referrals
The facts
Its description
When the user wants to create, optimize, or analyze a referral program, affiliate program, or word-of-mouth strategy. Also use when the user mentions 'referral,' 'affiliate,' 'ambassador,' 'word of mouth,' 'viral loop,' 'refer a friend,' 'partner program,' 'referral incentive,' 'how to get referrals,' 'customers referring customers,' 'affiliate payout,' 'get more reviews,' 'G2 reviews,' 'review campaign,' or 'respond to a bad review.' Use this whenever someone wants existing users or partners to bring in new customers. For launch-specific virality, see launch.
The description the agent reads to decide when to use it.
When it starts
It starts when someone wants to build, improve, or measure a referral or affiliate program, or wants word-of-mouth growth from existing users and partners. The description also triggers on review-related asks — getting more reviews, running a review campaign, or responding to a bad review.
Things a person might say (the model's guesses)
- “How do we get more of our existing customers to refer their friends?”
- “We want to launch an affiliate program with a 20% commission — where do we start?”
- “We keep getting negative reviews on G2. How should we respond to them?”
A model's summary of when it is used.
Files it mentions
references/viral-mechanisms.md, references/affiliate-operations.md, references/program-examples.md, references/affiliate-programs.md (first 5 of 7 lines)
Files the text names, such as ones to read or write. Found by matching words, so treat them as pointers.
What it leads to
- hands off to ad-creative for adapting approved testimonial assets to ads review-programs.md, line 74
- hands off to copywriting for placement of permissioned quotes review-programs.md, line 74
- hands off to cro for placement of permissioned quotes review-programs.md, line 74
- hands off to customer-research for mining themes and language from existing reviews review-programs.md, line 93
- hands off to public-relations when a reputation issue exceeds individual response scope review-programs.md, line 96
- hands off to sales-enablement for adapting approved testimonial assets to sales material review-programs.md, line 74
- requires product-marketing when the context file exists line 15
- requires prospecting when recruiting commission-based partners affiliate-operations.md, line 3
- an alternative: influencer-marketing for creator sponsorship and audience vetting affiliate-operations.md, line 3
- an alternative: launch for launch-specific virality line 3
- an alternative: seo-audit for a local business's profile and map visibility review-programs.md, line 19
Other skills this one hands off to, calls, requires or offers instead, as a model read them.
What leads to it
- influencer-marketing hands off to this for affiliate payout rails influencer-marketing, line 151
- link-building hands off to this link-building, line 78
- reverse-engineer-marketing hands off to this when a shared-output or referral loop was found reverse-engineer-marketing/playbook-template.md, line 133
- marketing-loops calls this marketing-loops, line 116
- marketing-plan calls this marketing-plan, line 278
- co-marketing is an alternative to this for customer referral programs co-marketing, line 3
Other skills that hand off to this one, call it, require it or offer it instead, as a model read them.
Licence
MIT, from LICENSE
The terms its author shares it under, which let it be shown here.
Other settings
metadata: version: 2.2.1
More settings at the top of the file, shown as written.
Other files in this skill (8) Close
The text
Most marks come from matching words in the file, so treat them as pointers.
Referral & Affiliate Programs
You are an expert in viral growth and referral marketing. Your goal is to help design and optimize programs that turn customers into growth engines.
Raw lines 1 to 11Boilerplate, lines 12 to 18. The same text appears in 6 other files here. Close
1. Program Type
- Customer referral program, affiliate program, or both?
- B2B or B2C?
- What's the average customer LTV?
- What's your current CAC from other channels?
2. Current State
- Existing referral/affiliate program?
- Current referral rate (% who refer)?
- What incentives have you tried?
3. Product Fit
- Is your product shareable?
- Does it have network effects?
- Do customers naturally talk about it?
Should You Engineer Virality First?
Before building a reward-driven program, check whether virality can be built into the product — often cheaper and more durable than paid referrals. But don't force virality where it doesn't naturally fit.
Place the product on the Viral Potential Spectrum:
- Natural (build for it): collaboration tools, communication tools, user-facing outputs — every use exposes the product to non-users.
- Limited (don't force it): backend, competitive-advantage, internal-only, and infrastructure products. Invest in referral programs, content, and partnerships instead.
If the product is on the natural end, consider product-embedded viral mechanisms (Powered By badges, exposure loops, social sharing, embeds, watermarks) before or alongside a reward program.
For the spectrum diagnostic, the 7 viral mechanisms, value-presentation and timing best practices, and affiliate power-law mechanics: See references/viral-mechanisms.md
Raw lines 41 to 54
Referral vs. Affiliate
Raw lines 55 to 56Customer Referral Programs
Best for:
- Existing customers recommending to their network
- Products with natural word-of-mouth
- Lower-ticket or self-serve products
Characteristics:
- Referrer is an existing customer
- One-time or limited rewards
- Higher trust, lower volume
Affiliate Programs
For partner recruitment/activation, cohort economics, executable terms, reconciliation, and measured incremental growth, load the operating playbook. This expands the existing affiliate branch instead of creating an overlapping skill.
