Category: EarlyParrot

A crucial component of digital marketing is list building. You must use emails to reach a large audience and communicate with them regularly. More than 60% of consumers prefer this method of communication.  

Email marketing is a complex issue because it encompasses a variety of forms: cold emails, newsletters, and thank you messages, just to name a few. Ideally, they should be written in a way that makes the recipient feel appreciated. In order for the email to succeed, you have to think of a catchy subject, interesting content, and an encouraging CTA. 

The following tips provide a few guidelines on how to write a referral email.

It is highly likely that you think about job seeking or employer recommendations when you hear “referral email.”. Although these would be valid associations, we will discuss messages related to your referral program in this article. There are no hiring process tips here, only advice for writing successful referral messages. How about we get started?

What is a referral email?

Referral emails are sent to your customer base to keep them informed about your referral program. Your customers should receive messages that are tailored and personal to them. By doing so, you can strengthen your relationships with your clients and streamline the referral process. By using a referral email campaign, you can keep in touch with all your recipients and inform them of upcoming programs and changes. In addition, asking customers for their opinions or allowing them to choose is a great way to appreciate their commitment and engage them in the creation process.

Referral email templates are the best way to promote your program and tick all of the above boxes. How should it be done? With the right tool, of course!

How to write a successful referral email with EarlyParrot?

You can use our software to set up a referral program as well as design it. When creating the perfect referral letter, you need to consider factors such as:

• basic information about the campaign,]
• goals
• type of program
• reward information such as system, name, target, and referral link, etc.
• social media invitations

For now, let’s take a look at the last point – you can create invitations that appear on social media when the referrer shares a link. It is possible to create a social media message for any platform that you choose. There are a large number of popular social media platforms such as Facebook and Twitter at your disposal. There are also messaging apps such as WhatsApp or Facebook Messenger to choose from. Make your message as clear as possible to encourage participation.

Let’s get back to emails now – we will guide you through the process of creating them with EarlyParrot. 

step one: fill in the “from” field

A clear sender ID is essential for the recipient to see the sender’s name and the source, i.e. their email address. When it comes to opening or rejecting a message, its source is often a deciding factor. Therefore, make sure the address looks legitimate and professional.

step two: select a referral template

EarlyParrot offers two templates: list building and online summit. The trigger can also be set so that it occurs when you receive “X” referrals or each new one. Now it’s time to get creative.

step three: craft the message

By default, the system sends three types of emails, but you can add your own if you wish. There is a separate email editor that you can access after clicking the edit email button. There is a lot of flexibility here, such as adding images, buttons, and dividing your text into columns. Your email is ready once you submit the changes.

step four: all done, send it

Make sure all copy, images, and links are correct. Then it’s time to send your online referral letter to your satisfied customer. Complete your program, integrate with your provider’s app, and begin sending your messages automatically.

Now that you know how to design a referral message, it is time to learn a few hacks that will increase the success of your campaign.

Referral emails: best practices

While sending emails is part of the battle, getting leads from them is the true prize. How can you help ensure that happens? Our list below contains some ideas that you may find useful.

#1 Step into your client’s shoes

In other words, if you want to create an effective copy, you should understand your customers’ motivations for joining your program and purchasing your products. To have an impact on your communication, you need to observe what is important from their perspective. 

In order to understand your customers fully, you can simply ask them some questions and obtain their feedback. Consider using social media or sending a survey to accomplish this goal. By doing so, you will be able to learn about your customers’ behavioral patterns, motivation, and communicate with them more effectively, not only in terms of referral emails. 

#2 Keep it simple

You should avoid overloading your messages with information. Use short, simple sentences that are straight to the point. Unlike a business letter, a referral email does not require formal language and so you can use casual communication methods. Don’t forget to include all the essential information and additional details that may motivate your customers to join, such as a 5% extra discount for the first 50 participants. You should create a separate page dedicated to your program and link to it so that all the information a potential participant could need will be available right at their fingertips.

#3 Highlight two-sided benefits

It is important to emphasize that your referral program will benefit both potential clients and the referral sources. In this relationship, both sides must have a motivation for joining. A referral involves two parties – the referrer shares the link and encourages use, and the referee clicks and completes the desired action, like making a purchase, so both parties need to see the value. Make sure you deliver it.

#4 Focus on the subject

It should be engaging, but too much so-called click bait is annoying. In order to increase conversions, it is essential that the recipients open your messages (a higher open rate allows you to do that), but if they do not find what the title implies then they may be less likely to open future emails from you because they feel cheated. The title should be a gateway to a bigger promise. Make sure it is simple and that it conveys the right message. For a referral program this shouldn’t be too much hassle, since the incentive will be enough motivation to open the email and make a promise that can be kept.

