| name | referral-program |
| description | Designs viral referral programs with incentive structures, sharing mechanics, and tracking. Covers one-sided, two-sided, tiered, and milestone models with viral coefficient calculations. Use when someone wants word-of-mouth growth, viral loops, invite programs, or says 'referral', 'viral loop', 'word of mouth', 'invite program', 'refer a friend', 'growth loop', 'referral incentive', 'affiliate program', 'ambassador program', 'get users to invite friends', or 'organic growth'. Even casual mentions like 'how do I get my users to spread the word' or 'can users invite others' should trigger this. Includes anti-fraud measures and copy templates for both referrer and referee. Use this whenever user-driven acquisition or viral mechanics are discussed.
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| allowed-tools | [] |
Referral Program Design
Purpose
Design a referral program that turns existing users into an acquisition channel. Define the incentive model, sharing mechanics, copy, and launch plan. Focus on programs that actually get used — not "refer a friend" links that collect dust.
Reads
brand/audience.md — Personas, what they value, their networksbrand/positioning.md — Value props, pricing context for incentive sizingbrand/voice-profile.md — Brand voice for all referral copy
Brand Integration
- audience.md — Incentive type depends on audience. B2B audiences prefer account credits. B2C audiences prefer discounts or free months. Developer audiences prefer swag or extended trials.
- positioning.md — Referral messaging reinforces the brand's positioning angle, not generic 'share with a friend' copy. If positioning is around simplicity, the referral CTA is 'Know someone drowning in complexity?'
- voice-profile.md — All referral copy (dashboard prompts, share text, emails) should match the brand voice. A casual brand writes "Your friend's gonna love this" while a professional brand writes "Share a professional recommendation."
Workflow
Step 1: Choose Referral Model
Evaluate and recommend the right model:
One-Sided (Referrer only gets reward)
- Best for: High-value products, enterprise, low-frequency purchases
- Pros: Simple, lower cost per referral
- Cons: Less motivation for referee to convert
- Example: "Give your friend our link, you get $50 credit"
Two-Sided (Both get reward)
- Best for: SaaS, marketplaces, subscription products
- Pros: Higher conversion (referee has incentive), feels fair
- Cons: Higher cost per referral
- Example: "Give $20, get $20"
Tiered (Rewards increase with referral count)
- Best for: Products with power users, community-driven products
- Pros: Creates referral champions, gamification
- Cons: Complex to communicate, top-heavy rewards
- Example: "1 referral = 1 month free. 5 = premium forever."
Milestone (Unlock rewards at specific counts)
- Best for: Products wanting viral moments
- Pros: Creates sharing bursts, clear goals
- Cons: Can feel like a grind
- Example: "3 friends = swag. 10 friends = lifetime access."
Selection criteria:
- Product price point and margins
- Customer lifetime value (can you afford the incentive?)
- Network effects (does the product get better with more users?)
- Purchase frequency (one-time vs recurring)
Step 2: Define the Incentive
Incentive Types
| Type | Best When | Example |
|---|
| Account credit | Recurring subscription | "$20 off next month" |
| Extended trial | Freemium model | "+7 days of Pro" |
| Feature unlock | Gated features exist | "Unlock advanced analytics" |
| Cash/gift card | High LTV, B2B | "$50 Amazon card" |
| Discount | E-commerce, one-time | "25% off next purchase" |
| Donation | Mission-driven brand | "$10 to charity of choice" |
| Exclusive access | Waitlist/beta | "Skip the waitlist" |
| Physical swag | Community brand | "Free branded merch" |
Incentive Sizing Rules
- Referrer reward should be 10-25% of first-year LTV
- Referee reward should lower the barrier to first purchase
- Two-sided: referee reward can be smaller than referrer reward
- Always test: the "right" incentive is discovered, not guessed
- Stack with existing promotions cautiously — don't train discount hunters
Step 3: Design Sharing Mechanics
Sharing Methods (Offer All, Optimize for Top 2)
Unique referral link (required, baseline)
- Personal URL:
product.com/ref/[username] or product.com/r/[code]
- One-click copy button
- Auto-populated share text
Referral code (supplement to link)
- Short, memorable: 4-6 characters
- Personalizable: user's name or custom code
- Easy to share verbally
Email invite (high-intent channel)
- Import contacts option (Google, Outlook)
- Or manual email entry
- Pre-written message, editable by user
Social sharing (volume channel)
- Twitter/X: Pre-populated tweet with link
- LinkedIn: Professional framing for B2B
- WhatsApp/SMS: Direct message with link
- Platform-native share sheet on mobile
In-product prompts (highest conversion trigger)
- Post-success moment: "You just [achievement]! Share with a friend?"
- Milestone celebration: "You've been using [Product] for 30 days!"
- Team detection: "Looks like [colleague] could use this too"
Friction Reduction Checklist
Step 4: Write Referral Copy
Referrer-Facing Copy
Dashboard prompt:
Give [incentive], Get [incentive]
Share [Product] with friends and you both get rewarded.
You've earned [X] so far from [Y] referrals.
