Introduction
Referral programs have proven to be a potent marketing strategy, leveraging the power of word-of-mouth to drive brand awareness and customer acquisition. As your program gains traction and participants engage with your campaigns, customizing email notifications becomes essential.
Rivo's referral email system provides comprehensive automation and customization options to create engaging email experiences that drive referral conversions and customer retention. With seven distinct email types and extensive personalization features, you can create a seamless referral journey for both advocates and their friends.
✨ Referral campaigns are available on the Scale and Plus plans. See pricing →
Email notifications available
Rivo provides seven comprehensive email notifications for your referral program, each designed to engage customers at different stages of the referral journey:
For Advocates (Referrers)
Referrals: Advocate Signup
Sent when a customer joins your referral program as an advocate. This welcome email provides their unique referral link and encourages them to start sharing with friends. It's the first touchpoint that sets expectations and provides the tools they need to begin referring.
Referral Completed
Sent immediately when a referred friend completes their qualifying purchase. This email notifies the advocate that their referral was successful and provides their reward. It creates immediate gratification and encourages continued referral activity.
Referrals: Delayed Reward
Sent when an advocate's reward is delivered after a verification period. This email is triggered when the referred friend's order is verified as legitimate and the advocate's reward is ready to use. This helps maintain trust during fraud prevention processes.
Referrals: Advocate Stats
Sent periodically to advocates with their referral performance statistics, including total referrals, successful conversions, and rewards earned. This email keeps advocates engaged by showing their progress and encouraging continued participation.
Referrals: Ineligible Referral
Sent when a referral doesn't meet the program requirements (such as minimum order value, excluded products, or fraud detection triggers). This email explains why the referral wasn't eligible and maintains transparency in your program rules.
For Friends (Referred Customers)
Referrals: Invite Friend
Sent from advocates to their friends, containing the referral offer and unique discount code. This is the initial invitation email that introduces friends to your brand and provides their exclusive offer. The advocate can personalize this message before sending.
Referred Signup
Sent to friends when they successfully complete their first purchase using a referral link. This email provides their reward (if applicable) and encourages future purchases, helping convert one-time referral customers into loyal repeat buyers.
Email Template Variables
Rivo provides dynamic template variables that automatically populate with customer and order data to personalize your referral emails. These variables can be used in any email field including subject lines, titles, and body content.
Customer & Referral Variables
#{{advocate_name}}: The name of the customer who made the referral
#{{friend_email}}: The email address of the referred friend
#{{shop_name}}: Your store's name
#{{customer_first_name}}: The recipient's first name
Reward & Points Variables
#{{reward_name}}: The name of the reward being offered or earned
#{{points_amount}}: The number of loyalty points earned
#{{reward_tos}}: Terms and conditions for the reward
#{{discount_code}}: The unique discount code for the reward
Date & Timing Variables
#{{expiry_date}}: When a reward or discount expires
#{{points_expiry_date}}: When loyalty points expire
#{{renewal_date}}: For membership renewals
Custom Referral Domain Considerations
If you've added a custom domain, you'll notice that the Invite Friend emails will send from [email protected] for this peer to peer email invite friend email (friend sending). This is by design, we send from @mg.rivo-mail.com for peer to peer email invites instead of [email protected] because of the likelihood of spam complaints on these emails.
Elevated spam complaints can burn your domain sending reputation, so for these peer to peer invite friend emails we highly recommend sending from our domain so if there is a spam complaint, we can absorb that and not you. This is industry standard amongst all referrals vendors.
We can change this upon request, however the risks involved to your sending reputation can increase dramatically – so we do not recommend this option.
Additional Custom Domain Considerations
Test your emails to ensure all links are working correctly with your custom domain
Consider the branding implications of using a custom domain in email links
Verify that UTM tracking parameters are working properly with your custom domain
Ensure SSL certificates are properly configured for secure email links
Customizing your email notifications
Rivo provides comprehensive customization options for every aspect of your referral emails. You can personalize content, styling, and behavior to match your brand and optimize performance.
Content Customization
Follow the steps below to customize the email notifications that are sent throughout the referral program flow. To enable or disable a notification, toggle the switch ON or OFF.
Go to Programs > Emails
Click Edit on a notification
Customize each field using template variables:
Subject - The email subject that appears in inboxes (use variables like "#{{advocate_name}} sent you a reward!")