#5 Make it personal 

Personalization is something we are all familiar with. As a result, personalized emails have higher open rates of up to 26%, but in today’s world adding a recipient’s name is not enough. It is also important to personalize the copy. 

A good reminder to be more active might look something like this:

Thank you for your recent successful referrals. We hope Josh and Anne enjoy being part of our community. 

Motivate them to continue taking action.

In addition, the signature needs to be personalized. You want the recipient to sense that the email came from an individual and not from a company.

Sign as follows:

Thank you for being with us!

Natalie from [the company’s name]

Rather than:

Thanks for your support!

[The company’s name]

There’s an air of informality and of face-to-face contact in the first example text. The smallest changes make the biggest impact.

#6 Call them to action loudly and clearly

The first step is to design the CTA. Ideally, the message should be inspiring and motivating; however, there is always a limit. You need to balance this aspect as you do not want to make the message sound like a command. Furthermore, if you place your CTA on on a button, the text shouldn’t be too long. A clear message must be communicated, and recipients must be aware of what to do. 

The next step is to place your message in a visible location. When using buttons, select the right colours (those that correspond to your brand) and position them appropriately. Make sure you link the CTA, otherwise it won’t work. 

#7 No hidden information or small print

Referrals must meet certain additional requirements in order to be successful. In your email, you should mention, for example, if the referred friend must spend $100 on a purchase to qualify for a discount. Both parties will lose trust if they are not aware of the terms and the promised discount turns out to be invalid.

The email should highlight any program limitations. Although there is an attached URL, most recipients will not necessarily click it if they are unaware of the conditions. 

#8 Play with content

How many times have you heard that content is king? Probably quite a few. This statement has been repeated for years for a simple reason: it is true. The more  interesting and high-quality the content, the higher the chances of conversion. 

Your email may still fail to convert even if it reaches your audience, but your content can turn that situation around 180 degrees if you handle it properly. Emails give you a lot of options to include images, videos, and gifts. One major rule is that your content should be high quality – pay attention to picture resolution, for example. Alternatively, you could design a classic invitation and send it as an attachment. Imagine how appreciated this gift would be by the recipients and how special they would feel. 

Be creative and try out different formats. You are only limited by your imagination!

To sum up 

An email campaign for referrals plays an important role in promoting your program. In addition, it keeps you on good terms with your recipients and avoids leaving them in the dark. Ideally, your referrers should be treated as your partners. Keep them updated and ask about their opinions. Your top performers should be recognized and rewarded accordingly. 

In all of these cases, email is necessary. With these tips, you will master this aspect and make emails a very effective channel, which is exactly what you want, right?

A brand ambassador campaign is a great way to make some noise about your company. Providing such a program can be a low-cost method to introduce your brand to more potential customers. 

To make the most of this marketing method, you should get to know what a brand ambassador program is exactly, who is a brand ambassador, and what are the types of such roles. We will cover all of these aspects in this article. 

Let’s spend a minute discussing the basis of your program before we get started. What is it and how does it work?  

What is a brand ambassador program?

Brand ambassador programs usually have one specific goal, such as increasing sales. To achieve the desired goal, ambassadors promote the brand or products among their followers. Promotion can be made on both online channels (e.g. social media) and offline (e.g. events). In order to increase the chances of success of the program, both channels are often used. Most brand ambassador programs invitation-only; the smaller the company, the more likely this is to be the case. As a result, it is much easier to reach a niche audience. Brand ambassadors are typically involved with brands for a long time, since a long-term relationship with a company is important in convincing consumers that the ambassador genuinely uses the brand’s products.

To start it right, you need to know who can be a potential brand ambassador. It could be a happy customer, an influencer, or even an employee. Furthermore, you should have a marketing plan before you go live with the program.

Why you should start an brand ambassador program

Brand ambassadors can do so much good for your company. They can provide a sense of community or simply improve your marketing communication. There are dozens of reasons why you should try such programs, so below are just a few. 

#1 Brand ambassadors take care of your content 

Most ambassadors use social media accounts as their main channel of communication with followers. They publish pieces of content related to your company and build brand awareness. 

They also post unique content like blog posts or online reviews, creating a buzz about you. Ambassadors can go the extra mile and interact with their followers. Moreover, they can motivate an active audience to provide user-generated content. This may be a great way to achieve your business goal, as almost 80% of people say that user-generated content highly influences their purchasing decisions.

#2 Brand ambassadors  expand a company’s reach

Content that you publish on your company’s social media profiles or website is only seen by its audience, but you can reach even twice as many people when you use brand ambassadors. This means you can reach a variety of people without retargeting. 

