Run a reader poll
A poll is the quickest way to pull your readers into a decision. Which cover? What should the villain be called? Should issue four be a double-length special? You ask the question, they tap an answer, and you get a live tally. Under the hood a poll is just a kind of studio post (a sibling of a blog post and a news post), so it flows into the same reader, the same studio page, and the same Browse discovery as everything else you publish. It is free to make, it takes a minute, and you decide whether the whole world or only your paying subscribers gets to vote. This page walks the whole thing, from the question to the results.
1What a poll is
A poll is a post whose whole job is to collect votes. The title is the question, and below it sits a ballot of options your readers choose from. It is not a throwaway widget buried in a chat; it is a real post with its own page, so it can be shared, it appears on your studio profile, and it shows up on Browse just like a comic or an article. When people vote, you see the counts add up in real time, and so do they.
2Make one
Open the studio Create wizard, the same place you start a blog or a news post. Under the format choice you will see three buttons: Blog, News, and Poll. Pick Poll (its hint reads A question your audience votes on) and the composer reshapes itself for a poll. The title field becomes Your question, with a nudge like Which cover should I go with?, and there is a smaller Add a bit of context (optional) line under it for a note such as when voting closes or what the winner unlocks.
3Build the ballot
Under Options you list the answers, one per row, with an Add option button for more. You need at least two and can have up to ten, and each label is short by design. By default a reader picks exactly one, but tick Let voters pick more than one to allow multiple choices. There is an optional Closes time: set it and the poll stops accepting votes at that moment (leave it blank and it stays open forever, with a clear link to wipe a time you set).
4Who can vote
The Who can vote switch has two settings. Followers (free) opens the vote to anyone signed in (Anyone who follows your studio can vote, it's free to follow), and casting a vote also follows your studio for them, so a poll doubles as a way to grow your following. Subscribers (paid) limits voting to your paying subscribers and reveals a Minimum tier number, so you can reserve a vote for tier two and up. A paid poll sits behind the same lock as any other subscriber-only post.
5How readers vote
To a reader the ballot is dead simple. A header says Pick one or Pick one or more and shows a running count (No votes yet, 1 vote, and up). They tap their choice and hit Cast vote. While the poll is open they can hit Change vote and pick again as many times as they like; a new vote replaces the old one. Once they have voted, or once the poll closes, the ballot flips to results: a percent bar for each option, the leader highlighted, and a tick beside their own pick.
6Where it shows up
A published poll turns up in three places. It has its own post page you can link and share. It gathers on a Polls tab on your studio profile (which appears once you have at least one), each card badged Poll with its vote count. And your free polls ride the public Polls rail on Browse, where a passer-by can vote right there inline without opening anything. That inline vote on Browse is how a stranger becomes a follower in a single tap.
Questions people actually ask
No. A poll is just a kind of studio post, available to any studio that can post at all. There is no premium gate on creating one. The only paid angle is the optional choice to limit voting to your own paying subscribers.
Between two and ten, each a short label. You can allow a single choice (the default) or tick Let voters pick more than one for a multi-select ballot. Two to four options usually reads best; ten becomes a menu people skim instead of a vote they cast.
No, and that is on purpose. The options lock the moment the first vote arrives, so nobody can change the answers under voters who already chose. Get the wording right before you publish; if you truly need different options, run a fresh poll.
Followers (free) lets anyone signed in vote, and the act of voting follows your studio for them, so it grows your audience. Subscribers (paid) restricts voting to your paying subscribers at or above a minimum tier you set, and lives behind the same lock as any subscriber-only post.
On a free poll, yes. Casting a vote follows your studio as a side effect, which is exactly why free polls are such a good growth tool: a reader taps an answer in passing and now your next release reaches them. It is opt-in by the act of voting, not a sneaky checkbox.
After they vote, or once the poll closes, the ballot shows a percent bar per option with the leader highlighted and a tick on their own pick. Someone who cannot vote sees a clear prompt (sign in, subscribe, or voting closed) instead of a dead ballot.
No. Those are quick polls embedded in a room or DM message. A reader poll is a published studio post with its own page, a spot on your Polls tab, and, when it is free, a place on the Browse Polls rail. Use a chat poll for a quick huddle, a poll post for a decision you want everyone to find.
Go ask your readers something
A question, a few short answers, and a choice between growing your following or rewarding your subscribers. Polls are the lowest-effort, friendliest post you can make, and a free one turns curious passers-by into followers every time somebody taps an answer.
Where next?