[Feature Update] 🌟 New Activation Email Campaigns

Hey it's Mica,

Lack of promotion is the #1 reason referral programs fail.

People fall into the trap of "if you build it, they will come” - they invest countless hours designing the perfect reward mix, crafting the best messaging, setting up integrations, but then leave promotion to chance.

Here's what happens: you launch with a big email blast, get some early traction, and then things go quiet. Weeks go by. New customers come in daily (from other channels), but there's no system to invite them to your referral program. Momentum fades and your program results start to decline.

Traditional email tools lack referral program engagement data so you don’t know who to follow up with. This leads to one-off emails where you hope you connect with the person at the exact time they’re ready to refer you (unlikely).

This month, we’re excited to release Activation Email Campaigns to make it easier to promote your referral program over time and follow up with people that don’t engage.

Let's dive in. 👇👇

-Mica
Head of Operations

What are Activation Email Campaigns?

Activation Campaigns are branded emails designed specifically to get your contacts engaged and sharing your referral program. Unlike standard email tools that treat everyone the same, these campaigns only target people not yet participating in your referral program.

Use Activation Campaigns to promote your referral program:

• At Launch - announce your program to your existing contact list

• Ongoing - systematically invite new contacts on a recurring basis

• Follow up - nudge contacts who didn’t engage with the first campaign

Explore Activation Campaigns in a quick visual tour

🎯 Turn contacts into active sharers

Get people participating and sharing your referral program in 3 simple steps:

1. Add Contacts - import contact lists via CSV, automated via Zapier/API, or add individuals manually

2. Send Activation Campaigns - select your audience, adjust the messaging, and send campaigns in a few clicks

3. Get Shares - members share directly from the email or access their Member Portal in one click

🎨 Send professional emails in seconds

No design skills needed. The simplified editor makes it easy to create branded emails with referral best practices built in.

• Easy on brand editing experience

• Your logo and brand colors automatically added

• Sharing options and program stats included

• Optimized for mobile viewing

🔍 Follow up with unengaged contacts

Not every contact is ready to share when they first learn about your program. You need to consistently follow up until they’re ready without being pushy or emailing the wrong people.

Activation Campaigns solve this by:

• Only email people that haven’t engaged - once engaged, they become “Activated” and won’t receive future campaigns

• Prevent accidental spamming - built in 7+ day waiting period between campaigns

• Organize contacts with lists - greater control over who receives which campaign

🔄 Make promotion a repeatable process

Long-term referral program success comes from adding new contacts over time. Activation Campaigns let you send targeted emails to people as they become ready for your referral program. This can be done as a recurring process (weekly, monthly, quarterly) or automated via Zapier/API.

Here are some common sources of recurring contacts to add:

• New customers - happy customers love to share

• Successful referrals - referrals are more likely to refer others

• Qualified prospects - even people that don’t buy can join and share your program if they had a great experience

📊 Improve email performance with data

Email analytics tell you how your Activation Campaigns performed so you can optimize them. Each campaign gives you visibility into:

• Emails sent - see the total number of contacts emailed

• Open rate - track who's engaging with your subject lines and preview text

• Click rate - measure how many people take action

Each campaign also includes an advanced delivery report including data on undelivered, spam, unsubscribed, and more.