[Copy Your Link] [Invite by Email]
Post-achievement trigger:
Nice — you just [achievement]!
Know someone who'd love this too?
Share your link and you both get [incentive].
[Share Now] [Maybe Later]
Email nudge:
Subject: You have $[X] in referral rewards waiting
You've been using [Product] for [X] weeks and
[specific achievement]. Know someone who'd benefit?
Share your personal link and you both get [incentive]:
[referral link]
[Share via Email] [Copy Link]
Referee-Facing Copy
Referral landing page:
[Referrer name] invited you to [Product]
[Referrer] thinks you'd love [Product] — and they're
giving you [incentive] to try it.
[What Product Does — one sentence]
[Claim Your [Incentive]]
[Social proof: X users, rating, testimonial]
Referee welcome email:
Subject: [Referrer] gifted you [incentive] for [Product]
Welcome! [Referrer name] shared [Product] with you
and you've got [incentive] waiting.
Here's how to get started:
1. [Quick start step]
2. [Quick start step]
3. [Quick start step]
[Get Started with [Incentive]]
Step 5: Plan Launch Strategy
Pre-Launch (1 week before)
- Seed with top 10% most active users first
- Personal email from founder: "You're getting early access to our referral program"
- Goal: Get first 50 referrals to validate mechanics
Launch (Week 1)
- In-app announcement banner for all users
- Email blast to full user base
- Social media announcement
- Add referral link to user dashboard permanently
Sustained Growth (Ongoing)
- Trigger-based prompts (post-achievement, milestone, NPS 9-10)
- Monthly referral leaderboard (optional, for tiered/milestone)
- Seasonal boost: "Double rewards this month"
- New user onboarding: mention referral program during setup
Viral Coefficient Calculation
Viral Coefficient (K) = i x c
i = invitations sent per user
c = conversion rate of invitations
K > 1 = viral growth (each user brings >1 new user)
K = 0.5 = healthy referral supplement
K < 0.2 = program needs work
Example:
- Average user sends 5 invites
- 15% of invites convert
- K = 5 x 0.15 = 0.75 (strong, not viral)
To improve K:
- Increase i: More sharing triggers, easier sharing mechanics
- Increase c: Better referee landing page, stronger incentive
Referral Program Metrics
| Metric | Formula | Healthy Range |
|---|
| Participation rate | Users who shared / Total users | 10-25% |
| Shares per user | Total shares / Participating users | 3-8 |
| Invite conversion rate | Signups / Total shares | 10-25% |
| Referral revenue % | Referred revenue / Total revenue | 15-35% |
| Time to first referral | Avg days from signup to first share | <30 days |
| Viral coefficient | Invites x Conversion rate | >0.3 |
| Referral CAC | Program cost / Referred customers | <Paid CAC |
Anti-Patterns
- Referral link buried in settings — if users can't find it, they won't share. It needs to be visible in the main dashboard, not hidden three clicks deep.
- Requiring both parties to be paid users before reward triggers — this kills conversion because the referee has no incentive to sign up, and the referrer waits forever for credit.
- Complex reward rules nobody understands — if the incentive takes more than one sentence to explain, participation drops. Simplicity drives sharing.
- Rewards that expire too quickly (<30 days) — referrers who discover the program after a few weeks feel cheated. Give at least 90 days.
- No tracking dashboard for referrers — without visibility into "how many people clicked, how many signed up," referrers lose motivation to keep sharing.
- Generic share text that sounds corporate — "Check out this tool" gets ignored. Pre-written text should sound like something a real person would say.
- Making the referee create an account before seeing the product — the referee should see the value (and their incentive) before being asked to commit.
Edge Cases
- B2B enterprise: End-users often aren't the buyers. Referral must target decision-makers. Consider "recommend to your network" framing instead of "invite a friend." Reward the referrer's company, not just the individual.
- Marketplaces (two-sided): Design separate referral programs for each side (e.g., rider referral vs. driver referral). Each side needs different incentives and copy.
- Pre-launch / no existing users: Use waitlist-style referrals (Morning Brew model). "Refer friends to move up the waitlist" or "Unlock early access by inviting 3 friends."
- Low-price products: Cash incentives may exceed product value. Use product-based rewards (extra storage, extended trial, feature unlock) instead of money.
Launch Measurement Milestones
- Week 2: Check participation rate (target: >5% of active users sharing) and shares per user (target: >2). If below, the prompt timing or incentive needs adjustment.
- Month 1: Evaluate invite conversion rate (target: >10%) and K-factor (target: >0.3). If conversion is low, the referee landing page or incentive needs work.
- Month 3: Full program review — referral CAC vs. paid CAC, referred customer LTV vs. average LTV, fraud rate. Decide whether to scale, adjust incentives, or restructure the model.
Output
Each referral program design produces:
- Recommended model with justification
- Incentive structure (type, size, trigger conditions)
- Sharing mechanics spec (channels, copy, UX flow)
- Referrer and referee copy for all touchpoints
- Launch plan (pre-launch, launch, sustained)
- Metrics dashboard spec
- Viral coefficient projection
Quality Checks
