{"slug":"referrals","title":"referrals","summary":"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,' '","platform":"Claude","tags":[],"authorName":"LLM Mart","authorSlug":"llm-mart","score":0,"source":"github","price":null,"verified":false,"createdAt":"2026-10-15T13:12:16.7583Z","repo":{"url":"https://github.com/coreyhaines31/marketingskills","stars":54836,"forks":8123,"license":"MIT","updatedAt":"2026-10-14T21:21:00Z"},"bodyHtml":"
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name: referrals\ndescription: \"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.\"\nmetadata:\nversion: 2.2.1

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Referral & Affiliate Programs

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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.

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Before Starting

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Check for product marketing context first:\nIf .agents/product-marketing.md exists (or .claude/product-marketing.md, or the legacy product-marketing-context.md filename, in older setups), read it before asking questions. Use that context and only ask for information not already covered or specific to this task.

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Gather this context (ask if not provided):

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1. Program Type

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2. Current State

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3. Product Fit

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4. Resources

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Should You Engineer Virality First?

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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.

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Place the product on the Viral Potential Spectrum:

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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.

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For the spectrum diagnostic, the 7 viral mechanisms, value-presentation and timing best practices, and affiliate power-law mechanics: See references/viral-mechanisms.md

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Referral vs. Affiliate

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Customer Referral Programs

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Best for:

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Characteristics:

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Affiliate Programs

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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.

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Best for:

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Characteristics:

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Referral Program Design

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The Referral Loop

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Trigger Moment → Share Action → Convert Referred → Reward → (Loop)\n
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Step 1: Identify Trigger Moments

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High-intent moments:

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Step 2: Design Share Mechanism

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Ranked by effectiveness:

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  1. In-product sharing (highest conversion)
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  2. Personalized link
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  3. Email invitation
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  4. Social sharing
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  5. Referral code (works offline)
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Step 3: Choose Incentive Structure

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Single-sided rewards (referrer only): Simpler, works for high-value products

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Double-sided rewards (both parties): Higher conversion, win-win framing

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Tiered rewards: Gamifies referral process, increases engagement

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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.

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For examples and incentive sizing: See references/program-examples.md

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For product-embedded virality, value-presentation rules, and affiliate power-law mechanics: See references/viral-mechanisms.md

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Program Optimization

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Improving Referral Rate

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If few customers are referring:

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If referrals aren't converting:

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A/B Tests to Run

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Incentive tests: Amount, type, single vs. double-sided, timing

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Messaging tests: Program description, CTA copy, landing page copy

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Placement tests: Where and when the referral prompt appears

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Common Problems & Fixes

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ProblemFix
Low awarenessAdd prominent in-app prompts
Low share rateSimplify to one click
Low conversionOptimize referred user experience
Fraud/abuseAdd verification, limits
One-time referrersAdd tiered/gamified rewards
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Measuring Success

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Key Metrics

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Program health:

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Business impact:

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Typical Findings

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Launch Checklist

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Before Launch

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Launch

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Post-Launch (First 30 Days)

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Email Sequences

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Referral Program Launch

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Subject: You can now earn [reward] for sharing [Product]\n\nWe just launched our referral program!\n\nShare [Product] with friends and earn [reward] for each signup.\nThey get [their reward] too.\n\n[Unique referral link]\n\n1. Share your link\n2. Friend signs up\n3. You both get [reward]\n
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Referral Nurture Sequence

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Affiliate Programs

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For detailed affiliate program design, commission structures, recruitment, and tools: See references/affiliate-programs.md

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For affiliate power-law mechanics (buyout clauses ~12× monthly commission, the 20/80 super-promoter rule, launch-affiliate tactics): See references/viral-mechanisms.md

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Review Programs

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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.

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Task-Specific Questions

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    \n
  1. What type of program (referral, affiliate, or both)?
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  2. What's your customer LTV and current CAC?
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  3. Existing program or starting from scratch?
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  4. What tools/platforms are you considering?
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  5. What's your budget for rewards/commissions?
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  6. Is your product naturally shareable?
    7. \n
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Tool Integrations

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For implementation, see the tools registry. Key tools for referral programs:

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ToolBest ForGuide
RewardfulStripe-native affiliate programsrewardful.md
ToltSaaS affiliate programstolt.md
Mention MeEnterprise referral programsmention-me.md
Dub.coLink tracking and attributiondub-co.md
StripePayment processing (for commission tracking)stripe.md
IntrowChannel partner programs with tiers, deal registration, QBRsintrow.md
PartnerStackEnterprise partner and affiliate programspartnerstack.md
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Related Skills

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