The best part of creating polls is audience participation! Getting your poll out in to the world so that people can vote in it is easy. Polldaddy offers 10 different ways to “embed” your poll. In today’s blog post, we’re going to walk through the most popular embed methods so that you can learn which method is right for your site and your audience.

First, you need to create your poll. Once you’ve got your question set up, and your answers typed in, you’re ready to embed your poll. To do so, hover over the title of your poll in your dashboard and click on Embed:

This brings up the Embed pop-up. On the Embed pop-up, You’ll see ten different embedding options, including JavaScript, Facebook, Twitter, WordPress, Direct Link, Posterous, MySpace, NING, Flash poll, and Email:

Which embed method is right for you? Here’s how you can decide.

WordPress Embed Method

Polldaddy integrates seamlessly with WordPress.com sites, as well as with self-hosted WordPress.org sites. If you’re running a self-hosted WordPress.org site, you’ll need to download and install the Polldaddy plugin to be able to use the WordPress shortcode.

To embed your poll on your WordPress site, select WordPress from among the options on the left-hand side of the Embed pop-up. Copy the WordPress shortcode we supply and paste it into a new post on your WordPress site:

Alternatively, you can also use a Text Widget to embed a poll in your WordPress sidebar.

JavaScript Embed Method

If your site isn’t on WordPress, we recommend the JavaScript embed method. From among the options on the left-hand side of the Embed pop-up, select JavaScript. You can choose to embed the poll inline as part of a blog post, or select the Slider Pop-Up method to have your poll pop-up in a small sliding window when the page loads. Be sure to copy all the JavaScript code we supply and paste it into your site. We offer secure polls via SSL for paid account holders only.

Twitter Embed Method

The Twitter embed method is a great way to get a link to your poll out to your Twitter followers. From among the options on the left-hand side of the Embed pop-up, select Twitter. Click on the Tweet button. If you’re not signed in to Twitter, you’ll be asked to sign in:

Upon signing in to Twitter, you’ll see a draft tweet that contains a link to your poll. You can customize the text in your tweet before you hit the Tweet button:

Direct Links to Polls

All polls created in free accounts are public, which means that they can be found on the Polldaddy Community site. Paid account holders have the option of making their polls private, so that they will not appear on the community site. To share a Direct Link to your poll on the Community Site, select Direct Link from among the options on the left-hand side of the Embed pop-up. Copy the link and share it with participants on your website or send it to them via email:

Sending out Polls via Email

If you like, you can send out your poll embedded in an email, to a group of participants. First, you need to create an email group, by uploading a CSV file of your names and email addresses. Once you’ve got your email group in place, hover over the title of your poll in your dashboard and select Embed. On the Embed pop-up, select Email. If you have more than one email group, you’ll be able to select it from the list. Be sure to customize your email message before you send it out:

Polldaddy Polls on Facebook

To place polls on Facebook, you’ll need to install the Polldaddy Polls Facebook Application into your Facebook page. You can then associate your Polldaddy.com account with your Facebook account, so that you can view poll results in your Polldaddy.com dashboard. Here’s a great, detailed guide on how to place polls on Facebook.