Even if an ambassador has a small audience, it still can be profitable for you. Their followers may not have heard of or been interested in your brand before, but they may become your future customers when they find out about it from their favorite blogger. Nevertheless, thanks to an ambassadors’ recommendation, the seed is sown and new, potential customers are on the horizon.

#3 Brand ambassadors provide you with constructive feedback

They use your products and know them inside and out, so they can be your brand’s biggest advocates but also harshest critics. It is very common that brand ambassadors are the first users of your products, so they can provide some information and help you improve items before their official launch. 

Keeping ambassadors in the feedback loop can prevent you from many common mistakes, which might be small but still significant for the end-users. This will help with improving your brand’s user experience. 

#4 Involving brand ambassadors is cost-effective 

Providing a brand ambassador program won’t burn a hole in your pocket, there are no hidden costs. You just need to find the right candidates, handle the communication, and establish the terms. You should focus on clarifying your demands – the types of social media content or blog posts, etc. Setting time frames and providing marketing materials are also crucial. Your ambassadors should have access to ready-made materials, otherwise it will be difficult for them to provide decent content.

Basically the main cost here is ambassador commission, but it could be part of a trade too. You need to set the financial aspects very clearly – there are many options to choose from like PPS, PPC, and more. 

To track ambassadors’ performance and have an overview of their work, you should use the right software, such as PPC dashboards or referral marketing tools. It will be a great help when it comes to monitoring your ambassador’s campaigns. EarlyParrot gives you access to them via its dashboard. Referral marketing is the main purpose of this tool, but it can also be used for ambassadors who are considered to be like such programs.

With this software, you can cover the following aspects of your program:

• quick and easy program design process
• communication with your ambassadors
• monitoring performance and key metrics of each ambassador and campaign
• quick redesigning your campaigns

You can implement this tool into your site in minutes; it works with most existing platforms and apps. Moreover, if you operate on a non-English speaking market, the good news is that EarlyParrot handles such languages as Greek, Spanish, Italian, German, and French. If you wish to try it out, there is a free trial available. 

How to create a brand ambassador program from scratch?

There are several stages of creating such a program. Below we will cover a few of the most important steps, but you should also consider such aspects as:

• Main and secondary marketing channels
• Tools that you and your ambassadors will need, 
• Plan to blend ambassador marketing into your overall strategy

Keep these three factors in mind while reading the guidelines below.  

Step 1: choose your goal

You have probably seen this step in many guides, but it is crucial for keeping your program on track. You must know what you want to achieve in order to set your requirements clearly and run a successful program. The most popular goals of brand ambassador campaigns are connected with:

• sales
• brand awareness and engagement
• leads
• customer retention and referral rate

Once you decide what you want to achieve, you can move onto the next step. 

Step 2: describe your ideal brand ambassador

It is a similar situation to the goal rule. You need to know what you want, otherwise it may be hard to find it. Before you start looking for a potential ambassador, you need to establish a few aspects such as their niche, preferable channels, follower/subscriber thresholds, and other campaigns that they participate in. Below you’ll find some popular types of ambassadors:. 

1. Affiliate brand ambassador – they promote your products among their own social network. For example, they publish a positive review of your item on their personal blog and add an affiliate link in the post content. Thanks to such links, you will be able to track how the campaign is going. In this collaboration, you need to keep affiliates encouraged, and incentives are a good way to do so. To keep them motivated, you can offer them, e.g., higher commissions per sale after reaching a given number of transactions. 
2. Customer brand ambassador – in other words, a referral program or word-of-mouth marketing. Here, EarlyParrot should be your go-to. With this tool, you will be able to create such a program in a flash. You can establish basically everything – goals, incentives and their details, communication pages, and even branded referral links. This type of program relies on your existing customers’ relationships with their close ones to whom they recommend your products and share their links. If ambassadors’ friends or family members clink on these links and perform the desired action, a referral is complete and rewards will be earnt. 
3. Employee brand ambassadors – this is a very close company-ambassador relationship. Your employees can promote your brand and will probably put their whole hearts into it, since company performance earns them money. Employees can spread the word about you and your products, which will sound more natural and less salesy than, e.g., influencer recommendations. It can work on the same principles as a referral program, but instead of discount codes you can offer higher salaries to those employees. This should positively impact employee engagement too. And, to be frank, you can even identify such an opportunity during the recruitment process – you can use AI recruiting solutions to verify the potential for brand and employee advocacy in early stages.

Now it is time to start searching.

