Let me do some extraordinarily simple arithmetic for instance the facility of referral advertising and marketing:
Say you’ve received 10,000 contacts in your electronic mail record.
In response to the Survey Middle on American Life, 53 p.c of People have between three and 9 shut buddies, whereas 13 p.c have 10+.
So assuming these 10,000 (imaginary) names in your advertising and marketing record are “common” People, they may have a community of 90,000+ shut buddies. And that’s earlier than we even think about members of the family.
Wouldn’t it’s incredible in case you might share your finest merchandise and promotions with that massive, prolonged viewers?
With referral advertising and marketing, you possibly can.
And since referred prospects are extra loyal, have greater lifetime values, and generate greater revenue margins than “common” prospects, you possibly can afford to sweeten the deal, incentivizing your present viewers to advocate your model to family and friends.
That’s the place the standard referral electronic mail is available in.
On this article, I’ll give some sensible suggestions and finest practices for profitable referral advertising and marketing, then share a few of my favourite referral electronic mail template examples.
Let’s get into it…
2 Sorts of Referral Emails to Strive
There are two major kinds of referral advertising and marketing electronic mail:
- Mass referral emails
- Personalised referral electronic mail
Let’s examine and distinction these two distinct referral electronic mail codecs…
| Mass referral emails | Private referral emails |
| Despatched to broad viewers segments or your entire electronic mail record. | Despatched to area of interest viewers segments or particular person prospects. |
| Promote generic advantages of your referral program. | Spotlight particular referral program advantages more likely to resonate with area of interest audiences. |
| Solely embrace fundamental personalization, such because the recipient’s title. | Reference the client’s relationship together with your model (e.g. how lengthy they’ve been a buyer) |
| Generic tone to attraction to everybody in your advertising and marketing record (even these but to make their first buy). | Heat, appreciative tone designed to make the client really feel valued. |
| Greatest for selling your referral program to the biggest attainable viewers. | Greatest for inviting high-value prospects to refer family and friends. |
To be clear, neither referral electronic mail format is “higher” than the opposite. Each have a key half to play in boosting the profile of your referral program, however it’s essential perceive how (and when) to make use of every.
6 Referral E mail Greatest Practices for Ecommerce
With out an efficient promotional technique, your referral program is doomed to failure. Get it proper by following these referral electronic mail finest practices…
1. Goal the Proper Audiences
Identical to any advertising and marketing marketing campaign, crafting a profitable referral electronic mail is all about reaching the best viewers.
In case you’re sending a mass referral electronic mail, this tip doesn’t actually apply—your solely purpose is to advertise your program to as many individuals as attainable. However it’s important for private referral electronic mail campaigns.
In actuality, solely a relatively small proportion of your viewers will really feel snug recommending you to their family and friends. That’s hardly shocking.
Except you’re feeling passionate a few model and love its merchandise, why would you place your neck on the road?
However there’s one viewers section stuffed with people who find themselves extremely more likely to reap the benefits of your referral program: your most loyal prospects.
In response to KPMG, 86 p.c of loyal prospects are completely happy to advocate manufacturers to their nearest and dearest.
So your job is to determine who they’re. They may very well be prospects who:
- Have stored shopping for from you over the longest interval
- Generate the very best common order values
- Buy from you most continuously
- Present the very best lifetime worth
Or perhaps it’s a mixture of all these metrics.
Professional tip: To actually nail your viewers concentrating on, you want dynamic segmentation capabilities. With Drip, segments replace mechanically and in actual time. So you possibly can add particular person prospects to your referral program sequence as quickly as they hit a sure lifetime worth or buy quantity (or fulfill another standards).
2. Write Compelling Topic Traces
You need your referral electronic mail to succeed in as many eyes as attainable. As a result of it doesn’t matter how engaging your referral supply is that if nobody is aware of it exists.
Meaning nailing your topic traces, provided that almost half of electronic mail recipients contemplate them when deciding whether or not to open any given electronic mail.
Crafting a high-performing topic line requires a strong understanding of your model and viewers (and loads of A/B testing), so we are able to’t let you know precisely what to write down. However typically, contemplate these finest practices:
- Maintain it quick and candy. Most individuals open emails on iPhone or Gmail, so goal for topic line lengths of between 41 characters (iPhone portrait view character restrict) and 70 characters (Gmail character restrict).
- Transcend fundamental personalization. A personalised topic line shouldn’t simply embrace the recipient’s first title. Think about their location, searching habits, and buy habits to craft really private messaging.
