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Reader polls let you ask your members a question inside a post or a newsletter. On your site, signed-in members vote in the post and can see the results right away or only after it closes, depending on the poll’s settings. When sent in a Ghost newsletter, each option is a link, so members can vote straight from their inbox. Polls assume the person who got the email is the member, so they can vote from their email even if they aren’t signed in to the site. You create polls in Outpost, then add one to a post from the Ghost editor.

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Creating a poll

Go to Reader polls (beta) under Labs in the left navigation and click Create poll.
Once you save a poll as anonymous, it stays anonymous.
Every save shows you a preview of the poll on your site and in the newsletter before it goes ahead. A new poll can be saved as a draft or saved and opened.

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Opening, closing, and archiving

A poll is a draft, open, closed, or archived. Use Open poll, Close poll, Reopen, and Archive at the top of the poll’s page to move it along. A poll with a close date closes itself when that date passes. Once a poll is open, its question and options can’t be changed, so that every vote answers the same question. Everything else can be edited. When you archive a poll, it no longer shows on the site. Its results stay in Outpost.

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Choosing who sees results

Who sees the results on each poll decides when readers see the totals: After they vote (the default), Always, After the poll closes, or Only you. You always see the full results in Outpost.

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Adding a poll to a post

Open the poll and use the Add to a post panel:
  • Insert into a new post creates a draft post in Ghost with the poll in it and opens it in the Ghost editor.
  • Copy HTML copies the poll so you can paste it into an HTML card in any post.
You can add a draft poll to a post before you open it. Readers see “This poll isn’t open yet.” until you do. The panel keeps a tally for each copy you make, so you can see how many votes came from each post and from the newsletter.
Polls on your site need the Outpost script, the same script every Outpost CTA needs. If your site already shows Outpost CTAs, you have it.

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How readers vote

On your site, a signed-in member chooses an option and clicks Vote. A signed-out reader is asked to sign in or sign up first. Each member gets one vote per poll, and can change it if you allow that. In a Ghost newsletter, clicking an option opens a page that records the vote and shows the results, if your settings allow it. For a multiple-choice poll, the page lets the reader tick more options before confirming. A member’s vote counts once, whether they vote on your site or from the newsletter.

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Results

Once a poll is open, its page shows a Results card with each option’s share, where the votes came from, and who voted for what, unless the poll is anonymous. Each vote also appears on the member’s activity and in the Activity Log, except in anonymous polls.

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Poll settings

Click Settings on the Reader polls page to set the defaults every new poll starts with, and to change the text readers see on your polls, such as the vote button and the thank-you message. Leave a message empty to use the default in your site’s language.

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Styling polls

To change how polls look, edit the Reader Poll design in the CTA Library. It sets the colors and corner radius for every poll on your site and in the newsletter. It never appears in a CTA slot on its own. Without it, polls use your site’s default CTA design.

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Things to know

  • The newsletter block doesn’t update after you paste it. If you change the poll’s headline, intro, or design, copy the HTML again and replace the old block before the newsletter is sent.
  • The voting links only work in a Ghost newsletter, not in an Outpost campaign email.

CTA Library

Edit the Reader Poll design that styles every poll.

Events

Another Labs feature you add to posts with an HTML card.

Activity Log

See each member’s poll votes alongside their other activity.

Theme Connect Wizard

Make sure the Outpost script is on your site.

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FAQ

No. Only signed-in members can vote. Readers who aren’t signed in are asked to sign in or sign up. Newsletter recipients are already members, so they can vote from the email.
No. The question and options are fixed once the poll opens, so that every vote answers the same question. If you need a different question, create a new poll.
Yes, unless the poll is anonymous. The Results card on the poll’s page lists each member and their choice.
Yes. Copy the HTML again for each post. Each copy is counted separately, so you can see how many votes came from each post and from the newsletter.