In this article, we discuss how to ask for referrals in an email, who exactly to ask, and when to request referrals.\u00a0<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
Let’s start by looking at why you need to ask for referrals via email in the first place.\u00a0<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
Why ask for referrals in an email?\u00a0<\/h2>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
A referral request email leverages current customers by asking them for referrals from their friends. Often, these friends have common needs or problems, meaning they\u2019ll stand to benefit from your product or service as well.\u00a0<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
But why request these referrals via email?<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
Some notable benefits of email referral requests<\/a> include:\u00a0<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n Emails can be more personal than other promotional methods<\/strong>: Personalization is key when reaching out to customers.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n Emails provide an easy way to link to your referral landing page<\/strong>: Along with their personalization impact, emails allow you to link to your referral page to attract more sharing.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n Compared to a social post, there\u2019s less risk that a referral email will get lost<\/strong>: Unlike a social post, which can easily get buried in your feed, emails create more reliable impressions.\u00a0<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n Cost-effective method<\/strong>: If not free, email is nearly free, making it one of the most cost-effective ways of engaging your audience. Plus, it\u2019s easy to use!<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n Capitalize on your email lists:<\/strong> If you have existing email lists for other business operations and you’ve created working relationships with the people on your lists, it\u2019s prudent to leverage your relationships with those people by asking for referrals.\u00a0<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n While some customers may be more likely to recommend your business, it\u2019s best to ask every customer to refer you to their network at some point, using mass or automated emails.\u00a0<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n However, you should also be tactical, and personally email your best customers to increase your chances of getting more referrals.\u00a0<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n Your best customers include:\u00a0<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n Now that you know who to ask, let’s shift focus and determine when to ask them for these referrals.\u00a0<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n Note that the timing may differ depending on whether you’re sending en masse or personal emails.\u00a0<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n If you’re sending a collective email to all customers, ask for referrals after you’ve launched your referral program<\/a> \u2013 or made a major change to it, like switching up the rewards system.\u00a0<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n You can also ask for referrals based on a set frequency, such as every six months. Be sure not to do it too regularly, though, so you don\u2019t annoy customers.\u00a0<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n On the other hand, if you\u2019re looking for strategic times to send emails to individuals, try:<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n \u00a0This is the time when your brand is still on top of their minds.\u00a0<\/p>\r\n There’s no better time to ask your customers for referrals than in their happiest moments. For example, try asking shortly after:<\/p>\r\n When sending an email asking for a referral, you need to make it as appealing as possible. Below are some best practices for both individual and mass referral emails:\u00a0<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n If your email isn’t opened, you won’t achieve your intended goal of getting referrals. To get those crucial email views, use a compelling subject line that clearly communicates the purpose of the email. Customers need to know what the email is all about \u2013 and how it will benefit them \u2013 before they\u2019ll open it!\u00a0<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n For example, try subject lines like these:<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n Once the email is opened, aim to capture your readers’ attention as soon as possible.\u00a0<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n A catchy headline that illustrates what you want your customers to do (refer) and what they get in return (the reward) will go a long way to get readers excited about sharing.\u00a0<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n The text, images, design, and overall content should be relatable, engaging, and connecting with the referral program.\u00a0<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n Especially focus on the imagery. Including a central hero image is especially important for any email, including a referral email, as it draws in the eye. This image could show friends enjoying their time together, your referral rewards, or other product offerings. The goal here is to create a memorable email experience for your customers.\u00a0<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n Stitch Fix draws in the eye by offering \u201cFree clothes!\u201d and showing scattered clothing, then gets right to the point with the headline \u201cShare with friends, earn $25.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n \u00a0You may think collecting accurate email addresses<\/a> and sending a referral email is easy but you should remember customers’ attention spans are short. Get to the point as quickly as possible. To encourage customers to read past your introduction, make things brief.\u00a0<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n The best way to enhance your emails’ readability is by including only essential information. And remember to take advantage of the white space to make your content visually appealing, not cluttered.\u00a0<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n Square Cash (now Cash App) quickly explains their referral program (with just the essentials), and masterfully uses white space.<\/em><\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n What rewards are on offer for customer referrals? Whether you\u2019re promising a gift card, cash, store credits, discounts, swag, or something else, let the customers know what is in it for them. Your customers will always be eager to know what they can receive when they share your business, so clearly state your referral program rewards<\/a> as early as possible.\u00a0<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n Be sure to give additional details about your rewards.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n Thanks to the headline and the eye-catching $5 bill, the $5 reward that Postable offers in its referral program couldn\u2019t be clearer.<\/em><\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n Apart from getting your customers to refer you by clearly stating the rewards, why not go a step further and explain how your referral program works?\u00a0<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n Some customers may not be aware of your program or the referral process, so share what they must do to earn the rewards. (Checklists or bullet points are especially effective for this, to keep things uncluttered.)<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n Ordinarily, referred friends will have to make a purchase before rewards are paid out. Be sure to state that.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n \u00a0And if you have more details you want to capture, consider linking out to a referral FAQ section, so the email remains concise.\u00a0<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n Little Spoon explains their referral program with a bulleted list, so customers can see referring a friend is as \u201ceasy as 1, 2, 3!\u201d<\/em><\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n Make your program irresistible by creating an appealing referral call-to-action<\/a> (CTA). This should be a short (1-3 words) button link that directs customers to share your brand with others.\u00a0<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n The CTA should be easy to spot. So, choose a visually attractive button color that\u2019s different from the rest of the email.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n Customers should not have to scroll or take a lot of time to find the CTA. It should link to your referral program landing page, where your customers can do the sharing.\u00a0<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n And if you want to let customers share directly from the email, include the customer\u2019s referral link as a CTA, so customers can copy and paste it right away.