- Use actionable language. Deal with your topic line like a CTA by incorporating set off phrases like “Get”, “Store”, and “Discover”.
- Construct urgency. Give your viewers a purpose to click on proper now by including urgency-related messaging to your topic line, comparable to mentioning a limited-time promotion.
- Add complementary preview textual content. Take full benefit of inbox actual property by writing preview textual content that follows—and enhances—the messaging in your topic line.
Need extra recommendation? Take a look at our roundup 180+ confirmed electronic mail topic traces throughout totally different industries and themes.
3. Supply an Engaging Incentive
As soon as somebody’s opened your referral electronic mail, it’s essential win them over with a compelling supply that prompts them to take motion. Most referral incentives comprise two distinct components:
- Referrer reward: A reduction, cashback supply, or another reward for the referrer (i.e. the present buyer who recommends you to their family and friends) when the particular person they refer makes a purchase order.
- Referred buyer reward. The promotion that the referrer shares with family and friends, comparable to a proportion low cost for his or her first buy.
As with topic traces, there’s no such factor because the “good” referral incentive—what works for one model received’t essentially carry out for one more.
Broadly talking, all of it will depend on your product and value level. In case you promote lower-priced merchandise, a set money low cost sounds extra engaging, whereas a proportion low cost usually works finest for higher-ticket gadgets.
4. Maintain Your E mail Easy and Concise
Above all else, your referral supply must be simple to know. As a result of if it appears too unachievable or advanced, nobody’s going to participate.
In case you can’t talk the important thing components—the rewards on supply to each the referrer and the referred buyer, and any phrases and circumstances that apply—in a few bullet factors, your promotion is nearly definitely too sophisticated.
5. Leverage Shortage and Urgency
As we’ve already famous, urgency could be a key device for selling your referral program—particularly when mixed with one other issue, shortage. Whereas they’re usually used collectively, they’re really fairly totally different:
Urgency entails imposing a deadline on the client’s motion (e.g. “Get 10 p.c off for twenty-four hours”), whereas shortage is about limiting the provision of a product or low cost (e.g. “Purchase our new limited-edition product, solely 50 out there”).
Within the context of a referral program, that may imply:
- Limiting the quantity of people that can be a part of your program (“Solely 100 areas out there”).
- Asking folks to reap the benefits of your referral supply by a particular date (“Refer a pal within the subsequent 48 hours and also you each get $100 cashback”).
Like with the rest within the advertising and marketing world, discovering the supply that resonates finest together with your viewers requires a bunch of testing, so don’t be afraid to experiment with totally different promotions and messaging.
6. Get Your Timing Proper
Timing is all the things in the case of operating a profitable referral electronic mail marketing campaign.
I’m not simply speaking about discovering the finest time to ship emails (though that’s nonetheless essential). As a substitute, it’s about concentrating on folks on the proper stage of the client journey. For example, you may share your referral electronic mail with prospects who’ve simply:
- Made their first buy
- Obtained supply of their first order
- Written their first evaluation
- Positioned a set quantity or money worth of orders inside a given time interval
You must also contemplate selling your referral program throughout busy buying intervals when persons are almost certainly to be making purchases, comparable to round BFCM.
13 Referral E mail Examples
Now that we’ve lined the idea behind a profitable referral electronic mail, let’s have a look at some real-world examples…
1. Casper
Supply: ReallyGoodEmails
Casper usually makes use of its e-newsletter—or “snoozeletter”—to immediate its prospects to refer a pal.
Now, Casper mattresses are a big-ticket product. Costs begin across the €300 mark and climb as excessive as €1,200+. That makes its referral scheme fairly engaging, with 10 p.c off for brand spanking new prospects, plus a $75 Amazon present card for the referrer.
It’s good that Casper doesn’t go in for the exhausting promote right here by positioning the referral supply proper on the backside of the e-mail, quite than making it the primary focus of the entire electronic mail.
Think about you signed up for the snooze letter and obtained this electronic mail. In case you’ve scrolled all the way in which to the underside, it stands to purpose that you simply’re fairly engaged with the model—which implies there’s a superb likelihood you’ll be completely happy to advocate Casper to your mates.
All you want is a delicate nudge in the best path.
2. MeUndies
Supply: ReallyGoodEmails
We’re large followers of MeUndies right here at Drip—a lot in order that we spent a month digging into the model’s advertising and marketing technique.
So it’s no shock to us that this referral electronic mail is so robust.