Step 3: search for and choose your ambassadors

You can start your journey by searching for ambassadors manually, i.e., via dedicated hashtags. Type in a hashtag and check out posts including it. In this way, you will be able to have a complete overview of influencers in a given industry and it will therefore be easier to compare them with one another. 

You can also check out social media influencers’ platforms. This is a more efficient way because you gather information about each potential ambassador in one place. It is also a good idea to provide an ambassador application form on your website. Perhaps the perfect candidate will visit your website someday?

If you choose to use a referral program or turn your employees into ambassadors, this step won’t take you long. In the first case, referrers will find themselves. With employees, you can choose the most suitable ones or encourage everyone to be your brand advocates. 

Once you choose your potential candidates, you need to compare them with your ideal ambassador. This will allow you to select the best option.  

Step 4: it’s time to work

Choose who you want to cooperate with, get in touch with them, agree the terms, and let your ambassador campaign begin. All contract terms should be clear, and you should be upfront with your demands. 

Once you establish all your terms and conditions, you can start to work together. It’s then crucial to keep track of the program’s performance (with EarlyParrot) and communicate with your ambassadors if some aspects need improvement. 

Step 5: recognise the best ambassadors

Good cooperation means that if somebody is doing a great job, you should recognize and reward them. Ambassadors’ marketing efforts should be recognised. As a reward, you can offer them a free item, gift card, make an online certificate, or money (which would probably be their preferred option). Depending on the type of your programs you can shuffle such awards, but you still have to be sure that everyone from your ambassador team who has done an extraordinary job is appreciated.

All of these steps will help you with providing a successful brand ambassador program. You should give it a try with EarlyParrot!

Find your brand ambassador

Establishing a brand ambassador program is a great way to increase brand awareness and to improve your brand’s image. 

Whatever your business goals, by using this short but comprehensive guide you will be able to create an effective ambassador program that will last a lifetime and bring you countless new, loyal customers.

Let’s imagine that a potential customer is in need of a certain type of product, but they have no idea where to look for such an item or which brand would be best to buy from. What’s the solution? Ask a friend. That’s how referral marketing begins.

Referral marketing is gaining popularity, but it is still not a go-to solution for many businesses. This is a pity, because 92% of consumers believe in referrals from people they know well. As it is also known by some, word-of-mouth marketing is very easy to implement and it won’t cost you a lot of money either. 

To make the most of this type of marketing, though, you will need a well-tailored referral program. And we will tell you how to run one with EarlyParrot!

But let’s start from the very beginning, which is why you even need referrals.

Why should you start a referral program?

Creating a referral program can help you acquire new customers relatively quickly and cheaply. Information spreads very quickly between customers, and if you promise rewards in return then it will happen even more so. Research shows that customers who visit your website thanks to recommendations will spend 25% more money there, and the probability of them recommending you to someone else is three times higher than in the case of other customers. As you can see, referral marketing not only produces results but also builds trust.

Such solutions are also relatively easy to monitor. Thanks to using an appropriate tool, such as EarlyParrot, you can track all referrals and see how they affect sales. You can have all of the most important KPIs at hand, and you can analyze the performance of your program whenever you want.

What exactly is a referral program?

In short, it is a system of rewarding customers for recommending your store. Your existing and future clients will gain rewards for making an appropriate number of referrals according to your set criteria. Your clients can share referral links or codes with their friends or family, who then visit and use your site. That’s basically it: rewards are distributed afterwards, and you gain another client.

One of the most popular programs of this type that you may have heard about is Uber: you share a code with your friends and both of you can save some money on your next rides.

In order for the program to fulfill its task, you need to choose the right incentives. It is crucial to the success of such a program. In the case of Uber saving money is the reward, but it is not always the best solution. Sometimes it’s better to offer a product or service as a reward. The situation depends on the type of business and, of course, your target audience.

How can EarlyParrot help with your referral program?

EarlyParrot is a referral marketing platform that will improve the implementation of your program. Its installation is simple and only takes a moment, only requiring a computer and 15 minutes. You can easily implement a program into current purchasing processes. You don’t have to change anything, so customers can shop and log in as before. One difference will be an opportunity to participate in the referral program. Both new and existing customers will be informed about the possibility to join the program, receiving a notification with this information. 

After successful implementation, you can set up a reward system of when, to whom, and what will be delivered. It is up to you what and how referrers and referrals will be rewarded for their cooperation. 

Another important feature of this platform is the ability to brand communication with your clients, without an EarlyParrot logo. Feel free to customize emails and pages as you wish. You can also take care of your relationships with customers thanks to broadcasted messages, so you can be sure that everything is running smoothly and your subscribers are taken care of.  

This tool can be easily integrated with the most popular platforms like WordPress, Shopify, Magento, Typeform, MailChimp, and many more. Why not give it a try?