Preheader - Preview text shown in email clients
Title - Main headline in the email body
Subtitle - Supporting text below the title
Button - Call-to-action button label that brings customers to your store
Subtext - Additional details, terms, or fine print text
Footer Text - Company information in footer (can contain your store name)
Footer Address - Physical address for compliance requirements
Subscription Source - Explanation of why customers received the email
Unsubscribe Text - Link text for opting out of emails
Use template variables to personalize content dynamically
Save your changes
📝 Note: Use the footer to add information about your store and the subscription source for all your email. Including a postal address (Footer Address) for business and marketing emails is a legal requirement in many countries.
Email Styling & Branding
Customize the visual appearance of your emails:
Colors: Customize title, subtitle, button, subtext, footer, and link colors
Button Design: Adjust button background, text color, and border radius
Typography: Control font colors for different text elements
Layout: Use the live preview to see changes in real-time
Email Controls
Manage when and how emails are sent:
Enable/Disable: Turn individual email types on or off
Sender Name: Customize who the email appears to be from
Timing: Some emails support delayed sending for verification periods
Email analytics & performance tracking
Rivo provides comprehensive analytics for your referral emails so you can track their performance and optimize for better results.
Email Metrics
Sent - The number of emails sent to customers
Opened - The number of customers who opened the emails sent
Clicked - Unique clicks on the CTA button
Revenue generated - This amount is associated with the orders placed after following the link of the call-to-action button inserted in the email.
UTM Tracking
All referral emails include UTM parameters for detailed analytics:
Track email traffic in Google Analytics
Measure revenue attribution from email campaigns
Identify which email types drive the most conversions
Analyze customer journey from email to purchase
Performance Optimization
Use analytics data to improve your email performance:
A/B test different subject lines and content
Optimize send timing based on open rates
Refine call-to-action buttons for better click rates
Adjust email frequency based on engagement metrics
Testing your referral emails
Rivo provides comprehensive testing tools to ensure your referral emails work perfectly before sending them to customers.
Send Test Emails
Test any referral email type with realistic sample data:
Go to Programs > Emails
Click Edit on a notification
From the template editor, click Send Test Email on the top right of the page. The email will be sent to the store contact email.
The test email will be sent with sample data that represents real customer scenarios
Live Email Preview
See exactly how your emails will look as you customize them:
Real-time preview updates as you make changes
Preview shows actual template variables populated with sample data
Test different color combinations and styling options
Verify button placement and text formatting
Test Data Used
Test emails use realistic sample data including:
Sample customer names and email addresses
Example reward names and discount codes
Realistic points amounts and expiry dates
Working referral links and UTM parameters
Fraud prevention & email delivery
Rivo includes built-in fraud prevention measures that can affect when and how referral emails are delivered to protect your program integrity.
Fraud Detection Impact
Emails may be delayed or blocked when fraud detection identifies:
Similar email addresses between referrer and friend
Matching IP addresses for referral signups
Customers who already exist in your system
Referrals that don't meet program requirements
Email Delivery Considerations
Understanding how fraud prevention affects email timing:
Immediate Emails: Advocate signup and invite friend emails send immediately
Verification Period: Reward emails may be delayed during fraud review
Blocked Referrals: Ineligible referral emails explain why rewards weren't granted
Delayed Rewards: Some rewards are held until orders are verified as legitimate
Best practices & troubleshooting
Email Design Best Practices
Clear Subject Lines: Use template variables to personalize subjects (e.g., "#{{advocate_name}} sent you a reward!")
Strong Call-to-Actions: Make buttons prominent with action-oriented text
Mobile Optimization: Test emails on mobile devices for proper formatting
Brand Consistency: Match email colors and styling to your store's branding
Clear Value Proposition: Clearly communicate the reward or benefit
Template Variable Tips
Always include fallback text for dynamic content
Test all template variables with the test email feature
Use personalization strategically - don't overuse customer names
Include relevant terms and conditions using #{{reward_tos}}
Common Issues & Solutions
Emails not sending: Check that the email type is enabled in settings
Template variables not working: Verify correct syntax with double curly braces
Links not working: Test with custom domain configuration if applicable
Low open rates: Experiment with different subject lines and send times
Delayed rewards: Understand that some emails wait for fraud verification
Optimization Strategies
Use A/B testing for subject lines and content
Monitor analytics to identify top-performing email types
Adjust email frequency based on customer engagement
Regularly update email content to keep it fresh and relevant
Ensure compliance with email marketing regulations