In some methods, it’s the alternative of the earlier instance from Casper.
For one factor, it’s solely devoted to profitable referrals, quite than hiding the referral supply away on the backside of a e-newsletter. For one more, it’s selling a a lot lower-ticket merchandise.
Regardless of this, MeUndies has nonetheless managed to craft a compelling supply that offers folks a real purpose to refer—on this case, 20 p.c off for the brand new buyer, plus $20 credit score for the referrer.
3. Italic
Supply: ReallyGoodEmails
Reductions and particular provides play a giant half in driving referrals.
The truth is, in keeping with Point out Me, they’re the fourth-biggest purpose folks resolve to refer manufacturers—behind solely model trustworthiness, nice customer support, and free supply and returns.
Nonetheless, getting your particular supply proper isn’t as simple because it sounds.
If it’s too advanced, nobody will have interaction with it. If it’s too beneficiant, it’ll eat into your margins and injury your income. And if it’s too stingy, nobody will care.
Simplicity is usually key to an efficient referral supply, and Italic clearly understands this. It’s all concerning the quantity 15—refer a pal and so they get $15 off, plus you get $15 for everybody who locations an order together with your hyperlink.
4. Equal Components
Supply: ReallyGoodEmails
This one’s all concerning the smooth promote.
Equal Components makes non-stick, non-toxic cookware designed to make the exercise of cooking at dwelling extra pleasant.
To that finish, it provides common suggestions, tips, and insights on tips on how to have enjoyable within the kitchen, together with issues like leveling up your grocery buying.
After providing a bunch of sensible recommendation, Equal Components slips in a referral message, prompting readers to unfold the phrase.
Though this referral electronic mail mentions how referrers can earn rewards when their buddies join, that is actually extra about constructing advocacy via worth. The implicit message right here is: “In case you get pleasure from our content material and merchandise, why received’t you let different folks in on the key?”
5. On
Supply: ReallyGoodEmails
Okay, so that you’ve received a referral.
That’s good—any variety of referrals is healthier than none, in any case—however it doesn’t assure something. You continue to must make efficient use of it.
Swiss efficiency operating shoe and clothes model On demonstrates tips on how to get it proper by reaching out to a newly-referred buyer and asking in the event that they wish to discover out extra.
Why’s this method so good?
As a result of it’s like a double opt-in. On is saying: “You’ve been referred by your pal, however do you really wish to preserve listening to from us?”
That approach, the retailer manages to construct belief from potential new prospects, whereas concurrently explaining a bit of concerning the model and what it stands for.
6. Saje
Supply: ReallyGoodEmails
As any author will let you know, an efficient referral electronic mail doesn’t simply depend on a catchy supply and snappy visuals. Copy performs an enormous half, too.
Important oils and skincare merchandise model Saje will get it proper right here with a easy, impactful message crafted to resonate with its target market: “Unfold wellness to your mates.”
On this approach, Saje is asking its prospects to advertise a way of life, not a product. You’re not referring a pal to purchase some new pores and skin serum or a face masks; you’re referring your entire idea of wellness.
That’s a way more partaking proposition than saying: “In case you persuade your mates to purchase our merchandise, we’ll offer you a reduction code.”
7. Maude
Supply: ReallyGoodEmails
Maude describes itself as a contemporary sexual wellness startup. It sells issues like private massagers and physique oils. An enormous promoting level is the delicate nature of its packaging, which retains issues discreet and minimalist.
The corporate clearly understands its prospects won’t be too eager on blindly sharing a referral hyperlink on Fb. With that in thoughts, it stresses that referrers can be proven a preview of their referral submit earlier than it will get shared.
That’s tremendous essential as a result of belief is a giant deal to referrers (bear in mind, in keeping with that Point out Me examine, it’s the only largest think about whether or not somebody refers a model).
8. Outside Voices
Supply: ReallyGoodEmails
I’ve already highlighted how essential it’s for manufacturers to take advantage of the referrals they obtain from prospects.
Fail to succeed in out in the best approach and that referral loses all its worth. Outside Voices understands this, so it follows up referrals with a succinct electronic mail.
Firstly, it stresses who the referral got here from, thereby highlighting that this isn’t just a few random advertising and marketing spam.
Subsequent, it clearly explains what it’s about—technical attire for severe canine walks and informal marathons. In different phrases, it makes a high quality product, however it doesn’t take itself too severely.
Lastly, it units out the phrases of its referral program—spend $100 or extra and get $20 off.
