When you create a PickFu poll, you have the option to poll your own audience or pose the question to the PickFu Panel. The PickFu Panel is comprised of respondents from multiple countries who are paid to answer your poll questions and have signed a non-disclosure agreement. Your own audience is anyone you choose to invite to answer your poll.

To poll the PickFu Panel, create a new poll using the blue button at the top of the page or this link. Then choose how many people you want to respond to your poll.

You can select from the following audience sizes: 15, 30, 50, 100, 200, or 500+ respondents. The right size depends on your research goals and budget. Most users find that 50 respondents provide sufficient feedback for actionable insights. Learn how to choose the right sample size for your goals.

PickFu offers consumer panels across multiple countries, allowing you to gather insights from the markets you're targeting. Choose from the following international panels:

Responses are collected in the respondent's native language and automatically translated back to English for your review.

You have the option to add audience targeting, which limits respondents to the demographic traits that you choose. PickFu offers over 90 targeting traits, including age, gender, income, education level, parental status, shopping habits, hobbies, and more. For instance, you may only want to poll college-educated women or Amazon Prime members who are coffee drinkers.

You can combine traits from different categories to create highly specific audiences that match your target customers. Learn more about how to target specific audiences.

PickFu employs rigorous quality control measures to ensure you receive thoughtful, reliable feedback:

All PickFu respondents are required to agree to a comprehensive non-disclosure agreement (NDA) before answering any polls. The NDA explicitly instructs panelists to "Keep all information and assets confidential - do NOT record, copy, save, share or discuss these materials anywhere."

This protects your proprietary information, unreleased products, creative work, and business strategies. Respondents only see your question and answer options - they cannot view your poll results or any identifying information about you or your business.

If your poll isn't receiving responses or is taking much longer than expected, here are common causes and solutions:

Once your poll is published, the PickFu Panel will start to answer immediately. Depending on the size of your respondent pool and the targeting options you choose, your poll could be complete in as little as 15 minutes. Learn more about what happens when you publish a poll.

You'll receive a notification during poll setup if we expect your poll to take longer than usual based on your targeting selections. Polls that run overnight or on weekends may also take longer due to fewer active respondents online.

To poll your audience, use this link. Response limits depend on your subscription plan:

You have the option to ask for respondents' demographic information and email address, meaning that after your audience votes in your poll, they will also be asked to submit whatever information about themselves that you choose.

Simply share the published poll link on your social networks, via email, or however you communicate with your audience. Once your poll is published, it will stay open for two weeks to collect responses (up to your plan limit).

If you need to reach a highly specific audience that isn't covered by our standard targeting options, PickFu offers Custom Audience Recruitment services. This allows you to work with our team to identify and recruit specialized respondent groups tailored to your unique research needs. Note: audience targeting is different from audience reporting—targeting controls who can respond, while reporting shows you demographic data about respondents.

Contact us at info@pickfu.com to discuss custom audience recruitment options. Learn more about Custom Audiences.

One of the most attractive features of polling your own audience is you can do so absolutely free.

On the other hand, one benefit of using PickFu's panel is they are unfamiliar with your project and come to your poll with fresh eyes. By introducing feedback from people outside of your existing audience, you may gain new perspectives and uncover blind spots in your thinking that may not have been as apparent at the outset of your project.

Another limitation of polling your own audience is that respondents are self-selecting. Because participation in your poll is optional, only your most motivated audience members will click through to answer.

The feedback you get may be limited to ardent followers or close acquaintances and may not be representative of your customer base. You should consider this bias when weighing opinions and feedback gathered from your own-audience poll.

Several PickFu customers have run identical polls with their own audience and with the PickFu Panel in order to compare the results.

For example, author Toby Neal tested two cover designs for her book Wired Justice against each other. She received 50 responses in about two hours after polling her audience.

She then ran a similar poll with PickFu's panel and received 50 responses within nine minutes. In her case, the winner was the same in both polls, but their comments reflected their familiarity with her previous works.

Testing book covers with the author's own audience:

Testing book covers with PickFu's panel:

"My fans responded very similarly to the panel, which surprised me," Neal said.

She added that PickFu is "a quick, easy, affordable way to test a look or concept. I really appreciate the new feature of a free option for my fans to vote on the PickFu site."

Most users find that 50 respondents provide sufficient feedback for actionable insights. However, the ideal sample size depends on your research goals:

You can always add more respondents to a poll after it completes by selecting "Get More Respondents" at the top of your poll page.

Polling your own audience is free and gives you feedback from people who already know your brand. However, these respondents are self-selecting and may not represent your broader customer base.

The PickFu Panel provides unbiased feedback from verified respondents who match your target demographics. They approach your poll with fresh eyes and no prior attachment to your brand, which often reveals blind spots and new perspectives.

Respondents within any given poll are unique. However, a single respondent may respond to multiple separate polls. If you want to ensure unique respondents across a series of questions, extend your poll using "Get More Respondents" rather than creating a new poll.

No. Respondents only see your question and answer options - they cannot view poll results or any identifying information about you or your business. The only exception is if you choose to publish your poll to the public gallery, but even then, respondents cannot change their original answers.

PickFu works exclusively with specialized panel companies that recruit panelists in specific countries. Because respondents are paid for their participation, we verify their personal tax information to confirm their identity and location.

Own audience polls are capped at 50 responses on free plans. If you're a PickFu+ subscriber, you can receive up to 500 responses for own audience polls. If you need even more feedback or want demographic targeting, consider using the PickFu Panel, where you can poll 500+ respondents with precise audience targeting.

Yes! If a respondent's answer is particularly insightful and you'd like to ask them a follow-up question, you can do so. Learn how to ask follow-up questions.

Poll completion time depends on your audience size and targeting options. For the PickFu Panel, most polls complete in 15 minutes to a few hours. Polls with highly specific targeting may take significantly longer—sometimes 1-3 days or more. Combining multiple targeting traits creates a smaller respondent pool and extends completion time. You'll receive a notification during setup if we expect delays. Own audience polls stay open for two weeks or until you reach your plan's response limit (50 for free users, 500 for PickFu+ subscribers).

PickFu offers over 90 targeting traits across demographic, behavioral, and psychographic categories. These include age, gender, income, education, parental status, shopping habits, hobbies, device preferences, and more. You can combine traits from different categories to create highly specific audience segments. View the full list of targeting traits or learn how to target specific audiences.

Yes! We're always adding new targetable traits based on customer needs. If you don't see a trait you need, email us at info@pickfu.com with your request.

If your poll has been stuck with zero responses for several hours, it likely means your targeting is too narrow and there aren't enough respondents matching all your criteria. Stop your poll (you'll get automatic credit for unfulfilled responses) and relaunch with broader targeting—try removing one or more targeting traits. If your poll appears frozen or you suspect a technical issue, refresh your browser and check your email for notifications, then contact info@pickfu.com if the problem persists.

Highly targeted polls with 3-4 specific traits can take 1-3+ days or longer because they require finding respondents who match all your criteria simultaneously. International panels combined with targeting also extend completion times due to smaller panel sizes in some countries. This is expected behavior—you can either wait for completion or stop your poll early if you have enough responses. To speed up future polls, use fewer targeting traits or choose broader demographic ranges.