Three Ways to Invoke a Survey

The three methods at a glance

Method 1 — QR code or direct link

The simplest method. TIPS gives every survey a public URL with a UUID, like travelerips.com/invoke-survey?s=<uuid>. You can share that link anywhere — in social posts, on a printed flyer, or encoded as a QR code on a station sign. A Traveler scans or clicks and lands in the survey.

Pros

• Zero infrastructure. Just hand out the URL.
• Maximum reach. Anyone with the link can respond — perfect for broad public input.
• Doesn't consume your email quota.

Cons

• Anonymous by default. You won't know who responded unless they choose to identify themselves on the pre-survey profile form.
• No deduplication. The same person can respond multiple times by scanning again on a different device.
• Responses are unverified. Even if a Traveler provides their email on the profile form, TIPS has to send them a verification email afterward to confirm the address is real.

Use this when you want a wide net — public consultation, "scan this code as you get off the bus," that sort of thing.

Method 2 — TIPS-managed email invitation

Upload (or build) a Mailing List inside the Client Portal, then send Survey Invitations directly from TIPS. Each recipient gets a personalized link with a unique token that ties their response back to their Traveler Profile automatically.

Pros

• Every response is tied to a known Traveler. No guesswork.
• Responses are auto-confirmed. No second verification step needed.
• Click tracking built in. See which invitations were opened.
• Branded HTML email. TIPS uses your Client logo and intro boilerplate.
• Opt-out compliance handled. Every email includes a one-click unsubscribe.

Cons

• Counts against your monthly email quota. Check your plan's maxEmailSends limit.
• Available only on plans that include email sending.
• 500-per-send cap. Larger lists get sent in batches.

Use this when you have a defined audience (e.g. all current pass-holders, everyone who signed up for a service alert) and you want every response pre-attributed.

Method 3 — Your own email system with ?te=

If your organization already has a preferred email platform — Mailchimp, Constant Contact, Salesforce Marketing Cloud, a homegrown CRM, anything — you can still get the email-to-response link without using our send quota. Append &te=<recipient's email> to the Survey URL and TIPS will tie the response to that email address automatically.

Most email platforms support mail-merge syntax for the recipient's email (e.g. *|EMAIL|* in Mailchimp, {{contact.email}} in HubSpot). Insert that token in place of the literal email and the platform will substitute each recipient's address before sending. The email value should be URL-encoded — most platforms do this automatically.

Pros

• Use your existing email tools. No need to migrate lists or learn a new platform.
• Doesn't count against your TIPS email quota. Useful for plans without email-send service.
• Responses are still tied to a known email. Show up as identified in reports.
• Auto-confirmed — counted as Verified in reports, same as Method 2.

Cons

• Forwarding risk. If a Traveler forwards their email to a colleague, the forwarded recipient's response would still be attributed to the original Traveler's email. There's no way to detect this from the URL alone, so only use this method with lists you trust.
• You handle deliverability. Bounces, spam-folder placement, opt-out compliance — all your responsibility on your side.
• No click tracking inside TIPS. Tracking lives in your email platform's analytics.
• No "soft-link" recovery. If a recipient's email was mis-typed in your list, the response will end up tied to a wrong-but-typed address.

Use this when you have a marketing or constituent-communications team that already runs your email program, or when your TIPS plan doesn't include email sending and you want richer reporting than QR alone provides.

Can I mix methods?

Yes. The three methods are not mutually exclusive — you can post a QR code at a bus stop, send a managed email blast to your subscriber list, and have your CRM team send ?te= links to a curated list, all for the same Survey. Each response is independent, and TIPS deduplicates Traveler Profiles by (Client, email) so a Traveler who comes in via two different methods (with the same email) ends up linked to one Traveler Profile.

Which method should I use?

• Broad public input, no targeting: Method 1 (QR / direct link).
• Targeted outreach, TIPS holds the list: Method 2 (managed email).
• Targeted outreach, you hold the list / use your own email tools: Method 3 (?te=).
• Want the broadest possible response coverage: Use all three for the same survey.

Common questions about sending TIPS surveys

What are the three ways to send a TIPS survey?

QR codes or direct URLs that anyone with the link can use; managed email invitations that TIPS sends through Brevo on your behalf; and links sent from your own email system using the ?te=<email> parameter so TIPS can still tie each response to a known email address.

When should I use a QR code instead of an email invitation?

Use QR codes or direct links for broad public input — posters in transit stations, social-media posts, public events, or printed flyers. Use email invitations when you have a specific audience you want to target and you need every response pre-attributed to a known Traveler Profile.

What does "verified" mean on a TIPS response?

A verified response is one TIPS has confirmed came from the email address it's attributed to. Email-invitation arrivals are auto-verified because the link includes a unique token. QR-code arrivals are unverified by default; if the Traveler provides an email on the pre-survey profile form, TIPS sends a verification link they can click to upgrade the response to verified.

Can I use my own email platform like Mailchimp or HubSpot?

Yes. Append &te=<recipient's email> to the Survey URL and TIPS will tie the response back to that email address automatically. Most email platforms support mail-merge tokens (Mailchimp's *|EMAIL|*, HubSpot's {{contact.email}}) that substitute each recipient's address before sending.

Do TIPS-sent emails count against a quota?

Yes. Managed email invitations count against your monthly maxEmailSends cap. QR-code arrivals do not count. Invitations sent from your own email system using ?te= do not count against your TIPS quota since you're sending them yourself.

What happens if someone forwards their personalized link?

The forwarded recipient would respond and the response would be attributed to the original email address. There's no way for TIPS to detect this from the URL alone. The same risk applies to both ?inv= (managed email) and ?te= (your own email) links, so use these methods with email lists you trust.

Can I mix invocation methods on the same survey?

Yes. You can post a QR code at a bus stop, send a managed email blast to your subscriber list, and have your CRM team send ?te= links to a curated list — all for the same Survey. TIPS deduplicates Traveler Profiles by (Client, email), so a Traveler who comes in via two methods with the same email ends up linked to one profile.