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n Rocksbox makes their \u201cInvite Friends\u201d CTA easy to find by highlighting the button in pink, including it twice (with no need to scroll to find the first), and pointing to the second button with an arrow. The company also includes a referral link right in the email.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n It’s no longer a secret that personalization works. Addressing a customer’s specific needs and wants increases their chances of converting (sharing your brand with friends).\u00a0<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n For an individual referral email, implement the following personalization tips:\u00a0<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n Sample personal referral email\u00a0<\/strong> I hope you\u2019re doing well.<\/em><\/p>\r\n Thank you for continuing to trust us for [describe the problem your business has solved or need your business has met for your customer]. <\/em><\/p>\r\n It\u2019s customers like you who keep us going, and we\u2019re grateful for your loyalty!<\/em><\/p>\r\n I was wondering if you might know any friends who are also looking to [briefly describe the goals your business has met, and that friends might also like met].<\/em><\/p>\r\n If so, could you please refer them to us using the [your brand] referral program? You can access the program by clicking on this link: [insert link to referral program page].<\/em><\/p>\r\n Whenever you refer a friend, and they make their first purchase, we\u2019ll give you [reward] as a thank you.<\/em> [Your name]<\/em><\/p>\r\n<\/div><\/div>\r\n\r\n If sending mass referral emails, you should still include an individual customer\u2019s name in the subject line and email.\u00a0<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n You could also send a timed, templated email shortly after a customer makes a purchase \u2013 and mention the purchase \u2013 for a personal touch.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n Your email needs to be mobile-responsive. Strive to make the mobile experience top-notch, since people spend most of their time on their smartphones. Over 80% of customers<\/a> will open an email on their phone!\u00a0<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n As more and more people continue to use mobile devices for interacting with friends, you should leverage a mobile referral program<\/a> to increase the likelihood of them sharing your products or services with their friends.\u00a0<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n So, how can you apply these referral email best practices when asking for referrals in a mass email?\u00a0<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n Check out how Bombas integrates them into one of their mass referral emails:\u00a0<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n Customers are bombarded with promotional messages in their email inboxes. In order to stand out and get more referrals, you should know who, when, and how to ask for referrals in an email.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n If you implement the above tips properly, you will receive more new clients<\/a> from your referral request emails. Referral emails have the potential to not only multiply your customer referrals, but create a loyal customer base.\u00a0<\/p>\r\n When done appropriately, an email marketing strategy has the potential to create a consistent flow of referrals for your business. Learn how to ask for referrals in an email, who exactly to ask, and when to request referrals.\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":18391,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"no","_lmt_disable":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[358,459,472],"tags":[480,461,450,451],"class_list":["post-18389","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-referral-programs","category-referral-marketing","category-word-of-mouth-marketing","tag-email","tag-refer-a-friend","tag-referral-program","tag-referral-program-guide"],"modified_by":"Jess Huhn","meta_box":{"headline":"","offer_text":"","sharing_incentive":"","friend_reward":"","program_info":"","terms_link":"","promotion_image":false,"landing_page_image":false,"invite_page_image":false,"social_share_image":false,"email_share_image":false,"twitter_share_image":false,"social_message_image":false},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/referralrock.com\/rms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18389","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/referralrock.com\/rms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/referralrock.com\/rms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/referralrock.com\/rms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/7"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/referralrock.com\/rms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=18389"}],"version-history":[{"count":14,"href":"https:\/\/referralrock.com\/rms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18389\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":18805,"href":"https:\/\/referralrock.com\/rms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18389\/revisions\/18805"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/referralrock.com\/rms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/18391"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/referralrock.com\/rms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=18389"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/referralrock.com\/rms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=18389"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/referralrock.com\/rms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=18389"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}\r\n
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Who to ask for referrals in an email?\u00a0<\/h2>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
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When to ask for referrals in an email?\u00a0<\/h2>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
Shortly after new customers see value in your product\/service<\/h3>\r\n
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When customers are most satisfied<\/h3>\r\n
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How to ask for referrals in an email?\u00a0<\/h2>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
1. Create a compelling subject line\u00a0<\/h3>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
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2. Grab readers’ attention\u00a0<\/h3>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
![\"stitch](\"https:\/\/referralrock.com\/rms\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/stitch-fix.png\" "\\"\\"")
<\/figure>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n3. Keep things concise and uncluttered\u00a0<\/h3>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
![\"cashapp](\"https:\/\/referralrock.com\/rms\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/cashapp-referral-request-email.png\" "\\"\\"")
<\/figure>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n4. Make the incentive clear\u00a0<\/h3>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
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![\"postable](\"https:\/\/referralrock.com\/rms\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/postable-referral-request-email.png\" "\\"\\"")
<\/figure>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n5. Explain how the program works\u00a0<\/h3>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
![\"little](\"https:\/\/referralrock.com\/rms\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/littlespoon-407x1024.png\" "\\"\\"")
<\/figure>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n6. Include a motivating call-to-action<\/h3>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
![\"rocksbox](\"https:\/\/referralrock.com\/rms\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/rocksbox-referral-email.png\" "\\"\\"")
<\/figure>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n7. Personalize the email<\/h3>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
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Hi [Customer\u2019s first name],<\/em><\/p>\r\n
Thanks again,<\/em><\/p>\r\n8. Optimize for mobile\u00a0<\/h3>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
Sample referral email: Bombas<\/h2>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
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![\"bombas](\"https:\/\/referralrock.com\/rms\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/bombas-sample-referral-email.png\" "\\"\\"")
<\/figure>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\nConclusion<\/h2>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
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