
Own audience polls are a great complement to PickFu Panel polls. The Panel gives you unbiased, fresh-eyes feedback from verified respondents who match your target demographics. Your own audience gives you feedback from people with context about your brand — but keep in mind they're self-selecting, which can introduce bias.
Quick-start decision guide
Not sure where to begin? Here's a simple framework:
"I need fast, unbiased feedback from real consumers." Use the PickFu Panel with a random audience and 50 respondents.
"I need feedback from a specific type of person." Use the PickFu Panel with audience targeting. Start with 1–2 trait categories and expand if needed.
"I want to hear from my existing customers." Use an own audience poll and share the link with your audience.
"I'm testing in a non-U.S. market." Choose the relevant country panel. Targeting options are available for international panels too, though completion times may be longer.
"I don't see the audience I need in the standard options." Contact us about custom audience recruitment.
Poll completion time
How quickly your poll completes depends on your audience configuration:
Random U.S. audience: As fast as 15 minutes
Basic targeting (1–2 traits): 30 minutes to a few hours
Specific targeting (3–4 traits): Several hours to 1 day
International panels with targeting: Can take several days depending on panel size
The more trait categories you combine, the smaller the available respondent pool — which extends completion time. If speed is a priority, use fewer targeting traits or broader demographic ranges.
You'll see an estimate during poll setup if we expect your poll to take longer than usual. You can always stop a poll early if you have enough responses, and you'll receive automatic credit for any unfulfilled responses.