Skill

Pass

Audit score 90

referral-program

coreyhaines31/marketingskills

Design and optimize referral and affiliate programs to turn customers into growth engines.

What is referral-program?

This skill helps you create, launch, and optimize referral programs, affiliate programs, and word-of-mouth strategies. Use it when customers or partners should bring in new users, or when you need to improve existing referral mechanics, incentive structures, or conversion rates.

Identify high-intent trigger moments for asking customers to refer
Design share mechanisms ranked by effectiveness (in-product, personalized links, email, social, codes)
Structure single-sided, double-sided, or tiered incentive rewards
Diagnose and fix common referral problems (low awareness, low share rate, low conversion, fraud)
Measure program health with key metrics (active referrers, conversion rate, CAC, LTV, churn impact)
Launch and optimize referral programs with pre-launch, launch, and post-launch checklists

How to install referral-program

npx skills add https://github.com/coreyhaines31/marketingskills --skill referral-program

Prerequisites

Product marketing context (if available in .agents/product-marketing-context.md or .claude/product-marketing-context.md)
Customer LTV and current CAC data to size incentives appropriately
Clarity on program type (customer referral, affiliate, or both) and target audience

Claude Code

Cursor

Windsurf

Cline

How to use referral-program

1.Gather program context: type (referral vs. affiliate), customer LTV, current CAC, existing program status, and product shareability
2.Identify trigger moments in your product where customers are most likely to refer (aha moment, milestone, renewal)
3.Design your share mechanism (in-product link, email, social, or code) ranked by expected conversion
4.Choose incentive structure: single-sided (referrer only), double-sided (both parties), or tiered (gamified)
5.Create referral landing page, set up tracking/attribution, define fraud prevention, and test complete flow
6.Launch with announcement to existing customers, in-app prompts, and support team briefing
7.Run post-launch optimization: review funnel, identify top referrers, gather feedback, fix friction points
8.Measure success with active referrers, referral conversion rate, CAC vs. other channels, and LTV impact

Use cases

Good for

Create a customer referral program for a SaaS product with double-sided rewards to increase signups
Design an affiliate program for content creators and influencers to reach new audiences at scale
Optimize an existing referral program by A/B testing incentive amounts, messaging, and placement
Set up referral tracking and attribution to measure CAC and LTV impact versus other channels
Build a tiered referral program that gamifies the process to increase repeat referrers

Who it's for

SaaS founders and product managers launching customer referral programs
Marketing leaders designing affiliate programs for influencers and partners
Growth teams optimizing referral conversion funnels and incentive structures
B2B and B2C companies seeking lower-cost customer acquisition channels
Product teams building in-product referral mechanics and sharing flows

referral-program FAQ

What's the difference between a referral program and an affiliate program?

Customer referral programs work best for existing customers recommending to their network with one-time or limited rewards. Affiliate programs are for content creators, influencers, and bloggers with ongoing commission relationships. Referral programs have higher trust but lower volume; affiliate programs have higher volume but variable trust.

When should I ask customers to refer?

Ask at high-intent moments: right after the aha moment, after achieving a milestone, after exceptional support, or after renewing/upgrading. Timing dramatically affects referral rates.

Should I reward the referrer, the referred person, or both?

Single-sided rewards (referrer only) are simpler for high-value products. Double-sided rewards (both parties) have higher conversion and feel like a win-win. Tiered rewards gamify the process and increase repeat referrers.

How do I know if my referral program is working?

Track active referrers (% who referred in last 30 days), referral conversion rate, % of new customers from referrals, CAC via referral vs. other channels, and LTV of referred customers. Referred customers typically have 16-25% higher LTV and 18-37% lower churn.

What should I do if few customers are referring?

Ask at better moments, simplify the sharing process to one click, test different incentive types and amounts, and make referral more prominent in your product. If referrals aren't converting, improve the landing experience for referred users and strengthen the incentive for new users.

Full instructions (SKILL.md)

Source of truth, from coreyhaines31/marketingskills.

name: referral-program 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,' or 'affiliate payout.' Use this whenever someone wants existing users or partners to bring in new customers. For launch-specific virality, see launch-strategy." metadata: version: 1.1.0

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.

Before Starting

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

Gather this context (ask if not provided):

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?

4. Resources

Tools/platforms you use or consider?
Budget for referral incentives?

Referral vs. Affiliate

Customer 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

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

Referral Program Design

The 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

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

Program Optimization

Improving 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

Common 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

Measuring Success

Key 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

Launch Checklist

Before 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)

Email Sequences

Referral 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?"

Affiliate Programs

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

Task-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?

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