That’s lots of info to speak, but Outside Voices will get the job carried out in fewer than 50 phrases.
9. Postable
Supply: ReallyGoodEmails
Keep in mind after I stated simplicity holds the important thing to an efficient referral electronic mail?
Postable does it higher than most—by explaining its referral program in fewer than 20 phrases.
Plus, the visuals are hanging and cheery, which is essential for a model that makes designer greeting playing cards and invites.
Problem your self to do the identical. Clarify your referral scheme, then edit it all the way down to the naked bones.
In case you can’t talk your supply in about the identical variety of phrases as Postable, it’s too advanced.
10. Bombas
Supply: ReallyGoodEmails
As you’ve seen from this text, lots of e-commerce manufacturers favor to offer away a bit of element about their referral program within the authentic electronic mail, earlier than directing prospects towards a touchdown web page to study extra.
There’s logic to this method. It means your referral emails are much less cluttered, which might make your message extra impactful and simpler to digest.
Nonetheless, it’s not the one method. Bombas takes issues within the different path by setting out, in easy-to-understand steps, precisely what its referral supply entails.
No must click on via to the web site to completely perceive the proposition—it’s all proper there in black and white (and blue).
What’s extra, quite than providing a reduction on future orders, Bombas goes with one thing much more compelling: a very free product.
In case you’ve already ordered a pair of Bombas socks, there’s a superb likelihood you just like the model and would like to get extra pairs at no cost. That’s precisely what this referral electronic mail guarantees.
11. Goby
Supply: ReallyGoodEmails
Goby sells electrical toothbrushes and equipment.
In case you’ve ever owned an electrical toothbrush, you’ll know they’re hardly a daily buy. When you’ve purchased one, you’ll seemingly keep it up for a number of years.
Nonetheless, the comb heads want changing each three months or so not less than, and that’s the place Goby’s referral supply is available in.
This electronic mail demonstrates the advantages of psychology in crafting an efficient referral proposition.
These brush heads aren’t precisely costly. They price $6 apiece. Now, ask your self which of those choices sounds most engaging:
- Refer a pal and get $6; or
- Refer a pal and get this free product.
Regardless that the worth is similar, possibility two takes it each time.
12. Brooklinen
Supply: ReallyGoodEmails
A well timed supply could make your ecommerce referral electronic mail much more compelling.
Brooklinen demonstrates this with an electronic mail despatched on Nationwide Rest Day (it’s August fifteenth, in case you wish to add it to your diary).
Rest and new mattress linen? That appears like a match made in heaven. This well-timed referral electronic mail provides prospects a purpose to refer their buddies proper now.
13. Harry’s
Supply: ReallyGoodEmails
The vast majority of these e-commerce referral emails have been a sort of “you scratch my again, I’ll scratch yours” association.
You refer a brand new buyer to us, and we’ll reward you with this low cost or supply (and the particular person you refer may get some cash off, too).
As we’ve mentioned earlier than, Harry’s isn’t afraid to do issues in another way.
Fairly than providing one thing to the referrer, it guarantees to ship free razors to 2 buddies. That approach, the referrer will get to really feel like they’re sending a present, quite than making an attempt to influence their pal to purchase a product.
3 Referral E mail Templates You Can Steal
We’ve seen how different manufacturers are doing it. Now, listed below are three referral electronic mail templates to encourage your personal referral campaigns…
1. The New Buyer Referral E mail
For a lot of prospects, the very best alternative to ask for a referral is after they first buy from you. They’re enthusiastic about their new product, and so they haven’t been distracted by the following shiny, new factor (but).
Use this copy as a jumping-off level:
2. The Loyal Buyer Referral E mail
Keep in mind, loyal prospects are the almost certainly to advocate your model and merchandise, so that they’re an apparent target market for referral campaigns.
Flip loyal prospects into model advocates with this referral electronic mail template:
3. The Urgency-Inducing Referral E mail
Creating a sense of urgency helps you drive referrals proper now. Right here’s tips on how to do it…
Conclusion
Efficient electronic mail advertising and marketing holds the important thing to selling your referral program.
That’s why you want Drip.
Our advertising and marketing automation platform makes it simple to construct on-brand emails that stand out (and convert) in each inbox.
Begin with one in every of 50+ professionally-designed electronic mail templates, customise to your coronary heart’s content material with our easy point-and-click editor, and run your campaigns on autopilot with our visible workflow builder.
See all of it for your self by signing up on your free 14-day trial!