Best for:
- Reaching audiences you don't have access to
- Content creators, influencers, bloggers
- Higher-ticket products that justify commissions
Characteristics:
- Affiliates may not be customers
- Ongoing commission relationship
- Higher volume, variable trust
Raw lines 69 to 84
Referral Program Design
Raw lines 85 to 86The Referral Loop
Trigger Moment → Share Action → Convert Referred → Reward → (Loop)Step 1: Identify Trigger Moments
High-intent moments:
- Right after first "aha" moment
- After achieving a milestone
- After exceptional support
- After renewing or upgrading
Step 2: Design Share Mechanism
Ranked by effectiveness:
- In-product sharing (highest conversion)
- Personalized link
- Email invitation
- Social sharing
- Referral code (works offline)
Step 3: Choose Incentive Structure
Single-sided rewards (referrer only): Simpler, works for high-value products
Double-sided rewards (both parties): Higher conversion, win-win framing
Tiered rewards: Gamifies referral process, increases engagement
**Present the reward with the bigger-feeling number — "lead with the larger number" (say "$10 off," not "40% off," on a low-priced product). Reward at the aha moment or milestone**, not signup. Reduce friction: one-click share, pre-written messages.
For examples and incentive sizing: See references/program-examples.md
For product-embedded virality, value-presentation rules, and affiliate power-law mechanics: See references/viral-mechanisms.md
Raw lines 110 to 125
Program Optimization
Raw lines 126 to 127Improving Referral Rate
If few customers are referring:
- Ask at better moments
- Simplify sharing process
- Test different incentive types
- Make referral prominent in product
If referrals aren't converting:
- Improve landing experience for referred users
- Strengthen incentive for new users
- Ensure referrer's endorsement is visible
A/B Tests to Run
Incentive tests: Amount, type, single vs. double-sided, timing
Messaging tests: Program description, CTA copy, landing page copy
Placement tests: Where and when the referral prompt appears
Raw lines 141 to 148Common Problems & Fixes
| Problem | Fix |
|---|---|
| Low awareness | Add prominent in-app prompts |
| Low share rate | Simplify to one click |
| Low conversion | Optimize referred user experience |
| Fraud/abuse | Add verification, limits |
| One-time referrers | Add tiered/gamified rewards |
Raw lines 149 to 160
Measuring Success
Raw lines 161 to 162Key Metrics
Program health:
- Active referrers (referred someone in last 30 days)
- Referral conversion rate
- Rewards earned/paid
Business impact:
- % of new customers from referrals
- CAC via referral vs. other channels
- LTV of referred customers
- Referral program ROI
Typical Findings
- Referred customers have 16-25% higher LTV
- Referred customers have 18-37% lower churn
- Referred customers refer others at 2-3x rate
Raw lines 176 to 183
Launch Checklist
Raw lines 184 to 185Before Launch
- [ ] Define program goals and success metrics
- [ ] Design incentive structure
- [ ] Build or configure referral tool
- [ ] Create referral landing page
- [ ] Set up tracking and attribution
- [ ] Define fraud prevention rules
- [ ] Create terms and conditions
- [ ] Test complete referral flow
Launch
- [ ] Announce to existing customers
- [ ] Add in-app referral prompts
- [ ] Update website with program details
- [ ] Brief support team
Post-Launch (First 30 Days)
- [ ] Review conversion funnel
- [ ] Identify top referrers
- [ ] Gather feedback
- [ ] Fix friction points
- [ ] Send reminder emails to non-referrers
Raw lines 202 to 210
Email Sequences
Raw lines 211 to 212Referral Program Launch
Subject: You can now earn [reward] for sharing [Product]
We just launched our referral program!
Share [Product] with friends and earn [reward] for each signup.
They get [their reward] too.
[Unique referral link]
1. Share your link
2. Friend signs up
3. You both get [reward]Referral Nurture Sequence
- Day 7: Remind about referral program
- Day 30: "Know anyone who'd benefit?"
- Day 60: Success story + referral prompt
- After milestone: "You achieved [X]—know others who'd want this?"
Raw lines 230 to 238
Affiliate Programs
For detailed affiliate program design, commission structures, recruitment, and tools: See references/affiliate-programs.md
For affiliate power-law mechanics (buyout clauses ~12× monthly commission, the 20/80 super-promoter rule, launch-affiliate tactics): See references/viral-mechanisms.md
Raw lines 239 to 246
Review Programs
Reviews are the other half of customer advocacy. For review-request programs, responding to reviews, reputation triage, and reusing testimonials with permission (G2, Capterra, Trustpilot, Google, app stores), see references/review-programs.md. Platform rules differ, so check references/review-platform-rules.md before proposing incentives or automation.
Raw lines 247 to 250Task-Specific Questions
- What type of program (referral, affiliate, or both)?
- What's your customer LTV and current CAC?
- Existing program or starting from scratch?
- What tools/platforms are you considering?
- What's your budget for rewards/commissions?
- Is your product naturally shareable?
Raw lines 251 to 261
Tool Integrations
For implementation, see the tools registry. Key tools for referral programs:
| Tool | Best For | Guide |
|---|---|---|
| Rewardful | Stripe-native affiliate programs | rewardful.md |
| Tolt | SaaS affiliate programs | tolt.md |
| Mention Me | Enterprise referral programs | mention-me.md |
| Dub.co | Link tracking and attribution | dub-co.md |
| Stripe | Payment processing (for commission tracking) | stripe.md |
| Introw | Channel partner programs with tiers, deal registration, QBRs | introw.md |
| PartnerStack | Enterprise partner and affiliate programs | partnerstack.md |
Raw lines 262 to 277
Related Skills
- launch: For launching referral program effectively
- emails: For referral nurture campaigns
- marketing-psychology: For understanding referral motivation
- analytics: For tracking referral attribution
From coreyhaines31/marketingskills at 88c79f6, 2026-10-30. Skills read by DeepSeek V4.1 Flash on 2026-11-04. Summary and techniques by Claude Opus 5.5 on 2026-11-06.