A member profile survey gives people a simple way to tell your community who they are, what they care about, and how they would like to connect. Each answer is saved to a custom member property, so the information becomes part of the member’s profile instead of living only in a survey response.
Before you start
You need to be a manager of the space.
Custom member properties and surveys are available on the Silver and Gold plans.
Choose the space whose member profiles you want to populate before you begin. Properties are configured per space.
Members need to be signed in when they complete the survey. A survey with member property questions cannot accept anonymous responses.
1. Create the member properties
Start by deciding what information you want to collect. Each survey question will connect to one member property.
Open People.
Select the space you want to work with.
Select Properties.
Select Add property.
Choose a property type, give the property a clear name, and configure any options it needs.
Repeat this for each piece of information you want to collect.
Choose the right property type
Text: An open-ended response, such as a role, current project, or short bio.
Select: One choice from a set list, such as Beginner, Intermediate, or Advanced.
Multi select: More than one choice from a set list, such as Leadership, Wellbeing, and Facilitation.
Number: A numeric value, such as years of experience.
Date: A date, such as a birthday or program start date.
URL: A web address, such as a personal website or LinkedIn profile.
Location: A place, such as a city and country.
Image: An uploaded image, such as a profile or project image.
File: An uploaded document, such as a portfolio or intake document.
For Select and Multi select properties, add the available choices before you build the survey. Keep the options short and distinct so they are easy to scan and useful later when filtering your member list.
2. Choose where each property is visible
Open a property and select Visibility. You can use more than one option when the property should appear in several places.
On profile card: Shows the property on the compact member card in the member directory. Use it for short details that help people quickly understand who someone is, such as role, location, or a primary interest.
On profile: Shows the property on the member’s full profile. Use it for details that are useful when someone opens a profile, such as a bio, website, interests, or experience.
On filter panel: Makes the property available as a filter in the member list or directory. Use it for structured information people may want to browse by, especially Select, Multi select, or Location properties.
Managers only: Hides the property from regular members and keeps it visible to managers. Use it for private intake information, internal notes, application details, or anything members should not see about one another. You can combine it with another placement to control where managers see it.
As a practical rule, make relational information visible and keep operational or sensitive information manager-only. For example, a member’s location and interests can help people connect, while coaching goals or intake notes may be better kept private.
Image and file properties have fewer placement options: they can appear on the full profile or be restricted to managers.
3. Create the survey
Open Surveys & quizzes.
Make sure the same space is selected.
Select New survey or quiz.
Give the survey a clear title, such as Member profile survey.
Add a short description explaining why you are collecting the information and where it may appear.
Leave Allow responses from people who are not logged in to Sutra turned off.
Example description: Help other members get to know you. Your answers will be added to your member profile and will appear in the member directory.
4. Connect every question to a member property
For each question in the survey:
Write the question you want members to answer.
Open the question type menu and select Member property.
Select the property that should receive the answer.
Decide whether to keep Require response selected.
Add the next question and repeat.
Example questions
Where are you based? Connect this to Location.
Which topics are you most interested in? Connect this to Interests.
What are you working on right now? Connect this to Current project.
Where can members learn more about your work? Connect this to Website.
Each member property can be connected to one question in the survey. If a property does not appear in the list, select Manage properties to create or review it, then return to the survey.
5. Test and share the survey
Preview the survey and complete it as a signed-in member. Then open that member’s profile and confirm that each answer appears in the places you selected under Visibility.
When everything looks right, share the survey link or add a Survey or quiz block to a page in your space. If completing the profile is an important first step, include the survey in your member onboarding checklist.
What happens next
When a signed-in member submits the survey, each answer is saved to the connected member property. If the member completes the survey again, their current property value is updated, so their profile continues to reflect their latest response.
You can use these properties beyond the profile itself—for example, to filter your People list or help members find others with shared interests.
Build it in a conversation with AI
You can also create the custom properties, set their visibility, and build the member profile survey by chatting with Claude, Codex, or another supported AI assistant through Sutra MCP. Describe the profile you want to create, ask the AI to propose the fields first, and review the names, options, and visibility settings before it builds them. See Designing on Sutra with AI to connect an AI assistant and learn how to work with it.
Troubleshooting
A property is missing from the survey: Confirm that it was created for the selected space and is not already connected to another question in the same survey. You can also select Manage properties from the question editor, then return to the survey.
An answer does not appear on the profile: Confirm that the member submitted the survey while signed in, that the answer is not blank, and that On profile or On profile card is selected for the property.
Members cannot see a property: Check whether Managers only is selected. Manager-only properties are intentionally hidden from regular members.
You cannot enable anonymous responses: Member property questions need an identifiable member so Sutra knows which profile to update. Keep anonymous responses turned off.
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