Referral program for SaaS

If you are planning on taking a SaaS solution live, it could be very beneficial to start a referral program too. How to make this happen with EarlyParrot?

If you are about to implement a referral solution just before launching your SaaS, then great. You can increase engagement among your early adopters, and they will be able to share their referrals via social media, messengers, or emails from day one. Why is it a good idea to start a referral program together with your SaaS?

First of all, you can improve the engagement rate from the very beginning and build bonds with your users. The stronger the relationship and the trust is, the longer they will be with you. On top of this, more referral leads means lower CTAs. Everybody wants lower CTAs, especially at the beginning of their journey. 

Thanks to the recommendations of your referrers, your reach can extend immediately. If you encourage people enough, they will talk about you. Nothing gains attention like the buzz made by users and being a newbie on the market. People are curious about such solutions and want to see what the hype is about.

Thanks to a referral program, you can also find out if your SaaS is liked by users (they will not recommend something that they don’t) and which of your brand ambassadors have the greatest clout. It is worth rewarding them accordingly.

In the case of implementing a referral program with EarlyParrot to an existing SaaS solution, there are yet more advantages. 

You can set premium features or discounts for your biggest fans and most active referrers. You can also adapt the program to existing strategies to drive the best results, and even set the time at which program invitations will be sent. 

Referral marketing in eCommerce

If you are an eCommerce provider, referral marketing may be beneficial for you too. How to surprise your customers with a referral program? We’ll tell you what EarlyParrot can offer your eCommerce to boost sales and gain more loyal clients.

As you have already read, EarlyParrot can be implemented with most eCommerce providers like Shopify, Magneto, or PrestaShop. So if you have 15 minutes spare then you can install this solution to your website right now, and thanks to referral marketing you can drive more conversions. Did you know that referral leads have a 30% higher conversion rate than conversions from other channels? That is a great score. Thanks to implementing a referral program you can gain more trust and improve your brand image. Thanks to broadcasting messages you can also build relationships with customers, making your website a go-to place for buying products in the categories that you offer. 

As with SaaS solutions, EarlyParrot supports your business with expanding its reach. The more people who share their opinions about you on social media or via email the better. Reducing CTAs in eCommerce is also a very important aspect. 

The timing of encouraging your customers to take part in the program is crucial, and it is best to do so as soon as they finish shopping and are satisfied with their purchases. Thanks to EarlyParrot, invitations are sent automatically, so you don’t have to worry about remembering to do so. This is similar with rewards, in that as soon as a given client meets the criteria you have set, notifications will be sent.

Building your links with a referral program

It might be surprising that referral marketing is a great way to build your email lists. Thanks to such a solution you can check whether new subscribers joined via referrals or not, and reward them accordingly. Not only can you ask them to share referrals, but also remind and motivate them to be more active. 

You can integrate EarlyParrot with your CRM or autoresponder and let the magic begin. The platform will determine whether a new subscriber was referred or not, and only send a reward if they were. It works with all the most popular autoresponders and CRM like MailChimp, AWeber, Infusionsoft, or ConvertKit. If you use software that is not on our list then reach out to us and we’ll figure it out.

Why is it a good solution to let EarlyParrot help with your subscribers? You will get to know them better, and find out who has the power to improve communication. Thanks to rewarding your subscribers you can build a loyal community, which is essential for your brand image. 

Why should you choose EarlyParrot?

First of all, it is very easy to implement and even easier to use. There is also a free demo that you can use to see if it’s your cup of tea. We are almost 100% sure that the answer here will be yes. Moreover, this platform has got your back. It helps to show you which parts of the program need improvement before it goes live. You can also choose the best rewards: coupon codes, secret links, downloadables, or account upgrades. No matter which you choose, the platform will automatically send it to everyone who meets the criteria set by you.

No worries if your website is not in English, this platform provides campaigns in Spanish,  French, German, Greek, and Italian too. 

Data security is the priority here. EarlyParrot is GDPR-compliant, and also has fraud protection. No suspicious emails or web traffic, and all social media shares are confirmed via IP tracking.

Are you ready to start a referral marketing journey?

As you should now know, referral marketing is a low-cost, easy-to-implement solution that is also quite simple to monitor. Thanks to EarlyParrot, referral magic can basically happen by itself. Once you integrate this platform with your eCommerce store or SaaS solution, you will never look back. Referrals will soon come, and you will start to benefit from them as a result.

However, remember to keep your finger on the pulse. In time tastes change and so your rewards may need to as well, or customers might not recommend you so willingly. You must be proactive and track the program’s performance continually.
So, do you want to try a free demo first?